Commentary on Genesis, volume 1 (chapter 1-23)


John Calvin


Translated and edited by John King M.D.

The Banner of Truth Trust
3 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh EH12 6EL
P.O. Box 652, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013, U.S.A.

First published in Latin 1554
First English Translation 1578
This edition reprinted from the Calvin Translation Society edition of
1847
1965
Reprinted 1975

ISBN 0 85151 093 0

Printed in Great Britain by offset lithography by Billing & Sons Limited,
Guildford and London



Translator' S Preface

Several of the commentaries of Calvin on different portions of the Holy
Scripture having been for some time before the public, through the
labours of The Calvin Society; it is not improbable that the readers of
the following pages will have already become in a great degree familiar
with the writings of this celebrated Reformer.

It may, perhaps, therefore be thought an unnecessary, if not a
presumptuous undertaking, to preface the present work with any general
observations on the character of Calvin's Expository Writings. But though
the Commentary on Genesis was neither the first which Calvin wrote, nor
the first which the Calvin Society has republished; yet since, in the
ultimate arrangement of the Commentaries it must take the foremost place,
the Editor has determined to offer such preliminary remarks as may seem
desirable for a reader who begins to read the Commentaries of Calvin, as
he begins to read the Bible itself, at the Book of Genesis. If, in taking
such a course, he is charged with repeating some things which have been
said by others before him, he will not be extremely anxious either to
defend himself from the charge or to meet it with a denial.

It seems to be now generally admitted that though, in the brilliant
constellation formed by the master-spirits of the Reformation, there were
those who, in some respects, shone with brighter lustre than Calvin, yet,
as a Commentator on Holy Scripture, he far outshines them all.

There is scarcely anything in which the wisdom of God has been more
conspicuous, than in his choice of instruments for carrying into
execution the different parts of that mighty revolution of sentiment,
which affected, more or less, every portion of Europe during the
sixteenth century.

Long before the issue of the movement was seen or apprehended, we behold
Erasmus, the most accomplished scholar of the age, acting unconsciously
as the pioneer of a Reformation, which at length he not only opposed, but
apparently hated. He had been raised up by God to lash the vices of the
Clergy, to expose the ignorance, venality, and sloth of the Mendicant
Orders, and to exhibit the follies of Romanism in sarcastic invectives
rendered imperishable by the elegant Latinity in which they were clothed.
But he did still more. The world is indebted to him for the first edition
of the entire New Testament in the Original Greek. He had also the honour
of being the first modern translator of the New Testament into Latin. He
published a valuable critical Commentary on the New Testament, which was
early translated into English, and ordered to be placed in the Churches.
Yet, great as the service undoubtedly was which he rendered to the cause
of truth, he never dared to cast the yoke of Rome from his own neck,
never stooped to identify himself with the Protestant Reformers; but
lived and died, as there is reason to fear, a mean, trickling,
timeserving Romanist, panting for preferment in a Church, the unsoundness
of which he had so fearfully exposed. It is not, however, to be denied
that God employed him as a most important instrument in shaking the
foundations of the Papacy, and in preparing the way for the more
successful efforts of more sincere and devoted servants of God.

Among these Luther and Melancthon in one field, Calvin and Zuinglius in
another, occupy posts of the greatest responsibility and usefulness; but
Luther and Calvin are manifestly the great leaders in this cause.

In qualifications necessary for the commencing of this great struggle, we
readily yield the palm to Luther. His indomitable energy, his noble
bearing, his contempt for danger, his transparent honesty of purpose, his
fiery zeal, his generous frankness--though too often degenerating into
peremptory vehemence of spirit and rudeness of manner--eminently fitted
him to take the lead in a warfare where so much was to be braved, to be
endured, and to be accomplished.

There was still another qualification, which perhaps no man ever
possessed in so high a degree as the Saxon Reformer, and that consisted
in the prodigious mastery he had over his own mother-tongue. He seized on
the rude, yet nervous and copious German of his ancestors, and taught it
to speak with a combination of melody and force, which it had never known
before. And his vernacular translation of the Holy Scriptures, in opening
to the millions of the German empire the Fount of eternal life, also
revealed to them the hitherto hidden beauties and powers of their own
masculine tongue.

Calvin, like Luther, was a man of courage; but he wanted Luther's fire,
he wanted Luther's ardent frankness of disposition; he wanted, in short,
the faculty which Luther possessed in a preeminent degree, of laying hold
on the affections, and of kindling the enthusiasm of a mighty nation.

Calvin, like Luther too, was a Translator of the Scriptures, and it is
worthy of remark, that he also wrote in a far purer and better style than
any of his contemporaries, or than any writers of an age near his own.
But he had not the honour, which God conferred on Luther, of sending
forth the sacred volume as a wholes through that great nation in which
his language was spoken, and of thus pouring, by one single acts a flood
of light upon millions of his countrymen.

But whatever advantage may lie on the side of Luther in the comparison,
so far as it has yet been carried, we shall find it on the side of Calvin
in grasp of intellect, in discriminating power, in calmness, clearness
and force of argument, in patience of research, in solid learning, in
every quality, in short, which is essential to an Expositor of Holy Writ.
We are the better able to institute this comparison, because Luther
himself wrote a Commentary on the Scriptures; but the slightest
inspection of the two Commentaries will convince the Reader of Calving
intellectual superiority; and will show, that as a faithful, penetrating,
and judicious Expounder of the Holy Spirit's meaning in the Scriptures,
he left the great Leader of the Reformation at an immeasurable distance
behind.

The doctrinal system of Calvin is too well known to require explanation
in this place. It is however a mistake to suppose that, on those points
in which Calvinism is deemed peculiarly to consist, he went a single step
farther than Luther himself, and the great majority of the Reformers. He
states his views with calmness, clearness and precision; he reasons on
them dispassionately, and never shrinks from any consequences to which he
perceives them to lead. But it would be the height of injustice to charge
him with obtruding them at every turn upon his reader, or with attempting
to force the language of Scripture to bear testimony to his own views.

No writer ever dealt more fairly and honestly by the Word of God. He is
scrupulously careful to let it speak for itself, and to guard against
every tendency of his own mind to put upon it a questionable meaning for
the sake of establishing some doctrine which he feels to be important, or
some theory which he is anxious to uphold. This is one of his prime
excellencies. He will not maintain any doctrine, however orthodox and
essential, by a text of Scripture which to him appears of doubtful
application, or of inadequate force. For instance, firmly as he believed
the doctrine of the Trinity, he refuses to derive an argument in its
favour, from the plural form of the name of God in the first chapter of
Genesis. It were easy to multiply examples of this kinds which, whether
we agree in his conclusions or not, cannot fail to produce the
conviction, that he is, at least, an honest Commentator, and will not
make any passage of Scripture speak more or less than, according to his
view, its Divine Author intended it to speak. Calvin has been charged
with ignorance of the language in which the Old Testament was written.
Father Simon says that he scarcely knew more of Hebrew than the letters!
The charge is malicious and ill founded. It may, however, be allowed that
a critical examination of the text of Holy Scripture was not the end
which Calvin proposed to himself; nor had he perhaps the materials or the
time necessary for that accurate investigation of word and syllables to
which the Scriptures have more recently been subjected. Still his verbal
criticisms are neither few nor unimportant, though he lays comparatively
little stress upon them himself.

His great strength, however, is seen in the clear, comprehensive view he
takes of the subject before him, in the facility with which he penetrates
the meaning of his Author, in the lucid expression he gives to that
meaning, in the variety of new yet solid and profitable thoughts which he
frequently elicits from what are apparently the least promising portions
of the sacred text, in the admirable precision with which he unfolds
every doctrine of Holy Scripture, whether veiled under figures and types,
or implied in prophetical allusions, or asserted in the records of the
Gospel. As his own mind was completely imbued with the whole system of
divine truth, and as his capacious memory never seemed to lose anything
which it had once apprehended, he was always able to present a harmonised
and consistent view of truth to his readers, and to show the relative
position in which any given portion of it stood to all the rest. This has
given a completeness and symmetry to his Commentaries which could
scarcely have been looked for; as they were not composed in the order in
which the Sacred Books stand in the Volume of Inspiration, nor perhaps in
any order of which a clear account can now be given. He probably did not,
at first, design to expound more than a single Book; and was led onwards
by the course which his Expository Lectures in public took, to write
first on one and then on another, till at length he traversed nearly the
whole field of revealed truth.

That, in proceeding with such want of method, his work, instead of
degenerating into a congeries of lax and unconnected observations
constantly reiterated, should have maintained, to a great degree, the
consistency of a regular and consecutive Commentary, is mainly to be
imputed to the gigantic intellectual power by which he was distinguished.
Through the whole of his writings, this power is everywhere visible,
always in action, ingrafting upon every passing incident some forcible
remark, which the reader no sooner sees than he wonders that it had not
occurred to his own mind. A work so rich in thought is calculated to call
into vigorous exercise the intellect of the reader; and, what is the best
and highest use of reading, to compel him to think for himself. It is
like seed-corn, the parent of the harvest.

It has been objected against Calvin by Bishop Horsley, no mean authority
in Biblical criticism,--that "by his want of taste, and by the poverty of
his imagination, he was a most wretched Expositor of the Prophecies,--
just as he would have been a wretched expositor of any secular poet." It
is true, this censure is qualified by the acknowledgment that Calvin was
"a man of great piety, great talents, and great learning." Yet, after
all, it would not, perhaps, be difficult to show that, as an expounder of
the poetical portions of Holy Scripture,--the Psalms for instance,--
Bishop Horsley more frequently errs through an excess of imagination,
than Calvin does through the want of it. However this may be, it is not
intended here to assert, either that Calvin possessed a high degree of
poetical taste, or that he cultivated to any great extent the powers of
the imagination. His mind was cast in the more severe mould of chastised,
vigorous, and concentrated thought. They who seek for the flowers of
poesy must go to some other master; they who would acquire habits of
sustained intellectual exercise may spend their days and nights over the
pages of Calvin.

But that which gives the greatest charm to these noble compositions is,
the genuine spirit of piety which breathes through them. The mind of the
writer turns with ease and with obvious delight to the spiritual
application of his subject. Hence the heart of the reader is often
imperceptibly raised to high and heavenly things. The rare combination of
intellect so profound and reasoning so acute, with piety so fervent,
inspires the reader with a calm and elevated solemnity, and strengthens
his conviction of the excellence and dignity of true religion.

On the mode in which The Editor has executed his task he may be permitted
to say, that he has attempted to be faithful as a translator, without
binding himself to a servile rendering of word for word, unmindful of the
idiomatic differences between one language and another. Yet it has been
his determination not to sacrifice sense to sound, nor to depart from the
Author's meaning for the sake of giving to any sentence a turn which
might seem more agreeable to an English ear. He has occasionally softened
an expression which appeared harsh in the original, and would appear
harsher still in our own language and in our own times. But in such
cases, he has generally placed the Latin expression before the reader in
a note. He has done the same, when any sentence appeared capable of a
different interpretation from that which is given in the translation. A
few passages which justly offend against delicacy are left untranslated;
and one it has been thought expedient entirely to omit. Some remarks are,
however, made upon it in the proper place.

Clear as the Latin Style of Calvin generally is, yet his sententious mode
of expressing himself occasionally leaves some ambiguity in his
expressions. Such difficulties, however, have generally been overcome by
the aid of the valuable French Translation, published at Geneva in the
year 1564,--the year of Calvin's death,--of which there is no reason to
doubt that Calvin was the author. Frequent references to this translation
in the notes will show to what extent assistance has been derived from it
by the Editor.

An English Translation of this Commentary on Genesis, by Thomas Tymme, in
black letter, was printed in the year 1578. It is, upon the whole, fairly
executed; but nearly every criticism on Hebrew words is entirely passed
over; and where the Translator has not had the sagacity to omit the whole
of any such passage, he has betrayed his own ignorance of the language,
and obscured the meaning of his author. Tymme claims for Calvin the
credit of being the first foreign Protestant Commentator on Genesis who
was made to speak in the English language.

The reader will find Calvin's Latin Version of the sacred text placed
side by side with our own excellent Authorised Translation. This was
thought the best method of meeting the wants of the public. The learned
may see Calvin's own words, which they will much prefer to any
translation of them, however accurate; the unlearned will have before
them that version of the Scriptures which from their youth they have been
taught to reverence. Where Calvin's version materially differs from our
own, and especially where his comments are made on any such different
rendering, ample explanation is given in the notes.

The Editor may be expected to say something respecting the notes
generally, which he has ventured to append to this Commentary. Some may
object that they are too few, others that they are superfluous. It would
have been easy to have made them more numerous, had space permitted; and
easier still to have omitted them altogether. But the writer of them
thought it would hardly be doing justice to Calvin to leave everything
exactly as he found it; for were the distinguished Author of the
Commentary now alive to reedit his own immortal work, there is no doubt
that he would reject every error which the increased facilities for
criticism would have enabled him to detect, and that he would throw fresh
light on many topics which were, in his day, dimly seen, or quite
misunderstood. And though it belongs not to an Editor to alter what is
erroneous, or to incorporate in his Author's Work any thoughts of his
own, or of other men; yet it is not beyond his province,--provided he
does it with becoming modesty, and with adequate information,--to point
out mistakes, to suggest such considerations as may have led him to
conclusions different from those of his Author, and to quote from other
Writers passages, sometimes confirmatory of, sometimes adverse to, those
advanced in the Work which he presents to the public. Within these limits
the Editor has endeavoured to confine himself. How far he has succeeded,
it is not for him but for the candid and competent reader to determine.

As it was possible that a doubt might exist whether the version of
Scripture used by Calvin was his own, or whether he had borrowed it from
some other source; it was thought worth the labour to investigate the
true state of the case, by having recourse to the excellent Library of
the British Museum. For this purpose the several versions which Calvin
was most likely to have adopted, had he not made one for himself, were
subjected to examination. It was not necessary to refer to any made by
Romanists; and those made by Protestants into the Latin language, which
there was any probability he should use, were but two. One by Sebastian
Munster, printed at Basle with the Hebrew Text, in 1534, from which the
version of Calvin varies considerably; the other by Leo Juda and other
learned men, printed at Zurich in 1543, and afterwards reprinted by
Robert Stephens in 1545 and 1557. The last of these editions was made use
of in comparing the versions of Leo Juda and Calvin; and though there
certainly are differences, yet they are so slight as to leave the
impression that Calvin took that of Leo Jude as his basis, and only
altered it as he saw occasion. To give the reader, however, the
opportunity of judging for himself, a few verses of the first chapter of
Genesis are transcribed from each.

The version of Leo Juda.

1. In principio creavit Deus coelum et terram.
2. Terra autem erat desolate et inanis, tenebraeque erant in superficie
voraginis: et Spiritus Dei agitabat sese in superficie aquarum.
3. Dixitque Deus, Sit Lux, et fuit lux.
4. Viditque Deus lucem quod esset bona, et divisit Deus lucem a tenebris.
5. Vocavitque Deus lucem Diem, et tenebras vocavit Noctem; fuitque
vespera, et fuit mane dies unus.
6. Dixit quoque Deus, Sit expansio, &c.

The version of Calvin.

1. In principio creavit Deus coelum et terram.
2. Terra autem erat informis et inanis, tenebraeque erant in superficie
voraginis: et Spiritus Dei agitabat se in superficie aquarum.
3. Et dixit Deus, Sit Lux, et fuit lux.
4. Viditque Deus lucem quod bona esset, et divisit Deus lucem a tenebris.
5. Et vocavit Deus lucem Diem, et tenebras vocavit Noctem. Fuitque
vespera, et fuit mane dies primus.
6. Et dixit Deus, Sit extensio, &c.

A similar examination was next resorted to, for the purpose of
ascertaining the source of Calvin's French Version. The first printed
version of the Scriptures into French was from the pen of Jacques Le
Fevre d'Estaples; or, as he was more commonly called, Jacobus Faber
Stapulensis. It was printed at Antwerp, by Martin L'Empereur. Though its
Author was in communion with the Church of Rome, yet the version is "said
to be the basis of all subsequent French Bibles, whether executed by
Romanists or Protestants."

The first Protestant French Bible was published by Robert Peter Olivetan,
with the assistance of his relative, the illustrious John Calvin, who
corrected the Antwerp edition wherever it differed from the Hebrew. It
might have been expected that Calvin would have placed this version--made
under his own eye, and perfected by his own assistance without alteration
at the head of his Commentaries. But it appears that he has not done so,
for though he departs but little from it, he not unfrequently alters a
word or two in the translation.

While on the subject of Versions, it may be added, that in The Old
English Translation by Tymme already alluded to, the Geneva version is
used. This translation was made by the learned exiles from England during
the Marian Persecution, and is sometimes distinguished from others by the
name of The Breeches Bible, on account of the rendering of Gen. 3: 7.

To give the reader some notion of the order in which Calvin's
Commentaries succeeded each other, the following List, with the dates
appended, taken from Senebiers Literary History of Geneva is submitted to
his consideration:

Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1540
Commentary on all the Epistles of Paul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1548
Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Epistles of Peter,
John, Jude, and James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1551
Commentary on Isaiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1551
Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1552
Commentary on Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1554
Commentary on the Psalms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1557
Commentary on Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1557
Commentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1559
Commentary on Daniel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1561
Commentary on Joshua. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1562
Harmony of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. . . . . . . . 1563
Commentary on Jeremiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1563
Harmony of Three Gospels and Commentary on St John. . . . . . . . . . 1563

A facsimile of the title-page of the French Translation of 1563, and of
the Dedication to the Duke of Vendome, as a specimen of the French style
and spelling of the age, and a further facsimile of the title-page of the
English Translation of 1578, as well as of the Dedication to the Earl of
Warwick by Thomas Tymme, prefixed to the latter, will be found in this
edition. An accurate copy of the Map, roughly sketched by Calvin for the
purpose of explaining his hypothesis respecting the situation of the
Garden of Eden, and which seems to have been the basis of the most
approved theories on the subjects will be found in its proper place. The
same Map is given in the French and English translations, and also in the
Latin edition of Professor Hengstenberg, published at Berlin in the year
1838. It may be observed, as a coincidence, that the same sketch appears
in the Anglo Geneva Bible, to which reference has been made. A more
elaborate Map accompanies the Amsterdam edition of Calvin's Works,
published in 1671.

The edition now issuing from the press is also enriched by an engraving,
in the first style of art, of facsimiles of various medals of Calvin
never before submitted to the British public.


  Hull, January 1, 1847



Publishers' Note

To reduce size and cost of this one volume edition several items
mentioned in the above Preface and included in the Prelims of the Calvin
Translation Society edition are omitted These are the facsimiles of
venous medals of Calvin; the facsimile of the title page of the French
translation of 1563; the French translation of the Dedication to the Duke
of Vendome; the facsimile of the title page of the English translation of
1578 and the Dedications to the Earl of Warwick by Thomas Tymme prefixed
to the English translation of 1578 References to these however have not
been deleted from the index.


Note of the Scanner of this Electronic Edition

The footnotes of the Editor, and the Latin translation of the Bible-text,
are omitted. Thus you have the most pure form of Calvin's Commentary.





The Author's Epistle Dedicatory

John Calvin to the Most Illustrious Prince, Henry, Duke of Vendome, Heir
to the Kingdom of Navarre

If many censure my design, most Illustrious Prince, in presuming to
dedicate this work to you, that it may go forth to light sanctioned by
your name, nothing new or unexpected will have happened to me. For they
may object that by such dedication, the hatred of the wicked, who are
already more than sufficiently incensed against you, will be still
further inflamed. But since, at your tender age, amid various alarms and
threatenings, God has inspired you with such magnanimity that you have
never swerved from the sincere and ingenuous profession of the faith; I
do not see what injury you can sustain by having that profession, which
you wish to be openly manifest to all, confirmed by my testimony. Since,
therefore, you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, this independence
of yours has appeared to give me just ground of confidence to
congratulate you on such an auspicious commencement, and to exhort you to
invincible constancy in future. For that flexibility which belongs to
superior natures is the common property of the young, until their
character becomes more formed. But however displeasing my labour may be
to some, yet if it be approved (as I trust it will) by your most noble
mother, the Queen, I can afford to despise both their unjust judgments
and their malicious slanders; at least I shall not be diverted by them
from my purpose. In one thing I may have acted with too little
consideration, namely, in not having consulted her, in order that I might
attempt nothing but in accordance with her judgment and her wish; yet for
this omission I have an excuse at hand. If, indeed, I had omitted to
consult her through negligence, I should condemn myself as guilty not of
imprudence only, but of rashness and arrogance. When, however, I had
given up all hope of so early a publication, because the Printer would
put me off till the next spring fairs, I thought it unnecessary, for
certain reasons, to hasten my work. In the meantime, while others were
urging him more vehemently on this point than I had done, I suddenly
received a message, that the work might be finished within fifteen days,
a thing which had before been pertinaciously refused to myself. Thus
beyond my expectation, yet not contrary to my wish, I was deprived of the
opportunity of asking her permission. Nevertheless, that most excellent
Queen is animated by such zeal for the propagation of the doctrine of
Christ and of pure faith and piety, that I am under no extreme anxiety
respecting her willingness to approve of this service of mine, and to
defend it with her patronage. She by no means dissembles her own utter
estrangement from the superstitions and corruptions with which Religion
has been disfigured and polluted. And in the midst of turbulent
agitations, it has been rendered evident by convincing proofs, that she
carried a more than masculine mind in woman's breast. And I wish that at
length even men may be put to shame, and that useful emulation may
stimulate them to imitate her example. For she conducted herself with
each peculiar modesty, that scarcely any one would have supposed her
capable of thus enduring the most violent attacks, and, at the same time,
of courageously repelling them. Besides, how keenly God exercised her
with internal conflicts but few persons are witnesses, of whom, however,
I am one.
  You truly, most Illustrious Prince, need not seek a better example, for
the purpose of moulding your own mind to the perfect pattern of all
virtues. Regard yourself as bound in an especial manner to aspire after,
to contend, and to labour for the attainment of this object. For, as the
heroic disposition which shines forth in you, will leave you the less
excusable, if you degenerate from yourself, so education, no common help
to an excellent disposition, is like another bond to retain you in your
duty. For liberal instruction has been superadded to chaste discipline.
Already imbued with the rudiments of literature, you have not cast away
(as nearly all are wont to do) these studies in disgust, but still
advance with alacrity in the cultivation of your genius. Now, in sending
forth this book to the public under your name, my desire is, that it may
effectually induce you more freely to profess yourself a disciple of
Christ; just as if God, by laying his hand upon you, were claiming you
anew to himself. And truly, you can yield no purer gratification to the
Queen your mother, who cannot be too highly estimated, than by causing
her to hear that you are making continual progress in piety.
  Although many things contained in this book are beyond the capacity of
your age, yet I am not acting unreasonably in offering it to your
perusal, and even to your attentive and diligent study. For since the
knowledge of ancient things is pleasant to the young, you will soon
arrive at those years in which the History of the creation of the World,
as well as that of the most Ancient Church, will engage your thoughts
with equal profit and delight. And, certainly, if Paul justly condemns
the perverse stupidity of men, because with closed eyes they pass by the
splendid mirror of God's glory which is constantly presented to them in
the fabric of the world, and thus unrighteously suppress the light of
truth; not less base and disgraceful has been that ignorance of the
origin and creation of the human race which has prevailed almost in every
age. It is indeed probable, that shortly after the building of Babel, the
memory of those things, which ought to have been discussed and celebrated
by being made the subjects of continual discourse, was obliterated. For
seeing that to profane men their dispersion would be a kind of
emancipation from the pure worship of God, they took no care to carry
along with them, to whatever regions of the earth they might visit, what
they had heard from their fathers concerning the Creation of the World,
or its subsequent restoration. Hence it has happened, that no nation, the
posterity of Abraham alone excepted, knew for more than two thousand
successive years, either from what fountain itself had sprung, or when
the universal race of man began to exist. For Ptolemy, in providing at
length that the Books of Moses should be translated into Greek, did a
work which was rather laudable than useful, (at least for that period,)
since the light which he had attempted to bring out of darkness was
nevertheless stifled and hidden through the negligence of men. Whence it
may easily be gathered, that they who ought to have stretched every nerve
of their mind to attain a knowledge of The Creator of the world, have
rather, by a malignant impiety, involved themselves in voluntary
blindness. In the meantime the liberal sciences flourished, men of
exalted genius arose, treatises of all kinds were published; but
concerning the History of the Creation of the World there was a profound
silence. Moreover, the greatest of philosophers, who excelled all the
rest in acuteness and erudition, applied whatever skill he possessed to
defraud God of his glory, by disputing in favour of the eternity of the
world. Although his master, Plato, was a little more religious, and
showed himself to be imbued with some taste for richer knowledge, yet he
corrupted and mingled with so many figments the slender principles of
truth which he received, that this fictitious kind of teaching would be
rather injurious than profitable. They, moreover, who devoted themselves
to the pursuit of writing history, ingenious and highly-cultivated men
though they were, while they ostentatiously boast that they are about to
become witnesses to the most remote antiquity, yet, before they reach so
high as the times of David intermix their lucubrations with much turbid
feculence; and when they ascend still higher, heap together an immense
mass of lies: so far are they from having arrived, by a genuine and clear
connection of narrative, at the true origin of the world. The Egyptians
also are an evident proof that men were willingly ignorant of things
which they had not far to seek, if only they had been disposed to addict
their minds to the investigation of truth; for though the lamp of God's
word was shining at their very doors, they would yet without shame
propagate the rank fables of their achievements, fifteen thousand years
before the foundation of the world. Not less puerile and absurd is the
fable of the Athenians, who boasted that they were born from their own
soil, maintaining for themselves a distinct origin from the rest of
mankind, and thus rendering themselves ridiculous even to barbarians.
Now, though all nations have been more or less implicated in the same
charge of ingratitude, I have nevertheless thought it right to select
those whose error is least excusable, because they have deemed themselves
wiser than all others.
  Now, whether all nations which formerly existed, purposely drew a veil
over themselves, or whether their own indolence was the sole obstacle to
their knowledge, the [First] Book of Moses deserves to be regarded as an
incomparable treasure, since it at least gives an indisputable assurance
respecting The Creation of the World, without which we should be unworthy
of a place on earth. I omit, for the present, The History of the Deluge,
which contains a representation of the Divine vengeance in the
destruction of mankind, as tremendous, as that which it supplies of
Divine mercy in their restoration is admirable. This one consideration
stamps an inestimable value on the Book, that it alone reveals those
things which are of primary necessity to be known; namely, in what manner
God, after the destructive fall of man, adopted to himself a Church; what
constituted the true worship of himself, and in what offices of piety the
holy fathers exercised themselves; in which way pure religion, having for
a time declined through the indolence of men, was restored as it were, to
its integrity; we also learn, when God deposited with a special people
his gratuitous covenant of eternal salvation; in what manner a small
progeny gradually proceeding from one man, who was both barren and
withering, almost half-dead, and (as Isaiah calls him) solitary, yet
suddenly grew to an immense multitude; by what unexpected means God both
exalted and defended a family chosen by himself, at though poor,
destitute of protection, exposed to every storm, and surrounded on all
sides by innumerable hosts of enemies. Let every one, from his own use
and experience, form his judgment respecting the necessity of the
knowledge of these things. We see how vehemently the Papists alarm the
simple by their false claim of the title of The Church. Moses so
delineates the genuine features of the Church as to take away this absurd
fear, by dissipating these illusions. It is by an ostentatious display of
splendour and of pomp that they (the Papists) carry away the less
informed to a foolish admiration of themselves, and even render them
stupid and infatuated. But if we turn our eyes to those marks by which
Moses designates the Church, these vain phantoms will have no more power
to deceive. We are often disturbed and almost disheartened at the paucity
of those who follow the pure doctrine of God; and especially when we see
how far and wide superstitions extend their dominion. And, as formerly,
the Spirit of God, by the mouth of Isaiah the prophet, commanded the Jews
to look to the Rock whence they were hewn, so he recalls us to the same
consideration, and admonishes us of the absurdity of measuring the Church
by its numbers, as if its dignity consisted in its multitude. If
sometimes, in various places, Religion is less flourishing than could be
wished, if the body of the pious is scattered, and the state of a
well-regulated Church has gone to decay, not only do our minds sink, but
entirely melt within us. On the contrary, while we see in this history of
Moses, the building of the Church out of ruins, and the gathering of it
out of broken fragments, and out of desolation itself, such an instance
of the grace of God ought to raise us to firm confidence. But since the
propensity, not to say the wanton disposition, of the human mind to frame
false systems of worship is so great, nothing can be more useful to us
than to seek our rule for the pure and sincere worshipping of God, from
those holy Patriarchs, whose piety Moses points out to us chiefly by this
mark, that they depended on the Word of God alone. For however great may
be the difference between them and us in external ceremonies, yet that
which ought to flourish in unchangeable vigour is common to us both,
namely that Religion should take its form from the sole will and pleasure
of God.
  I am not ignorant of the abundance of materials here supplied, and of
the insufficiency of my language to reach the dignity of the subjects on
which I briefly touch; but since each of them, on suitable occasions has
been elsewhere more copiously discussed by me, although not with suitable
brilliancy and elegance of diction, it is now enough for me briefly to
apprise my pious readers how will it would repay their labour, if they
would learn prudently to apply to their own use the example of The
Ancient Church as it is described by Moses. And, in fact, God has
associated us with the holy Patriarchs in the hope of the same
inheritance, in order that we, disregarding the distance of time which
separates us from them, may, in the mutual agreement of faith and
patience, endure the same conflicts. So much the more detestable, then
are certain turbulent men, who, incited by I know not what rage of
furious zeal, are assiduously endeavouring to rend asunder the Church of
our own age, which is already more than sufficiently scattered. I do not
speak of avowed enemies, who, by open violence, fall upon the pious to
destroy them, and utterly to blot out their memory; but of certain morose
professors of the Gospel, who not only perpetually supply new materials
for fomenting discords, but by their restlessness disturb the peace which
holy and learned men gladly cultivate. We see that with the Papists,
although in some things they maintain deadly strife among themselves,
they yet combine in wicked confederacy against the Gospel. It is not
necessary to say how small is the number of those who hold the sincere
doctrine of Christ, when compared with the vast multitudes of these
opponents. In the meantime, audacious scribblers arise, as from our own
bosom, who not only obscure the light of sound doctrine with clouds of
error, or infatuate the simple and the less experienced with their wicked
ravings, but by a profane license of skepticism, allow themselves to
uproot the whole of Religion. For, as if, by their rank ironies and
cavils, they could prove themselves genuine disciples of Socrates, they
have no axiom more plausible them, that faith must be free and
unfettered, so that it may be possible, by reducing everything to a
matter of doubt, to render Scripture flexible (so to speak) as a nose of
wax. Therefore, they who being captivated by the allurements of this new
school, now indulge in doubtful speculations, obtain at length such
proficiency, that they are always learning, yet never come to the
knowledge of the truth.
  Thus far I have treated briefly, as the occasion required, of the
utility of this History. As for the rest, I have laboured--how skilfully
I know not, but certainly faithfully--that the doctrine of the Law, the
obscurity of which has heretofore repelled many, may become familiarly
known. There will be readers, I doubt not, who would desire a more ample
explication of particular passages. But I, who naturally avoid prolixity,
have confined myself in this Work to narrow limits, for two reasons.
Firsts whereas these Four Books [of Moses] already deter some by their
length, I have feared lest, if in unfolding them, I were to indulge in a
style too disuse, I should but increase their disgust. Secondly, since in
my progress I have often despaired of life, I have preferred giving a
succinct Exposition to leaving a mutilated one behind me. Yet sincere
readers, possessed of sound judgment, will see that I have taken diligent
care, neither through cunning nor negligence, to pass over anything
perplexed, ambiguous, or obscure. Since, therefore, I have endeavoured to
discuss all doubtful points, I do not see why any one should complain of
brevity, unless he wishes to derive his knowledge exclusively from
Commentaries. Now I will gladly allow men of this sort, whom no amount of
verbosity can satiate, to seek for themselves some other master.
  But if you, Sire, please to make trial, you will indeed know, and will
believe for yourself, that what I declare is most true. You are yet a
youth; but God, when he commanded Kings to write out the Book of the Law
for their own use, did not exempt the odious Josiah from this class, but
choose rather to present the most noble instance of pious instruction in
a boy, that he might reprove the indolence of the aged. And your own
example teaches the great importance of having habits formed from tender
age. For the germ springing from the root which the principles of
Religion received by you have taken, not only puts forth its flower, but
also savours of a degree of maturity. Therefore labour, by indefatigable
industry, to attain the mark set before you. And suffer not yourself to
be retarded or disturbed by designing men, to whom it appears
unseasonable that boys should be called to this precocious wisdom, (as
they term it.) For what can be more absurd or intolerable, than that,
when every kind of corruption surrounds you, this remedy should be
prohibited? Since the pleasures of a Court corrupt even your servants,
how much more dangerous are the snares laid for great Princes, who so
abound in all luxury and delicacies, that it is a wonder if they are not
quite dissolved in lasciviousness? For it is certainly contrary to nature
to possess all the means of pleasure, and to refrain from enjoying them.
The difficulty, however, of retaining chastity unpolluted amidst scenes
of gaiety, is more than sufficiently evident in practice. But do you, O
most Illustrious Prince, regard everything as poison which tends to
produce a love of pleasures. For if that which stifles continence and
temperance already allures you, what will you not covet when you arrive
at adult age? The sentiment is perhaps harshly expressed, that great care
for the body is great neglect of virtue, yet most truly does Cato thus
speak. The following paradox also will scarcely be admitted in common
life: "I am greater, and am born to greater things, than to be a slave to
my body; the contempt of which is my true liberty." Let us then dismiss
that excessive rigour, by which all enjoyment is taken away from life;
still there are too many examples to show how easy is the descent from
security and self-indulgence to the licentiousness of profligacy.
Moreover; you will have to contend, not only with luxury, but also with
many other vices. Nothing can be more attractive than your affability and
modesty; but no disposition is so gentle and well-regulated, that it may
not degenerate into brutality and ferociousness when intoxicated with
flatteries. Now since there are flatterers without numbers who will prove
so many tempters to inflame your mind with various lusts, how much more
does it behave you vigilantly to beware of them? But while I caution you
against the blandishments of a Court, I require nothing more than that,
being endued with moderation, you should render yourself invincible. For
one has truly said, He is not to be praised who has never seen Asia, but
he who has lived modestly and continently in Asia. Seeing, therefore,
that to attain this state is most desirable, David prescribes a
compendious method of doing so--if you will but imitate his example--when
he declares that the precepts of God are his counsellors. And truly,
whatever counsel may be suggested from any other quarter will perish,
unless you take your commencement of becoming wise from this point. It
remains, therefore, most noble Prince, that what is spoken by Isaiah
concerning the holy king Hezekiah should perpetually recur to your mind.
For the Prophet, in enumerating his excellent qualities, especially
honours him with this eulogy, that the fear of God shall be his treasure.
  Farewell, most Illustrious Prince, may God preserve you in safety under
His protection, may He adorn you more and more with spiritual gifts, and
enrich you with every kind of benediction.

  Geneva, July 31st, 1563.





Argument

Since the infinite wisdom of God is displayed in the admirable structure
of heaven and earth, it is absolutely impossible to unfold The History of
the Creation of the World in terms equal to its dignity. For while the
measure of our capacity is too contracted to comprehend things of such
magnitude, our tongue is equally incapable of giving a full and
substantial account of them. As he, however, deserves praise, who, with
modesty and reverence, applies himself to the consideration of the works
of God, although he attain less than might be wished, so, if in this kind
of employment, I endeavour to assist others according to the ability
given to me, I trust that my service will be not less approved by pious
men than accepted by God. I have chosen to premise this, for the sake not
only of excusing myself, but of admonishing my readers, that if they
sincerely wish to profit with me in meditating on the works of God, they
must bring with them a sober, docile, mild, and humble spirit. We see,
indeed, the world with our eyes, we tread the earth with our feet, we
touch innumerable kinds of God's works with our hands, we inhale a sweet
and pleasant fragrance from herbs and flowers, we enjoy boundless
benefits; but in those very things of which we attain some knowledge,
there dwells such an immensity of divine power, goodness, and wisdom, as
absorbs all our senses. Therefore, let men be satisfied if they obtain
only a moderate taste of them, suited to their capacity. And it becomes
us so to press towards this mark during our whole life, that (even in
extreme old age) we shall not repent of the progress we have made, if
only we have advanced ever so little in our course.
  The intention of Moses in beginning his Book with the creation of the
world, is, to render God, as it were, visible to us in his works. But
here presumptuous men rise up, and scoffingly inquire, whence was this
revealed to Moses? They therefore suppose him to be speaking fabulously
of things unknown, because he was neither a spectator of the events he
records, nor had learned the truth of them by reading. Such is their
reasoning; but their dishonesty is easily exposed. For if they can
destroy the credit of this history, because it is traced back through a
long series of past ages, let them also prove those prophecies to be
false in which the same history predicts occurrences which did not take
place till many centuries afterwards. Those things, I affirm, are clear
and obvious, which Moses testifies concerning the vocation of the
Gentiles, the accomplishment of which occurred nearly two thousand years
after his death. Was not he, who by the Spirit foresaw an event remotely
future, and hidden at the time from the perception of mankind, capable of
understanding whether the world was created by God, especially seeing
that he was taught by a Divine Master? For he does not here put forward
divinations of his own, but is the instrument of the Holy Spirit for the
publication of those things which it was of importance for all men to
know. They greatly err in deeming it absurd that the order of the
creation, which had been previously unknown, should at length have been
described and explained by him. For he does not transmit to memory things
before unheard of, but for the first time consigns to writing facts which
the fathers had delivered as from hand to hand, through a long succession
of years, to their children. Can we conceive that man was so placed in
the earth as to be ignorant of his own origin, and of the origin of those
things which he enjoyed? No sane person doubts that Adam was
well-instructed respecting them all. Was he indeed afterwards dumb? Were
the holy Patriarchs so ungrateful as to suppress in silence such
necessary instruction? Did Noah, warned by a divine judgment so
memorable, neglect to transmit it to posterity? Abraham is expressly
honoured with this eulogy that he was the teacher and the master of his
family, (Gen. 18: 19.) And we know that, long before the time of Moses,
an acquaintance with the covenant into which God had entered with their
fathers was common to the whole people. When he says that the Israelites
were sprung from a holy race, which God had chosen for himself, he does
not propound it as something new, but only commemorates what all held,
what the old men themselves had received from their ancestors, and what,
in short, was entirely uncontroverted among them. Therefore, we ought not
to doubt that The Creation of the World, as here described was already
known through the ancient and perpetual tradition of the Fathers. Yet,
since nothing is more easy than that the truth of God should be so
corrupted by men, that, in a long succession of time, it should, as it
were, degenerate from itself, it pleased the Lord to commit the history
to writing, for the purpose of preserving its purity. Moses, therefore,
has established the credibility of that doctrine which is contained in
his writings, and which, by the carelessness of men, might otherwise have
been lost.

I now return to the design of Moses, or rather of the Holy Spirit, who
has spoken by his mouth. We know God, who is himself invisible, only
through his works. Therefore, the Apostle elegantly styles the worlds,
"ta me ek fainomenoon blepomena", as if one should say, "the
manifestation of things not apparent," (Heb. 11: 3.) This is the reason
why the Lord, that he may invite us to the knowledge of himself, places
the fabric of heaven and earth before our eyes, rendering himself, in a
certain manner, manifest in them. For his eternal power and Godhead (as
Paul says) are there exhibited, (Rom. 1: 20.) And that declaration of
David is most true, that the heavens, though without a tongue, are yet
eloquent heralds of the glory of God, and that this most beautiful order
of nature silently proclaims his admirable wisdom, (Ps. 19: 1.) This is
the more diligently to be observed, because so few pursue the right
method of knowing God, while the greater part adhere to the creatures
without any consideration of the Creator himself. For men are commonly
subject to these two extremes; namely, that some, forgetful of God, apply
the whole force of their mind to the consideration of nature; and others,
overlooking the works of God, aspire with a foolish and insane curiosity
to inquire into his Essence. Both labour in vain. To be so occupied in
the investigation of the secrets of nature, as never to turn the eyes to
its Author, is a most perverted study; and to enjoy everything in nature
without acknowledging the Author of the benefit, is the basest
ingratitude. Therefore, they who assume to be philosophers without
Religion, and who, by speculating, so act as to remove God and all sense
of piety far from them, will one day feel the force of the expression of
Paul, related by Luke, that God has never left himself without witness,
(Acts 14: 17.) For they shall not be permitted to escape with impunity
because they have been deaf and insensible to testimonies so illustrious.
And, in truth, it is the part of culpable ignorance, never to see God,
who everywhere gives signs of his presence. But if mockers now escape by
their cavils, hereafter their terrible destruction will bear witness that
they were ignorant of God, only because they were willingly and
maliciously blinded. As for those who proudly soar above the world to
seek God in his unveiled essence, it is impossible but that at length
they should entangle themselves in a multitude of absurd figments. For
God--by other means invisible--(as we have already said) clothes himself,
so to speak, with the image of the world in which he would present
himself to our contemplation. They who will not deign to behold him thus
magnificently arrayed in the incomparable vesture of the heavens and the
earth, afterwards suffer the just punishment of their proud contempt in
their own ravings. Therefore, as soon as the name of God sounds in our
ears, or the thought of him occurs to our minds, let us also clothe him
with this most beautiful ornament; finally, let the world become our
school if we desire rightly to know God.
  Here also the impiety of those is refuted who cavil against Moses, for
relating that so short a space of time had elapsed since the Creation of
the World. For they inquire why it had come so suddenly into the mind of
God to create the world; why he had so long remained inactive in heaven:
and thus by sporting with sacred things they exercise their ingenuity to
their own destruction. In the Tripartite History an answer given by a
pious man is recorded, with which I have always been pleased. For when a
certain impure dog was in this manner pouring ridicule upon God, he
retorted, that God had been at that time by no means inactive because he
had been preparing hell for the captious. But by what seasonings can you
restrain the arrogance of those men to whom sobriety is professedly
contemptible and odious? And certainly they who now so freely exult in
finding fault with the inactivity of God will find, to their own great
costs that his power has been infinite in preparing hell for them. As for
ourselves, it ought not to seem so very absurd that God, satisfied in
himself, did not create a world which he needed not, sooner than he
thought good. Moreover, since his will is the rule of all wisdom, we
ought to be contented with that alone. For Augustine rightly affirms that
injustice is done to God by the Manichaeans, because they demand a cause
superior to his will; and he prudently warns his readers not to push
their inquiries respecting the infinity of duration, any more than
respecting the infinity of space. We indeed are not ignorant, that the
circuit of the heavens is finite, and that the earth, like a little
globe, is placed in the centre. They who take it amiss that the world was
not sooner created, may as well expostulate with God for not having made
innumerable worlds. Yea, since they deem it absurd that many ages should
have passed away without any world at all, they may as well acknowledge
it to be a proof of the great corruption of their own nature, that, in
comparison with the boundless waste which remains empty the heaven and
earth occupy but a small space. But since both the eternity of God's
existence and the infinity of his glory would prove a twofold labyrinth,
let us content ourselves with modestly desiring to proceed no further in
our inquiries than the Lord, by the guidance and instruction of his own
works, invites us.
  Now, in describing the world as a mirror in which we ought to behold
God, I would not be understood to assert, either that our eyes are
sufficiently clear-sighted to discern what the fabric of heaven and earth
represents, or that the knowledge to be hence attained is sufficient for
salvation. And whereas the Lord invites us to himself by the means of
created things, with no other effect than that of thereby rendering us
inexcusable, he has added (as was necessary) a new remedy, or at least by
a new aid, he has assisted the ignorance of our mind. For by the
Scripture as our guide and teacher, he not only makes those things plain
which would otherwise escape our notice, but almost compels us to behold
them; as if he had assisted our dull sight with spectacles. On this
point, (as we have already observed,) Moses insists. For if the mute
instruction of the heaven and the earth were sufficient, the teaching of
Moses would have been superfluous. This herald therefore approaches, who
excites our attention, in order that we may perceive ourselves to be
placed in this scene, for the purpose of beholding the glory of God; not
indeed to observe them as mere witnesses but to enjoy all the riches
which are here exhibited as the Lord has ordained and subjected them to
our use. And he not only declares generally that God is the architect of
the world, but through the whole chain of the history he shows how
admirable is His power, His wisdom, His goodness, and especially His
tender solicitude for the human race. Besides, since the eternal Word of
God is the lively and express image of Himself, he recalls us to this
point. And thus, the assertion of the Apostle is verified, that through
no other means than faith can it be understood that the worlds were made
by the word of God, (Heb. 11: 3.) For faith properly proceeds from this,
that we being taught by the ministry of Moses, do not now wander in
foolish and trifling speculations, but contemplate the true and only God
in his genuine image.
  It may, however, be objected, that this seems at variance with what
Paul declares: "After that, in the wisdom of God, the world through
wisdom knew not God, it seemed right to God, through the foolishness of
preaching, to save them who believe," (1 Cor. 1: 21.) For he thus
intimates, that God is sought in vain under the guidance of visible
things; and that nothing remains for us but to retake ourselves
immediately to Christ; and that we must not therefore commence with the
elements of this world, but with the Gospel, which sets Christ alone
before us with his cross, and holds us to this one point. I answer, It is
in vain for any to reason as philosophers on the workmanship of the
world, except those who, having been first humbled by the preaching of
the Gospel, have learned to submit the whole of their intellectual wisdom
(as Paul expresses it) to the foolishness of the cross, (1 Cor. 1: 21.)
Nothing shall we find, I say, above or below, which can raise us up to
God, until Christ shall have instructed us in his own school. Yet this
cannot be done, unless we, having emerged out of the lowest depths, are
borne up above all heavens, in the chariot of his cross, that there by
faith we may apprehend those things which the eye has never seen, the ear
never heard, and which far surpass our hearts and minds.' For the earth,
with its supply of fruits for our daily nourishment, is not there set
before us; but Christ offers himself to us unto life eternal. Nor does
heaven, by the shining of the sun and stars, enlighten our bodily eyes,
but the same Christ, the Light of the World and the Sun of Righteousness,
shines into our souls; neither does the air stretch out its empty space
for us to breathe in, but the Spirit of God himself quickens us and
causes us to live. There, in short, the invisible kingdom of Christ fills
all things, and his spiritual grace is diffused through all. Yet this
does not prevent us from applying our senses to the consideration of
heaven and earth, that we may thence seek confirmation in the true
knowledge of God. For Christ is that image in which God presents to our
view, not only his heart, but also his hands and his feet. I give the
name of his heart to that secret love with which he embraces us in
Christ: by his hands and feet I understand those works of his which are
displayed before our eyes. As soon as ever we depart from Christ, there
is nothing, be it ever so gross or insignificant in itself, respecting
which we are not necessarily deceived.
  And, in fact, though Moses begins, in this Book, with the Creation of
the World, he nevertheless does not confine us to this subject. For these
things ought to be connected together, that the world was founded by God,
and that man, after he had been endued with the light of intelligence,
and adorned with so many privileges, fell by his own fault, and was thus
deprived of all the benefits he had obtained; afterwards, by the
compassion of God, he was restored to the life he had forfeited, and this
through the loving-kindness of Christ; so that there should always be
some assembly on earth, which being adopted into the hope of the
celestial life, might in this confidence worship God. The end to which
the whole scope of the history tends is to this point, that the human
race has been preserved by God in such a manner as to manifest his
special care for his Church. For this is the argument of the look: After
the world had been created, man was placed in it as in a theatre, that
he, beholding above him and beneath the wonderful works of God, might
reverently adore their Author. Secondly, that all things were ordained
for the use of man, that he, being under deeper obligation, might devote
and dedicate himself entirely to obedience towards God. Thirdly, that he
was endued with understanding and reason, that being distinguished from
brute animals he might meditate on a better life, and might even tend
directly towards God, whose image he bore engraved on his own person.
Afterwards followed the fall of Adam, whereby he alienated himself from
God; whence it came to pass that he was deprived of all rectitude. Thus
Moses represents man as devoid of all good, blinded in understanding,
perverse in heart, vitiated in every part, and under sentence of eternal
death; but he soon adds the history of his restorations where Christ
shines forth with the benefit of redemption. From this point he not only
relates continuously the singular Providence of God in governing and
preserving the Church, but also commends to us the true worship of God;
teaches wherein the salvation of man is placed, and exhorts us, from the
example of the Fathers, to constancy in enduring the cross. Whosoever,
therefore, desires to make suitable proficiency in this book, let him
employ his mind on these main topics. But especially, let him observe,
that ever Adam had by his own desperate fall ruined himself and all his
posterity, this is the basis of our salvation, this the origin of the
Church, that we, being rescued out of profound darkness, have obtained a
new life by the mere grace of God; that the Fathers (according to the
offer made them through the word of God) are by faith made partakers of
this life; that this word itself was founded upon Christ; and that all
the pious who have since lived were sustained by the very same promise of
salvation by which Adam was first raised from the fall.
  Therefore, the perpetual succession of the Church has flowed from this
fountain, that the holy Fathers, one after another, having by faith
embraced the offered promise, were collected together into the family of
God, in order that they might have a common life in Christ. This we ought
carefully to notice, that we may know what is the society of the true
Church, and what the communion of faith among the children of God.
Whereas Moses was ordained the Teacher of the Israelites, there is no
doubt that he had an especial reference to them, in order that they might
acknowledge themselves to be a people elected and chosen by God; and that
they might seek the certainty of this adoption from the Covenant which
the Lord had ratified with their fathers, and might know that there was
no other God, and no other right faith. But it was also his will to
testify to all ages, that whosoever desired to worship God aright, and to
be deemed members of the Church, must pursue no other course than that
which is here prescribed. But as this is the commencement of faith, to
know that there is one only true God whom we worship, so it is no common
confirmation of this faith that we are companions of the Patriarchs; for
since they possessed Christ as the pledge of their salvation when he had
not yet appeared, so we retain the God who formerly manifested himself to
them. Hence we may infer the difference between the pure and lawful
worship of God, and all those adulterated services which have since been
fabricated by the fraud of Satan and the perverse audacity of men.
Further, the Government of the Church is to be considered, that the
reader may come to the conclusion that God has been its perpetual Guard
and Ruler, yet in such a way as to exercise it in the warfare of the
cross. Here, truly, the peculiar conflicts of the Church present
themselves to view, or rather, the course is set as in a mirror before
our eyes, in which it behaves us, with the holy Fathers to press towards
the mark of a happy immortality.

  Let us now hearken to Moses.






Commentary on the Book of Genesis



Chapter I.


1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light
from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the
evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and
let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under
the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it
was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning
were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto
one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the
waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed,
[and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in
itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his
kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his
kind: and God saw that [it was] good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light
from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every
winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the
waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his
kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind:
and it was so.
25 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.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
[is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is]
the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I
have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

1. "In the beginning." To expound the term "beginning", of Christ, is
altogether frivolous. For Moses simply intends to assert that the world
was not perfected at its very commencement, in the manner in which it is
now seen, but that it was created an empty chaos of heaven and earth. His
language therefore may be thus explained. When God in the beginning
created the heaven and the earth, the earth was empty and waste. He
moreover teaches by the word "created," that what before did not exist
was now made; for he has not used the term "yatsar", which signifies to
frame or forms but "bara", which signifies to create. Therefore his
meaning is, that the world was made out of nothing. Hence the folly of
those is refuted who imagine that unformed matter existed from eternity;
and who gather nothing else from the narration of Moses than that the
world was furnished with new ornaments, and received a form of which it
was before destitute. This indeed was formerly a common fable among
heathens, who had received only an obscure report of the creation, and
who, according to custom, adulterated the truth of God with strange
figments; but for Christian men to labour (as Steuchus does) in
maintaining this gross error is absurd and intolerable. Let this, then be
maintained in the first place, that the world is not eternal but was
created by God. There is no doubt that Moses gives the name of heaven and
earth to that confused mass which he, shortly afterwards, (verse 2,)
denominates waters. The reason of which is, that this matter was to be
the seed of the whole world. Besides, this is the generally recognized
division of the world.
  "God." Moses has it Elohim, a noun of the plural number. Whence the
inference is drawn, that the three Persons of the Godhead are here noted;
but since, as a proof of so great a matter, it appears to me to have
little solidity, will not insist upon the word; but rather caution
readers to beware of violent glosses of this, kind. They think that they
have testimony against the Asians, to prove the Deity of the Son and of
the Spirit, but in the meantime they involve themselves in the error of
Sabellius, because Moses afterwards subjoins that the Elohim had spoken,
and that the Spirit of the Elohim rested upon the waters. If we suppose
three persons to be here denoted, there will be no distinction between
them. For it will follow, both that the Son is begotten by himself, and
that the Spirit is not of the Father, but of himself. For me it is
sufficient that the plural number expresses those powers which God
exercised in creating the world. Moreover I acknowledge that the
Scripture, although it recites many powers of the Godhead, yet always
recalls us to the Father, and his Word, and spirit, as we shall shortly
see. But those absurdities, to which I have alluded, forbid us with
subtlety to distort what Moses simply declares concerning God himself, by
applying it to the separate Persons of the Godhead. This, however, I
regard as beyond controversy, that from the peculiar circumstance of the
passage itself, a title is here ascribed to God, expressive of that
powers which was previously in some way included in his eternal essence.

2. "And the earth was without form and void." I shall not be very
solicitous about the exposition of these two epithets, "tohu", and
"bohu". The Hebrews use them when they designate anything empty and
confused, or vain, and nothing worth. Undoubtedly Moses placed them both
in opposition to all those created objects which pertain to the form, the
ornament and the perfection of the world. Were we now to take away, I
say, from the earth all that God added after the time here alluded to,
then we should have this rude and unpolished, or rather shapeless chaos.
Therefore I regard what he immediately subjoins that "darkness was upon
the face of the abyss," as a part of that confused emptiness: because the
light began to give some external appearance to the world. For the same
reason he calls it the abyss and waters, since in that mass of matter
nothing was solid or stable, nothing distinct.
  "And the Spirit of God." Interpreters have wrested this passage in
various ways. The opinion of some that it means the wind, is too frigid
to require refutation. They who understand by it the Eternal Spirit of
God, do rightly; yet all do not attain the meaning of Moses in the
connection of his discourse; hence arise the various interpretations of
the participle "merachepeth". I will, in the first place, state what (in
my judgment) Moses intended. We have already heard that before God had
perfected the world it was an undigested mass; he now teaches that the
power of the Spirit was necessary in order to sustain it. For this doubt
might occur to the mind, how such a disorderly heap could stand; seeing
that we now behold the world preserved by government, or order. He
therefore asserts that this mass, however confused it might be, was
rendered stable, for the time, by the secret efficacy of the Spirit. Now
there are two significations of the Hebrew word which suit the present
place; either that the spirit moved and agitated itself over the waters,
for the sake of putting forth vigour; or that He brooded over them to
cherish them. Inasmuch as it makes little difference in the result,
whichever of these explanations is preferred, let the reader's judgment
be left free. But if that chaos required the secret inspiration of God to
prevent its speedy dissolution; how could this order, so fair and
distinct, subsist by itself, unless it derived strength elsewhere?
Therefore, that Scripture must be fulfilled, 'Send forth thy Spirit, and
they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth,' (Ps.
104: 30;) so, on the other hand, as soon as the Lord takes away his
Spirit, all things return to their dust and vanish away, (ver. 29.)

3. "And God said." Moses now, for the first time, introduces God in the
act of speaking, as if he had created the mass of heaven and earth
without the Word. Yet John testifies that 'without him nothing was made
of the things which were made,' (John 1: 3.) And it is certain that the
world had been begun by the same efficacy of the Word by which it was
completed. God, however, did not put forth his Word until he proceeded to
originate light; because in the act of distinguishing his wisdom begins
to be conspicuous. Which thing alone is sufficient to confute the
blasphemy of Servetus. This impure caviler asserts, that the first
beginning of the Word was when God commanded the light to be; as if the
cause, truly, were not prior to its effect. Since however by the Word of
God things which were not came suddenly into being, we ought rather to
infer the eternity of His essence. Wherefore the Apostles rightly prove
the Deity of Christ from hence, that since he is the Word of God, all
things have been created by him. Servetus imagines a new quality in God
when he begins to speak. But far otherwise must we think concerning the
Word of God, namely, that he is the Wisdom dwelling in God, and without
which God could never be; the effect of which, however, became apparent
when the light was created.
  "Let there be light." It we proper that the light, by means of which
the world was to be adorned with such excellent beauty, should be first
created; and this also was the commencement of the distinction, [among
the creatures.] It did not, however, happen from inconsideration or by
accident, that the light preceded the sun and the moon. To nothing are we
more prone than to tie down the power of God to those instruments the
agency of which he employs. The sun an moon supply us with light: And,
according to our notions we so include this power to give light in them,
that if they were taken away from the world, it would seem impossible for
any light to remain. Therefore the Lord, by the very order of the
creation, bears witness that he holds in his hand the light, which he is
able to impart to us without the sun and moon. Further, it is certain
from the context, that the light was so created as to be interchanged
with darkness. But it may be asked, whether light and darkness succeeded
each other in turn through the whole circuit of the world; or whether the
darkness occupied one half of the circle, while light shone in the other.
There is, however, no doubt that the order of their succession was
alternate, but whether it was everywhere day at the same time, and
everywhere night also, I would rather leave undecided; nor is it very
necessary to be known.

4. "And God saw the light. Here God is introduced by Moses as surveying
his work, that he might take pleasure in it. But he does it for our sake,
to teach us that God has made nothing without a certain reason and
design. And we ought not so to understand the words of Moses as if God
did not know that his work was good, till it was finished. But the
meaning of the passage is, that the work, such as we now see it, was
approved by God. Therefore nothing remains for us, but to acquiesce in
this judgment of God. And this admonition is very useful. For whereas man
ought to apply all his senses to the admiring contemplation of the works
of God, we see what license he really allows himself in detracting from
them.

5. "And God called the light". That is, God willed that there should be a
regular vicissitude of days and nights; which also followed immediately
when the first day was ended. For God removed the light from view, that
night might be the commencement of another day. What Moses says however,
admits a double interpretation; either that this was the evening and
morning belonging to the first day, or that the first day consisted of
the evening and the morning. Whichever interpretation be chosen, it makes
no difference in the sense, for he simply understands the day to have
been made up of two parts. Further, he begins the day, according to the
custom of his nation, with the evening. It is to no purpose to dispute
whether this be the best and the legitimate order or not. We know that
darkness preceded time itself; when God withdrew the light, he closed the
day. I do not doubt that the most ancient fathers, to whom the coming
night was the end of one day and the beginning of another, followed this
mode of reckoning. Although Moses did not intend here to prescribe a rule
which it would be criminal to violate; yet (as we have now said) he
accommodated his discourse to the received custom. Wherefore, as the Jews
foolishly condemn all the reckonings of other people, as if God had
sanctioned this alone; so again are they equally foolish who contend that
this modest reckoning, which Moses approves, is preposterous.
  "The first day". Here the error of those is manifestly refuted, who
maintain that the world was made in a moment. For it is too violent a
cavil to contend that Moses distributes the work which God perfected at
once into six days, for the mere purpose of conveying instruction. Let us
rather conclude that God himself took the space of six days, for the
purpose of accommodating his works to the capacity of men. We slightingly
pass over the infinite glory of God, which here shines forth; whence
arises this but from our excessive dullness in considering his greatness?
In the meantime, the vanity of our minds carries us away elsewhere. For
the correction of this fault, God applied the most suitable remedy when
he distributed the creation of the world into successive portions, that
he might fix our attention, and compel us, as if he had laid his hand
upon us, to pause and to reflect. For the confirmation of the gloss above
alluded to, a passage from Ecclesiasticus is unskilfully cited. 'He who
liveth for ever created all things at once,' (Ecclus. 18: 1.) For the
Greek adverb "koinei", which the writer uses, means no such thing, nor
does it refer to time, but to all things universally.

6. "Let there be a firmament." The work of the second day is to provide
an empty space around the circumference of the earth, that heaven and
earth may not be mixed together. For since the proverb, 'to mingle heaven
and earth,' denotes the extreme of disorder, this distinction ought to be
regarded as of great importance. Moreover, the word "rakia" comprehends
not only the whole region of the air, but whatever is open above us: as
the word heaven is sometimes understood by the Latins. Thus the
arrangement, as well of the heavens as of the lower atmosphere, is called
"rakia" without discrimination between them, but sometimes the word
signifies both together sometimes one part only, as will appear more
plainly in our progress. I know not why the Greeks have chosen to render
the word "stereooma", which the Latins have imitated in the term,
firmamentum; for literally it means expanse. And to this David alludes
when he says that 'the heavens are stretched out by God like a curtain,'
(Ps. 104: 2.) If any one should inquire whether this vacuity did not
previously exist, I answer, however true it may be that all parts of the
earth were not overflowed by the waters; yet now, for the first time, a
separation was ordained, whereas a confused admixture had previously
existed. Moses describes the special use of this expanse, "to divide the
waters from the waters" from which word arises a great difficulty. For it
appears opposed to common sense, and quite incredible, that there should
be waters above the heaven. Hence some resort to allegory, and
philosophize concerning angels; but quite beside the purpose. For, to my
mind, this is a certain principle, that nothing is here treated of but
the visible form of the world. He who would learn astronomy, and other
recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. Here the Spirit of God would teach
all men without exception; and therefore what Gregory declares falsely
and in vain respecting statues and pictures is truly applicable to the
history of the creation, namely, that it is the book of the unlearned.
The things, therefore, which he relates, serve as the garniture of that
theatre which he places before our eyes. Whence I conclude, that the
waters here meant are such as the rude and unlearned may perceive. The
assertion of some, that they embrace by faith what they have read
concerning the waters above the heavens, notwithstanding their ignorance
respecting them, is not in accordance with the design of Moses. And truly
a longer inquiry into a matter open and manifest is superfluous. We see
that the clouds suspended in the air, which threaten to fall upon our
heads, yet leave us space to breathe. They who deny that this is effected
by the wonderful providence of God, are vainly inflated with the folly of
their own minds. We know, indeed that the rain is naturally produced; but
the deluge sufficiently shows how speedily we might be overwhelmed by the
bursting of the clouds, unless the cataracts of heaven were closed by the
hand of God. Nor does David rashly recount this among His miracles, that
God "layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters," (Ps. 104: 31;) and
he elsewhere calls upon the celestial waters to praise God, (Ps. 148: 4.)
Since, therefore, God has created the clouds, and assigned them a region
above us, it ought not to be forgotten that they are restrained by the
power of God, lest, gushing forth with sudden violence, they should
swallow us up: and especially since no other barrier is opposed to them
than the liquid and yielding, air, which would easily give way unless
this word prevailed, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters.' Yet
Moses has not affixed to the work of this day the note that "God saw that
it was good:" perhaps because there was no advantage from it till the
terrestrial waters were gathered into their proper place, which was done
on the next day, and therefore it is there twice repeated.

9. "Let the waters ... be gathered together." This also is an illustrious
miracle, that the waters by their departure have given a dwelling-place
to men. For even philosophers allow that the natural position of the
waters was to cover the whole earth, as Moses declares they did in the
beginning; first, because being an element, it must be circular, and
because this element is heavier than the air, and lighter than the earth,
it ought cover the latter in its whole circumference. But that the seas,
being gathered together as on heaps, should give place for man, is
seemingly preternatural; and therefore Scripture often extols the
goodness of God in this particular. See Psalm 33: 7, 'He has gathered the
waters together on a heap, and has laid them up in his treasures.' Also
Psalm 78: 13, 'He has collected the waters as into a bottle.' Jeremiah 5:
22, 'Will ye not fear me? will ye not tremble at my presence, who have
placed the sand as the boundary of the sea?' Job 38: 8, 'Who has shut up
the sea with doors? Have not I surrounded it with gates and bars? I have
said, Hitherto shalt thou proceed; here shall thy swelling waves be
broken.' Let us, therefore, know that we are dwelling on dry ground,
because God, by his command, has removed the waters that they should not
overflow the whole earth.

11. "Let the earth bring forth grass." Hitherto the earth was naked and
barren, now the Lord fructifies it by his word. For though it was already
destined to bring forth fruit, yet till new virtue proceeded from the
mouth of God, it must remain dry and empty. For neither was it naturally
fit to produce anything, nor had it a germinating principle from any
other source, till the mouth of the Lord was opened. For what David
declares concerning the heavens, ought also to be extended to the earth;
that it was 'made by the word of the Lord, and was adorned and furnished
by the breath of his mouth,' (Ps. 33: 6.) Moreover, it did not happen
fortuitously, that herbs and trees were created before the sun and moon.
We now see, indeed, that the earth is quickened by the sun to cause it to
bring forth its fruits; nor was God ignorant of this law of nature, which
he has since ordained: but in order that we might learn to refer all
things to him he did not then make use of the sun or moon. He permits us
to perceive the efficacy which he infuses into them, so far as he uses
their instrumentality; but because we are wont to regard as part of their
nature properties which they derive elsewhere, it was necessary that the
vigour which they now seem to impart to the earth should be manifest
before they were created. We acknowledge, it is true, in words, that the
First Cause is self-sufficient, and that intermediate and secondary
causes have only what they borrow from this First Cause; but, in reality,
we picture God to ourselves as poor or imperfect, unless he is assisted
by second causes. How few, indeed, are there who ascend higher than the
sun when they treat of the fecundity of the earth? What therefore we
declare God to have done designedly, was indispensably necessary; that we
may learn from the order of the creation itself, that God acts through
the creatures, not as if he needed external help, but because it was his
pleasure. When he says, 'Let the earth bring forth the herb which may
produce seed, the tree whose seed is in itself,' he signifies not only
that herbs and trees were then created, but that, at the same time, both
were endued with the power of propagation, in order that their several
species might be perpetuated. Since, therefore, we daily see the earth
pouring forth to us such riches from its lap, since we see the herbs
producing seed, and this seed received and cherished in the bosom of the
earth till it springs forth, and since we see trees shooting from other
trees; all this flows from the same Word. If therefore we inquire, how it
happens that the earth is fruitful, that the germ is produced from the
seed, that fruits come to maturity, and their various kinds are annually
reproduced; no other cause will be found, but that God has once spoken,
that is, has issued his eternal decree; and that the earth, and all
things proceeding from it, yield obedience to the command of God, which
they always hear.

14. "Let there be lights". Moses passes onwards to the fourth day, on
which the stars were made. God had before created the light, but he now
institutes a new order in nature, that the sun should be the dispenser of
diurnal light, and the moon and stars should shine by night. And He
assigns them this office, to teach us that all creatures are subject to
his will, and execute what he enjoins upon them. For Moses relates
nothing else than that God ordained certain instruments to diffuse
through the earth, by reciprocal changes, that light which had been
previously created. The only difference is this, that the light was
before dispersed, but now proceeds from lucid bodies; which in serving
this purpose, obey the command of God.
  "To divide the day from the night." He means the artificial day, which
begins at the rising of the sun and ends at its setting. For the natural
day (which he mentions above) includes in itself the night. Hence infer,
that the interchange of days and nights shall be continual: because the
word of God, who determined that the days should be distinct from the
nights, directs the course of the sun to this end.
  "Let them be for signs." It must be remembered, that Moses does not
speak with philosophical acuteness on occult mysteries, but relates those
things which are everywhere observed, even by the uncultivated, and which
are in common use. A twofold advantage is chiefly perceived from the
course of the sun and moon; the one is natural, the other applies to
civil institutions. Under the term nature, I also comprise agriculture.
For although sowing and reaping require human art and industry; this,
nevertheless, is natural, that the sun, by its nearer approach, warms our
earth, that he introduces the vernal season, that he is the cause of
summer and autumn. But that, for the sake of assisting their memory, men
number among themselves years and months; that of these, they form lustra
and olympiads; that they keep stated days; this I say, is peculiar to
civil polity. Of each of these mention is here made. I must, however, in
a few words, state the reason why Moses calls them signs; because certain
inquisitive persons abuse this passages to give colour to their frivolous
predictions: I call those men Chaldeans and fanatics, who divine
everything from the aspects of the stars. Because Moses declares that the
sun and moon were appointed for signs, they think themselves entitled to
elicit from them anything they please. But confutation is easy: for they
are called signs of certain things, not signs to denote whatever is
according to our fancy. What indeed does Moses assert to be signified by
them, except things belonging to the order of nature? For the same God
who here ordains signs testifies by Isaiah that he 'will dissipate the
signs of the diviners,' (Isa. 44: 25;) and forbids us to be 'dismayed at
the signs of heaven,' (Jer. 10: 2.) But since it is manifest that Moses
does not depart from the ordinary custom of men, I desist from a longer
discussion. The word "moadim" which they translate 'certain times', is
variously understood among the Hebrews: for it signifies both time and
place, and also assemblies of persons. The Rabbis commonly explain the
passage as referring to their festivals. But I extend it further to mean,
in the first place, the opportunities of time, which in French are called
saisons, (seasons;) and then all fairs and forensic assemblies. Finally,
Moses commemorates the unbounded goodness of God in causing the sun and
moon not only to enlighten us, but to afford us various other advantages
for the daily use of life. It remains that we, purely enjoying the
multiplied bounties of God, should learn not to profane such excellent
gifts by our preposterous abuse of them. In the meantime, let us admire
this wonderful Artificer, who has so beautifully arranged all things
above and beneath, that they may respond to each other in most harmonious
concert.

15. "Let them be for lights." It is well again to repeat what I have said
before, that it is not here philosophically discussed, how great the sun
is in the heaven, and how great, or how little, is the moon; but how much
light comes to us from them. For Moses here addresses himself to our
senses, that the knowledge of the gifts of God which we enjoy may not
glide away. Therefore, in order to apprehend the meaning of Moses, it is
to no purpose to soar above the heavens; let us only open our eyes to
behold this light which God enkindles for us in the earth. By this method
(as I have before observed) the dishonesty of those men is sufficiently
rebuked, who censure Moses for not speaking with greater exactness. For
as it became a theologian, he had respect to us rather than to the stars.
Nor, in truth, was he ignorant of the fact, that the moon had not
sufficient brightness to enlighten the earth, unless it borrowed from the
sun; but he deemed it enough to declare what we all may plainly perceive,
that the moon is a dispenser of light to us. That it is, as the
astronomers assert, an opaque body, I allow to be true, while I deny it
to be a dark body. For, first, since it is placed above the element of
fire, it must of necessity be a fiery body. Hence it follows, that it is
also luminous; but seeing that it has not light sufficient to penetrate
to us, it borrows what is wanting from the sun. He calls it a "lesser
light" by comparison; because the portion of light which it emits to us
is small compared with the infinite splendour of the sun.

16. "The greater light." I have said, that Moses does not here subtilely
descant, as a philosopher, on the secrets of nature, as may be seen in
these words. First, he assigns a place in the expanse of heaven to the
planets and stars; but astronomers make a distinction of spheres, and, at
the same time, teach that the fixed stars have their proper place in the
firmament. Moses makes two great luminaries; but astronomers prove, by
conclusive reasons that the star of Saturn, which on account of its great
distance, appears the least of all, is greater than the moon. Here lies
the difference; Moses wrote in a popular style things which without
instruction, all ordinary persons, endued with common sense, are able to
understand; but astronomers investigate with great labour whatever the
sagacity of the human mind can comprehend. Nevertheless, this study is
not to be reprobated, nor this science to be condemned, because some
frantic persons are wont boldly to reject whatever is unknown to them.
For astronomy is not only pleasant, but also very useful to be known: it
cannot be denied that this art unfolds the admirable wisdom of God.
Wherefore, as ingenious men are to be honoured who have expended useful
labour on this subject, so they who have leisure and capacity ought not
to neglect this kind of exercise. Nor did Moses truly wish to withdraw us
from this pursuit in omitting such things as are peculiar to the art; but
because he was ordained a teacher as well of the unlearned and rude as of
the learned, he could not otherwise fulfill his office than by descending
to this grosser method of instruction. Had he spoken of things generally
unknown, the uneducated might have pleaded in excuse that such subjects
were beyond their capacity. Lastly since the Spirit of God here opens a
common school for all, it is not surprising that he should chiefly choose
those subjects which would be intelligible to all. If the astronomer
inquires respecting the actual dimensions of the stars, he will find the
moon to be less than Saturn; but this is something abstruse, for to the
sight it appears differently. Moses, therefore, rather adapts his
discourse to common usage. For since the Lord stretches forth, as it
were, his hand to us in causing us to enjoy the brightness of the sun and
moon, how great would be our ingratitude were we to close our eyes
against our own experience? There is therefore no reason why janglers
should deride the unskilfulness of Moses in making the moon the second
luminary; for he does not call us up into heaven, he only proposes things
which lie open before our eyes. Let the astronomers possess their more
exalted knowledge; but, in the meantime, they who perceive by the moon
the splendour of night, are convicted by its use of perverse ingratitude
unless they acknowledge the beneficence of God.
  "To rule". He does not ascribe such dominion to the sun and moon as
shall, in the least degree, diminish the power of God; but because the
sun, in half the circuit of heaven, governs the day, and the moon the
night, by turns; he therefore assigns to them a kind of government. Yet
let us remember, that it is such a government as implies that the sun is
still a servant, and the moon a handmaid. In the meantime, we dismiss the
reverie of Plato who ascribes reason and intelligence to the stars. Let
us be content with this simple exposition, that God governs the days and
nights by the ministry of the sun and moon, because he has them as his
charioteers to convey light suited to the season.

20. "Let the waters bring forth .. the moving creature." On the fifth day
the birds and fishes are created. The blessing of God is added, that they
may of themselves produce offspring. Here is a different kind of
propagation from that in herbs and trees: for there the power of
fructifying is in the plants, and that of germinating is in the seed; but
here generation takes place. It seems, however, but little consonant with
reason, that he declares birds to have proceeded from the waters; and,
therefore this is seized upon by captious men as an occasion of calumny.
But although there should appear no other reason but that it so pleased
God, would it not be becoming in us to acquiesce in his judgment? Why
should it not be lawful for him, who created the world out of nothing, to
bring forth the birds out of water? And what greater absurdity, I pray,
has the origin of birds from the water, than that of the light from
darkness? Therefore, let those who so arrogantly assail their Creator,
look for the Judge who shall reduce them to nothing. Nevertheless if we
must use physical reasoning in the contest, we know that the water has
greater affinity with the air than the earth has. But Moses ought rather
to be listened to as our teacher, who would transport us with admiration
of God through the consideration of his works. And, truly, the Lord,
although he is the Author of nature, yet by no means has followed nature
as his guide in the creation of the world, but has rather chosen to put
forth such demonstrations of his power as should constrain us to wonder.

21. "And God created." A question here arises out of the word created.
For we have before contended, that because the world   was created, it
was made out of nothing; but now Moses says that things formed from other
matter were created. They who truly and properly assert that the fishes
were created because the waters were in no way sufficient or suitable for
their production, only resort to a subterfuge: for, in the meantime, the
fact would remain that the material of which they were made existed
before; which, in strict propriety, the word created does not admit. I
therefore do not restrict the creation here spoken of to the work of the
fifth day, but rather suppose it to refer to that shapeless and confused
mass, which was as the fountain of the whole world. God then, it is said,
created whales (balaenas) and other fishes, not that the beginning of
their creation is to be reckoned from the moment in which they receive
their form; but because they are comprehended in the universal matter
which was made out of nothing. So that, with respect to species, form
only was then added to them; but creation is nevertheless a term truly
used respecting both the whole and the parts. The word commonly rendered
whales (cetos vel cete) might in my judgment be not improperly translated
thynnus or tunny fish, as corresponding with the Hebrew word thaninim.
  When he says that "the waters brought forth," he proceeds to commend
the efficacy of the word, which the waters hear so promptly, that, though
lifeless in themselves, they suddenly teem with a living offspring, yet
the language of Moses expresses more; namely, that fishes innumerable are
daily produced from the waters, because that word of God, by which he
once commanded it, is continually in force.

22. "And God blessed them". What is the force of this benediction he soon
declares. For God does not, after the manner of men, pray that we may be
blessed; but, by the bare intimation of his purpose, effects what men
seek by earnest entreaty. He therefore blesses his creatures when he
commands them to increase and grow; that is, he infuses into them
fecundity by his word. But it seems futile for God to address fishes and
reptiles. I answer, this mode of speaking was no other than that which
might be easily understood. For the experiment itself teaches, that the
force of the word which was addressed to the fishes was not transient,
but rather, being infused into their nature, has taken root, and
constantly bears fruit.

24. "Let the earth bring forth". He descends to the sixth day, on which
the animals were created, and then man. 'Let the earth,' he says, 'bring
forth living creatures.' But whence has a dead element life? Therefore,
there is in this respect a miracle as great as if God had begun to create
out of nothing those things which he commanded to proceed from the earth.
And he does not take his material from the earth, because he needed it,
but that he might the better combine the separate parts of the world with
the universe itself. Yet it may be inquired, why He does not here also
add his benediction? I answer, that what Moses before expressed on a
similar occasion is here also to be understood, although he does not
repeat it word for word. I say, moreover, it is sufficient for the
purpose of signifying the same thing, that Moses declares animals were
created 'according to their species:' for this distribution carried with
it something stable. It may even hence be inferred, that the offspring of
animals was included. For to what purpose do distinct species exist,
unless that individuals, by their several kinds, may be multiplied?
  "Cattle." Some of the Hebrews thus distinguish between "cattle" and
"beasts of the earth," that the cattle feed on herb age, but that the
beasts of the earth are they which eat flesh. But the Lord, a little
while after, assigns herbs to both as their common food; and it may be
observed, that in several parts of Scripture these two words are used
indiscriminately. Indeed, I do not doubt that Moses, after he had named
Behemoth, (cattle,) added the other, for the sake of fuller explanation.
By 'reptiles,' in this place, understand those which are of an earthly
nature.

26. "Let us make man." Although the tense here used is the future, all
must acknowledge that this is the language of one apparently
deliberating. Hitherto God has been introduced simply as commanding; now,
when he approaches the most excellent of all his works, he enters into
consultation. God certainly might here command by his bare word what he
wished to be done: but he chose to give this tribute to the excellency of
man, that he would, in a manner, enter into consultation concerning his
creation. This is the highest honour with which he has dignified us; to a
due regard for which, Moses, by this mode of speaking would excite our
minds. For God is not now first beginning to consider what form he will
give to man, and with what endowments it would be fitting to adorn him,
nor is he pausing as over a work of difficulty: but, just as we have
before observed, that the creation of the world was distributed over six
days, for our sake, to the end that our minds might the more easily be
retained in the meditation of God's works: so now, for the purpose of
commending to our attention the dignity of our nature, he, in taking
counsel concerning the creation of man, testifies that he is about to
undertake something great and wonderful. Truly there are many things in
this corrupted nature which may induce contempt; but if you rightly weigh
all circumstances, man is, among other creatures a certain preeminent
specimen of Divine wisdom, justice, and goodness, so that he is
deservedly called by the ancients "mikrokosmos", "a world in miniature."
But since the Lord needs no other counsellor, there can be no doubt that
he consulted with himself. The Jews make themselves altogether
ridiculous, in pretending that God held communication with the earth or
with angels. The earth, forsooth, was a most excellent adviser! And to
ascribe the least portion of a work so exquisite to angels, is a
sacrilege to be held in abhorrence. Where, indeed, will they find that we
were created after the image of the earth, or of angels? Does not Moses
directly exclude all creatures in express terms, when he declares that
Adam was created after the image of God? Others who deem themselves more
acute, but are doubly infatuated, say that God spoke of himself in the
plural number, according to the custom of princes. As if, in truth, that
barbarous style of speaking, which has grown into use within a few past
centuries, had, even then, prevailed in the world. But it is well that
their canine wickedness has been joined with a stupidity so great, that
they betray their folly to children. Christians, therefore, properly
contend, from this testimony, that there exists a plurality of Persons in
the Godhead. God summons no foreign counsellor; hence we infer that he
finds within himself something distinct; as, in truth, his eternal wisdom
and power reside within him.
  "In our image, &c." Interpreters do not agree concerning the meaning of
these words. The greater part, and nearly all, conceive that the word
image is to be distinguished from likeness. And the common distinction
is, that image exists in the substance, likeness in the accidents of
anything. They who would define the subject briefly, say that in the
image are contained those endowments which God has conferred on human
nature at large, while they expound likeness to mean gratuitous gifts.
But Augustine, beyond all others, speculates with excessive refinement,
for the purpose of fabricating a Trinity in man. For in laying hold of
the three faculties of the soul enumerated by Aristotle, the intellect,
the memory, and the will, he afterwards out of one Trinity derives many.
If any reader, having leisure, wishes to enjoy such speculations, let him
read the tenth and fourteenth books on the Trinity, also the eleventh
book of the "City of God." I acknowledge, indeed, that there is something
in man which refers to the Fathers and the Son, and the Spirit: and I
have no difficulty in admitting the above distinction of the faculties of
the soul: although the simpler division into two parts, which is more
used in Scripture, is better adapted to the sound doctrine of piety; but
a definition of the image of God ought to rest on a firmer basis than
such subtleties. As for myself, before I define the image of God, I would
deny that it differs from his likeness. For when Moses afterwards repeats
the same things he passes over the likeness, and contents himself with
mentioning the image. Should any one take the exception, that he was
merely studying brevity; I answer, that where he twice uses the word
image, he makes no mention of the likeness. We also know that it was
customary with the Hebrews to repeat the same thing in different words.
besides, the phrase itself shows that the second term was added for the
sake of explanation, 'Let us make,' he says, 'man in our image, according
to our likeness,' that is, that he may be like God, or may represent the
image of God. Lastly, in the fifth chapter, without making any mention of
image, he puts likeness in its place, (verse 1.) Although we have set
aside all difference between the two words we have not yet ascertained
what this image or likeness is. The Anthropomorphites were too gross in
seeking this resemblance in the human body; let that reverie therefore
remain entombed. Others proceed with a little more subtlety, who, though
they do not imagine God to be corporeal, yet maintain that the image of
God is in the body of man, because his admirable workmanship there shines
brightly; but this opinion, as we shall see, is by no means consonant
with Scripture. The exposition of Chrysostom is not more correct, who
refers to the dominion which was given to man in order that he might, in
a certain sense, act as God's vicegerent in the government of the world.
This truly is some portion, though very small, of the image of God. Since
the image of God had been destroyed in us by the fall, we may judge from
its restoration what it originally had been. Paul says that we are
transformed into the image of God by the gospel. And, according to him,
spiritual regeneration is nothing else than the restoration of the same
image. (Col. 3: 10, and Eph. 4: 23.) That he made this image to consist
in "righteousness and true holiness," is by the figure synecdoche; for
though this is the chief part, it is not the whole of God's image.
Therefore by this word the perfection of our whole nature is designated,
as it appeared when Adam was endued with a right judgment, had affections
in harmony with reason, had all his senses sound and well-regulated, and
truly excelled in everything good. Thus the chief seat of the Divine
image was in his mind and heart, where it was eminent: yet was there no
part of him in which some scintillations of it did not shine forth. For
there was an attempering in the several parts of the soul, which
corresponded with their various offices. In the mind perfect intelligence
flourished and reigned, uprightness attended as its companion, and all
the senses were prepared and moulded for due obedience to reason; and in
the body there was a suitable correspondence with this internal order.
But now, although some obscure lineaments of that image are found
remaining in us; yet are they so vitiated and maimed, that they may truly
be said to be destroyed. For besides the deformity which everywhere
appears unsightly, this evil also is added, that no part is free from the
infection of sin.
  "In our image, after our likeness". I do not scrupulously insist upon
the particles "beth" and "caph". I know not whether there is anything
solid in the opinion of some who hold that this is said, because the
image of God was only shadowed forth in man till he should arrive at his
perfection. The thing indeed is true; but I do not think that anything of
the kind entered the mind of Moses. It is also truly said that Christ is
the only image of the Fathers but yet the words of Moses do not bear the
interpretation that "in the image" means "in Christ." It may also be
added, that even man, though in a different respects is called the image
of God. In which thing some of the Fathers are deceived who thought that
they could defeat the Asians with this weapon that Christ alone is God's,
image. This further difficulty is also to be encountered, namely, why
Paul should deny the woman to be the image of God, when Moses honours
both, indiscriminately, with this title. The solution is short; Paul
there alludes only to the domestic relation. He therefore restricts the
image of God to government, in which the man has superiority over the
wife and certainly he meant nothing more than that man is superior in the
degree of honour. But here the question is respecting that glory of God
which peculiarly shines forth in human nature, where the mind, the will,
and all the senses, represent the Divine order.
  "And let them have dominion." Here he commemorates that part of dignity
with which he decreed to honour man, namely, that he should have
authority over all living creatures. He appointed man, it is true, lord
of the world; but he expressly subjects the animals to him, because they
having an inclination or instinct of their own, seem to be less under
authority from without. The use of the plural number intimates that this
authority was not given to Adam only, but to all his posterity as well as
to him. And hence we infer what was the end for which all things were
created; namely, that none of the conveniences and necessaries of life
might be wanting to men. In the very order of the creation the paternal
solicitude of God for man is conspicuous, because he furnished the world
with all things needful, and even with an immense profusion of wealth,
before he formed man. Thus man was rich before he was born. But if God
had such care for us before we existed, he will by no means leave us
destitute of food and of other necessaries of life, now that we are
placed in the world. Yet, that he often keeps his hand as if closed is to
be imputed to our sins.

27. "So God created man." The reiterated mention of the image of God is
not a vain repetition. For it is a remarkable instance of the Divine
goodness which can never be sufficiently proclaimed. And, at the same
time, he admonishes us from what excellence we have fallen, that he may
excite in us the desire of its recovery. When he soon afterwards adds,
that God created them "male and female," he commends to us that conjugal
bond by which the society of mankind is cherished. For this form of
speaking, "God created man, male and female created he them," is of the
same force as if he had said, that the man himself was incomplete. Under
these circumstances, the woman was added to him as a companion that they
both might be one, as he more clearly expresses it in the second chapter.
Malachi also means the same thing when he relates, (2: 15,) that one man
was created by God, whilst, nevertheless, he possessed the fulness of the
Spirit. For he there treats of conjugal fidelity, which the Jews were
violating by their polygamy. For the purpose of correcting this fault, he
calls that pair, consisting of man and woman, which God in the beginning
had joined together, one man, in order that every one might learn to be
content with his own wife.

28. "And God blessed them." This blessing of God may be regarded as the
source from which the human race has flowed. And we must so consider it
not only with reference to the whole, but also, as they say, in every
particular instance. For we are fruitful or barren in respect of
offspring, as God imparts his power to some and withholds it from others.
But here Moses would simply declare that Adam with his wife was formed
for the production of offspring, in order that men might replenish the
earth. God could himself indeed have covered the earth with a multitude
of men; but it was his will that we should proceed from one fountain, in
order that our desire of mutual concord might be the greater, and that
each might the more freely embrace the other as his own flesh. Besides,
as men were created to occupy the earth, so we ought certainly to
conclude that God has mapped, as with a boundary, that space of earth
which would suffice for the reception of men, and would prove a suitable
abode for them. Any inequality which is contrary to this arrangement is
nothing else than a corruption of nature which proceeds from sin. In the
meantime, however, the benediction of God so prevails that the earth
everywhere lies open that it may have its inhabitants, and that an
immense multitude of men may find, in some part of the globe, their home.
Now, what I have said concerning marriage must be kept in mind; that God
intends the human race to be multiplied by generation indeed, but not, as
in brute animals, by promiscuous intercourse. For he has joined the man
to his wife, that they might produce a divine, that is, a legitimate
seed. Let us then mark whom God here addresses when he commands them to
increase, and to whom he limits his benediction. Certainly he does not
give the reins to human passions, but, beginning at holy and chaste
marriage, he proceeds to speak of the production of offspring. For this
is also worthy of notice, that Moses here briefly alludes to a subject
which he afterwards means more fully to explain, and that the regular
series of the history is inverted, yet in such a way as to make the true
succession of events apparent. The question, however, is proposed,
whether fornicators and adulterers become fruitful by the power of God;
which, if it be true, then whether the blessing of God is in like manner
extended to them? I answer, this is a corruption of the Divine institute;
and whereas God produces offspring from this muddy pool, as well as from
the pure fountain of marriage, this will tend to their greater
destruction. Still that pure and lawful method of increase, which God
ordained from the beginning, remains firm; this is that law of nature
which common sense declares to be inviolable.
  "Subdue it". He confirms what he had before said respecting dominion.
Man had already been created with this condition, that he should subject
the earth to himself; but now, at length, he is put in possession of his
right, when he hears what has been given to him by the Lord: and this
Moses expresses still more fully in the next verse, when he introduces
God as granting to him the herbs and the fruits. For it is of great
importance that we touch nothing of God's bounty but what we know he has
permitted us to do; since we cannot enjoy anything with a good
conscience, except we receive it as from the hand of God. And therefore
Paul teaches us that, in eating and drinking we always sin, unless faith
be present, (Rom. 14: 23.) Thus we are instructed to seek from God alone
whatever is necessary for us, and in the very use of his gifts, we are to
exercise ourselves in meditating on his goodness and paternal care. For
the words of God are to this effect: 'Behold, I have prepared food for
thee before thou wast formed; acknowledge me, therefore, as thy Father,
who have so diligently provided for thee when thou wast not yet created.
Moreover, my solicitude for thee has proceeded still further; it was thy
business to nurture the things provided for thee, but I have taken even
this charge also upon myself. Wherefore, although thou art, in a sense,
constituted the father of the earthly family, it is not for thee to be
overanxious about the sustenance of animals.'
  Some infers from this passages that men were content with herbs and
fruits until the deluge, and that it was even unlawful for them to eat
flesh. And this seems the more probable, because God confines, in some
way, the food of mankind within certain limits. Then after the deluge, he
expressly grants them the use of flesh. These reasons, however are not
sufficiently strong: for it may be adduced on the opposite side, that the
first men offered sacrifices from their flocks. This, moreover, is the
law of sacrificing rightly, not to offer unto God anything except what he
has granted to our use. Lastly men were clothed in skins; therefore it
was lawful for them to kill animals. For these reasons, I think it will
be better for us to assert nothing concerning this matter. Let it suffice
for us, that herbs and the fruits of trees were given them as their
common food; yet it is not to be doubted that this was abundantly
sufficient for their highest gratification. For they judge prudently who
maintain that the earth was so marred by the deluge, that we retain
scarcely a moderate portion of the original benediction. Even immediately
after the fall of man, it had already begun to bring forth degenerate and
noxious fruits, but at the deluge, the change became still greater. Yet,
however this may be, God certainly did not intend that man should be
slenderly and sparingly sustained; but rather, by these words, he
promises a liberal abundance, which should leave nothing wanting to a
sweet and pleasant life. For Moses relates how beneficent the Lord had
been to them, in bestowing on them all things which they could desire,
that their ingratitude might have the less excuse.

31. "And God saw everything". Once more, at the conclusion of the
creation, Moses declares that God approved of everything which he had
made. In speaking of God as seeing, he does it after the manner of men;
for the Lord designed this his judgment to be as a rule and example to
us; that no one should dare to think or speak otherwise of his works. For
it is not lawful for us to dispute whether that ought to be approved or
not which God has already approved; but it rather becomes us to acquiesce
without controversy. The repetition also denotes how wanton is the
temerity of man: otherwise it would have been enough to have said, once
for all, that God approved of his works. But God six times inculcates the
same thing, that he may restrain, as with so many bridles, our restless
audacity. But Moses expresses more than before; for he adds "me'od," that
is, very. On each of the days, simple approbation was given. But now,
after the workmanship of the world was complete in all its parts, and had
received, if I may so speak, the last finishing touch, he pronounces it
perfectly good; that we may know that there is in the symmetry of God's
works the highest perfection, to which nothing can be added.



Chapter II.

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it
he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they
were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb
of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain
upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of
the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put
the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the
midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it
was parted, and became into four heads.
11 The name of the first [is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the
whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold;
12 And the gold of that land [is] good: there [is] bdellium and the onyx
stone.
13 And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that
compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 And the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel: that [is] it which
goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river [is] Euphrates.
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to
dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat
of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.
19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he
would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that
[was] the name thereof.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to
every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet
for him.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept:
and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

1. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished." Moses summarily
repeats that in six days the fabric of the heaven and the earth was
completed. The general division of the world is made into these two
parts, as has been stated at the commencement of the first chapter. But
he now adds, "all the host of them," by which he signifies that the world
was furnished with all its garniture. This epilogue, moreover, with
sufficient clearness entirely refutes the error of those who imagine that
the world was formed in a moment; for it declares that all end was only
at length put to the work on the sixth day. Instead of host we might not
improperly render the term abundance; for Moses declares that this world
was in every sense completed, as if the whole house were well supplied
and filled with its furniture. The heavens without the sun, and moon, and
stars, would be an empty and dismantled palace: if the earth were
destitute of animals, trees, and plants, that barren waste would have the
appearance of a poor and deserted house. God, therefore, did not cease
from the work of the creation of the world till he had completed it in
every part, so that nothing should be wanting to its suitable abundance.

2. "And he rested on the seventh day". The question may not improperly be
put, what kind of rest this was. For it is certain that inasmuch as God
sustains the world by his power, governs it by his providence, cherishes
and even propagates all creatures, he is constantly at work. Therefore
that saying of Christ is true, that the Father and he himself had worked
from the beginning hitherto, because, if God should but withdraw his hand
a little, all things would immediately perish and dissolve into nothing,
as is declared in Psalm 104: 29. And indeed God is rightly acknowledged
as the Creator of heaven and earth only whilst their perpetual
preservation is ascribed to him. The solution of the difficulty is well
known, that God ceased from all his work, when he desisted from the
creation of new kinds of things. But to make the sense clearer,
understand that the last touch of God had been put, in order that nothing
might be wanting to the perfection of the world. And this is the meaning
of the words of Moses, "From all his work which he had made"; for he
points out the actual state of the work as God would have it to be, as if
he had said, then was completed what God had proposed to himself. On the
whole, this language is intended merely to express the perfection of the
fabric of the world; and therefore we must not infer that God so ceased
from his works as to desert them, since they only flourish and subsist in
him. Besides, it is to be observed, that in the works of the six days,
those things alone are comprehended which tend to the lawful and genuine
adorning of the world. It is subsequently that we shall find God saying,
"Let the earth bring forth thorns and briers," by which he intimates that
the appearance of the earth should be different from what it had been in
the beginning. But the explanation is at hand; many things which are now
seen in the world are rather corruptions of it than any part of its
proper furniture. For ever since man declined from his high original, it
became necessary that the world should gradually degenerate from its
nature. We must come to this conclusion respecting the existence of
fleas, caterpillars, and other noxious insects. In all these, I say,
there is some deformity of the world, which ought by no means to be
regarded as in the order of nature, since it proceeds rather from the sin
of man than from the hand of God. Truly these things were created by God,
but by God as an avenger. In this place, however, Moses is not
considering God as armed for the punishment of the sins of men; but as
the Artificer, the Architect, the bountiful Father of a family, who has
omitted nothing essential to the perfection of his edifice. At the
present time, when we look upon the world corrupted, and as if
degenerated from its original creation, let that expression of Paul recur
to our mind, that the creature is liable to vanity, not willingly, but
through our fault, (Rom. 8: 20,) and thus let us mourn, being admonished
of our just condemnation.

3. "And God blessed the seventh day". It appears that God is here said to
bless according to the manner of men, because they bless him whom they
highly extol. Nevertheless, even in this sense, it would not be
unsuitable to the character of God; because his blessing sometimes means
the favour which he bestows upon his people, as the Hebrews call that man
the blessed of God, who, by a certain special favour, has power with God.
(See Gen. 24: 31.) 'Enter thou blessed of God.' Thus we may be allowed to
describe the day as blessed by him which he has embraced with love, to
the end that the excellence and dignity of his works may therein be
celebrated. Yet I have no doubt that Moses, by adding the word
sanctified, wished immediately to explain what he had said, and thus all
ambiguity is removed, because the second word is exegetical of the
former. For "kadesh" with the Hebrews, is to separate from the common
number. God therefore sanctifies the seventh day, when he renders it
illustrious, that by a special law it may be distinguished from the rest.
Whence it also appears, that God always had respect to the welfare of
men. I have said above, that six days were employed in the formation of
the world; not that God, to whom one moment is as a thousand years, had
need of this succession of time, but that he might engage us in the
consideration of his works. He had the same end in view in the
appointment of his own rest, for he set apart a day selected out of the
remainder for this special use. Wherefore, that benediction is nothing
else than a solemn consecration, by which God claims for himself the
meditations and employments of men on the seventh day. This is, indeed,
the proper business of the whole life, in which men should daily exercise
themselves, to consider the infinite goodness, justice, power, and wisdom
of God, in this magnificent theatre of heaven and earth. But, lest men
should prove less sedulously attentive to it than they ought, every
seventh day has been especially selected for the purpose of supplying
what was wanting in daily meditation. First, therefore, God rested; then
he blessed this rest, that in all ages it might be held sacred among men:
or he dedicated every seventh day to rest, that his own example might be
a perpetual rule. The design of the institution must be always kept in
memory: for God did not command men simply to keep holiday every seventh
day, as if he delighted in their indolence; but rather that they, being
released from all other business, might the more readily apply their
minds to the Creator of the world. Lastly, that is a sacred rest, which
withdraws men from the impediments of the world, that it may dedicate
them entirely to God. But now, since men are so backward to celebrate the
justice, wisdom, and power of God, and to consider his benefits, that
even when they are most faithfully admonished they still remain torpid,
no slight stimulus is given by God's own example, and the very precept
itself is thereby rendered amiable. For God cannot either more gently
allure, or more effectually incite us to obedience, than by inviting and
exhorting us to the imitation of himself. Besides, we must know, that
this is to be the common employment not of one age or people only, but of
the whole human race. Afterwards, in the Law, a new precept concerning
the Sabbath was given, which should be peculiar to the Jews, and but for
a season; because it was a legal ceremony shadowing forth a spiritual
rest, the truth of which was manifested in Christ. Therefore the Lord the
more frequently testifies that he had given, in the Sabbath, a symbol of
sanctification to his ancient people. Therefore when we hear that the
Sabbath was abrogated by the coming of Christy we must distinguish
between what belongs to the perpetual government of human life, and what
properly belongs to ancient figures, the use of which was abolished when
the truth was fulfilled. Spiritual rest is the mortification of the
flesh; so that the sons of God should no longer live unto themselves, or
indulge their own inclination. So far as the Sabbath was a figure of this
rest, I say, it was but for a season; but inasmuch as it was commanded to
men from the beginning that they might employ themselves in the worship
of God, it is right that it should continue to the end of the world.
  "Which God created and made". Here the Jews, in their usual method,
foolishly trifle, saying, that God being anticipated in his work by the
last evening, left certain animals imperfect, of which kind are fauns and
satyrs, as though he had been one of the ordinary class of artifices who
have need of time. Ravings so monstrous prove the authors of them to have
been delivered over to a reprobate mind, as a dreadful example of the
wrath of God. As to the meaning of Moses, some take it thus: that God
created his Works in order to make them, inasmuch as from the time he
gave them being, he did not withdraw his hand from their preservation.
But this exposition is harsh. Nor do I more willingly subscribe to the
opinion of those who refer the word make to man, whom God placed over his
works, that he might apply them to use, and in a certain sense perfect
them by his industry. I rather think that the perfect form of God's works
is here noted; as if he had said God so created his works that nothing
should be wanting to their perfection; or the creation has proceeded to
sucks a point, that the work is in all respects perfect.

4. "These are the generations". The design of Moses was deeply to impress
upon our minds the origin of the heaven and the earth, which he
designates by the word generation. For there have always been ungrateful
and malignant men, who, either by feigning, that the world was eternal or
by obliterating the memory of the creations would attempt to obscure the
glory of God. Thus the devils by his guiles turns those away from God who
are more ingenious and skilful than others in order that each may become
a god unto himself. Wherefore, it is not a superfluous repetition which
inculcates the necessary fact, that the world existed only from the time
when it was created since such knowledge directs us to its Architect and
Author. Under the names of heaven and earth, the whole is, by the figure
synecdoche, included. Some of the Hebrews thinks that the essential name
of God is here at length expressed by Moses, because his majesty shines
forth more clearly in the completed world.

5. "And every plant." This verse is connected with the preceding, and
must be read in continuation with it; for he annexes the plants and herbs
to the earth, as the garment with which the Lord has adorned it, lest its
nakedness should appear as a deformity. The noun "siach", which we
translate plant, sometimes signifies trees, as below, (Gen. 21: 15.)
Therefore, some in this place translate it shrubs to which I have no
objection. Yet the word plant is not unsuitable; because in the former
place, Moses seems to refer to the genus, and here to the species. But
although he has before related that the herbs were created on the third
day, yet it is not without reason that here again mention is made of
them, in order that we may know that they were then produced, preserved,
and propagated, in a manner different from that which we perceive at the
present day. For herbs and trees are produced from seed; or grafts are
taken from another roots or they grow by putting forth shoots: in all
this the industry and the hand of man are engaged. But, at that time, the
method was different: God clothed the earth, not in the same manner as
now, (for there was no seed, no root, no plant, which might germinate,)
but each suddenly sprung into existence at the command of God, and by the
power of his word. They possessed durable vigour, so that they might
stand by the force of their own nature, and not by that quickening
influence which is now perceived, not by the help of rain, not by the
irrigation or culture of man; but by the vapour with which God watered
the earth. For he excludes these two things, the rain whence the earth
derives moisture, that it may retain its native sap; and human culture,
which is the assistant of nature. When he says, that God had 'not yet
caused it to rain,' he at the same time intimates that it is God who
opens and shuts the cataracts of heaven, and that rain and drought are in
his hand.

7. "And the Lord God formed man." He now explains what he had before
omitted in the creation of man, that his body was taken out of the earth.
He had said that he was formed after the image of God. This is
incomparably the highest nobility; and, lest men should use it as an
occasion of pride, their first origin is placed immediately before them;
whence they may learn that this advantage was adventitious; for Moses
relates that man had been, in the beginning, dust of the earth. Let
foolish men now go and boast of the excellency of their nature!
Concerning other animals, it had before been said, Let the earth produce
every living creature; but, on the other hand, the body of Adam is formed
of clay, and destitute of sense; to the end that no one should exult
beyond measure in his flesh. He must be excessively stupid who does not
hence learn humility. That which is afterwards added from another
quarter, lays us under just so much obligation to God. Nevertheless, he,
at the same time, designed to distinguish man by some mark of excellence
from brute animals: for these arose out of the earth in a moment; but the
peculiar dignity of man is shown in this, that he was gradually formed.
For why did not God command him immediately to spring alive out of the
earth, unless that, by a special privilege, he might outshine all the
creatures which the earth produced?
  "And breathed into his nostrils." Whatever the greater part of the
ancients might think, I do not hesitate to subscribe to the opinion of
those who explain this passage of the animal life of man; and thus I
expound what they call the vital spirits by the word breath. Should any
one object, that if so, no distinction would be made between man and
other living creatures, since here Moses relates only what is common
alike to all: I answer, though here mention is made only of the lower
faculty of the soul, which imparts breath to the body, and gives it
vigour and motion: this does not prevent the human soul from having its
proper rank, and therefore it ought to be distinguished from others.
Moses first speaks of the breath; he then adds, that a soul was given to
man by which he might live, and be endued with sense and motion. Now we
know that the powers of the human mind are many and various. Wherefore,
there is nothing absurd in supposing that Moses here alludes only to one
of them; but omits the intellectual part, of which mention has been made
in the first chapter. Three gradations, indeed, are to be noted in the
creation of man; that his dead body was formed out of the dust of the
earth; that it was endued with a soul, whence it should receive vital
motion; and that on this soul God engraved his own image, to which
immortality is annexed.
  "Man became a living soul." I take "nefesh", for the very essence of
the soul: but the epithet living suits only the present place, and does
not embrace generally the powers of the soul. For Moses intended nothing
more than to explain the animating of the clayey figure, whereby it came
to pass that man began to live. Paul makes an antithesis between this
living soul and the quickening spirit which Christ confers upon the
faithful, (1 Cor. 15: 45,) for no other purpose than to teach us that the
state of man was not perfected in the person of Adam; but it is a
peculiar benefit conferred by Christ, that we may be renewed to a life
which is celestial, whereas before the fall of Adams man's life was only
earthly, seeing it had no firm and settled constancy.

8. "And the Lord God planted." Moses now adds the condition and rule of
living which were given to man. And, first, he narrates in what part of
the world he was placed, and what a happy and pleasant habitation was
allotted to him. Moses says, that God had planted accommodating himself,
by a simple and uncultivated style, to the capacity of the vulgar. For
since the majesty of God, as it really is, cannot be expressed, the
Scripture is wont to describe it according to the manner of men. God,
then, had planted Paradise in a place which he had especially embellished
with every variety of delights, with abounding fruits and with all other
most excellent gifts. For this reason it is called a garden, on account
of the elegance of its situation, and the beauty of its form. The ancient
interpreter has not improperly translated it Paradise; because the
Hebrews call the more highly cultivated gardens "Pardaisim", and Xenophon
pronounces the word to be Persian, when he treats of the magnificent and
sumptuous gardens of kings. That region which the Lord assigned to Adam,
as the firstborn of mankind, was one selected out of the whole world.
  "In Eden". That Jerome improperly translates this, from the beginning,
is very obvious: because Moses afterwards says, that Cain dwelt in the
southern region of this place. Moreover it is to be observed, that when
he describes paradise as in the east, he speaks in reference to the Jews,
for he directs his discourse to his own people. Hence we infer, in the
first place, that there was a certain region assigned by God to the first
man, in which he might have his home. I state this expressly, because
there have been authors who would extend this garden over all regions of
the world. Truly, I confess, that if the earth had not been cursed on
account of the sin of man, the whole--as it had been blessed from the
beginning--would have remained the fairest scene both of fruitfulness and
of delight; that it would have been, in short, not dissimilar to
Paradise, when compared with that scene of deformity which we now behold.
But when Moses here describes particularly the situation of the region,
they absurdly transfer what Moses said of a certain particular place to
the whole world. It is not indeed doubtful (as I just now hinted) that
God would choose the most fertile and pleasant place, the first-fruits
(so to speak) of the earth, as his gift to Adam, whom he had dignified
with the honour of primogeniture among men, in token of his special
favour. Again, we infer, that this garden was situated on the earth, not
as some dream in the air; for unless it had been a region of our world,
it would not have been placed opposite to Judea, towards the east. We
must, however, entirely reject the allegories of Origin, and of others
like him, which Satan, with the deepest subtlety, has endeavoured to
introduce into the Church, for the purpose of rendering the doctrine of
Scripture ambiguous and destitute of all certainty and firmness. It may
be, indeed, that some, impelled by a supposed necessity, have resorted to
an allegorical sense, because they never found in the world such a place
as is described by Moses: but we see that the greater part, through a
foolish affectation of subtleties, have been too much addicted to
allegories. As it concerns the present passage, they speculate in vain,
and to no purpose, by departing from the literal sense. For Moses has no
other design than to teach man that he was formed by God, with this
condition, that he should have dominion over the earth, from which he
might gather fruit, and thus learn by daily experience that the world was
subject unto him. What advantage is it to fly in the air, and to leave
the earth, where God has given proof of his benevolence towards the human
race? But some one may say, that to interpret this of celestial bliss is
more skilful. I answer, since the eternal inheritance of man is in
heaven, it is truly right that we should tend thither; yet must we fix
our foot on earth long enough to enable us to consider the abode which
God requires man to use for a time. For we are now conversant with that
history which teaches us that Adam was, by Divine appointment, an
inhabitant of the earth, in order that he might, in passing through his
earthly life, meditate on heavenly glory; and that he had been
bountifully enriched by the Lord with innumerable benefits, from the
enjoyment of which he might infer the paternal benevolence of God. Moses,
also, will hereafter subjoin that he was commanded to cultivate the
fields and permitted to eat certain fruits: all which things neither suit
the circle of the moon, nor the aerial regions. But although we have
said, that the situation of Paradise lay between the rising of the sun
and Judea, yet something more definite may be required respecting that
region. They who contend that it was in the vicinity of Mesopotamia, rely
on reasons not to be despised; because it is probable that the sons of
Eden were contiguous to the river Tigris. But as the description of it by
Moses will immediately follow, it is better to defer the consideration of
it to that place. The ancient interpreter has fallen into a mistake in
translating the proper name Eden by the word "pleasure." I do not indeed
deny that the place was so called from its delights; but it is easy to
infer that the name was imposed upon the place to distinguish it from
others.

9. "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow." The production here
spoken of belongs to the third day of the creation. But Moses expressly
declares the place to have been richly replenished with every kind of
fruitful trees, that there might be a full and happy abundance of all
things. This was purposely done by the Lord, to the end that the cupidity
of man might have the less excuse if, instead of being contented with
such remarkable affluence, sweetness, and variety, it should (as really
happened) precipitate itself against the commandment of God. The Holy
Spirit also designedly relates by Moses the greatness of Adam's
happiness, in order that his vile intemperance might the more clearly
appear, which such superfluity was unable to restrain from breaking forth
upon the forbidden fruit. And certainly it was shameful ingratitude, that
he could not rest in a state so happy and desirable: truly, that was more
than brutal lust which bounty so great was not able to satisfy. No corner
of the earth was then barren, nor was there even any which was not
exceedingly rich and fertile: but that benediction of God, which was
elsewhere comparatively moderate, had in this place poured itself
wonderfully forth. For not only was there an abundant supply of food, but
with it was added sweetness for the gratification of the palate, and
beauty to feast the eyes. Therefore, from such benignant indulgence, it
is more than sufficiently evident, how inexplicable had been the cupidity
of man.
  "The tree of life also". It is uncertain whether he means only two
individual trees, or two kinds of trees. Either opinion is probable, but
the point is by no means worthy of contention; since it is of little or
no concern to us, which of the two is maintained. There is more
importance in the epithets, which were applied to each tree from its
effect, and that not by the will of man but of God. He gave the tree of
life its name, not because it could confer on man that life with which he
had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and
memorial of the life which he had received from God. For we know it to be
by no means unusual that God should give to us the attestation of his
grace by external symbols. He does not indeed transfer his power into
outward signs; but by them he stretches out his hand to us, because,
without assistance, we cannot ascend to him. He intended, therefore, that
man, as often as he tasted the fruit of that tree, should remember whence
he received his life, in order that he might acknowledge that he lives
not by his own power, but by the kindness of God alone; and that life is
not (as they commonly speak) an intrinsic good, but proceeds from God.
Finally, in that tree there was a visible testimony to the declaration,
that 'in God we are, and live, and move.' But if Adams hitherto innocent,
and of an upright nature, had need of monitory signs to lead him to the
knowledge of divine grace, how much more necessary are signs now, in this
great imbecility of our nature, since we have fallen from the true light?
Yet I am not dissatisfied with what has been handed down by some of the
fathers, as Augustine and Eucherius, that the tree of life was a figure
of Christ, inasmuch as he is the Eternal Word of God: it could not indeed
be otherwise a symbol of life, than by representing him in figure. For we
must maintain what is declared in the first chapter of John, that the
life of all things was included in the Word, but especially the life of
men, which is conjoined with reason and intelligence. Wherefore, by this
sign, Adam was admonished, that he could claim nothing for himself as if
it were his own, in order that he might depend wholly upon the Son of
God, and might not seek life anywhere but in him. But if he, at the time
when he possessed life in safety, had it only as deposited in the word of
God, and could not otherwise retain it, than by acknowledging that it was
received from Him, whence may we recover it, after it has been lost? Let
us know, therefore, that when we have departed from Christ, nothing
remains for us but death.
  I know that certain writers restrict the meaning of the expression here
used to corporeal life. They suppose such a power of quickening the body
to have been in the tree, that it should never languish through age; but
I say, they omit what is the chief thing in life, namely, the grace of
intelligence; for we must always consider for what end man was formed,
and what rule of living was prescribed to him. Certainly, for him to
live, was not simply to have a body fresh and lively, but also to excel
in the endowments of the soul.
  Concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we must hold, that
it was prohibited to man, not because God would have him to stray like a
sheep, without judgment and without choice; but that he might not seek to
be wiser than became him, nor by trusting to his own understanding, cast
off the yoke of God, and constitute himself an arbiter and judge of good
and evil. His sin proceeded from an evil conscience; whence it follows,
that a judgment had been given him, by which he might discriminate
between virtues and vices. Nor could what Moses relates be otherwise
true, namely, that he was created in the image of God; since the image of
God comprises in itself the knowledge of him who is the chief good.
Thoroughly insane, therefore, and monsters of men are the libertines, who
pretend that we are restored to a state of innocence, when each is
carried away by his own lust without judgment. We now understand what is
meant by abstaining from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;
namely, that Adam might not, in attempting one thing or another, rely
upon his own prudence; but that, cleaving to God alone, he might become
wise only by his obedience. Knowledge is here, therefore, taken
disparagingly, in a bad sense, for that wretched experience which man,
when he departed from the only fountain of perfect wisdom, began to
acquire for himself. And this is the origin of freewill, that Adam wished
to be independent, and dared to try what he was able to do.

10. "And a river went out". Moses says that one river flowed to water the
garden, which afterwards would divide itself into four heads. It is
sufficiently agreed among all, that two of these heads are the Euphrates
and the Tigris; for no one disputes that "Hiddekel" is the Tigris. But
there is a great controversy respecting the other two. Many think, that
Pison and Gihon are the Ganges and the Nile; the error, however, of these
men is abundantly refuted by the distance of the positions of these
rivers. Persons are not wanting who fly across even to the Danube; as if
indeed the habitation of one man stretched itself from the most remote
part of Asia to the extremity of Europe. But since many other celebrated
rivers flow by the region of which we are speaking, there is greater
probability in the opinion of those who believe that two of these rivers
are pointed out, although their names are now obsolete. Be this as it
may, the difficulty is not yet solved. For Moses divides the one river
which flowed by the garden into four heads. Yet it appears, that the
fountains of the Euphrates and the Tigris were far distant from each
other. From this difficulty, some would free themselves by saying, that
the surface of the globe may have been changed by the deluge; and,
therefore, they imagine it might have happened that the courses of the
rivers were disturbed and changed, and their springs transferred
elsewhere; a solution which appears to me by no means to be accepted. For
although I acknowledge that the earth, from the time that it was
accursed, became reduced from its native beauty to a state of wretched
defilement, and to a garb of mourning, and afterwards was further laid
waste in many places by the deluge; still, I assert, it was the same
earth which had been created in the beginning. Add to this, that Moses
(in my judgment) accommodated his topography to the capacity of his age.
Yet nothing is accomplished, unless we find that place where the Tigris
and Euphrates proceed from one river. Observe, first, that no mention is
made of a spring or fountain, but only that it is said, there was one
river. But the four heads I understand to mean, both the beginnings from
which the rivers are produced, and the mouths by which they discharge
themselves into the sea. Now the Euphrates was formerly so joined by
confluence with the Tigris, that it might justly be said, one river was
divided into four heads; especially if what is manifest to all be
conceded, that Moses does not speak acutely, nor in a philosophical
manner, but popularly, so that every one least informed may understand
him. Thus, in the first chapter, he called the sun and moon two great
luminaries; not because the moon exceeded other planets in magnitude, but
because, to common observation, it seemed greater. Add further, that he
seems to remove all doubt when he says, that the river had four heads,
because it was divided from that place. What does this mean, except that
the channels were divided, out of one confluent stream, either above or
below Paradise? I will now submit a plan to view, that the readers may
understand where I think Paradise was placed by Moses. (Here follows
Calvin's plan, which contains the name's Euphrates, The Great Armenia,
Tigris, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Arabian Desert, Seleucia, The Land of
Havila, Babylon, Babylonia, Syria, Chus, The Fal of Euphrates, The Fal of
Tigris, and The Golf of the Persian Sea.)
  Pliny indeed relates, in his Sixth Book, that the Euphrates was so
stopped in its course by the Orcheni, that it could not flow into the
sea, except through the Tigris. And Pomponius Mela, in his Third Book,
denies that it flowed by any given outlet, as other rivers, but says that
it failed in its course. Nearchus, however, (whom Alexander had made
commander of his fleet, and who, under his sanction, had navigated all
these regions,) reckons the distance from the mouth of the Euphrates to
Babylon, three thousand three hundred stadia. But he places the mouths of
the Tigris at the entrance of Susiana; in which region, returning from
that long and memorable voyage, he met the king with his fleet, as Adrian
relates in his Eighth Book of the Exploits of Alexander. This statement
Strabo also confirms by his testimony in his Fifteenth Book.
Nevertheless, wherever the Euphrates either submerges or mingles its
stream, it is certain, that it and the Tigris, below the point of their
confluence, are again divided. Adrian, however, in his Seventh Book,
writes that not one channel only of the Euphrates runs into the Tigris,
but also many rivers and ditches, because waters naturally descend from
higher to lower ground. With respect to the confluence, which I have
noted in the plate, the opinion of some was, that it had been effected be
the labour of the Praefect Cobaris, lest the Euphrates, by its
precipitate course, should injure Babylon. But he speaks of it as of a
doubtful matter. It is more credible, that men, by art and industry,
followed the guidance of Nature in forming ditches, when they saw the
Euphrates any where flowing of its own accord from the higher ground into
the Tigris. Moreover, if confidence is placed in Pomponius Mela,
Semiramis conducted the Tigris and Euphrates into Mesopotamia, which was
previously dry; a thing by no means credible. There is more truth in the
statement of Strabo,--a diligent and attentive writer,--in his Eleventh
Book, that at Babylon these two rivers unite: and then, that each is
carried separately, in its own bed, into the Red Sea. He understands that
junction to have taken place above Babylon, not far from the town
Massica, as we read in the Fifth Book of Pliny. Thence one river flows
through Babylon, the other glides by Seleucia, two of the most celebrated
and opulent cities. If we admit this confluence, by which the Euphrates
was mixed with the Tigris, to have been natural, and to have existed from
the beginning, all absurdity is removed. If there is anywhere under
heaven a region preeminent in beauty, in the abundance of all kinds of
fruit, in fertility, in delicacies, and in other gifts, that is the
region which writers most celebrate. Wherefore, the eulogies with which
Moses commends Paradise are such as properly belong to a tract of this
description. And that the region of Eden was situated in those parts is
probable from Isaiah 37: 12, and Ezekiel 27: 23. Moreover, when Moses
declares that a river went forth, I understand him as speaking of the
flowing of the stream; as if he had said, that Adam dwelt on the bank of
the river, or in that land which was watered on both sides if you choose
to take Paradise for both banks of the river. However, it makes no great
difference whether Adam dwelt below the confluent stream towards Babylon
and Seleucia, or in the higher part; it is enough that he occupied a
well-watered country. How the river was divided into four heads is not
difficult to understand. For there are two rivers which flow together
into one, and then separate in different directions; thus, it is one at
the point of confluence, but there are two heads in its upper channels,
and two towards the sea; afterwards, they again begin to be more widely
separated.
  The question remains concerning the names Pison and Gihon. For it does
not seem consonant with reason, to assign a double name to each of the
rivers. But it is nothing new for rivers to change their names in their
course, especially where there is any special mark of distinction. The
Tigris itself (by the authority of Pliny) is called Diglito near its
source; but after it has formed many channels, and again coalesces, it
takes the name of Pasitigris. There is, therefore, no absurdity in
saying, that after its confluence it had different names. Further there
is some such affinity between Pasin and Pison, as to render it not
improbable, that the name Pasitigris is a vestige of the ancient
appellation. In the Fifth Book of Quintus Curtis, concerning the Exploits
of Alexander, where mention is made of Pasitigris, some copies read, that
it was called by the inhabitants Pasin. Nor do the other circumstances,
by which Moses describes three of these rivers, in accord with this
supposition. Pison surrounds the land of Havila, where gold is produced.
Surrounding is rightly attributed to the Tigris, on account of its
winding course below Mesopotamia. The land of Havila, in my judgment, is
here taken for a region adjoining Persia. For subsequently, in the
twenty-fifth chapter, Moses relates, that the Ishmaelites dwelt from
Havila unto Shur, which is contiguous to Egypt, and through which the
road lies into Assyria. Havila, as one boundary, is opposed to Shur as
another, and this boundary Moses places near Egypt, on the side which
lies towards Assyria. Whence it follows, that Havila [the other boundary]
extends towards Susia and Persia. For it is necessary that it should lie
below Assyria towards the Persian Sea; besides, it is placed at a great
distance from Egypt; because Moses enumerates many nations which dwelt
between these boundaries. Then it appears that the Nabathaeans, of whom
mention is there made, were neighbours to the Persian. Every thing which
Moses asserts respecting gold and precious stones is most applicable to
this district.
  The river Gihon still remains to be noticed, which, as Moses declares,
waters the land of Chus. All interpreters translate this word Ethiopia;
but the country of the Midianites, and the conterminous country of
Arabia, are included under the same name by Moses; for which reason, his
wife is elsewhere called an Ethiopian woman. Moreover, since the lower
course of the Euphrates tends toward that region, I do not see why it
should be deemed absurd, that it there receives the name of Gihon. And
thus the simple meaning of Moses is, that the garden of which Adam was
the possessor was well watered, the channel of a river passing that way,
which was afterwards divided into four heads.

15. "And the Lord God took the man". Moses now adds, that the earth was
given to man, with this condition, that he should occupy himself in its
cultivation. Whence it follows that men were created to employ themselves
in some work, and not to lie down in inactivity and idleness. This
labour, truly, was pleasant, and full of delight, entirely exempt from
all trouble and weariness; since however God ordained that man should be
exercised in the culture of the ground, he condemned in his person, all
indolent repose. Wherefore, nothing is more contrary to the order of
nature, than to consume life in eating, drinking, and sleeping, while in
the meantime we propose nothing to ourselves to do. Moses adds, that the
custody of the garden was given in charge to Adam, to show that we
possess the things which God has committed to our hands, on the
condition, that being content with a frugal and moderate use of them, we
should take care of what shall remain. Let him who possesses a field, so
partake of its yearly fruits, that he may not suffer the ground to be
injured by his negligence; but let him endeavour to hand it down to
posterity as he received it, or even better cultivated. Let him so feed
on its fruits that he neither dissipates it by luxury, nor permits to be
marred or ruined by neglect. Moreover, that this economy, and this
diligence, with respect to those good things which God has given us to
enjoy, may flourish among us; let every one regard himself as the steward
of God in all things which he possesses. Then he will neither conduct
himself dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires
to be preserved.

16. "And the Lord God commanded". Moses now teaches, that man was the
governor of the world, with this exception, that he should, nevertheless,
be subject to God. A law is imposed upon him in token of his subjection;
for it would have made no difference to God, if he had eaten
indiscriminately of any fruit he pleased. Therefore the prohibition of
one tree was a test of obedience. And in this mode, God designed that the
whole human race should be accustomed from the beginning to reverence his
Deity; as, doubtless, it was necessary that man, adorned and enriched
with so many excellent gifts, should be held under restraint, lest he
should break forth into licentiousness. There was, indeed, another
special reason, to which we have before alluded, lest Adam should desire
to be wise above measure; but this is to be kept in mind as God's general
design, that he would have men subject to his authority. Therefore,
abstinence from the fruit of one tree was a kind of first lesson in
obedience, that man might know he had a Director and Lord of his life, on
whose will he ought to depend, and in whose commands he ought to
acquiesce. And this, truly, is the only rule of living well and
rationally, that men should exercise themselves in obeying God. It seems,
however, to some as if this did not accord with the judgment of Paul,
when he teaches, that "the law was not made for the righteous," (1 Tim.
1: 9.) For if it be so, then, when Adam was yet innocent and upright, he
had no need of a law. But the solution is ready. For Paul is not there
writing controversially; but from the common practice of life, he
declares, that they who freely run, do not require to be compelled by the
necessity of law; as it is said, in the common proverb, that 'Good laws
spring from bad manners.' In the meantime, he does not deny that God,
from the beginning, imposed a law upon man, for the purpose of
maintaining the right due to himself. Should any one bring, as an
objection, another statement of Paul, where he asserts that the "law is
the minister of death," (2 Cor. 3: 7,) I answer, it is so accidentally,
and from the corruption of our nature. But at the time of which we speak,
a precept was given to man, whence he might know that God ruled over him.
These minute things, however I lightly pass over. What I have before
said, since it is of far greater moment, is to be frequently recalled to
memory, namely, that our life will then be rightly ordered, if we obey
God, and if his will be the regulator of all our affections.
  "Of every tree". To the end that Adam might the more willingly comply,
God commends his own liberality. 'Behold,' he says, 'I deliver into thy
hand whatever fruits the earth may produce, whatever fruits every kind of
tree may yield: from this immense profusion and variety I except only one
tree.' Then, by denouncing punishment, he strikes terror, for the purpose
of confirming the authority of the law. So much the greater, then, is the
wickedness of man, whom neither that kind commemoration of the gifts of
God, nor the dread of punishment, was able to retain in his duty.
  But it is asked, what kind of death God means in this place? It appears
to me, that the definition of this death is to be sought from its
opposite; we must, I say, remember from what kind of life man fell. He
was, in every respect, happy; his life, therefore, had alike respect to
his body and his soul, since in his soul a right judgment and a proper
government of the affections prevailed, there also life reigned; in his
body there was no defect, wherefore he was wholly free from death. His
earthly life truly would have been temporal; yet he would have passed
into heaven without death, and without injury. Death, therefore, is now a
terror to us; first, because there is a kind of annihilation, as it
respects the body; then, because the soul feels the curse of God. We must
also see what is the cause of death, namely alienation from God. Thence
it follows, that under the name of death is comprehended all those
miseries in which Adam involved himself by his defection; for as soon as
he revolted from God, the fountain of life, he was cast down from his
former state, in order that he might perceive the life of man without God
to be wretched and lost, and therefore differing nothing from death.
Hence the condition of man after his sin is not improperly called both
the privation of life, and death. The miseries and evils both of soul and
body, with which man is beset so long as he is on earth, are a kind of
entrance into death, till death itself entirely absorbs him; for the
Scripture everywhere calls those dead who, being oppressed by the tyranny
of sin and Satan, breath nothing but their own destruction. Wherefore the
question is superfluous, how it was that God threatened death to Adam on
the day in which he should touch the fruit, when he long deferred the
punishment? For then was Adam consigned to death, and death began its
reign in him, until supervening grace should bring a remedy.

18. "It is not good that the man should be alone." Moses now explains the
design of God in creating the woman; namely, that there should be human
beings on the earth who might cultivate mutual society between
themselves. Yet a doubt may arise whether this design ought to be
extended to progeny, for the words simply mean that since it was not
expedient for man to be alone, a wife must be created, who might be his
helper. I, however, take the meaning to be this, that God begins, indeed,
at the first step of human society, yet designs to include others, each
in its proper place. The commencement, therefore, involves a general
principle, that man was formed to be a social animal. Now, the human race
could not exist without the woman; and, therefore, in the conjunction of
human beings, that sacred bond is especially conspicuous, by which the
husband and the wife are combined in one body, and one soul; as nature
itself taught Plato, and others of the sounder class of philosophers, to
speak. But although God pronounced, concerning Adam, that it would not be
profitable for him to be alone, yet I do not restrict the declaration to
his person alone, but rather regard it as a common law of man's vocation,
so that every one ought to receive it as said to himself, that solitude
is not good, excepting only him whom God exempts as by a special
privilege. Many think that celibacy conduces to their advantage, and
therefore, abstain from marriage, lest they should be miserable. Not only
have heathen writers defined that to be a happy life which is passed
without a wife, but the first book of Jerome, against Jovinian, is
stuffed with petulant reproaches, by which he attempts to render hallowed
wedlock both hateful and infamous. To these wicked suggestions of Satan
let the faithful learn to oppose this declaration of God, by which he
ordains the conjugal life for man, not to his destruction, but to his
salvation.
  "I will make him an help." It may be inquired, why this is not said in
the plural number, Let us make, as before in the creation of man. Some
suppose that a distinction between the two sexes is in this manner
marked, and that it is thus shown how much the man excels the woman. But
I am better satisfied with an interpretation which, though not altogether
contrary, is yet different; namely, since in the person of the man the
human race had been created, the common dignity of our whole nature was
without distinction, honoured with one eulogy, when it was said, "Let us
make man;" nor was it necessary to be repeated in creating the woman, who
was nothing else than an accession to the man. Certainly, it cannot be
denied, that the woman also, though in the second degree, was created in
the image of God; whence it follows, that what was said in the creation
of the man belongs to the female sex. Now, since God assigns the woman as
a help to the man, he not only prescribes to wives the rule of their
vocation to instruct them in their duty, but he also pronounces that
marriage will really prove to men the best support of life. We may
therefore conclude, that the order of nature implies that the woman
should be the helper of the man. The vulgar proverb, indeed, is, that she
is a necessary evil; but the voice of God is rather to be heard, which
declares that woman is given as a companion and an associate to the man,
to assist him to live well. I confess, indeed, that in this corrupt state
of mankind, the blessing of God, which is here described, is neither
perceived nor flourishes; but the cause of the evil must be considered,
namely, that the order of nature, which God had appointed, has been
inverted by us. For if the integrity of man had remained to this day such
as it was from the beginning, that divine institution would be clearly
discerned, and the sweetest harmony would reign in marriage; because the
husband would look up with reverence to God; the woman in this would be a
faithful assistant to him; and both, with one consent, would cultivate a
holy, as well as friendly and peaceful intercourse. Now, it has happened
by our fault, and by the corruption of nature, that this happiness of
marriage has, in a great measure, perished, or, at least, is mixed and
infected with many inconveniences. Hence arise strifes, troubles,
sorrows, dissensions, and a boundless sea of evils; and hence it follows,
that men are often disturbed by their wives, and suffer through them many
discouragements. Still, marriage was not capable of being so far vitiated
by the depravity of men, that the blessing which God has once sanctioned
by his word should be utterly abolished and extinguished. Therefore,
amidst many inconveniences of marriage, which are the fruits of
degenerate nature, some residue of divine good remains; as in the fire
apparently smothered, some sparks still glitter. On this main point hangs
another, that women, being instructed in their duty of helping their
husbands, should study to keep this divinely appointed order. It is also
the part of men to consider what they owe in return to the other half of
their kind, for the obligation of both sexes is mutual, and on this
condition is the woman assigned as a help to the man, that he may fill
the place of her head and leader. One thing more is to be noted, that,
when the woman is here called the help of the man, no allusion is made to
that necessity to which we are reduced since the fall of Adam; for the
woman was ordained to be the man's helper, even although he had stood in
his integrity. But now, since the depravity of appetite also requires a
remedy, we have from God a double benefit: but the latter is accidental.
  "Meet for him." In the Hebrew it is "kenegdo", "as if opposite to," or
"over against him." "Caph" in that language is a note of similitude. But
although some of the Rabbles think it is here put as an affirmative, yet
I take it in its general sense, as though it were said that she is a kind
of counterpart, ["antistoikon", or "antistrofon";] for the woman is said
to be opposite to or over against the man, because she responds to him.
But the particle of similitude seems to me to be added because it is a
form of speech taken from common usage. The Greek translators have
faithfully rendered the sense, "kath' auton"; and Jerome, " Which may be
like him," for Moses intended to note some equality. And hence is
refitted the error of some, who think that the woman was formed only for
the sake of propagation, and who restrict the word "good," which had been
lately mentioned, to the production of offspring. They do not think that
a wife was personally necessary for Adam, because he was hitherto free
from lust; as if she had been given to him only for the companion of his
chamber, and not rather that she might be the inseparable associate of
his life. Wherefore the particle "caph" is of importance, as intimating
that marriage extends to all parts and usages of life. The explanation
given by others, as if it were said, "Let her be ready to obedience," is
cold; for Moses intended to express more, as is manifest from what
follows.

19. "And out of the ground the Lord God formed, &c".4 This is a more
ample exposition of the preceding sentence, for he says that, of all the
animals, when they had been placed in order, not one was found which
might be conferred upon and adapted to Adam; nor was there such affinity
of nature, that Adam could choose for himself a companion for life out of
any one species. Nor did this occur through ignorance, for each species
had passed in review before Adams and he had imposed names upon them, not
rashly but from certain knowledge; yet there was no just proportion
between him and them. Therefore, unless a wife had been given him of the
same kind with himself, he would have remained destitute of a suitable
and proper help. Moreover, what is here said of God's bringing the
animals to Adam signifies nothing else than that he endued them with the
disposition to obedience, so that they would voluntarily offer themselves
to the man, in order that he, having closely inspected them, might
distinguish them by appropriate names, agreeing with the nature of each.
This gentleness towards man would have remained also in wild beasts, if
Adam, by his defection from God, had not lost the authority he had before
received. But now, from the time in which he began to be rebellious
against God, he experienced the ferocity of brute animals against
himself; for some are tamed with difficulty, others always remain
unsubdued, and some, even of their own accord, inspire us with terror by
their fierceness. Yet some remains of their former subjection continue to
the present time, as we shall see in the second verse of the ninth
chapter. Besides, it is to be remarked that Moses speaks only of those
animals which approach the nearest to man, for the fishes live as in
another world. As to the names which Adam imposed, I do not doubt that
each of them was founded on the best reason; but their use, with many
other good things, has become obsolete.

21. "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall, &c." Although to
profane persons this method of forming woman may seem ridiculous, and
some of these may say that Moses is dealing in fables, yet to us the
wonderful providence of God here shines forth; for, to the end that the
conjunction of the human race might be the more sacred he purposed that
both males and females should spring from one and the same origin.
Therefore he created human nature in the person of Adam, and thence
formed Eve, that the woman should be only a portion of the whole human
race. This is the import of the words of Moses which we have had before,
(Chap. 1: 28,) "God created man ... he made them male and female." In
this manner Adam was taught to recognize himself in his wife, as in a
mirror; and Eve, in her turn, to submit herself willingly to her husband,
as being taken out of him. But if the two sexes had proceeded from
different sources, there would have been occasion either of mutual
contempt, or envy, or contentions. And against what do perverse men here
object? 'The narration does not seem credible, since it is at variance
with custom.' As if, indeed, such an objection would have more colour
than one raised against the usual mode of the production of mankind, if
the latter were not known by use and experience. But they object that
either the rib which was taken from Adam had been superfluous, or that
his body had been mutilated by the absence of the rib. To either of these
it may be answered, that they find out a great absurdity. If, however, we
should say that the rib out of which he would form another body had been
prepared previously by the Creator of the world, I find nothing in this
answer which is not in accordance with Divine Providence. Yet I am more
in favour of a different conjecture, namely, that something was taken
from Adam, in order that he might embrace, with greater benevolence, a
part of himself. He lost, therefore, one of his ribs; but, instead of it,
a far richer reward was granted him, since he obtained a faithful
associate of life; for he now saw himself, who had before been imperfect,
rendered complete in his wife. And in this we see a true resemblance of
our union with the Son of God; for he became weak that he might have
members of his body endued with strength. In the meantime, it is to be
noted, that Adam had been plunged in a sleep so profound, that he felt no
pain; and further, that neither had the rupture been violent, nor was any
want perceived of the lost rib, because God so filled up the vacuity with
flesh, that his strength remained unimpaired; only the hardness of bone
was removed. Moses also designedly used the word built, to teach us that
in the person of the woman the human race was at length complete, which
had before been like a building just begun. Others refer the expression
to the domestic economy, as if Moses would say that legitimate family
order was then instituted, which does not differ widely from the former
exposition.

22. "And brought her, &c." Moses now relates that marriage was divinely
instituted, which is especially useful to be known; for since Adam did
not take a wife to himself at his own will, but received her as offered
and appropriated to him by God, the sanctity of marriage hence more
clearly appears, because we recognize God as its Author. The more Satan
has endeavoured to dishonour marriage, the more should we vindicate it
from all reproach and abuse, that it may receive its due reverence.
Thence it will follow that the children of God may embrace a conjugal
life with a good and tranquil conscience, and husbands and wives may live
together in chastity and honour. The artifice of Satan in attempting the
defamation of marriage was twofold: first, that by means of the odium
attached to it he might introduce the pestilential law of celibacy; and,
secondly, that married persons might indulge themselves in whatever
license they pleased. Therefore, by showing the dignity of marriage, we
must remove superstition, lest it should in the slightest degree hinder
the faithful from chastely using the lawful and pure ordinance of God;
and further, we must oppose the lasciviousness of the flesh, in order
that men may live modestly with their wives. But if no other reason
influenced us, yet this alone ought to be abundantly sufficient, that
unless we think and speak honorably of marriage, reproach is attached to
its Author and Patron, for such God is here described as being by Moses.

23. "And Adam said, &c." It is demanded whence Adam derived this
knowledge since he was at that time buried in deep sleep. If we say that
his quickness of perception was then such as to enable him by conjecture
to form a judgment, the solution would be weak. But we ought not to doubt
that God would make the whole course of the affair manifest to him,
either by secret revelation or by his word; for it was not from any
necessity on God's part that He borrowed from man the rib out of which he
might form the woman; but he designed that they should be more closely
joined together by this bonds which could not have been effected unless
he had informed them of the fact. Moses does not indeed explain by what
means God gave them this information; yet unless we would make the work
of God superfluous, we must conclude that its Author revealed both the
fact itself and the method and design of its accomplishment. The deep
sleep was sent upon Adam, not to hide from him the origin of his wife,
but to exempt him from pain and trouble, until he should receive a
compensation so excellent for the loss of his rib.
  "This is now bone of, &c." In using the expression "hapa'am", Adam
indicates that something had been wanting to him; as if he had said, Now
at length I have obtained a suitable companion, who is part of the
substance of my flesh, and in whom I behold, as it were, another self.
And he gives to his wife a name taken from that of man, that by this
testimony and this mark he might transmit a perpetual memorial of the
wisdom of God. A deficiency in the Latin language has compelled the
ancient interpreter to render "ishah" by the word virago. It is, however,
to be remarked, that the Hebrew term means nothing else than the female
of the man.

24. "Therefore shall a man leave." It is doubted whether Moses here
introduces God as speaking, or continues the discourse of Adam, or,
indeed, has added this, in virtue of his office as teacher, in his own
person. The last of these is that which I most approve. Therefore, after
he has related historically what God had done, he also demonstrates the
end of the divine institution. The sum of the whole is, that among the
offices pertaining to human society, this is the principal, and as it
were the most sacred, that a man should cleave unto his wife. And he
amplifies this by a superadded comparison, that the husband ought to
prefer his wife to his father. But the father is said to be left not
because marriage severs sons from their fathers, or dispenses with other
ties of nature, for in this way God would be acting contrary to himself.
While, however, the piety of the son towards his father is to be most
assiduously cultivated and ought in itself to be deemed inviolable and
sacred, yet Moses so speaks of marriage as to show that it is less lawful
to desert a wife than parents. Therefore, they who, for slight causes,
rashly allow of divorces, violate, in one single particular, all the laws
of nature, and reduce them to nothing. If we should make it a point of
conscience not to separate a father from his son, it is a still greater
wickedness to dissolve the bond which God has preferred to all others.
  "They shall be one flesh." Although the ancient Latin interpreter has
translated the passage 'in one flesh,' yet the Greek interpreters have
expressed it more forcibly: 'They two shall be into one flesh,' and thus
Christ cites the place in Matthew 19: 5. But though here no mention is
made of two, yet there is no ambiguity in the sense; for Moses had not
said that God has assigned many wives, but only one to one man; and in
the general direction given, he had put the wife in the singular number.
It remains, therefore, that the conjugal bond subsists between two
persons only, whence it easily appears, that nothing is less accordant
with the divine institution than polygamy. Now, when Christ, in censuring
the voluntary divorces of the Jews, adduces as his reason for doing it,
that 'it was not so in the beginning,' (Matth. 19: 5,) he certainly
commands this institution to be observed as a perpetual rule of conduct.
To the same point also Malachi recalls the Jews of his own time: 'Did he
not make them one from the beginning? and yet the Spirit was abounding in
him.' (Mal. 2: 15.) Wherefore, there is no doubt that polygamy is a
corruption of legitimate marriage.

25. "They were both naked." That the nakedness of men should be deemed
indecorous and unsightly, while that of cattle has nothing disgraceful,
seems little to agree with the dignity of human nature. We cannot behold
a naked man without a sense of shame; yet at the sight of an ass, a dog,
or an ox, no such feeling will be produced. Moreover, every one is
ashamed of his own nakedness, even though other witnesses may not be
present. Where then is that dignity in which we excel? The cause of this
sense of shame, to which we are now alluding, Moses will show in the next
chapter. He now esteems it enough to say, that in our uncorrupted nature,
there was nothing but what was honorable; whence it follows, that
whatsoever is opprobrious in us, must be imputed to our own fault, since
our parents had nothing in themselves which was unbecoming until they
were defiled with sin.



Chapter III.

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall
be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it
[was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were]
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the 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.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave
me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast
done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
[shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of
thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,
Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt
eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto
the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto
dust shalt thou return.
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all
living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins,
and clothed them.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the
way of the tree of life.

1. "Now the serpent was more subtile." In this chapter, Moses explains,
that man, after he had been deceived by Satan revolted from his Maker,
became entirely changed and so degenerate, that the image of God, in
which he had been formed, was obliterated. He then declares, that the
whole world, which had been created for the sake of man, fell together
with him from its primary original; and that in this ways much of its
native excellence was destroyed. But here many and arduous questions
arise. For when Moses says that the serpent was crafty beyond all other
animals, he seems to intimate, that it had been induced to deceive man,
not by the instigation of Satan, but by its own malignity. I answer, that
the innate subtlety of the serpent did not prevent Satan from making use
of the animal for the purpose of effecting the destruction of man. For
since he required an instrument, he chose from among animals that which
he saw would be most suitable for him: finally, he carefully contrived
the method by which the snares he was preparing might the more easily
take the mind of Eve by surprise. Hitherto, he had held no communication
with men; he, therefore, clothed himself with the person of an animal,
under which he might open for himself the way of access. Yet it is not
agreed among interpreters in what sense the serpent is said to be
"aroom", (subtle,) by which word the Hebrews designate the prudent as
well as the crafty. Some, therefore, would take it in a good, others in a
bad sense. I think, however, Moses does not so much point out a fault as
attribute praise to nature because God had endued this beast with such
singular skill, as rendered it acute and quick-sighted beyond all others.
But Satan perverted to his own deceitful purposes the gift which had been
divinely imparted to the serpent. Some captiously cavil, that more
acuteness is now found in many other animals. To whom I answer, that
there would be nothing absurd in saying, that the gift which had proved
so destructive to the human race has been withdrawn from the serpent:
just, as we shall hereafter see, other punishments were also inflicted
upon it. Yet, in this description, writers on natural history do not
materially differ from Moses, and experience gives the best answer to the
objection; for the Lord does not in vain command his own disciples to be
'prudent as serpents,' (Matth. 10: 16.) But it appears, perhaps, scarcely
consonant with reason, that the serpent only should be here brought
forward, all mention of Satan being suppressed. I acknowledge, indeed,
that from this place alone nothing more can be collected than that men
were deceived by the serpent. But the testimonies of Scripture are
sufficiently numerous, in which it is plainly asserted that the serpent
was only the mouth of the devil; for not the serpent but the devil is
declared to be 'the father of lies,' the fabricator of imposture, and the
author of death. The question, however, is not yet solved, why Moses has
kept back the name of Satan. I willingly subscribe to the opinion of
those who maintain that the Holy Spirit then purposely used obscure
figures, because it was fitting that full and clear light should be
reserved for the kingdom of Christ. In the meantime, the prophets prove
that they were well acquainted with the meaning of Moses, when, in
different places, they cast the blame of our ruin upon the devil. We have
elsewhere said, that Moses, by a homely and uncultivated style,
accommodates what he delivers to the capacity of the people; and for the
best reason; for not only had he to instruct an untaught race of men, but
the existing age of the Church was so puerile, that it was unable to
receive any higher instruction. There is, therefore, nothing absurd in
the supposition, that they, whom, for the time, we know and confess to
have been but as infants, were fed with milk. Or (if another comparison
be more acceptable) Moses is by no means to be blamed, if he, considering
the office of schoolmaster as imposed upon him, insists on the rudiments
suitable to children. They who have an aversion to this simplicity, must
of necessity condemn the whole economy of God in governing the Church.
This, however, may suffice us, that the Lord, by the secret illumination
of his Spirit, supplied whatever was wanting of clearness in outward
expressions; as appears plainly from the prophets, who saw Satan to be
the real enemy of the human race, the contriver of all evils, furnished
with every kind of fraud and villainy to injure and destroy. Therefore,
though the impious make a noise, there is nothing justly to offend us in
this mode of speaking by which Moses describes Satan, the prince of
iniquity, under the person of his servant and instrument, at the time
when Christ, the Head of the Church, and the Sun of Righteousness, had
not yet openly shone forth. Add to this, the baseness of human
ingratitude is more clearly hence perceived, that when Adam and Eve knew
that all animals were given, by the hand of God, into subjection to them,
they yet suffered themselves to be led away by one of their own slaves
into rebellion against God. As often as they beheld any one of the
animals which were in the world, they ought to have been reminded both of
the supreme authority, and of the singular goodness of God; but, on the
contrary, when they saw the serpent an apostate from his Creator, not
only did they neglect to punish it, but, in violation of all lawful
order, they subjected and devoted themselves to it, as participators in
the same apostasy. What can be imagined more dishonourable than this
extreme depravity? Thus, I understand the name of the serpent, not
allegorically, as some foolishly do, but in its genuine sense.
  Many persons are surprised that Moses simply, and as if abruptly,
relates that men have fallen by the impulse of Satan into eternal
destruction, and yet never by a single word explains how the tempter
himself had revolted from God. And hence it has arisen, that fanatical
men have dreamed that Satan was created evil and wicked as he is here
described. But the revolt of Satan is proved by other passages of
Scripture; and it is an impious madness to ascribe to God the creation of
any evil and corrupt nature; for when he had completed the world, he
himself gave this testimony to all his works, that they were "very good."
Wherefore, without controversy, we must conclude, that the principle of
evil with which Satan was endued was not from nature, but from defection;
because he had departed from God, the fountain of justice and of all
rectitude. But Moses here passes over Satan's fall, because his object is
briefly to narrate the corruption of human nature; to teach us that Adam
was not created to those multiplied miseries under which all his
posterity suffer, but that he fell into them by his own fault. In
reflecting on the number and nature of those evils to which they are
obnoxious, men will often be unable to restrain themselves from raging
and murmuring against God, whom they rashly censure for the just
punishment of their sin. These are their well-known complaints that God
has acted more mercifully to swine and dogs than to them. Whence is this,
but that they do not refer the miserable and ruined state, under which we
languish, to the sin of Adam as they ought? But what is far worse, they
fling back upon God the charge of being the cause of all the inward vices
of the mind, (such as its horrible blindness, contumacy against God,
wicked desires, and violent propensities to evil;) as if the whole
perverseness of our disposition had not been adventitious. The design,
therefore, of Moses was to show, in a few words, how greatly our present
condition differs from our first original, in order that we may learn,
with humble confession of our fault, to bewail our evils. We ought not
then to be surprised, that, while intent on the history he purposed to
relate, he does not discuss every topic which may be desired by any
person whatever.
  We must now enter on that question by which vain and inconstant minds
are greatly agitated; namely, Why God permitted Adam to be tempted,
seeing that the sad result was by no means hidden from him? That He now
relaxes Satan's reins, to allow him to tempt us to sin, we ascribe to
judgment and to vengeance, in consequence of man's alienation from
himself; but there was not the same reason for doing so when human nature
was yet pure and upright. God, therefore, permitted Satan to tempt man,
who was conformed to His own image, and not yet implicated in any crime,
having, moreover, on this occasion, allowed Satan the use of an animal
which otherwise would never have obeyed him; and what else was this, than
to arm an enemy for the destruction of man? This seems to have been the
ground on which the Manichaeans maintained the existence of two
principles. Therefore, they have imagined that Satan, not being in
subjection to God, laid snares for man in opposition to the divine will,
and was superior not to man only, but also to God himself. Thus, for the
sake of avoiding what they dreaded as an absurdity, they have fallen into
execrable prodigies of error; such as, that there are two Gods and not
one sole Creator of the world, and that the first God has been overcome
by his antagonist. All, however, who think piously and reverently
concerning the power of God, acknowledge that the evil did not take place
except by his permission. For, in the first place, it must be conceded,
that God was not in ignorance of the event which was about to occur; and
then, that he could have prevented it, had he seen fit to do so. But in
speaking of permission, I understand that he had appointed whatever he
wished to be done. Here, indeed, a difference arises on the part of many,
who suppose Adam to have been so left to his own free will, that God
would not have him fall. They take for granted, what I allow them, that
nothing is less probable than that God should he regarded as the cause of
sin, which he has avenged with so many and such severe penalties. When I
say, however, that Adam did not fall without the ordination and will of
God, I do not so take it as if sin had ever been pleasing to Him, or as
if he simply wished that the precept which he had given should be
violated. So far as the fall of Adam was the subversion of equity, and of
well-constituted order, so far as it was contumacy against the Divine
Law-giver, and the transgression of righteousness, certainly it was
against the will of God; yet none of these things render it impossible
that, for a certain cause, although to us unknown, he might will the fall
of man. It offends the ears of some, when it is said God willed this
fall; but what else, I pray, is the permission of Him, who has the power
of preventing, and in whose hand the whole matter is placed, but his
will? I wish that men would rather suffer themselves to be judged by God,
than that, with profane temerity, they should pass judgment upon him; but
this is the arrogance of the flesh to subject God to its own test. I hold
it as a settled axiom, that nothing is more unsuitable to the character
of God than for us to say that man was created by Him for the purpose of
being placed in a condition of suspense and doubt; wherefore I conclude,
that, as it became the Creator, he had before determined with himself
what should be man's future condition. Hence the unskilful rashly infer,
that man did not sin by free choice. For he himself perceives, being
convicted by the testimony of his own conscience, that he has been too
free in sinning. Whether he sinned by necessity, or by contingency, is
another question; respecting which see the Institution, and the treatise
on Predestination.
  "And he said unto the woman." The impious assail this passage with
their sneers, because Moses ascribes eloquence to an animal which only
faintly hisses with its forked tongue. And first they ask, at what time
animals began to be mute, if they then had a distinct language, and one
common to ourselves and them. The answer is ready; the serpent was not
eloquent by nature, but when Satan, by divine permission, procured it as
a fit instrument for his use, he uttered words also by its tongue, which
God himself permitted. Nor do I doubt that Eve perceived it to be
extraordinary, and on that account received with the greater avidity what
she admired. Now, if men decide that whatever is unwonted must be
fabulous, God could work no miracle. Here God, by accomplishing a work
above the ordinary course of nature, constrains us to admire his power.
If then, under this very pretext, we ridicule the power of God, because
it is not familiar to us, are we not excessively preposterous? Besides,
if it seems incredible that beasts should speak at the command of God,
how has man the power of speech, but because God has formed his tongue?
The Gospel declares, that voices were uttered in the air, without a
tongue, to illustrate the glory of Christ; this is less probable to
carnal reason, than that speech should be elicited from the mouth of
brute animals. What then can the petulance of impious men find here
deserving of their invective? In short, whosoever holds that God in
heaven is the Ruler of the world, will not deny his power over the
creatures, so that he can teach brute animals to speak when he pleases,
just as he sometimes renders eloquent men speechless. Moreover the
craftiness of Satan betrays itself in this, that he does not directly
assail the man, but approaches him, as through a mine, in the person of
his wife. This insidious method of attack is more than sufficiently known
to us at the present day, and I wish we might learn prudently to guard
ourselves against it. For he warily insinuates himself at that point at
which he sees us to be the least fortified, that he may not be perceived
till he should have penetrated where he wished. The woman does not flee
from converse with the serpent, because hitherto no dissension had
existed; she, therefore, accounted it simply as a domestic animal.
  The question occurs, what had impelled Satan to contrive the
destruction of man? Curious sophists have feigned that he burned with
envy, when he foresaw that the Son of God was to be clothed in human
flesh; but the speculation is frivolous. For since the Son of God was
made man in order to restore us, who were already lost, from our
miserable over throw, how could that be foreseen which would never have
happened unless man had sinned? If there be room for conjectures, it is
more probable that he was driven by a kind of fury, (as the desperate are
wont to be,) to hurry man away with himself into a participation of
eternal ruin. But it becomes us to be content with this single reasons
that since he was the adversary of God, he attempted to subvert the order
established by Him. And, because he could not drag God from his throne,
he assailed man, in whom His image shone. He knew that with the ruin of
man the most dreadful confusion would be produced in the whole world, as
indeed it happened, and therefore he endeavoured, in the person of man,
to obscure the glory of God. Rejecting, therefore, all vain figments, let
us hold fast this doctrine, which is both simple and solid.
  "Yea, has God said?" This sentence is variously expounded and even
distorted, partly because it is in itself obscure, and partly because of
the ambiguous import of the Hebrew particle. The expression "aph ki",
sometimes signifies "although" or "indeed," and sometimes, "how much
more." David Kimchi takes it in this last sense, and thinks that many
words had passed between them on both sides, before the serpent descended
to this point; namely, that having calumniated God on other accounts, he
at length thus concludes, Hence it much more appears how envious and
malignant he is towards you, because he has interdicted you from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. But this exposition is not only
forced, it is proved to be false by the reply of Eve. More correct is the
explanation of the Chaldean paraphrast, 'Is it true that God has
forbidden? &c.' Again, to some this appears a simple, to others an
ironical interrogation. It would be a simple interrogation, if it
injected a doubt in the following manner: 'Can it be, that God should
forbid the eating of any tree whatever?' but it would be ironical, if
used for the purpose of dissipating vain fear; as, 'It greatly concerns
God, indeed, whether you eat of the tree or not! It is, therefore,
ridiculous that you should think it to be forbidden you!' I subscribe the
more freely to the former opinion, because there is greater probability
that Satan, in order to deceive more covertly, would gradually proceed
with cautious prevarications to lead the woman to a contempt of the
divine precept. There are some who suppose that Satan expressly denies
the word which our first parents had heard, to have been the word of God.
Others think, (with whom I rather agree,) that, under the pretext of
inquiring into the cause, he would indirectly weaken their confidence in
the word. And certainly the old interpreter has translated the
expression, 'Why has God said?' which, although I do not altogether
approve, yet I have no doubt that the serpent urges the woman to seek out
the cause, since otherwise he would not have been able to draw away her
mind from God. Very dangerous is the temptation, when it is suggested to
us, that God is not to be obeyed except so far as the reason of his
command is apparent. The true rule of obedience is, that we being content
with a bare command, should persuade ourselves that whatever he enjoins
is just and right. But whosoever desires to be wise beyond measure, him
will Satan, seeing he has cast off all reverence for God, immediately
precipitate into open rebellion. As it respects grammatical construction,
I think the expression ought to be translated, 'Has God even said?' or,
'Is it so that God has said?' Yet the artifice of Satan is to be noticed,
for he wished to inject into the woman a doubt which might induce her to
believe that not to be the word of God, for which a plausible reason did
not manifestly appear.
  "Of every tree of the garden." Commentators offer a double
interpretation of these words. The former supposes Satan, for the sake of
increasing envy, to insinuate that all the trees had been forbidden. "Has
God indeed enjoined that you should not dare to touch any tree?" The
other interpretation, however, is, "Have you not then the liberty granted
you of eating promiscuously from whatever tree you please?" The former
more accords with the disposition of the devil, who would malignantly
amplify the prohibitions and seems to be sanctioned by Eve's reply. For
when she says, We do eat of all, one only excepted, she seems to repel
the calumny concerning a general prohibition. But because the latter
sense of the passage, which suggests the question concerning the simple
and bare prohibition of God, was more apt to deceive, it is more credible
that Satan, with his accustomed guile, should have begun his temptation
from this point, 'Is it possible for God to be unwilling that you should
gather the fruit of any tree whatever?' The answer of the woman, that
only one tree was forbidden, she means to be a defense of the command; as
if she would deny that it ought to seem harsh or burdensome, since God
had only excepted one single tree out of so great an abundance and
variety as he had granted to them. Thus, in these words there will be a
concession, that one tree was indeed forbidden; then, the refutation of a
calumny, because it is not arduous or difficult to abstain from one tree,
when others, without number are supplied, of which the use is permitted.
It was impossible for Eve more prudently or more courageously to repel
the assault of Satan, than by objecting against him, that she and her
husband had been so bountifully dealt with by the Lord, that the
advantages granted to them were abundantly sufficient, for she intimates
that they would be most ungrateful if, instead of being content with such
affluence they should desire more than was lawful. When she says, God has
forbidden them to eat or to touch, some suppose the second word to be
added for the purpose of charging God with too great severity, because he
prohibited them even from the touch. But I rather understand that she
hitherto remained in obedience, and expressed her pious disposition by
anxiously observing the precept of God; only, in proclaiming the
punishment, she begins to give ways by inserting the adverb "perhaps,"
when God has certainly pronounced, "Ye shall die the death." For although
with the Hebrews "pen" does not always imply doubt, yet, since it is
generally taken in this sense, I willingly embrace the opinion that the
woman was beginning to waver. Certainly, she had not death so immediately
before her eyes, should she become disobedient to God, as, she ought to
have had. She clearly proves that her perception of the true danger of
death was distant and cold.

4. "And the serpent said unto the woman." Satan now springs more boldly
forward; and because he sees a breach open before him, he breaks through
in a direct assault, for he is never wont to engage in open war until we
voluntarily expose ourselves to him, naked and unarmed. He cautiously
approaches us at first with blandishments; but when he has stolen in upon
us, he dares to exalt himself petulantly and with proud confidence
against God; just as he now seizing upon Eve's doubt, penetrates further,
that he may turn it into a direct negative. It behaves us to be
instructed, by much examples, to beware of his snares, and, by making
timely resistance, to keep him far from us, that nearer access may not be
permitted to him. He now, therefore, does not ask doubtingly, as before,
whether or not the command of God, which he opposes, be true, but openly
accuses God of falsehood, for he asserts that the word by which death was
denounced is false and delusive. Fatal temptation! when while God is
threatening us with death, we not only securely sleep, but hold God
himself in derision!

5. "For God does know". There are those who think that God is here
craftily praised by Satan, as if He never would prohibit men from the use
of wholesome fruit. But they manifestly contradict themselves, for they
at the some time confess that in the preceding member of the sentence he
had already declared God to be unworthy of confidence, as one who had
lied. Others suppose that he charges God with malignity and envy, as
wishing to deprive man of his highest perfection; and this opinion is
more probable than the other. Nevertheless, (according to my judgments)
Satan attempts to prove what he had recent]y asserted, reasoning,
however, from contraries: God, he says, has interdicted to you the tree,
that he may not be compelled to admit you to the participation of his
glory; therefore, the fear of punishment is quite needless. In short, he
denies that a fruit which is useful and salutary can be injurious. When
he says, "God does know," he censures God as being moved by jealousy: and
as having given the command concerning the tree, for the purpose of
keeping man in an inferior rank.
  "Ye shall be as gods." Some translate it, 'Ye shall be like angels.' It
might even be rendered in the singular number, 'Ye shall be as God.' I
have no doubt that Satan promises them divinity; as if he had said, For
no other reason does God defraud you of the tree of knowledge, than
because he fears to have you as companions. Moreover, it is not without
some show of reason that he makes the Divine glory, or equality with God,
to consist in the perfect knowledge of good and evil; but it is a mere
pretence, for the purpose of ensnaring the miserable woman. Because the
desire of knowledge is naturally inherent in and happiness is supposed to
be placed in it; but Eve erred in not regulating the measure of her
knowledge by the will of God. And we all daily suffer under the same
disease, because we desire to know more than is right, and more than God
allows; whereas the principal point of wisdom is a well-regulated
sobriety in obedience to God.

6. "And when the woman saw." This impure look of Eve, infected with the
poison of concupiscence, was both the messenger and the witness of an
impure heart. She could previously behold the tree with such sincerity,
that no desire to eat of it affected her mind; for the faith she had in
the word of God was the best guardian of her heart, and of all her
senses. But now, after the heart had declined from faith, and from
obedience to the word, she corrupted both herself and all her senses, and
depravity was diffused through all parts of her soul as well as her body.
It is, therefore, a sign of impious defection, that the woman now judges
the tree to be good for food, eagerly delights herself in beholding it,
and persuades herself that it is desirable for the sake of acquiring
wisdom; whereas before she had passed by it a hundred times with an
unmoved and tranquil look. For now, having shaken off the bridle, her
mind wanders dissolutely and intemperately, drawing the body with it to
the same licentiousness. The word "lehaskil," admits of two explanations:
That the tree was desirable either to be looked upon or to impart
prudence. I prefer the latter sense, as better corresponding with the
temptation.
  "And gave also unto her husband with her." From these words, some
conjecture that Adam was present when his wife was tempted and persuaded
by the serpent, which is by no means credible. Yet it might be that he
soon joined her, and that, even before the woman tasted the fruit of the
tree, she related the conversation held with the serpent, and entangled
him with the same fallacies by which she herself had been deceived.
Others refer the particle "immah", "with her," to the conjugal bond,
which may be received. But because Moses simply relates that he ate the
fruit taken from the hands of his wife, the opinion has been commonly
received, that he was rather captivated with her allurements than
persuaded by Satan's impostures. For this purpose the declaration of Paul
is adduced, 'Adam was not deceived, but the woman.' (I Tim. 2: 14.) But
Paul in that place, as he is teaching that the origin of evil was from
the woman, only speaks comparatively. Indeed, it was not only for the
sake of complying with the wishes of his wife, that he transgressed the
law laid down for him; but being drawn by her into fatal ambition, he
became partaker of the same defection with her. And truly Paul elsewhere
states that sin came not by the woman, but by Adam himself, (Rom. 5: 12.)
Then, the reproof which soon afterwards follows 'Behold, Adam is as one
of us,' clearly proves that he also foolishly coveted more than was
lawful, and gave greater credit to the flatteries of the devil than to
the sacred word of God.
  It is now asked, What was the sin of both of them? The opinion of some
of the ancients, that they were allured by intemperance of appetite, is
puerile. For when there was such an abundance of the choicest fruits what
daintiness could there be about one particular kind? Augustine is more
correct, who says, that pride was the beginning of all evils, and that by
pride the human race was ruined. Yet a fuller definition of the sin may
be drawn from the kind of temptation which Moses describes. For first the
woman is led away from the word of God by the wiles of Satan, through
unbelief. Wherefore, the commencement of the ruin by which the human race
was overthrown was a defection from the command of God. But observe, that
men then revolted from God, when, having forsaken his word, they lent
their ears to the falsehoods of Satan. Hence we infer, that God will be
seen and adored in his word; and, therefore, that all reverence for him
is shaken off when his word is despised. A doctrine most useful to be
known, for the word of God obtains its due honour only with few so that
they who rush onward with impunity in contempt of this word, yet arrogate
to themselves a chief rank among the worshippers of God. But as God does
not manifest himself to men otherwise than through the word, so neither
is his majesty maintained, nor does his worship remain secure among us
any longer than while we obey his word. Therefore, unbelief was the root
of defection; just as faith alone unites us to God. Hence flowed ambition
and pride, so that the woman first, and then her husband, desired to
exalt themselves against God. For truly they did exalt themselves against
God, when, honour having been divinely conferred upon them, they not
contented with such excellence, desired to know more than was lawful, in
order that they might become equal with God. Here also monstrous
ingratitude betrays itself. They had been made in the likeness of God;
but this seems a small thing unless equality be added. Now, it is not to
be endured that designing and wicked men should labour in vain, as well
as absurdly, to extenuate the sin of Adam and his wife. For apostasy is
no light offense, but detestable wickedness, by which man withdraws
himself from the authority of his Creator, yea, even rejects and denies
him. Besides it was not simple apostasy, but combined with atrocious
contumelies and reproaches against God himself. Satan accuses God of
falsehoods of envy, and of malignity, and our first parents subscribe to
a calumny thus vile and execrable. At length, having despised the command
of God, they not only indulge their own lust, but enslave themselves to
the devil. If any one prefers a shorter explanation, we may say unbelief
has opened the door to ambition, but ambition has proved the parent of
rebellion, to the end that men, having cast aside the fear of God, might
shake off his yoke. On this account, Paul teaches use that by the
disobedience of Adam sin entered into the world. Let us imagine that
there was nothing worse than the transgression of the command; we shall
not even thus have succeeded far in extenuating the fault of Adam. God,
having both made him free in everything, and appointed him as king of the
world, chose to put his obedience to the proof, in requiring abstinence
from one tree alone. This condition did not please him. Perverse
declaimers may plead in excuse, that the woman was allured by the beauty
of the tree, and the man ensnared by the blandishments of Eve. Yet the
milder the authority of God, the less excusable was their perverseness in
rejecting it. But we must search more deeply for the origin and cause of
sin. For never would they have dared to resist God, unless they had first
been incredulous of his word. And nothing allured them to covet the fruit
but mad ambition. So long as they firmly believing in God's word, freely
suffered themselves to be governed by Him, they had serene and duly
regulated affections. For, indeed, their best restraint was the thoughts
which entirely occupied their minds, that God is just, that nothing is
better than to obey his commands and that to be loved by him is the
consummation of a happy life. But after they had given place to Satan's
blasphemy, they began, like persons fascinated, to lose reason and
judgment; yea, since they were become the slaves of Satan; he held their
very senses bound. Still further, we know that sins are not estimated in
the sight of God by the external appearance, but by the inward
disposition.
  Again, it appears to many absurd, that the defection of our first
parents is said to have proved the destruction of the whole race; and, on
this accounts they freely bring an accusation against God. Pelagius, on
the other hand, lest, as he falsely feared, the corruption of human
nature should be charged upon God, ventured to deny original sin. But an
error so gross is plainly refuted, not only by solid testimonies of
Scripture, but also by experience itself. The corruption of our nature
was unknown to the philosophers who, in other respects, were
sufficiently, and more than sufficiently, acute. Surely this stupor
itself was a signal proof of original sin. For all who are not utterly
blinds perceive that no part of us is sound; that the mind is smitten
with blindness, and infected with innumerable errors; that all the
affections of the heart are full of stubbornness and wickedness; that
vile lusts, or other diseases equally fatal, reign there; and that all
the senses burst forth with many vices. Since, however none but God alone
is a proper judge in this cause, we must acquiesce in the sentence which
he has pronounced in the Scriptures. In the first place, Scripture
clearly teaches us that we are born vicious and perverse. The cavil of
Pelagius was frivolous, that sin proceeded from Adam by imitation. For
David, while still enclosed in his mother's womb, could not be an
imitator of Adam, yet he confesses that he was conceived in sin, (Psalm
51: 5.) A fuller proof of this matter, and a more ample definition of
original sin, may be found in the Institutes; yet here, in a single word,
I will attempt to show how far it extends. Whatever in our nature is
vicious--since it is not lawful to ascribe it to God--we justly reject as
sin. But Paul (Rom. 3: 10) teaches that corruption does not reside in one
part only, but pervades the whole soul, and each of its faculties. Whence
it follows, that they childishly err who regard original sin as
consisting only in lust, and in the inordinate motion of the appetites,
whereas it seizes upon the very seat of reason, and upon the whole heart.
To sin is annexed condemnation, or, as Paul speaks, 'By man came sin, and
by sin, death,'(Rom. 5: 12.) Wherefore he elsewhere pronounces us to be
'the children of wrath;' as if he would subject us to an eternal curse,
(Ephes. 2: 3.) In short, that we are despoiled of the excellent gifts of
the Holy Spirit, of the light of reason, of justice, and of rectitude,
and are prone to every evil; that we are also lost and condemned, and
subjected to death, is both our hereditary condition, and, at the same
time, a just punishments which God, in the person of Adam, has indicted
on the human race. Now, if any one should object, that it is unjust for
the innocent to bear the punishment of another's sin, I answer, whatever
gifts God had conferred upon us in the person of Adams he had the best
right to take away, when Adam wickedly fell. Nor is it necessary to
resort to that ancient figment of certain writers, that souls are derived
by descent from our first parents. For the human race has not naturally
derived corruption through its descent frown Adam; but that result is
rather to be traced to the appointment of God, who, as he had adorned the
whole nature of mankind with most excellent endowments in one man, so in
the same man he again denuded it. But now, from the time in which we were
corrupted in Adam, we do not bear the punishment of another's offense,
but are guilty by our own fault.
  A question is mooted by some, concerning the time of this fall, or
rather ruin. The opinion has been pretty generally received, that they
fell on the day they were created; and, therefore Augustine writes, that
they stood only for six hours. The conjecture of others, that the
temptation was delayed by Satan till the Sabbath, in order to profane
that sacred day, is but weak. And certainly, by instances like these, all
pious persons are admonished sparingly to indulge themselves in doubtful
speculations. As for myself, since I have nothing to assert positively
respecting the time, so I think it may be gathered from the narration of
Moses, that they did not long retain the dignity they had received; for
as soon as he has said they were created, he passes, without the mention
of any other thing, to their fall. If Adam had lived but a moderate space
of time with his wife, the blessing of God would not have been unfruitful
in the production of offspring; but Moses intimates that they were
deprived of God's benefits before they had become accustomed to use them.
I therefore readily subscribe to the exclamation of Augustine, 'O
wretched freewill, which, while yet entire, had so little stability!'
And, to say no more respecting the shortness of the time, the admonition
of Bernard is worthy of remembrance: 'Since we read that a fall so
dreadful took place in Paradise, what shall we do on the dunghill?' At
the same time, we must keep in memory by what pretext they were led into
this delusion so fatal to themselves, and to all their posterity.
Plausible was the adulation of Satan, 'Ye shall know good and evil;' but
that knowledge was therefore accursed, because it was sought in
preference to the favour of God. Wherefore, unless we wish, of our own
accord, to fasten the same snares upon ourselves, let us learn entirely
to depend upon the sole will of God, whom we acknowledge as the Author of
all good. And, since the Scripture everywhere admonishes us of our
nakedness and poverty, and declares that we may recover in Christ what we
have lost in Adams let us, renouncing all self-confidence, offer
ourselves empty to Christ, that he may fill us with his own riches.

7. "And the eyes of them both were opened." It was necessary that the
eyes of Eve should be veiled till her husband also was deceived; but now
both, being alike bound by the chain of an unhappy consent, begin to be
sensible of their wretchedness although they are not yet affected with a
deep knowledge of their fault. They are ashamed of their nakedness, yet,
though convinced, they do not humble themselves before God, nor fear his
judgements as they ought; they even do not cease to resort to evasions.
Some progress, however, is made; for whereas recently they would, like
giants, assault heaven by storm; now, confounded with a sense of their
own ignominy, they flee to hiding-places. And truly this opening of the
eyes in our first parents to discern their baseness, clearly proves them
to have been condemned by their own judgment. They are not yet summoned
to the tribunal of God; there is none who accuses them; is not then the
sense of shame, which rises spontaneously, a sure token of guilt? The
eloquence, therefore, of the whole world will avail nothing to deliver
those from condemnation, whose own conscience has become the judge to
compel them to confess their fault. It rather becomes us all to open our
eyes, that, being confounded at our own disgrace, we may give to God the
glory which is his due. God created man flexible; and not only permitted,
but willed that he should be tempted. For he both adapted the tongue of
the serpent beyond the ordinary use of nature, to the devil's purpose,
just as if any one should furnish another with a sword and armour; and
then, though the unhappy event was foreknown by him, he did not apply the
remedy, which he had the power to do. On the other hand, when we come to
speak of man, he will be found to have sinned voluntarily, and to have
departed from God, his Maker, by a movement of the mind not less free
than perverse. Nor ought we to call that a light fault, which, refusing
credit to the word of God, exalted itself against him by impious and
sacrilegious emulation, which would not be subject to his authority, and
which, finally, both proudly and perfidiously revolted from him.
Therefore, whatever sin and fault there is in the fall of our first
parents remains with themselves; but there is sufficient reason why the
eternal counsel of God preceded it, though that reason is concealed from
us. We see, indeed, some good fruit daily springing from a ruin so
dreadful, inasmuch as God instructs us in humility by our miseries and
then more clearly illustrates his own goodness; for his grace is more
abundantly poured forth, through Christ, upon the world, than it was
imparted to Adam in the beginning. Now, if the reason why this is so lies
beyond our reach, it is not wonderful that the secret counsel of God
should be to us like a labyrinth.
  "And they sewed fig-leaves together." What I lately said, that they had
not been brought either by true shame or by serious fear to repentance,
is now more manifest. They sew together for themselves girdles of leaves.
For what end? That they may keep God at a distance, as by an invincible
barrier! Their sense of evil, therefore, was only confused, and combined
with dulness, as is wont to be the case in unquiet sleep. There is none
of us who does not smile at their folly, since, certainly, it was
ridiculous to place such a covering before the eyes of God. In the
meanwhile, we are all infected with the same disease; for, indeed, we
tremble, and are covered with shame at the first compunctions of
conscience; but self-indulgence soon steals in, and induces us to resort
to vain trifles, as if it were an easy thing to delude God. Therefore
unless conscience be more closely pressed there is no shadow of excuse
too faint and fleeting to obtain our acquiescence; and even if there be
no pretext whatever, we still make pleasures for ourselves, and, by an
oblivion of three days' duration, we imagine that we are well covered. In
short, the cold and faints knowledge of sin, which is inherent in the
minds of men, is here described by Moses, in
order that they may be rendered inexcusable. Quaeri tamen potest, si tota
natura peccati sordibus infecta est, cur tantum una in parte corporis
deformitas appareat. Neque enim faciem vel pectus operiunt Adam et Heva:
sed tantum pudenda quae vocamus. Hac occasione factum esse arbitror ut
vulgo non aliam vit corruptelam agnoscerent quam in libidine venerea.
Atqui expendere debebant, non minorem fuisse in oculis et auribus
verecundiae causam, quam in parte genitali, quae peccato nondum foedata
erat: quum aures et oculi inquinassent Adam et Heva, et diabolo quasi
arma praebuissent. Sed Deo fuit satis, extare in corpore humano aliquam
pudeudam notam, quae nos peccati commonefaciat. Then (as we have already
said) Adam and his wife were yet ignorant of their own vileness, since
with a covering so light they attempted to hide themselves from the
presence of God.

8. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God." As soon as the voice of
God sounds, Adam and Eve perceive that the leaves by which they thought
themselves well protected are of no avail. Moses here relates nothing
which does not remain in human nature, and may be clearly discerned at
the present day. The difference between good and evil is engraven on the
hearts of all, as Paul teaches, (Rom. 2: 15;) but all bury the disgrace
of their vices under flimsy leaves till God, by his voice, strikes
inwardly their consciences. Hence, after God had shaken them out of their
torpor, their alarmed consciences compelled them to hear his voice.
Moreover, what Jerome translates, 'at the breeze after midday,' is, in
the Hebrew, 'at the wind of the day;' the Greeks, omitting the word
'wind,' have put 'at the evening.' Thus the opinion has prevailed, that
Adam, having sinned about noon, was called to judgment about sunset. But
I rather incline to a different conjecture, namely, that being covered
with their garment, they passed the night in silence and quiet, the
darkness aiding their hypocrisy; then, about sunrise, being again
thoroughly awakened, they recollected themselves. We know that at the
rising of the sun the air is naturally excited; together, then, with this
gentle breeze, God appeared; but Moses would improperly have called the
evening air that of the day. Others take the word as describing the
southern part or region; and certainly "ruach" sometimes among the
Hebrews signifies one or another region of the world. Others think that
the time is here specified as one least exposed to terrors, for in the
clear light there is the greater security; and thus, they conceive, is
fulfilled what the Scripture declares that they who have accusing
consciences are always anxious and disquieted, even without any danger.
To this point they refer what is added respecting the wind, as if Adam
was terrified at the sound of a falling leaf. But what I have advanced is
more true and simple, that what was hid under the darkness of the night
was detected at the rising of the sun. Yet I do not doubt that some
notable symbol of the presence of God was in that gentle breeze; for
although (as I have lately said) the rising sun is wont daily to stir up
some breath of air, this is not opposed to the supposition that God gave
some extraordinary sign of his approach, to arouse the consciences of
Adam and his wife. For, since he is in himself incomprehensible, he
assumes, when he wishes to manifest himself to men, those marks by which
he may be known. David calls the winds the messengers of God, on the
wings of which he rides, or rather flies, with incredible velocity.
(Psal. 104: 3.) But, as often as he sees good, he uses the winds, as well
as other created things, beyond the order of nature, according to his own
will. Therefore, Moses, in here mentioning the wind, intimates (according
to my judgment) that some unwonted and remarkable symbol of the Divine
presence was put forth which should vehemently affect the minds of our
first parents. This resource, namely, that of fleeing from God's
presence, was nothing better than the former; since God, with his voice
alone, soon brings back the fugitives. It is. written, 'Whither shall I
flee from thy presence? If I traverse the sea, if I take wings and ascend
above the clouds, if I descend into the profound abyss, thou, Lord, wilt
be everywhere,' (Ps. 139: 7.) This we all confess to be true; yet we do
not, in the meantime, cease to snatch at vain subterfuges; and we fancy
that shadows of any kind will prove a most excellent defense. Nor is it
to be here omitted, that he, who had found a few leaves to be unavailing,
fled to whole trees; for so we are accustomed, when shut out from
frivolous cavils, to frame new excuses, which may hide us as under a
denser shade. When Moses says that Adam and his wife hid themselves 'in
the midst of the tree of Paradise,' I understand that the singular member
is put for the plural; as if he had said, among the trees.

9. "And the Lord God called unto Adam." They had been already smitten by
the voice of God, but they lay confounded under the trees, until another
voice more effectually penetrated their minds. Moses says that Adam was
called by the Lord. Had he not been called before? The former, however,
was a confused sound, which had no sufficient force to press upon the
conscience. Therefore God now approaches nearer, and from the tangled
thicket of trees draws him, however unwilling and resisting, forth into
the midst. In the same manner we also are alarmed at the voice of God, as
soon as his law sounds in our ears; but presently we snatch at shadows,
until he, calling upon us more vehemently, compels us to come forward,
arraigned at his tribunal. Paul calls this the life of the Law, when it
slays us by charging us with our sins. For as long as we are pleased with
ourselves, and are inflated with a false notion that we are alive, the
law is dead to us, because we blunt its point by our hardness; but when
it pierces us more sharply, we are driven into new terrors.

10. "And he said, I heard thy voice." Although this seems to be the
confession of a dejected and humbled man, it will nevertheless soon
appear that he was not yet properly subdued, nor led to repentance. He
imputes his fear to the voice of God, and to his own nakedness, as, if he
had never before heard God speaking without being alarmed, and had not
been even sweetly exhilarated by his speech. His excessive stupidity
appears in this, that he fails to recognize the cause of shame in his
sin; he, therefore, shows that he does not yet so feel his punishment, as
to confess his fault. In the meantime, he proves what I said before to be
true, that original sin does not reside in one part of the body only, but
holds its dominion over the whole man, and so occupies every part of the
soul, that none remains in its integrity; for, notwithstanding his
fig-leaves, he still dreads the presence of God.

11. "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" An indirect reprimand to
reprove the sottishness of Adam in not perceiving his fault in his
punishment, as if it had been said, not simply that Adam was afraid at
the voice of God, but that the voice of his judge was formidable to him
because he was a sinner. Also, that not his nakedness, but the turpitude
of the vice by which he had defiled himself, was the cause of fear; and
certainly he was guilty of intolerable impiety against God in seeking the
origin of evil in nature. Not that he would accuse God in express terms;
but deploring his own misery, and dissembling the fact that he was
himself the author of it, he malignantly transfers to God the charge
which he ought to have brought against himself. What the Vulgate
translates, 'Unless it be that thou hast eaten of the tree,' is rather an
interrogation. God asks, in the language of doubt, not as if he were
searching into some disputable matter, but for the purpose of piercing
more acutely the stupid man, who, labouring under fatal disease, is yet
unconscious of his malady; just as a sick man, who complains that he is
burning, yet thinks not of fever. Let us, however remember that we shall
profit nothing by any prevarications but that God will always bind us by
a most just accusation in the sin of Adam. The clause, "whereof I
commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat," is added to remove the
pretext of ignorance. For God intimates that Adam was admonished in time;
and that he fell from no other cause than this, that he knowingly and
voluntarily brought destruction upon himself. Again, the atrocious nature
of sin is marked in this transgression and rebellion; for, as nothing is
more acceptable to God than obedience, so nothing is more intolerable
than when men, having spurned his commandments, obey Satan and their own
lust.

12. "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me." The boldness of Adam now
more clearly betrays itself; for, so far from being subdued, he breaks
forth into coarser blasphemy. He had before been tacitly expostulating
with God; now he begins openly to contend with him, and triumphs as one
who has broken through all barriers. Whence we perceive what a refractory
and indomitable creature man began to be when he became alienated from
God; for a lively picture of corrupt nature is presented to us in Adam
from the moment of his revolt. 'Every one,' says James, 'is tempted by
his own concupiscence,' (James 1: 14;) and even Adam, not otherwise than
knowingly and willingly, had set himself, as a rebel, against God. Yet,
just as if conscious of no evil, he puts his wife as the guilty party in
his place. 'Therefore I have eaten,' he says, 'because she gave.' And not
content with this, he brings, at the same time, an accusation against
God; objecting that the wife, who had brought ruin upon him, had been
given by God. We also, trained in the same school of original sin, are
too ready to resort to subterfuges of the same kind; but to no purpose;
for howsoever incitements and instigations from other quarters may impel
us, yet the unbelief which seduces us from obedience to God is within us;
the pride is within which brings forth contempt.

13. "And the Lord God said unto the woman." God contends no further with
the man, nor was it necessary; for he aggravates rather than diminishes
his crime, first by a frivolous defence, then by an impious disparagement
of God, in short, though he rages he is yet held convicted. The Judge now
turns to the woman, that the cause of both being heard, he may at length
pronounce sentence. The old interpreter thus renders God's address: 'Why
hast thou done this?' But the Hebrew phrase has more vehemence; for it is
the language of one who wonders as at something prodigious. It ought
therefore rather to be rendered, 'How hast thou done this?' as if he had
said, 'How was it possible that thou shouldst bring thy mind to be so
perverse a counsellor to thy husband?'
  "The serpent beguiled me." Eve ought to have been confounded at the
portentous wickedness concerning which she was admonished. Yet she is not
struck dumb, but, after the example of her husband, transfers the charge
to another; by laying the blame on the serpent, she foolishly, indeed,
and impiously, thinks herself absolved. For her answer comes at length to
this: 'I received from the serpent what thou hadst forbidden; the
serpent, therefore, was the impostor.' But who compelled Eve to listen to
his fallacies, and even to place confidence in them more readily than in
the word of God? Lastly, how did she admit them, but by throwing open and
betraying that door of access which God had sufficiently fortified? But
the fruit of original sin everywhere presents itself; being blind in its
own hypocrisy, it would gladly render God mute and speechless. And whence
arise daily so many murmurs, but because God does not hold his peace
whenever we choose to blind ourselves?

14. "And the Lord God said unto the serpent." He does not interrogate the
serpent as he had done the man and the woman; because, in the animal
itself there was no sense of sin, and because, to the devil he would hold
out no hope of pardon. He might truly, by his own authority, have
pronounced sentence against Adam and Eve, though unheard. Why then does
he call them to undergo examination, except that he has a care for their
salvation? This doctrine is to be applied to our benefit. There would be
no need of any trial of the cause, or of any solemn form of judgment, in
order to condemn us; wherefore, while God insists upon extorting a
confession from us, he acts rather as a physician than as a judge. There
is the same reason why the Lords before he imposes punishment on man,
begins with the serpent. For corrective punishments (as we shall see) are
of a different kind, and are inflicted with the design of leading us to
repentance; but in this there is nothing of the sort.
  It is, however, doubtful to whom the words refer, whether to the
serpent or to the devil. Moses, indeed, says that the serpent was a
skilful and cunning animal; yet it is certain, that, when Satan was
devising the destruction of man, the serpent was guiltless of his fraud
and wickedness. Wherefore, many explain this whole passage allegorically,
and plausible are the subtleties which they adduce for this purpose. But
when all things are more accurately weighed, readers endued with sound
judgment will easily perceive that the language is of a mixed character;
for God so addresses the serpent that the last clause belongs to the
devil. If it seem to any one absurd, that the punishment of another's
fraud should be exacted from a brute animal, the solution is at hand;
that, since it had been created for the benefit of man, there was nothing
improper in its being accursed from the moment that it was employed for
his destruction. And by this act of vengeance God would prove how highly
he estimates the salvation of man; just as if a father should hold the
sword in execration by which his son had been slain. And here we must
consider, not only the kind of authority which God has over his
creatures, but also the end for which he created them, as I have recently
said. For the equity of the divine sentence depends on that order of
nature which he has sanctioned; it has, therefore, no affinity whatever
with blind revenge. In this manner the reprobate will be delivered over
into eternal fire with their bodies; which bodies, although they are not
self-moved, are yet the instruments of perpetrating evil. So whatever
wickedness a man commits is ascribed to his hands, and, therefore, they
are deemed polluted; while yet they do not more themselves, except so far
as, under the impulse of a depraved affection of the heart, they carry
into execution what has been there conceived. According to this method of
reasoning, the serpent is said to have done what the devil did by its
means. But if God so severely avenged the destruction of man upon a brute
animal, much less did he spare Satan, the author of the whole evil, as
will appear more clearly in the concluding part of the address.
  "Thou art cursed above all cattle." This curse of God has such force
against the serpents as to render it despicable, and scarcely tolerable
to heaven and earth, leading a life exposed to, and replete with,
constant terrors. Besides, it is not only hateful to us, as the chief
enemy of the human race, but, being separated also from other animals,
carries on a kind of war with nature; for we see it had before been so
gentle that the woman did not flee from its familiar approach. But what
follows has greater difficulty because that which God denounces as a
punishment seems to be natural; namely, that it should creep upon its
belly and eat dust. This objection has induced certain men of learning
and ability to say, that the serpent had been accustomed to walk with an
erect body before it had been abused by Satan. There will, however, be no
absurdity in supposing, that the serpent was again consigned to that
former condition, to which he was already naturally subject. For thus he,
who had exalted himself against the image of God, was to be thrust back
into his proper rank; as if it had been said, 'Thou, a wretched and
filthy animal, hast dared to rise up against man, whom I appointed to the
dominion of the whole world; as if, truly, thou, who art fixed to the
earth, hadst any right to penetrate into heaven. Therefore, I now throw
thee back again to the place whence thou hast attempted to emerge, that
thou mayest learn to be contented with thy lot, and no more exalt
thyself, to man's reproach and injury.' In the meanwhile he is recalled
from his insolent motions to his accustomed mode of going, in such a way
as to be, at the same time, condemned to perpetual infamy. To eat dust is
the sign of a vile and sordid nature. This (in my opinion) is the simple
meaning of the passage, which the testimony of Isaiah also confirms,
(chap. 65: 25;) for while he promises under the reign of Christ, the
complete restoration of a sound and well-constituted nature, he records,
among other things, that dust shall be to the serpent for bread.
Wherefore, it is not necessary to seek for any fresh change in each
particular which Moses here relates.

15. "I will put enmity." I interpret this simply to mean that there
should always be the hostile strife between the human race and serpents,
which is now apparent; for, by a secret feeling of nature, man abhors
them. It is regarded, as among prodigies, that some men take pleasure in
them; and as often as the sight of a serpent inspires us with horrors the
memory of our fall is renewed. With this I combine in one continued
discourse what immediately follows: 'It shall wound thy head, and thou
shalt wound its heel.' For he declares that there shall be such hatred
that on both sides they shall be troublesome to each other; the serpent
shall be vexatious towards men, and men shall be intent on the
destruction of serpents. Meanwhile, we see that the Lord acts mercifully
in chastising man, whom he does not suffer Satan to touch except in the
heel; while he subjects the head of the serpent to be wounded by him. For
in the terms head and heel there is a distinction between the superior
and the inferior. And thus God leaves some remains of dominion to man;
because he so places the mutual disposition to injure each other, that
yet their condition should not be equal, but man should be superior in
the conflict. Jerome, in turning the first member of the sentence, 'Thou
shalt bruise the head;' and the second, "Thou shalt be ensnared in the
heel,' does it without reason, for the same verb is repeated by Moses;
the difference is to be noted only in the head and the heel, as I have
just now said. Yet the Hebrew verb whether derived from "shof", or from;
"shafah", some interpret to bruise or to strihe, others to bite. I have,
however, no doubt that Moses wished to allude to the name of the serpent
which is called in Hebrew "shififon", from "shafah", or "shof".
  We must now make a transition from the serpent to the author of this
mischief himself; and that not only in the way of comparison, for there
truly is a literal analogy; because God has not so vented his anger upon
the outward instrument as to spare the devil, with whom lay all the
blame. That this may the more certainly appear to us, it is worth the
while first to observe that the Lord spoke not for the sake of the
serpent but of the man; fur what end could it answer to thunder against
the serpent in unintelligible words? Wherefore respect was had to men;
both that they might be affected with a greater dread of sin, seeing how
highly displeasing it is to God, and that hence they might take
consolation for their misery, because they would perceive that God is
still propitious to them. But now it is obvious to and how slender and
insignificant would be the argument for a good hope, if mention were here
made of a serpent only; because nothing would be then provided for,
except the fading and transient life of the body. Men would remain, in
the meanwhile, the slaves of Satan, who would proudly triumph over them,
and trample on their heads. Wherefore, that God might revive the fainting
minds of men, and restore them when oppressed by despair, it became
necessary to promise them, in their posterity victory over Satan, through
whose wiles they had been ruined. This, then, was the only salutary
medicine which could recover the lost, and restore life to the dead. I
therefore conclude, that God here chiefly assails Satan under the name of
the serpent, and hurls against him the lightning of his judgment. This he
does for a twofold reason: first, that men may learn to beware of Satan
as of a most deadly enemy; then, that they may contend against him with
the assured confidence of victory.
  Now, though all do not dissent in their minds from Satan yea, a great
part adhere to him too familiarly--yet, in reality, Satan is their enemy;
nor do even those cease to dread him whom he soothes by his flatteries;
and because he knows that the minds of men are set against him, he
craftily insinuates himself by indirect methods, and thus deceives them
under a disguised form. In short, it is in grafted in us by nature to
flee from Satan as our adversary. And, in order to show that he should be
odious not to one generation only, God expressly says, 'between thee and
the seed of the woman,' as widely indeed, as the human race shall be
propagated. He mentions the woman on this account, because, as she had
yielded to the subtlety of the devils and being first deceived, had drawn
her husband into the participation of her ruin, so she had peculiar need
of consolation.
  "I shall bruise." This passage affords too clear a proof of the great
ignorance, dullness, and carelessness, which have prevailed among all the
learned men of the Papacy. The feminine gender has crept in instead of
the masculine or neuter. There has been none among them who would consult
the Hebrew or Greek codices, or who would even compare the Latin copies
with each other. Therefore, by a common error, this most corrupt reading
has been received. Then, a profane exposition of it has been invented, by
applying to the mother of Christ what is said concerning her seed.
  There is, indeed no ambiguity in the words here used by Moses; but I do
not agree with others respecting their meaning; for other interpreters
take the seed for Christ, without controversy; as if it were said, that
some one would arise from the seed of the woman who should wound the
serpent's head. Gladly would I give my suffrage in support of their
opinion, but that I regard the word seed as too violently distorted by
them; for who will concede that a collective noun is to be understood of
one man only? Further, as the perpetuity of the contest is noted, so
victory is promised to the human race through a continual succession of
ages. I explain, therefore, the seed to mean the posterity of the woman
generally. But since experience teaches that not all the sons of Adam by
far, arise as conquerors of the devil, we must necessarily come to one
head, that we may find to whom the victory belongs. So Paul, from the
seed of Abraham, leads us to Christ; because many were degenerate sons,
and a considerable part adulterous, through infidelity; whence it follows
that the unity of the body flows from the head. Wherefore, the sense will
be (in my judgment) that the human race, which Satan was endeavouring to
oppress, would at length be victorious. In the meantime, we must keep in
mind that method of conquering which the Scripture describes. Satan has,
in all ages, led the sons of men "captive at his will," and, to this day,
retains his lamentable triumph over them, and for that reason is called
the "prince of the world," (John 12: 31.) But because one stronger than
he has descended from heaven, who will subdue him, hence it comes to pass
that, in the same manner, the whole Church of God, under its Head, will
gloriously exult over him. To this the declaration of Paul refers, "The
Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly," (Rom. 16: 20.) By which
words he signifies that the power of bruising Satan is imparted to
faithful men, and thus the blessing is the common property of the whole
Church; but he, at the same time, admonishes us, that it only has its
commencement in this world; because God crowns none but well-tried
wrestlers.

16. "Unto the woman he said." In order that the majesty of the judge may
shine the more brightly, God uses no long disputation; whence also we may
perceive of what avail are all our tergiversations with him. In bringing
the serpent forward, Eve thought she had herself escaped. God,
disregarding her cavils, condemns her. Let the sinner, therefore, when he
comes to the bar of God, cease to contend, lest he should more severely
provoke against himself the anger of him whom he has already too highly
offended. We must now consider the kind of punishment imposed upon the
woman. When he says, 'I will multiply thy pains,' he comprises all the
trouble women sustain during pregnancy, ex quo gravidiae esse incipiunt,
fastidium cibi, deliquia, lassitudines, aliaque innumera, usque dum
ventum est ad partum, qui acerbissima tormenta secum affert. It is
credible that the woman would have brought forth without pain, or at
least without such great suffering, if she had stood in her original
condition; but her revolt from God subjected her to inconveniences of
this kind. The expression, 'pains and conception,' is to be taken by the
figure hypallage, for the pains which they endure in consequence of
conception. The second punishment which he exacts is subjection. For this
form of speech, "Thy desire shall be unto thy husband," is of the same
force as if he had said that she should not be free and at her own
command, but subject to the authority of her husband and dependent upon
his will; or as if he had said, 'Thou shalt desire nothing but what thy
husband wishes.' As it is declared afterwards, "Unto thee shall be his
desire," (chap. 4: 7.) Thus the woman, who had perversely exceeded her
proper bounds, is forced back to her own position. She had, indeed,
previously been subject to her husband, but that was a liberal and gentle
subjection; now, however, she is cast into servitude.

17. "And unto Adam he said." In the first place, it is to be observed,
that punishment was not inflicted upon the first of our race so as to
rest on those two alone, but was extended generally to all their
posterity, in order that we might know that the human race was cursed in
their person; we next observe, that they were subjected only to temporal
punishment, that, from the moderation of the divine anger, they might
entertain hope of pardon. God, by adducing the reason why he thus
punishes the man, cuts off from him the occasion of murmuring. For no
excuse was left to him who had obeyed his wife rather than God; yea, had
despised God for the sake of his wife, placing so much confidence in the
fallacies of Satan,--whose messenger and servant she was,--that he did
not hesitate perfidiously to deny his Maker. But, although God deals
decisively and briefly with Adam, he yet refutes the pretext by which he
had tried to escape, in order the more easily to lead him to repentance.
After he has briefly spoken of Adam's sin, he announces that the earth
would be cursed for his sake. The ancient interpreter has translated it,
'In thy work;' but the reading is to be retained, in which all the Hebrew
copies agree, namely, the earth was cursed on account of Adam. Now, as
the blessing of the earth means, in the language of Scripture, that
fertility which God infuses by his secret power, so the curse is nothing
else than the opposite privation, when God withdraws his favour. Nor
ought it to seem absurd, that, through the sin of man, punishment should
overflow the earth, though innocent. For as the primum mobile rolls all
the celestial spheres along with it, so the ruin of man drives headlong
all those creatures which were formed for his sake, and had been made
subject to him. And we see how constantly the condition of the world
itself varies with respect to men, according as God is angry with them,
or shows them his favour. We may add, that, properly speaking, this whole
punishment is exacted, not from the earth itself, but from man alone. For
the earth does not bear fruit for itself, but in order that food may be
supplied to us out of its bowels. The Lord, however, determined that his
anger should like a deluge, overflow all parts of the earth, that
wherever man might look, the atrocity of his sin should meet his eyes.
Before the fall, the state of the world was a most fair and delightful
mirror of the divine favour and paternal indulgence towards man. Now, in
all the elements we perceive that we are cursed. And although (as David
says) the earth is still full of the mercy of God, (Psalm 33: 5,) yet, at
the same time, appear manifest signs of his dreadful alienation from us,
by which if we are unmoved, we betray our blindness and insensibility.
Only, lest sadness and horror should overwhelm us, the Lord sprinkles
everywhere the tokens of his goodness. Moreover although the blessing of
God is never seen pure and transparent as it appeared to man in innocence
yet, if what remains behind be considered in itself, David truly and
properly exclaims, 'The earth is full of the mercy of God.'
  Again, by 'eating of the earth,' Moses means 'eating of the fruits'
which proceed from it. The Hebrew word "itsabon", which is rendered pain,
is also taken for trouble and fatigue. In this place, it stands in
antithesis with the pleasant labour in which Adam previously so employed
himself, that in a sense he might be said to play; for he was not formed
for idleness, but for action. Therefore the Lord had placed him over a
garden which was to be cultivated. But, whereas in that labour there had
been sweet delight; now servile work is enjoined upon him, as if he were
condemned to the mines. And yet the asperity of this punishment also is
mitigated by the clemency of God, because something of enjoyment is
blended with the labours of men, lest they should be altogether
ungrateful, as I shall again declare under the next verse.

18. "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth." He more largely
treats of what he has already alluded to, namely, the participation of
the fruits of the earth with labour and trouble. And he assigns as the
reason, that the earth will not be the same as it was before, producing
perfect fruits; for he declares that the earth would degenerate from its
fertility, and bring forth briers and noxious plants. Therefore we may
know, that whatsoever unwholesome things may be produced, are not natural
fruits of the earth, but are corruptions which originate from sin. Yet it
is not our part to expostulate with the earth for not answering to our
wishes, and to the labours of its cultivators as if it were maliciously
frustrating our purpose; but in its sterility let us mark the anger of
Gods and mourn over our own sins. It here been falsely maintained by some
that the earth is exhausted by the long succession of time, as if
constant bringing forth had wearied it. They think more correctly who
acknowledge that, by the increasing wickedness of men, the remaining
blessing of God is gradually diminished and impaired; and certainly there
is danger, unless the world repent, that a great part of men should
shortly perish through hunger, and other dreadful miseries. The words
immediately following, "Thou shalt eat the herb of the field," are
expounded too strictly (in my judgment) by those who think that Adam was
thereby deprived of all the fruits which he had before been permitted to
eat. God intends nothing more than that he should be to such an extent
deprived of his former delicacies as to be compelled to use, in addition
to them, the herbs which had been designed only for brute animals. For
the mode of living at first appointed him, in that happy and delightful
abundance, was far more delicate than it afterwards became. God,
therefore, describes a part of this poverty by the word herbs, just as if
a king should send away any one of his attendants from the upper table,
to that which was plebeian and mean; or, as if a father should feed a
son, who had offended him, with the coarse bread of servants; not that he
interdicts man from all other food, but that he abates much of his
accustomed liberality. This, however might be taken as added for the
purpose of consolation, as if it had been said, 'Although the earth,
which ought to be the mother of good fruits only, be covered with thorns
and briers, still it shall yield to thee sustenance whereby thou mayest
be fed.'

19. "In the sweat of thy face." Some indeed, translate it 'labour;' the
translation, however, is forced. But by "sweat" is understood hard labour
and full of fatigue and weariness, which, by its difficulty produces
sweat. It is a repetition of the former sentence, where it was said,
'Thou shalt eat it in labour.' Under the cover of this passage, certain
ignorant persons would rashly impel all men to manual labour; for God is
not here teaching as a master or legislator, but only denouncing
punishment as a judge. And, truly, if a law had been here prescribed, it
would be necessary for all to become husband men, nor would any place be
given to mechanical arts; we must go out of the world to seek for
clothing and other necessary conveniences of life. What, then, does the
passage mean? Truly God pronounces, as from his judgment-seat, that the
life of man shall henceforth be miserable, because Adam had proved
himself unworthy of that tranquil, happy and joyful state for which he
had been created. Should any one object that there are many inactive and
indolent persons, this does not prevent the curse from having spread over
the whole human race. For I say that no one lies torpid in such a degree
of sloth as not to be under the necessity of experiencing that this curse
belongs to all. Some flee from troubles, and many more do all they can to
grasp at immunity from them; but the Lord subjects all, without
exception, to this yoke of imposed servitude. It is, nevertheless, to be,
at the same time, maintained that labour is not imposed equally on each,
but on some more, on others less. Therefore, the labour common to the
whole body is here described; not that which belongs peculiarly to each
member, except so far as it pleases the Lord to divide to each a certain
measure from the common mass of evils. It is, however, to be observed,
that they who meekly submit to their sufferings, present to God an
acceptable obedience, if, indeed, there be joined with this bearing of
the cross, that knowledge of sin which may teach them to be humble. Truly
it is faith alone which can offer such a sacrifice to God; but the
faithful the more they labour in procuring a livelihood, with the greater
advantage are they stimulated to repentance, and accustom themselves to
the mortification of the flesh; yet God often remits a portion of this
curse to his own children, lest they should sink beneath the burden. To
which purpose this passage is appropriate, 'Some will rise early and go
late to rest, they will eat the bread of carefulness, but the Lord will
give to his beloved sleep,' (Psal. 127: 2.) So far, truly, as those
things which had been polluted in Adam are repaired by the grace of
Christ, the pious feel more deeply that God is good, and enjoy the
sweetness of his paternal indulgence. But because, even in the best, the
flesh is to be subdued, it not infrequently happens that the pious
themselves are worn down with hard labours and with hunger. There is,
therefore, nothing better for us than that we, being admonished of the
miseries of the present life, should weep over our sins, and seek that
relief from the grace of Christ which may not only assuage the bitterness
of grief, but mingle its own sweetness with it. Moreover, Moses does not
enumerate all the disadvantages in which man, by sin, has involved
himself; for it appears that all the evils of the present life, which
experience proves to be innumerable, have proceeded from the same
fountain. The inclemency of the air, frost, thunders, unseasonable rains,
drought, hail, and whatever is disorderly in the world, are the fruits of
sin. Nor is there any other primary cause of diseases. This has been
celebrated in poetical fables, and was doubtless handed down, by
tradition, from the fathers. Hence that passage in Horace:--
      "When from Heaven's fane the furtive hand
      Of man the sacred fire withdrew,
      A countless host--at God's command--
      To earth of fierce diseases flew;
      And death--till now kept far away
      Hastened his step to seize his prey."
  But Moses, who, according to his custom, studies a brevity adapted to
the capacity of the common people, was content to touch upon what was
most apparent, in order that, from one example, we may learn that the
whole order of nature was subverted by the sin of man. Should any one
again object, that no suffering was imposed on men which did not also
belong to women: I answer, it was done designedly, to teach us, that from
the sin of Adam, the curse flowed in common to both sexes; as Paul
testifies, that 'all are dead in Adam,' (Rom. 5: 12.)
  One question remains to be examined--'When God had before shown himself
propitious to Adam and his wife,--having given them hope of pardon,--why
does he begin anew to exact punishment from them? Certainly in that
sentence, 'the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent,'
the remission of sins and the grace of eternal salvation is contained.
But it is absurd that God, after he has been reconciled, should actually
prosecute his anger. To untie this knot, some have invented a distinction
of a twofold remission, namely, a remission of the fault and a remission
of the punishment, to which the figment of satisfactions was afterwards
annexed. They have feigned that God, in absolving men from the fault,
still retains the punishment; and that, according to the rigour of his
justice, he will inflict at least a temporal punishment. But they who
imagined that punishments are required as compensations, have been
preposterous interpreters of the judgments of God. For God does not
consider, in chastising the faithful, what they deserve; but what will be
useful to them in future; and fulfils the office of a physician rather
than of a judge. Therefore, the absolution which he imparts to his
children is complete and not by halves. That he, nevertheless, punishes
those who are received into favour, is to be regarded as a kind of
chastisement which serves as medicine for future time, but ought not
properly to be regarded as the vindictive punishment of sin committed. If
we duly consider how great is the torpor of the human mind, then, how
great its lasciviousness, how great its contumacy, how great its levity,
and how quick its forgetfulness, we shall not wonder at God's severity in
subduing it. If he admonishes in words, he is not heard; if he adds
stripes, it avails but little; when it happens that he is heard, the
flesh nevertheless perversely spurns the admonition. That obstinate
hardness which, with all its power opposes itself to God, is worse than
lasciviousness. If any one is naturally endued with such a gentle
disposition that he does not disown the duty of submission to God, yet,
having escaped from the hand of God, after one allowed sin, he will soon
relapse, unless he be drawn back as by force. Wherefore, this general
axiom is to be maintained, that all the sufferings to which the life of
men is subject and obnoxious, are necessary exercises, by which God
partly invites us to repentance, partly instructs us in humility, and
partly renders us more cautious and more attentive in guarding against
the allurements of sin for the future.
  "Till thou return." He denounces that the termination of a miserable
life shall be death; as if he would say, that Adam should at length come,
through various and continued kinds of evil, to the last evil of all.
Thus is fulfilled what we said before, that the death of Adam had
commenced immediately from the day of his transgression. For this
accursed life of man could be nothing else than the beginning of death.
'But where then is the victory over the serpent, if death occupies the
last place? For the words seem to have no other signification, than that
man must be ultimately crushed by death. Therefore, since death leaves
nothing to Adam, the promise recently given fails; to which may be added,
that the hope of being restored to a state of salvation was most slender
and obscure.' Truly I do not doubt that these terrible words would
grievously afflict minds already dejected, from other causes, by sorrow.
But since, though astonished by their sudden calamity, they were yet not
deeply affected with the knowledge of sin; it is not wonderful that God
persisted the more in reminding them of their punishment, in order that
he might beat them down, as with reiterated blows. Although the
consolation offered be in itself obscure and feeble, God caused it to be
sufficient for the support of their hope, lest the weight of their
affliction should entirely overwhelm them. In the meantime, it was
necessary that they should be weighed down by a mass of manifold evils,
until God should have reduced them to true and serious repentance.
Moreover, whereas death is here put as the final issue, this ought to be
referred to man; because in Adam himself nothing but death will be found;
yet, in this way, he is urged to seek a remedy in Christ.
  "For dust thou art." Since what God here declares belongs to man's
nature, not to his crime or fault, it might seem that death was not
superadded as adventitious to him. And therefore some understand what was
before said, 'Thou shalt die,' in a spiritual sense; thinking that, even
if Adam had not sinned, his body must still have been separated from his
soul. But, since the declaration of Paul is clear, that 'all die in Adams
as they shall rise again in Christ,' (1 Cor. 15: 22,) this wound also was
inflicted by sin. Nor truly is the solution of the question difficult,--
'Why God should pronounce, that he who was taken from the dust should
return to it.' For as soon as he had been raised to a dignity so great,
that the glory of the Divine Image shone in him, the terrestrial origin
of his body was almost obliterated. Now, however, after he had been
despoiled of his divine and heavenly excellence, what remains but that by
his very departure out of life, he should recognize himself to be earth?
Hence it is that we dread death, because dissolution, which is contrary
to nature, cannot naturally be desired. Truly the first man would have
passed to a better life, had he remained upright; but there would have
been no separation of the soul from the body, no corruption, no kind of
destruction, and, in short, no violent change.

20. "And Adam called, &c." There are two ways in which this may be read.
The former, in the pluperfect tense, 'Adam had called.' If we follow this
reading, the sense of Moses will be, that Adam had been greatly deceived,
in promising life to himself and to his posterity, from a wife, whom he
afterwards found by experience to be the introducer of death. And Moses
(as we have seen) is accustomed, without preserving the order of the
history, to subjoin afterwards things which had been prior in point of
time. If, however we read the passage in the preterite tense, it may be
understood either in a good or bad sense. There are those who think that
Adam, animated by the hope of a more happy condition, because God had
promised that the head of the serpent should be wounded by the seed of
the woman, called her by a name implying life.' This would be a noble and
even heroic fortitude of mind; since he could not, without an arduous and
difficult struggle, deem her the mother of the living, who, before any
man could have been born, had involved all in eternal destruction. But,
because I fear lest this conjecture should be weak, let the reader
consider whether Moses did not design rather to tax Adam with
thoughtlessness, who being himself immersed in death, yet gave to his
wife so proud a name. Nevertheless, I do not doubt that, when he heard
the declaration of God concerning the prolongation of life, he began
again to breathe and to take courage; and then, as one revived, he gave
his wife a name derived from life; but it does not follow, that by a
faith accordant with the word of God, he triumphed, as he ought to have
done, over death. I therefore thus expound the passage; as soon as he had
escaped present death, being encouraged by a measure of consolation, he
celebrated that divine benefit which, beyond all expectation, he had
received, in the name he gave his wife.

21. "Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make, &c." Moses
here, in a homely style, declares that the Lord had undertaken the labour
of making garments of skins for Adam and his wife. It is not indeed
proper so to understand his words, as if God had been a furrier, or a
servant to sew clothes. Now, it is not credible that skins should have
been presented to them by chance; but, since animals had before been
destined for their use, being now impelled by a new necessity, they put
some to death, in order to cover themselves with their skins, having been
divinely directed to adopt this counsel; therefore Moses calls God the
Author of it. The reason why the Lord clothed them with garments of skin
appears to me to be this: because garments formed of this material would
have a more degrading appearance than those made of linen or of woolen.
God therefore designed that our first parents should, in such a dress,
behold their own vileness,--just as they had before seen it in their
nudity,--and should thus be reminded of their sin. In the meantime, it is
not to be denied, that he would propose to us an example, by which he
would accustom us to a frugal and inexpensive mode of dress. And I wish
those delicate persons would reflect on this, who deem no ornament
sufficiently attractive, unless it exceed in magnificence. Not that every
kind of ornament is to be expressly condemned; but because when
immoderate elegance and splendour is carefully sought after, not only is
that Master despised, who intended clothing to be a sign of shame, but
war is, in a certain sense, carried on against nature.

22. "Behold, the man is become as one of us." An ironical reproof, by
which God would not only prick the heart of
man, but pierce it through and through. He does not, however, cruelly
triumph over the miserable and afflicted; but, according to the necessity
of the disease, applies a more violent remedy. For, though Adam was
confounded and astonished at his calamity, he yet did not so deeply
reflect on its cause as to become weary of his pride, that he might learn
to embrace true humility. We may add, that God inveighed, by this irony,
not more against Adam himself then against his posterity, for the purpose
of commending modesty to all ages. The particle, "Behold," denotes that
the sentence is pronounced upon the cause then in hand. And, truly, it
was a sad and horrid spectacle; that he, in whom recently the glory of
the Divine image was shining, should lie hidden under fetid skins to
cover his own disgrace, and that there should be more comeliness in a
dead animal than in a living man! The clause which is immediately added,
"To know good and evil," describes the cause of so great misery, namely,
that Adam, not content with his condition, had tried to ascend higher
than was lawful; as if it had been said, 'See now whither thy ambition
and thy perverse appetite for illicit knowledge have precipitated thee.'
Yet the Lord does not even deign to hold converse with him, but
contemptuously draws him forth, for the sake of exposing him to greater
infamy. Thus was it necessary for his iron pride to be beaten down, that
he might at length descend into himself, and become more and more
displeased with himself.
  "One of us." Some refer the plural number here used to the angels, as
if God would make a distinction between man, who is an earthly and
despised animal, and celestial beings; but this exposition seems
farfetched. The meaning will be more simple if thus resolved, 'After
this, Adam will be so like Me, that we shall become companions for each
other.' The argument which Christians draw from this passage for the
doctrine of the three Persons in the Godhead is, I fear, not sufficiently
firm. There is not, indeed, the same reason for it as in the former
passage, "Let us make man in our image," since here Adam is included in
the word Us; but, in the other place, a certain distinction in the
essence of God is expressed.
  "And now, lest, &c." There is a defect in the sentence which I think
ought to be thus supplied: 'It now remains that in future, he be debarred
from the fruit of the tree of life;' for by these words Adam is
admonished that the punishment to which he is consigned shall not be that
of a moment, or of a few days, but that he shall always be an exile from
a happy life. They are mistaken who think this also to be an irony; as if
God were denying that the tree would prove advantageous to man, even
though he might eat of it; for he rather, by depriving him of the symbol,
takes also away the thing signified. We know what is the efficacy of
sacraments; and it was said above that the tree was given as a pledge of
life. Wherefore, that he might understand himself to be deprived of his
former life, a solemn excommunication is added; not that the Lord would
cut him off from all hope of salvation, but, by taking away what he had
given, would cause man to seek new assistance elsewhere. Now, there
remained an expiation in sacrifices, which might restore him to the life
he had lost. Previously, direct communication with God was the source of
life to Adam; but, from the moment in which he became alienated from God,
it was necessary that he should recover life by the death of Christ, by
whose life he then lived. It is indeed certain, that man would not have
been able, had he even devoured the whole tree, to enjoy life against the
will of God; but God, out of respect to his own institution, connects
life with the external sign, till the promise should be taken away from
it; for there never was any intrinsic efficacy in the tree; but God made
it life-giving, so far as he had sealed his grace to man in the use of
it, as, in truths he represents nothing to us with false signs, but
always speaks to us, as they say, with effect. In short, God resolved to
wrest out of the hands of man that which was the occasion or ground of
confidence, lest he should form for himself a vain hope of the perpetuity
of the life which he had lost.

23. "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth." Here Moses partly prosecutes
what he had said concerning the punishment inflicted on man, and partly
celebrates the goodness of God, by which the rigour of his judgment was
mitigated. God mercifully softens the exile of Adam, by still providing
for him a remaining home on earth, and by assigning to him a livelihood
from the culture--although the labourious culture--of the ground; for
Adam thence infers that the Lord has some care for him, which is a proof
of paternal love. Moses, however, again speaks of punishment, when he
relates that man was expelled and that cherubim were opposed with the
blade of a turning sword, which should prevent his entrance into the
garden. Moses says that the cherubim were placed in the eastern region,
on which side, indeed, access lay open to man, unless he had been
prohibited. It is added, to produce terror, that the sword was turning or
sharpened on both sides. Moses, however, uses a word derived from
whiteness or heat. Therefore, God having granted life to Adam, and having
supplied him with food, yet restricts the benefit, by causing some tokens
of Divine wrath to be always before his eyes, in order that he might
frequently reflect that he must pass through innumerable miseries,
through temporal exile, and through death itself, to the life from which
he had fallen; for what we have said must be remembered, that Adam was
not so dejected as to be left without hope of pardon. He was banished
from that royal palace of which he had been the lord, but he obtained
elsewhere a place in which he might dwell; he was bereft of his former
delicacies, yet he was still supplied with some kind of food; he was
excommunicated from the tree of life, but a new remedy was offered him in
sacrifices. Some expound the 'turning sword' to mean one which does not
always vibrate with its point directed against man, but which sometimes
shows the side of the blade, for the purpose of giving place for
repentance. But allegory is unseasonable, when it was the determination
of God altogether to exclude man from the garden, that he might seek life
elsewhere. As soon, however, as the happy fertility and pleasantness of
the place was destroyed, the terror of the sword became superfluous. By
cherubim, no doubt, Moses means angels and in this accommodates himself
to the capacity of his own people. God had commanded two cherubim to be
placed at the ark of the covenant, which should overshadow its covering,
with their wings; therefore he is often said to sit between the cherubim.
That he would have angels depicted in this form, was doubtless granted as
an indulgence to the rudeness of that ancient people; for that age needed
puerile instructions, as Paul teaches, (Gal. 4: 3;) and Moses borrowed
thence the name which he ascribed to angels, that he might accustom men
to that kind of revelation which he had received from God, and faithfully
handed down; for God designed, that what he knew would prove useful to
the people, should be revealed in the sanctuary. And certainly this
method is to be observed by us, in order that we, conscious of one own
infirmity may not attempt, without assistance, to soar to heaven; for
otherwise it will happen that, in the midst of our course, all our senses
will fail. The ladders and vehicles, then, were the sanctuary, the ark of
the covenants the altar, the table and its furniture. Moreover, I call
them vehicles and ladders, because symbols of this kind were by no means
ordained that the faithful might shut up God in a tabernacle as in a
prison, or might attach him to earthly elements; but that, being assisted
by congruous and apt means, they might themselves rise towards heaven.
Thus David and Hezekiah, truly endued with spiritual intelligence, were
far from entertaining those gross imaginations, which would fix God in a
given place. Still they do not scruple to call upon God, who sitteth or
dwelleth between the cherubim, in order that they may retain themselves
and others under the authority of the law.
  Finally, In this place angels are called cherubim, for the same reason
that the name of the body of Christ is transferred to the sacred bread of
the Lord's Supper. With respect to the etymology, the Hebrews themselves
are not agreed. The most generally received opinion is, that the first
letter, "caf" is a servile letter, and a note of similitude, and,
therefore, that the word cherub is of the same force as if it were said,
'like a boy.' But because Ezekiel, who applies the word in common to
different figures, is opposed to this signification; they think more
rightly, in my judgment, who declare it to be a general name.
Nevertheless, that it is referred to angels is more than sufficiently
known. Whence also Ezekiel (28: 14) signalizes the proud king of Tyre
with this title, comparing him to a chief angel.



Chapter IV.

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said,
I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep,
but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit
of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very
wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy
countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not
well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and
thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they
were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew
him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said,
I know not: [Am] I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth
to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee
her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment [is] greater than I can
bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth;
and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, [that] every one that
findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon
Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land
of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he
builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his
son, Enoch.
18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael
begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah,
and the name of the other Zillah.
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and
[of such as have] cattle.
21 And his brother's name [was] Jubal: he was the father of all such as
handle the harp and organ.
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer
in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain [was] Naamah.
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye
wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my
wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and
sevenfold.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name
Seth: For God, [said she], hath appointed me another seed instead of
Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name
Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

1. "And Adam knew his wife Eve." Moses now begins to describe the
propagation of mankind; in which history it is important to notice that
this benediction of God, "Increase and multiply," was not abolished by
sin; and not only so, but that the heart of Adam was divinely confirmed
so that he did not shrink with horror from the production of offspring.
And as Adam recognised, in the very commencement of having offspring, the
truly paternal moderation of God's anger, so was he afterwards compelled
to taste the bitter fruits of his own sin, when Cain slew Abel. But let
us follow the narration of Moses. Although Moses does not state that Cain
and Abel were twins it yet seems to me probable that they were so; for,
after he has said that Eve, by her first conception, brought forth her
firstborn, he soon after subjoins that she also bore another; and thus,
while commemorating a double birth, he speaks only or one conception. Let
those who think differently enjoy their own opinion; to me, however it
appears accordant with reason, when the world had to be replenished with
inhabitants, that not only Cain and Abel should have been brought forth
at one births but many also afterwards, both males and females.
  "I have gotten a man." The word which Moses uses signifies both to
acquire and to possess; and it is of little consequence to the present
context which of the two you adopt. It is more important to inquire why
she says that she has received, "eth Yehovah". Some expound it, 'with the
Lord;' that is, 'by the kindness, or by the favour, of the Lord;' as if
Eve would refer the accepted blessing of offspring to the Lord, as it is
said in Psalm 127: 3, "The fruit of the womb is the gift of the Lord." A
second interpretation comes to the same point, 'I have possessed a man
from the Lord;' and the version of Jerome is of equal force, 'Through the
Lord.' These three readings, I say, tend to this point, that Eve gives
thanks to God for having begun to raise up a posterity through her,
though she was deserving of perpetual barrenness, as well as of utter
destruction. Others, with greater subtlety, expound the words, 'I have
gotten the man of the Lord;' as if Eve understood that she already
possessed that conqueror of the serpent, who had been divinely promised
to her. Hence they celebrate the faith of Eve, because she embraced, by
faith, the promise concerning the bruising of the head of the devil
through her seed; only they think that she was mistaken in the person or
the individual, seeing that she would restrict to Cain what had been
promised concerning Christ. To me, however, this seems to be the genuine
sense, that while Eve congratulates herself on the birth of a son, she
offers him to God, as the first-fruits of his race. Therefore, I think it
ought to be translated, 'I have obtained a man from the Lord', which
approaches more nearly the Hebrew phrase. Moreover, she calls a newborn
infant a man, because she saw the human race renewed, which both she and
her husband had ruined by their own fault.

2. "And she again bare his brother Abel." It is well known whence the
name of Cain is deduced, and for what reason it was given to him. For his
mother said, "kaniti", I have gotten a man; and therefore she called his
name Cain. The same explanation is not given with respect to Abel. The
opinion of some, that he was so called by his mother out of contempt, as
if he would prove superfluous and almost useless, is perfectly absurd;
for she remembered the end to which her fruitfulness would lead; nor had
she forgotten the benediction, "Increase and multiply." We should (in my
judgment) more correctly infer that whereas Eve had testified, in the
name given to her firstborn, the joy which suddenly burst upon her, and
celebrated the grace of God; she afterwards, in her other offspring,
returned to the recollection of the miseries of the human race. And
certainly, though the new blessing of God was an occasion for no common
joy; yet, on the other hand, she could not look upon a posterity devoted
to so many and great evils, of which she had herself been the cause,
without the most bitter grief. Therefore, she wished that a monument of
her sorrow should exist in the name she gave her second son; and she
would, at the same time, hold up a common mirror, by which she might
admonish her whole progeny of the vanity of man. That some censure the
judgment of Eve as absurd, because she regarded her just and holy sons as
worthy to be rejected in comparison with her other wicked and abandoned
son, is what I do not approve. For Eve had reason why she should
congratulate herself in her firstborn; and no blame attaches to her for
having proposed, in her second son, a memorial to herself and to all
others, of their own vanity, to induce them to exercise themselves in
diligent reflection on their own evils.
  "And Abel was a keeper of sheep." Whether both the brothers had married
wives, and each had a separate home, Moses does not relate. This
therefore, remains to us in uncertainty, although it is probable that
Cain was married before he slew his brother; since Moses soon after adds,
that he knew his wife, and begot children: and no mention is there made
of his marriage. Both followed a kind of life in itself holy and
laudable. For the cultivation of the earth was commanded by God; and the
labour of feeding sheep was not less honorable than useful; in short, the
whole of rustic life was innocent and simple, and most of all
accommodated to the true order of nature. This, therefore, is to be
maintained in the first place, that both exercised themselves in labours
approved by God, and necessary to the common use of human life. Whence it
is inferred, that they had been well instructed by their father. The rite
of sacrificing more fully confirms this; because it proves that they had
been accustomed to the worship of God. The life of Cain, therefore, was,
in appearance, very well regulated; inasmuch as he cultivated the duties
of piety towards God, and sought a maintenance for himself and his, by
honest and just labour, as became a provident and sober father of a
family. Moreover, it will be here proper to recall to memory what we have
before said, that the first men, though they had been deprived of the
sacrament of divine love, when they were prohibited from the tree of
life, had yet been only so deprived of it, that a hope of salvation was
still left to them, of which they had the signs in sacrifices. For we
must remember, that the custom of sacrificing was not rashly devised by
them, but was divinely delivered to them. For since the Apostle refers
the dignity of Abel's accepted sacrifice to faith, it follows, first,
that he had not offered it without the command of God, (Heb. 11: 4.)
Secondly, it has been true from the beginning, of the world, that
obedience is better than any sacrifices, (1 Sam. 15: 22,) and is the
parent of all virtues. Hence it also follows that man had been taught by
God what was pleasing to Him. thirdly, since God has been always like
himself, we may not say that he was ever delighted with mere carnal and
external worship. Yet he deemed those sacrifices of the first age
acceptable. It follows, therefore, further, that they had been
spiritually offered to him: that is, that the holy fathers did not mock
him with empty ceremonies, but comprehended something more sublime and
secret; which they could not have done without divine instruction. For it
is interior truth alone which, in the external signs, distinguishes the
genuine and rational worship of God from that which is gross and
superstitious. And, certainly, they could not sincerely devote their mind
to the worship of God, unless they had been assured of his benevolence;
because voluntary reverence springs from a sense of, and confidence in,
his goodness; but, on the other hand, whosoever regards God s hostile to
himself, is compelled to flee from him with very fear and horror. We see
then that God, when he takes away the tree of life, in which he had first
given the pledge of his grace, proves and declares himself to be
propitious to man by other means. Should anyone object, that all nations
have had their own sacrifices, and that in these there was no pure and
solid religion, the solution is ready: namely, that mention is here made
of such sacrifices as are lawful and approved by God; of which nothing
but an adulterated imitation afterwards descended to the Gentiles. For
although nothing but the word "minchah", is here placed, which properly
signifies a gift, and therefore is extended generally to every kind of
oblation; yet we may infer, for two reasons, that the command respecting
sacrifice was given to the fathers from the beginning; first, for the
purpose of making the exercise of piety common to all, seeing they
professed themselves to be the property of God, and esteemed all they
possessed as received from him; and, secondly, for the purpose of
admonishing them of the necessity of some expiation in order to their
reconciliation with God. When each offers something of his property,
there is a solemn giving of thanks, as if he would testify by his present
act that he owes to God whatever he possesses. But the sacrifice of
cattle and the effusion of blood contains something further, namely, that
the offerer should have death before his eyes; and should, nevertheless,
believe in God as propitious to him. Concerning the sacrifices of Adam no
mention is made.

4. "And the Lord had respect unto Abel, &c." God is said to have respect
unto the man to whom he vouchsafes his favour. We must, however, notice
the order here observed by Moses; for he does not simply state that the
worship which Abel had paid was pleasing to God, but he begins with the
person of the offerer; by which he signifies, that God will regard no
works with favour except those the doer of which is already previously
accepted and approved by him. And no wonder; for man sees things which
are apparent, but God looks into the heart, (1 Sam. 16: 7;) therefore, he
estimates works no otherwise than as they proceed from the fountain of
the heart. Whence also it happens, that he not only rejects but abhors
the sacrifices of the wicked, however splendid they may appear in the
eyes of men. For if he, who is polluted in his soul, by his mere touch
contaminates, with his own impurities, things otherwise pure and clean,
how can that but be impure which proceeds from himself? When God
repudiates the feigned righteousness in which the Jews were glorying, he
objects, through his Prophet, that their hands were "full of blood,"
(Isaiah 1: 15.) For the same reason Haggai contends against the
hypocrites. The external appearance, therefore, of works, which may
delude our too carnal eyes, vanishes in the presence of God. Nor were
even the heathens ignorant of this; whose poets, when they speak with a
sober and well-regulated mind of the worship of God, require both a clean
heart and pure hands. Hence, even among all nations, is to be traced the
solemn rite of washing before sacrifices. Now seeing that in another
place, the Spirit testifies, by the mouth of Peter, that 'hearts are
purified by faith,' (Acts 15: 9;) and seeing that the purity of the holy
patriarchs was of the very same kind, the apostle does not in vain infer,
that the offering of Abel was, by faith, more excellent than that of
Cain. Therefore, in the first place, we must hold, that all works done
before faith, whatever splendour of righteousness may appear in them,
were nothing but mere sins, being defiled from their roots, and were
offensive to the Lord, whom nothing can please without inward purity of
heart. I wish they who imagine that men, by their own motion of freewill,
are rendered meet to receive the grace of God, would reflect on this.
Certainly, no controversy would then remain on the question, whether God
justifies men gratuitously, and that by faith? For this must be received
as a settled point, that, in the judgment of God, no respect is had to
works until man is received into favour. Another point appears equally
certain; since the whole human race is hateful to God, there is no other
way of reconciliation to divine favour than through faith. Moreover,
since faith is a gratuitous gift of God, and a special illumination of
the Spirit, then it is easy to infer, that we are prevented by his mere
grace, just as if he had raised us from the dead. In which sense also
Peter says, that it is God who purifies the hearts by faith. For there
would be no agreement of the fact with the statement, unless God had so
formed faith in the hearts of men that it might be truly deemed his gift.
It may now be seen in what way purity is the effect of faith. It is a
vapid and trifling philosophy, to adduce this as the cause of purity,
that men are not induced to seek God as their rewarder except by faith.
They who speak thus entirely bury the grace of God, which his Spirit
chiefly commends. Others also speak coldly, who teach that we are
purified by faiths only on account of the gift of regenerations in order
that we may be accepted of God. For not only do they omit half the truth,
but build without a foundation; since, on account of the curse on the
human race, it became necessary that gratuitous reconciliation should
precede. Again, since God never so regenerates his people in this world,
that they can worship him perfectly; no work of man can possibly be
acceptable without expiation. And to this point the ceremony of legal
washing belongs, in order that men may learn, that as often as they wish
to draw near unto God, purity must be sought elsewhere. Wherefore God
will then at length have respect to our obedience, when he looks upon us
in Christ.

5. "But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect." It is not to
be doubted, that Cain conducted himself as hypocrites are accustomed to
do; namely, that he wished to appease God, as one discharging a debt, by
external sacrifices, without the least intention of dedicating himself to
God. But this is true worship, to offer ourselves as spiritual sacrifices
to God. When God sees such hypocrisy, combined with gross and manifest
mockery of himself; it is not surprising that he hates it, and is unable
to bear it; whence also it follows, that he rejects with contempt the
works of those who withdraw themselves from him. For it is his will,
first to have us devoted to himself; he then seeks our works in testimony
of our obedience to him, but only in the second place. It is to be
remarked, that all the figments by which men mock both God and themselves
are the fruits of unbelief: To this is added pride, because unbelievers,
despising the Mediator's grace, throw themselves fearlessly into the
presence of God. The Jews foolishly imagine that the oblations of Cain
were unacceptable, because he defrauded God of the full ears of corn, and
meanly offered him only barren or half-filled ears. Deeper and more
hidden was the evil; namely that impurity of heart of which I have been
speaking; just as, on the other hand, the strong scent of burning fat
could not conciliate the divine favour to the sacrifices of Abel; but,
being pervaded by the good odour of faith, they had a sweet-smelling
savour.
  "And Cain was very wroth." In this place it is asked, whence Cain
understood that his brother's oblations were preferred to his? The
Hebrews, according to their manner, report to divinations and imagine
that the sacrifice of Abel was consumed by celestial fire; but, since we
ought not to allow ourselves so great a license as to invent miracles,
for which we have no testimony of Scripture, let Jewish fables be
dismissed. It is, indeed, more probable, that Cain formed the judgement
which Moses records, from the events which followed. He saw that it was
better with his brother than with himself; thence he inferred, that God
was pleased with his brother, and displeased with himself. We know also,
that to hypocrites nothing seems of greater value, nothing is more to
their heart's content, then earthly blessing. moreover, in the person of
Cain is portrayed to us the likeness of a wicked man, who yet desires to
be esteemed just, and even arrogates to himself the first place among
saints. Such persons truly, by external works, strenuously labour to
deserve well at the hands of God; but, retaining a heart inwrapped in
deceit, they present to him nothing but a mask; so that, in their
labourious and anxious religious worship, there is nothing sincere,
nothing but mere pretence. When they afterwards see that they gain no
advantage, they betray the venom of their minds; for they not only
complain against God, but break forth in manifest fury, so that, if they
were able, they would gladly tear him don from his heavenly throne. Such
is the innate pride of all hypocrites, that, by the very appearance of
obedience, they would hold God as under obligation to them; because they
cannot escape from his authority, they try to sooth him with
blandishments, as they would a child; in the meantime, while they count
much of their fictitious trifles, they think that God does them great
wrong if he does not applaud them; but when he pronounces their offerings
frivolous and of no value in his sight, they first begin to murmur, and
then to rage. Their impiety alone hinders God from being reconciled unto
them; but they wish to bargain with God on their own terms. When this is
denied, they burn with furious indignation, which, though conceived
against God, they cast forth upon his children. Thus, when Cain was angry
with God, his fury was poured forth on his unoffending brother. When
Moses says, "his countenance fell," (the word countenance is in Hebrew
put in the plural number for the singular,) he means, that not only was
he seized with a sudden vehement anger, but that, from a lingering
sadness, he cherished a feeling so malignant that he was wasting with
envy.

6. "And the Lord said unto Cain." God now proceeds against Cain himself,
and cites him to His tribunal, that the wretched man may understand that
his rage can profit him nothing. He wishes honour to be given him for his
sacrifices; but because he does not obtain it, he is furiously angry.
Meanwhile, he does not consider that through his own fault he had failed
to gain his wish; for had he but been conscious of his inward evil, he
would have ceased to expostulate with God, and to rage against his
guiltless brother. Moses does not state in what manner God spoke. Whether
a vision was presented to him, or he heard an oracle from heaven, or was
admonished by secret inspiration, he certainly felt himself bound by a
divine judgment. To apply this to the person of Adam, as being the
prophet and interpreter of God in censuring his son, is constrained and
even frigid. I understand what it is which good men, not less pious than
learned, propose, when they sport with such fancies. Their intention is
to honour the external ministry of the word, and to cut off the occasion
which Satan takes to insinuate his illusions under the colour of
revelation. Truly I confess, nothing is more useful than that pious minds
should be retained, under the order of preaching, in obedience to the
Scripture, that they may not seek the mind of God in erratic
speculations. But we may observe, that the word of God was delivered from
the beginning by oracles, in order that afterwards, when administered by
the hands of men, it might receive the greater reverence. I also
acknowledge that the office of teaching was enjoined upon Adam, and do
not doubt that he diligently admonished his children: yet they who think
that God only spoke through his ministers, too violently restrict the
words of Moses. Let us rather conclude, that, before the heavenly
teaching was committed to public records, God often made known his will
by extraordinary methods, and that here was the foundation which
supported reverence for the word; while the doctrine delivered through
the hands of men was like the edifice itself. Certainly, though I should
be silent, all men would acknowledge how greatly such an imagination as
that to which we refer, abates the force of the divine reprimand.
Therefore, as the voice of God had previously so sounded in the ears of
Adam, that he certainly perceived God to speak; so is it also now
directed to Cain.

7. "If thou does well." In these words God reproves Cain for having been
unjustly angry, inasmuch as the blame of the whole evil lay with himself.
For foolish indeed was his complaint and indignation at the rejection of
sacrifices, the defects of which he had taken no care to amend. Thus all
wicked men, after they have been long and vehemently enraged against God,
are at length so convicted by the Divine judgment, that they vainly
desire to transfer to others the cause of the evil. The Greek
interpreters recede, in this place, far from the genuine meaning of
Moses. Since, in that age, there were none of those marks or points which
the Hebrews use instead of vowels, it was more easy, in consequence of
the affinity of words to each other, to strike into an extraneous sense.
I however, as any one, moderately versed in the Hebrew language, will
easily judge of their error, I will not pause to refute it. Yet even
those who are skilled in the Hebrew tongue differ not a little among
themselves, although only respecting a single word; for the Greeks change
the whole sentence. Among those who agree concerning the context and the
substance of the address, there is a difference respecting the word
"se'ait", which is truly in the imperative mood, but ought to be resolved
into a noun substantive. Yet this is not the real difficulty; but, since
the verb "nasa", signifies sometimes to exalt, sometimes to take away or
remit, sometimes to offer, and sometimes to accept, interpreters very
among themselves, as each adopts this or the other meaning. Some of the
Hebrew Doctors refer it to the countenance of Cain, as if God promised
that he would lift it up though now cast down with sorrow. Other of the
Hebrews apply it to the remission of sins; as if it had been said, 'Do
well, and thou shalt obtain pardon'. But because they imagine a
satisfaction, which derogates from free pardon, they dissent widely from
the meaning of Moses. A third exposition approaches more nearly to the
truth, that exaltation is to be taken for honour, in this way, 'There is
no need to envy thy brother's honour, because, if thou conductest thyself
rightly, God will also raise thee to the same degree of honour; though he
now, offended by thy sins, has condemned thee to ignominy.' But even this
does not meet my approbation. Others refine more philosophically, and
say, that Cain would find God propitious and would be assisted by his
grace, if he should by faith bring purity of heart with his outward
sacrifices. These I leave to enjoy their own opinion, but I fear they aim
at what has little solidity. Jerome translates the word, 'Thou shalt
receive;' understanding that God promises a reward to that pure and
lawful worship which he requires. Having recited the opinions of others,
let me now offer what appears to me more suitable. In the first place,
the word "seait" means the same thing as acceptance, and stands opposed
to rejection. Secondly, since the discourse has respect to the matter in
hand, I explain the saying as referring to sacrifices, namely, that God
will accept them when rightly offered. They who are skilled in the Hebrew
language know that here is nothing forced, or remote from the genuine
signification of the word. Now the very order of things leads us to the
same point: namely, that God pronounces those sacrifices repudiated and
rejected, as being of no value, which are offered improperly; but that
the oblation will be accepted, as pleasant and of good odour, if it be
pure and legitimate. We now perceive how unjustly Cain was angry that his
sacrifices were not honoured seeing that God was ready to receive them
with outstretched hands, provided they ceased to be faulty. At the same
time, however; what I before said must be recalled to memory, that the
chief point of well-doing is, for pious persons, relying on Christ the
Mediator, and on the gratuitous reconciliation procured by him, to
endeavour to worship God sincerely and without dissimulation. Therefore,
these two things are joined together by a mutual connection: that the
faithful, as often as they enter into the presence of God, are commended
by the grace of Christ alone, their sins being blotted out; and yet that
they bring thither true purity of heart.
  "And if thou does not well." On the other hand, God pronounces a
dreadful sentence against Cain, if he harden his mill in wickedness and
indulge himself in his crime; for the address is very emphatical, because
God not only repels his unjust complaint, but shows that Cain could have
no greater adversary than that sin of his which he inwardly cherished. He
so binds the impious man, by a few concise words, that he can find no
refuge, as if he had said, 'Thy obstinacy shall not profit thee; for,
though thou shouldst have nothing to do with me, thy sin shall give thee
no rest, but shall drive thee on, pursue thee, and urge thee, and never
suffer thee to escape.' Hence it follows, that he not only raged in vain
and to no profit; but was held guilty by his own inward conviction, even
though no one should accuse him; for the expression, 'Sin lieth at the
door", relates to the interior judgement of the conscience, which presses
upon the man convinced of his sin, and besieges him on every side.
Although the impious may imagine that God slumbers in heaven, and may
strive, as far as possible, to repel the fear of his judgment; yet sin
will be perpetually drawing them back, though reluctant and fugitives, to
that tribunal from which they endeavour to retire. The declarations even
of heathens testify that they were not ignorant of this truth; for it is
not to be doubted that, when they say, 'Conscience is like a thousand
witnesses,' they compare it to a most cruel executioner. There is no
torment more grievous or severe than that which is hence perceived;
moreover, God himself extorts confessions of this kind. Juvenal says:--
      "Heaven's high revenge on human crimes behold;
      Though earthly verdicts may be bought and sold,
      His judge the sinner in his bosom bears,
      And conscience racks him with tormenting cares. 
  But the expression of Moses has peculiar energy. Sin is said to lie,
but it is at the door; for the sinner is not immediately tormented with
the fear of judgment; but, gathering around him whatever delights he is
able, in order to deceive himself; he walks as in free space, and even
revels as in pleasant meadows; when, however, he comes to the door, there
he meets with sin, keeping constant guard; and then conscience, which
before thought itself at liberty, is arrested, and receives, double
punishment for the delay.
  "And unto thee shall be his desire." Nearly all commentators refer this
to sin, and think that, by this admonition, those depraved hosts are
restrained which solicit and impel the mind of man. Therefore, according
to their view, the meaning will be of this kind, 'If sin rises against
thee to subdue thee, why dost thou indulge it, and not rather labour to
restrain and control it? For it is thy part to subdue and bring into
obedience those affections in thy flesh which thou perceivest to be
opposed to the will of God, and rebellious against him.' But I suppose
that Moses means something entirely different. I omit to notice that to
the Hebrew word for sin is affixed the mark of the feminine gender, but
that here two masculine relative pronouns are used. Certainly Moses does
not treat particularly of the sin itself which was committed, but of the
guilt which is contracted from it, and of the consequent condemnation.
How, then, do these words. suit, 'Unto thee shall be his desire?' There
will, however be no need for long refutation when I shall produce the
genuine meaning of the expression. It rather seems to be a reproof, by
which God charges the impious man with ingratitude, because he held in
contempt the honour of primogeniture. The greater are the divine benefits
with which any one of us is adorned, the more does he betray his impiety
unless he endeavours earnestly to serve the Author of grace to whom he is
under obligation. When Abel was regarded as his brother's inferior, he
was, nevertheless, a diligent worshipper of God. But the firstborn
worshipped God negligently and perfunctorily, though he had, by the
Divine kindness, arrived at so high a dignity; and, therefore, God
enlarges upon his sin, because he had not at least imitated his brother,
whom he ought to have surpassed as far in piety as he did in the degree
of honour. Moreover, this form of speech is common among the Hebrews,
that the desire of the inferior should be towards him to whose will he is
subject; thus Moses speaks of the woman, (3: 16,) that her desire should
be to her husband. They, however, childishly trifle, who distort this
passage to prove the freedom of the will; for if we grant that Cain was
admonished of his duty in order that he might apply himself to the
subjugation of sin, yet no inherent power of man is to be hence inferred;
because it is certain that only by the grace of the Holy Spirit can the
affections of the flesh be so mortified that they shall not prevail. Nor,
truly, must we conclude, that as often as God commands anything we shall
have strength to perform it, but rather we must hold fast the saying of
Augustine, 'Give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt.'

8. "And Cain talked with Abel his brother". Some understand this
conversation to have been general; as if Cain, perfidiously dissembling
his anger, spoke in a fraternal manner. Jerome relates the language used,
'Come, let us go without.' In my opinion the speech is elliptical, and
something is to be understood, yet what it is remains uncertain.
Nevertheless, I am not dissatisfied with the explanation, that Moses
concisely reprehends the wicked perfidy of the hypocrite, who, by
speaking familiarly, presented the appearance of fraternal concord, until
the opportunity of perpetrating the horrid murder should be afforded. And
by this example we are taught that hypocrites are never to be more
dreaded than when they stoop to converse under the pretext of friendship;
because when they are not permitted to injure by open violence as much as
they please, suddenly they assume a feigned appearance of peace. But it
is by no means to be expected that they who are as savage beasts towards
God, should sincerely cultivate the confidence of friendship with men.
yet let the reader consider whether Moses did not rather mean, that
although Cain was rebuked by God, he, nevertheless, contended with his
brother, and thus this saying of his would depend on what had preceded. I
certainly rather incline to the opinion that he did not keep his
malignant feelings within his own breast, but that he broke forth in
accusation against his brother, and angrily declared to him the cause at
his dejection.
  "When they were in the field". Hence we gather that although Cain had
complained of his brother at home, he had yet so covered the diabolical
fury with which he burned, that Abel suspected nothing worse; for he
deferred vengeance to a suitable time. Moreover, this single deed of
guilt clearly shows whither Satan will hurry men, when they harden their
mind in wickedness, so that in the end, their obstinacy is worthy of the
utmost extremes of punishment.

9 "Where is Abel?" They who suppose that the father made this inquiry of
Cain respecting his son Abel, enervate the whole force of the instruction
which Moses here intended to deliver; namely, that God, both by secret
inspiration, and by some extraordinary method, cited the parricide to his
tribunal, as if he had thundered from heaven. For, what I have before
said must be firmly maintained that, as God now speaks until us through
the Scriptures, so he formerly manifested himself to the Fathers through
oracles; and also in the same meaner, revealed his judgements to the
reprobate sons of the saints. So the angel spoke to Agar in the wood,
after she had fallen away from the Church, as we shall see in the eighth
verse of the sixteenth chapter. It is indeed possible that God may have
interrogated Cain by the silent examinations of his conscience; and that
he, in return, may have answered, inwardly fretting, and murmuring. We
must, however, conclude, that he was examined, not barely by the external
voice of man, but by a Divine voice, so as to make him feel that he had
to deal directly with God. As often, then as the secret compunctions of
conscience invite us to reflect upon our sins, let us remember that God
himself is speaking, with us. For that interior sense by which we are
convicted of sin is the peculiar judgement-seat of God, where he
exercises his jurisdiction. Let those, therefore, whose consciences
accuse them, beware lest, after the example of Cain, they confirm
themselves in obstinacy. For this is truly to kick against God, and to
resist his Spirit; when we repel those thoughts, which are nothing else
than incentives to repentance. But it is a fault too common, to add at
length to former sins such perverseness, that he who is compelled,
whether he will or not, to feel sin in his mind, shall yet refuse to
yield to God. Hence it appears how great is the depravity of the human
mind; since, when convicted and condemned by our own conscience, we still
do not cease either to mock, or to rage against our Judge. Prodigious was
the stupor of Cain, who, having committed a crime so great, ferociously
rejected the reproof of God, from whose hand he was nevertheless unable
to escape. But the same thing daily happens to all the wicked; every one
of whom desires to be deemed ingenious in catching at excuses. For the
human heart is so entangled in winding labyrinths, that it is easy for
the wicked to add obstinate contempt of God to their crimes; not because
their contumacy is sufficiently firm to withstand the judgment of God,
(for, although they hide themselves in the deep recesses of which I have
spoken, they are, nevertheless, always secretly burned, as with a hot
iron,) but because, by a blind obstinacy they render themselves callous.
Hence, the force of the Divine judgment is clearly perceived; for it so
pierces into the iron hearts of the wicked, that they are inwardly
compelled to be their own judges; nor does it suffer them so to
obliterate the sense of guilt which it has extorted, as not to leave the
trace or scar of the searing. Cain, in denying that he was the keeper of
his brother's life, although, with ferocious rebellion, he attempts
violently to repel the judgment of God, yet thinks to escape by this
cavil, that he was not required to give an account of his murdered
brother, because he had received no express command to take care of him.

10. "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood." Moses shows
that Cain gained nothing by his tergiversation. God first inquired where
his brother was; he now more closely urges him, in order to extort an
unwilling confession of his guilt; for in no racks or tortures of any
kind is there so much force to constrain evildoers, as there was efficacy
in the thunder of the Divine voice to cast down Cain in confusion to the
ground. For God no longer asks whether he had done it; but, pronouncing
in a single word that he was the doer of it, he aggravates the atrocity
of the crime. We learn, then, in the person of one man, what an unhappy
issue of their cause awaits those, who desire to extricate themselves by
contending against God. For He, the Searcher of hearts, has no need of a
long, circuitous course of investigation; but, with one word, so
fulminates against those whom he accuses, as to be sufficient, and more
than sufficient, for their condemnation. Advocates place the first kind
of defense in the denial of the fact; where the fact cannot be denied,
they have recourse to the qualifying circumstances of the case. Cain is
driven from both these defenses; for God both pronounces him guilty of
the slaughter, and, at the same time, declares the heinousness of the
crime. And we are warned by his example, that pretexts and subterfuges
are heaped together in vain, when sinners are cited to the tribunal of
God.
  "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth." God first shows that he is
cognizant of the deeds of men, though no one should complain of or accuse
them; secondly that he holds the life of man too dear, to allow innocent
blood to be shed with impunity; thirdly, that he cares for the pious not
only while they live, but even after death. However earthly judges may
sleep, unless an accuser appeals to them; yet even when he who is injured
is silent the injuries themselves are alone sufficient to arouse God to
inflict punishment. This is a wonderfully sweet consolation to good men,
who are unjustly harassed, when they hear that their own sufferings,
which they silently endure, go into the presence of God of their own
accord, to demand vengeance. Abel was speechless when his throat was
being cut, or in whatever other manner he was losing his life; but after
death the voice of his blood was more vehement than any eloquence of the
orator. Thus oppression and silence do not hinder God from judging, or
the cause which the world supposes to be buried. This consolation affords
us most abundant reason for patience when we learn that we shall lose
nothing of our right, if we bear injuries with moderation and equanimity;
and that God will be so much the more ready to vindicate us, the more
modestly we submit ourselves to endure all things; because the placid
silence of the soul raises effectual cries, which fill heaven and earth.
Nor does this doctrine apply merely to the state of the present life, to
teach us that among the innumerable dangers by which we are surrounded,
we shall be safe under the guardianship of God; but it elevates us by the
hope of a better life; because we must conclude that those for whom God
cares shall survive after death. And, on the other hand, this
consideration should strike terror into the wicked and violent, that God
declares, that he undertakes the causes deserted by human patronage, not
in consequence of any foreign impulse, but from his own nature; and that
he will be the sure avenger of crimes, although the injured make no
complaint. Murderers indeed often exult, as if they had evaded
punishment; but at length God will show that innocent blood has not been
mute, and that he has not said in vain, 'the death of the saints is
precious in his eyes,' (Psalm 115: 17.) Therefore, as this doctrine
brings relief to the faithful, lest they should be too anxious concerning
their life, over which they learn that God continually watches; so does
it vehemently thunder against the ungodly who do not scruple wickedly to
injure and to destroy those whom God has undertaken to preserve.

11. "And now art thou cursed from the earth." Cain, having been convicted
of the crime, judgment is now pronounced against him. And first, God
constitutes the earth the minister of his vengeance, as having been
polluted by the impious and horrible parricide: as if he had said, 'Thou
didst just now deny to me the murder which thou hast committed, but the
senseless earth itself will demand thy punishment.' He does this,
however, to aggravate the enormity of the crime, as if a kind of
contagion flowed from it even to the earth, for which the execution of
punishment was required. The imagination of some, that cruelty is here
ascribed to the earth, as if God compared it to a wild beast, which had
drunk up the blood of Abel, is far from the true meaning. Clemency is
rather, in my judgment, by personification, imputed to it; because, in
abhorrence of the pollution, it had opened its mouth to cover the blood
which had been shed by a brother's hand. Most detestable is the cruelty
of this man, who does not shrink from pouring forth his neighbour's
blood, of which the bosom of the earth becomes the receptacle. Yet we
must not here imagine any miracle, as if the blood had been absorbed by
any unusual opening of the earth; but the speech is figurative,
signifying that there was more humanity in the earth than in man himself.
Moreover, they who think that, because Cain is now cursed in stronger
words than Adam had previously been, God had dealt more gently with the
first man, from a design to spare the human race; have some colour for
their opinion. Adam heard the words, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake:"
but now the shaft of divine vengeance vibrates against, and transfixes
the person of Cain. The opinion of others, that temporal punishment is
intended, because it is said, Thou art cursed from the "earth", rather
than from "heaven", lest the posterity of Cain, being cut off from the
hope of salvation, should rush the more boldly on their own damnation,
seems to me not sufficiently confirmed. I rather interpret the passage
thus: Judgment was committed to the earth, in order that Cain might
understand that his judge had not to be summoned from a distance; that
there was no need for an angel to descend from heaven, since the earth
voluntarily offered itself as the avenger.

12. "When thou tillest the ground." This verse is the exposition of the
former; for it expresses more clearly what is meant by being cursed from
the earth, namely, that the earth defrauds its cultivators of the fruit
of their toil. Should any one object that this punishment had before been
alike inflicted on all mortals, in the person of Adam; my answer is, I
have no doubt that something of the benediction which had hitherto
remained, was now further withdrawn with respect to the murderer, in
order that he might privately feel the very earth to be hostile to him.
For although, generally, God causes his sun daily to rise upon the good
and the evil, (Matth. 5: 45,) yet, in the meantime, (as often as he sees
good,) he punished the sins, sometimes of a whole nation, and sometimes
of certain men, with rain and hail, and clouds, so far, at least, as is
useful to give determinate proof of future judgment; and also for the
purpose of admonishing the world, by such examples, that nothing can
succeed when God is angry with and opposed to them. Moreover in the first
murder, God designed to exhibit a singular example of malediction, the
memory of which should remain in all ages.
  "A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be." Another punishment is now
also inflicted; namely, that he never could be safe, to whatever place he
might come. Moses uses two words, little differing from each other,
except that the former is derived from "noa", which is to wander, the
other from "nadad", which signifies to flee. The distinction which some
make, that "na" is he who never has a settled habitations but "nad", he
who knows not which way he ought to turn; as it is defective in proof, is
with me of no weight. The genuine sense then of the words is, that
wherever Cain might come, he should be unsettled and a fugitive; as
robbers are wont to be, who have no quiet and secure resting-place; for
the face of every man strikes terror into them; and, on the other hand,
they have a horror of solitude. But this seems to some by no means a
suitable punishment for a murderer, since it is rather the destined
condition of the sons of God; for they, more than all others, feel
themselves to be strangers in the world. And Paul complains that both he
and his companions are without a certain dwelling-place, (1 Cor. 4: 11.)
To which I answer, that Cain was not only condemned to personal exile,
but was also subjected to still more severe punishment; namely, that he
should find no region of the earth where he would not be of a restless
and fearful mind; for as a good conscience is properly called 'a brazen
walls' so neither a hundred walls, nor as many fortresses, can free the
wicked from disquietude. The faithful are strangers upon the earth, yet,
nevertheless, they enjoy a tranquil temporary abode. Often, constrained
by necessity, they wander from place to place, but wheresoever the
tempest bears them, they carry with them a sedate mind; till finally by
perpetual change of place, they so run their course, and pass through the
world, that they are everywhere sustained by the supporting hand of God.
Such security is denied to the wicked, whom all creatures threaten; and
should even all creatures favour them, still the mind itself is so
turbulent that it does not suffer them to rest. In this manner, Cain,
even if he bad not changed his place, could not have shaken off the
trepidation which God had fixed in his mind; nor did the fact, that he
was the first man who built a city, prevent him from being always
restless even in his own nest.

13. "My punishment is greater, &c." Nearly all commentators agree that
this is the language of desperation; because Cain, confounded by the
judgment of God, had no remaining hope of pardon. And this, indeed, is
true, that the reprobate are never conscious of their evils, till a ruin,
from which they cannot escape, overtakes them; yea, truly, when the
sinner, obstinate to the last, mocks the patience of God, this is the due
reward of his late repentance that he feels a horrible torment for which
there is no remedy,--if, truly, that blind and astonished dread of
punishments which is without any hatred of sin, or any desire to return
to God, can be called repentance;--so even Judas confesses his sin, but,
overwhelmed with fear, flies as far as possible from the presence of God.
And it is certainly true, that the reprobates have no medium; as long as
any relaxation is allowed them, they slumber securely; but when the anger
of God presses upon them, they are broken rather than corrected.
Therefore their fear stuns them, so that they can think of nothing but of
hell and eternal destruction. However, I doubt not, that the words have
another meaning. For I rather take the term "awoon" in its proper
signification; and the word "nasa", I interpret by the word to bear. 'A
greater punishment (he says) is imposed upon me than I can bear.' In this
manner, Cain, although he does not excuse his sin, having been driven
from every shift; yet complains of the intolerable severity of his
judgement. So also the devils, although they feel that they are justly
tormented, yet do not cease to rage against God their judge, and to
charge him with cruelty. And immediately follows the explanation of these
words: 'Behold, thou hast driven me from the face of the earth, and I am
hidden from thy face.' In which expression he openly expostulates with
God, that he is treated more hardly than is just, no clemency or
moderation being shown him. For it is precisely as if he had said, 'If a
safe habitation is denied me in the world, and thou dost not deign to
care for me, what dost thou leave me? Would it not be better to die at
once than to be constantly exposed to a thousand deaths? ' Whence we
infer, that the reprobate, however clearly they may be convicted, make no
end of storming; insomuch that through their impatience and fury, they
seize on occasions of contest; as if they were able to excite enmity
against God on account of the severity of their own sufferings. This
passage also clearly teaches what was the nature of that wandering
condition, or exile, which Moses had just mentioned; namely, that no
corner of the earth should be left him by God, in which he might quietly
repose. For, being excluded from the common rights of mankind, so as to
be no more reckoned among the legitimate inhabitants of the earth, he
declares that he is cast out from the face of the earth, and therefore
shall become a fugitive, because the earth will deny him a habitation;
hence it would be necessary, that he should occupy as a robber, what he
did not possess by right. To be 'hidden from the face of God,' is to be
not regarded by God, or not protected by his guardian care. This
confession also, which God extorted from the impious murderer, is a proof
that there is no peace for men, unless they acquiesce in the providence
of God, and are persuaded that their lives are the object of his care; it
is also a proof, that they can only quietly enjoy any of God's benefits
so long as they regard themselves as placed in the world, on this
condition, that they pass their lives under his government. How wretched
then is the instability of the wicked, who know that not a foot of earth
is granted to them by God!

14. "Every one that findeth me." Since he is no longer covered by the
protection of God, he concludes that he shall be exposed to injury and
violence from all men. And he reasons justly; for the hand of God alone
marvelously preserves us amid so many dangers. And they have spoken
prudently who have said, not only that our life hangs on a thread, but
also that we have been received into this fleeting life, out of the womb,
from a hundred deaths. Cain, however, in this place, not only considers
himself as deprived of God's protection, but also supposes all creatures
to be divinely armed to take vengeance of his impious murder. This is the
reason why he so greatly fears for his life from any one who may meet
him; for as man is a social animal, and all naturally desire mutual
intercourse, this is certainly to be regarded as a portentous fact, that
the meeting with any man was formidable to the murderer.

15. "Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain." They who think that it was
Cain's wish to perish immediately by one death, in order that he might
not be agitated by continual dangers, and that the prolongation of his
life was granted him only as a punishment, have no reason, that I can
see, for thus speaking. But far more absurd is the manner in which many
of the Jews mutilate this sentence. Firsts they imagine, in this clause,
the use of the figure "aposioopesis", according to which something not
expressed is understood; then they begin a new sentence, 'He shall be
punished sevenfold,' which they refer to Cain. Still, however, they do
not agree together about the sense. Some trifle respecting Lamech, as we
shall soon declare. Others expound the passage of the deluge, which
happened in the seventh generation. But that is frivolous, since the
latter was not a private punishment of one family only, but a common
punishment of the human race. But this sentence ought to be read
continuously, thus, 'Whosoever killeth Cain, shall on this account, be
punished sevenfold.' And the causal particle "lachen" indicates that God
would take care to prevent any one from easily breaking in upon him to
destroy him; not because God would institute a privilege in favour of the
murderer, or would hearken to his prayers but because he would consult
for posterity, in order to the preservation of human life. The order of
nature had been awfully violated; what might be expected to happen in
future, when the wickedness and audacity of man should increase, unless
the fury of others had been restrained by a violent hand? For we know
what pestilent and deadly poison Satan presents to us in evil examples,
if a remedy be not speedily applied. Therefore, the Lord declares, if any
will imitate Cain, not only shall they have no excuse in his example, but
shall be more grievously tormented; because they ought, in his person, to
perceive how detestable is their wickedness in the sight of God.
Wherefore, they are greatly deceived who suppose that the anger of God is
mitigated when men can plead custom as an excuse for sinning; whereas it
is from that cause the more inflamed.
  "And the Lord set a mark." I have lately said, that nothing was granted
to Cain for the sake of favouring him; but for the sake of opposing, in
future, cruelty and unjust violence. And therefore, Moses now says, that
a mark was set upon Cain, which should strike terror into all; because
they might see, as in a mirrors the tremendous judgment of God against
bloody men. As Scripture does not describe what kind of mark it was,
commentators have conjectured, that his body became tremulous. It may
suffice for us, that there was some visible token which should repress in
the spectators the desire and the audacity to inflict injury.

16. "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord." Cain is said to
have departed from the presence of God, because, whereas he had hitherto
lived in the earth as in an abode belonging to God, now, like an exile
removed far from God's sight, he wanders beyond the limits of His
protection. Or certainly, (which is not less probable,) Moses represents
him as having stood at the bar of judgment till he was condemned: but
now, when God ceased to speak with him, being freed from the sense of His
presence, he hastens elsewhere and seeks a new habitation, where he may
escape the eyes of God. The land of Nod without doubt obtained its name
from its inhabitant. From its being situated on the eastern side of
Paradise, we may infer the truth of what was before stated, that a
certain place, distinguished by its pleasantness and rich abundance of
fruits, had been given to Adam for a habitation; for, of necessity, that
place must be limited, which has opposite aspects towards the various
regions of the world.

17. "And Cain knew his wife." From the context we may gather that Cain,
before he slew his brother, had married a wife; otherwise Moses would now
have related something respecting his marriage; because it would be a
fact worthy to be recorded, that any one of his sisters could be found,
who would not shrink with horror from committing herself into the hand of
one whom she knew to be defiled with a brother's blood; and while a free
choice was still given her, should rather choose spontaneously to follow
an exile and a fugitive, than to remain in her father's family. Moreover,
he relates it as a prodigy that Cain, having shaken off the terror he had
mentioned, should have thought of having children: for it is remarkable,
that he who imagined himself to have as many enemies as there were men in
the world, did not rather hide himself in some remote solitude. It is
also contrary to nature, that he being astounded with fear; and feeling
that God was opposed to him, could enjoy any pleasure. Indeed, it seems
to me doubtful, whether he had previously had any children; for there
would be nothing absurd in saying, that reference is here made especially
to those who were born after the crime was committed, as to a detestable
seed who would fully participate in the sanguinary disposition, and the
savage manners of their father. This, however, is without controversy,
that many persons, as well males as females, are omitted in this
narrative; it being the design of Moses only to follow one line of his
progeny, until he should come to Lamech. The house of Cain, therefore,
was more populous than Moses states; but because of the memorable history
of Lamech, which he is about to subjoin, he only adverts to one line of
descendents, and passes over the rest in silence.
  "He built a city." This, at first sight, seems very contrary, both to
the judgment of God, and to the preceding sentence. For Adam and the rest
of his family, to whom God had assigned a fixed station, are passing
their lives in hovels, or even under the open heaven, and seek their
precarious lodging under trees; but the exile Cain, whom God had
commanded to rove as a fugitive, not content with a private house, builds
himself a city. It is, however, probable, that the man, oppressed by an
accusing conscience, and not thinking himself safe within the walls of
his own house, had contrived a new kind of defense: for Adam and the rest
live dispersed through the fields for no other reason, than that they are
less afraid. Wherefore, it is a sign of an agitated and guilty mind, that
Cain thought of building a city for the purpose of separating himself
from the rest of men; yet that pride was mixed with his diffidence and
anxiety, appears, from his having called the city after his son. Thus
different affections often contend with each other in the hearts of the
wicked. Fear, the fruit of his iniquity, drives him within the walls of a
city, that he may fortify himself in a manner before unknown; and, on the
other hand, supercilious vanity breaks forth. Certainly he ought rather
to have chosen that his name should be buried for ever; for how could his
memory be transmitted, except to beheld in execration? Yet, ambition
impels him to erect a monument to his race in the name of his city. What
shall we here say, but that he had hardened himself against punishment,
for the purpose of holding out,in inflated obstinacy, against God?
Moreover although it is lawful to defend our lives by the fortifications
of cities and of fortresses, yet the first origin of them is to be noted,
because it is always profitable for us to behold our faults in their very
remedies. When captious men sneeringly inquire, whence Cain had brought
his architects and workmen to build his city, and whence he sent for
citizens to inhabit it? I, in return, ask of them, what authority they
have for believing that the city was constructed of squared stones, and
with great skill, and at much expense, and that the building of it was a
work of long continuance? For nothing further can be gathered from the
words of Moses, than that Cain surrounded himself and his posterity with
walls formed of the rudest materials: and as it respects the inhabitants;
that in that commencement of the fecundity of mankind, his offspring
would have grown to so great a number when it had reached his children of
the fourth generation, that it might easily form the body of one city.

19. "And Lamech took unto him two wives." We have here the origin of
polygamy in a perverse and degenerate race; and the first author of it, a
cruel man, destitute of all humanity. Whether he had been impelled by an
immoderate desire of augmenting his own family, as proud and ambitious
men are wont to be, or by mere lust, it is of little consequence to
determine; because, in either way he violated the sacred law of marriage,
which had been delivered by God. For God had determined, that "they two
should be one flesh," and that is the perpetual order of nature. Lamech,
with brutal contempt of God, corrupts nature's laws. The Lord, therefore,
willed that the corruption of lawful marriage should proceed from the
house of Cain, and from the person of Lamech, in order that polygamists
might be ashamed of the example.

20. "Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents." Moses now
relates that, with the evils which proceeded from the family of Cain,
some good had been blended. For the invention of arts, and of other
things which serve to the common use and convenience of life, is a gift
of God by no means to be despised, and a faculty worthy of commendation.
It is truly wonderful, that this race, which had most deeply fallen from
integrity, should have excelled the rest of the posterity of Adam in rare
endowments. I, however, understand Moses to have spoken expressly
concerning these arts, as having been invented in the family of Cain, for
the purpose of showing that he was not so accursed by the Lord but that
he would still scatter some excellent gifts among his posterity; for it
is probable, that the genius of others was in the meantime not inactive;
but that there were, among the sons of Adam, industrious and skilful men,
who exercised their diligence in the invention and cultivation of arts.
Moses, however, expressly celebrates the remaining benediction of God on
that race, which otherwise would have been deemed void and barren of all
good. Let us then know, that the sons of Cain, though deprived of the
Spirit of regeneration, were yet endued with gifts of no despicable kind;
just as the experience of all ages teaches us how widely the rays of
divine light have shone on unbelieving nations, for the benefit of the
present life; and we see, at the present time, that the excellent gifts
of the Spirit are diffused through the whole human race. Moreover, the
liberal arts and sciences have descended to us from the heathen. We are,
indeed, compelled to acknowledge that we have received astronomy, and the
other parts of philosophy, medicines and the order of civil government,
from them. Nor is it to be doubted, that God has thus liberally enriched
them with excellent favours that their impiety might have the less
excuse. But, while we admire the riches of his favour which he has
bestowed on them, let us still value far more highly that grace of
regeneration with which he peculiarly sanctifies his elect unto himself.
  Now, although the invention of the harp, and of similar instruments of
music, may minister to our pleasure, rather than to our necessity, still
it is not to be thought altogether superfluous; much less does it
deserve, in itself, to be condemned. Pleasure is indeed to be condemned,
unless it be combined with the fear of God, and with the common benefit
of human society. But such is the nature of music, that it can be adapted
to the offices of religion, and made profitable to men; if only it be
free from vicious attractions, and from that foolish delight, by which it
seduces men from better employments, and occupies them in vanity. If,
however, we allow the invention of the harp no praise, it is well known
how far and how widely extends the usefulness of the art of the
carpenter. Finally, Moses, in my opinion, intends to teach that that race
flourished in various and preeminent endowments, which would both render
it inexcusable, and would prove most evident testimonies of the divine
goodness. The name of "the father of them that dwell in tents," is given
to him who was the first inventor of that convenience, which others
afterwards imitated.

23. "Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech." The intention of Moses is to
describe the ferocity of this man, who was, however, the fifth in descent
from the fratricide Cain, in order to teach us, that, so far from being
terrified by the example of divine judgment which he had seen in his
ancestor, he was only the more hardened. Such is the obduracy of the
impious, that they rage against those chastisements of God, which ought
at least to render them gentle. The obscurity of this passage, which has
procured for us a variety of interpretations, mainly arises hence; that
whereas Moses speaks abruptly, interpreters have not considered what is
the tendency of his speech. The Jews have, according to their manner,
invented a foolish fable; namely, that Lamech was a hunter and blind, and
had a boy to direct his hand; that Cain, while he was concealed in the
woods, was shot through by his arrow, because the boy, talking him for a
wild beast, had directed his master's hand towards him; that Lamech then
took revenge on the boy, who, by his imprudence, had been the cause of
the murder. And ignorance of the true state of the case has caused
everyone to allow himself to conjecture what he pleased. But to me the
opinion of those seems to be true and simple, who resolve the past tense
into the future, and understand its application to be indefinite; as if
he had boasted that he had strength and violence enough to slay any, even
the strongest enemy. I therefore lead thus, 'I will slay a man for my
wound, and a young man for my bruise,' or 'in my bruise and wound.' But,
as I have said, the occasion of his holding this conversation with his
wives is to be noticed. We know that sanguinary men, as they are a terror
to others, so are they everywhere hated by all. The wives, therefore, of
Lamech were justly alarmed on account of their husband, whose violence
was intolerable to the whole human race, lest, a conspiracy being formed,
all should unite to crush him, as one deserving of public odium and
execration. Now Moses, to exhibit his desperate barbarity, seeing that
the soothing arts of wives are often wont to mitigate cruel and ferocious
men, declares that Lamech cast forth the venom of his cruelty into the
bosom of his wives. The sum of the whole is this: He boasts that he has
sufficient courage and strength to strike down any who should dare to
attack him. The repetition occurring in the use of the words 'man' and
'young man' is according to Hebrew phraseology, so that none should think
different persons to be denoted by them; he only amplifies, in the second
member of the sentence, his furious audacity, when he glories that young
men in the flower of their age would not be equal to contend with him: as
if he would say, Let each mightiest man come forward, there is none whom
I will not dispatch.' So far was he from calming his wives with the hope
of his leading a more humane life, that he breaks forth in threats of
sheer indiscriminate slaughter against every one, like a furious wild
beast. Whence it easily appears, that he was so imbued with ferocity as
to have retained nothing human. The nouns wound and bruise may be
variously read. If they be rendered 'for my wound and bruise,' then the
sense will be, 'I confidently take upon my own head whatever danger there
may be, let what will happen it shall be at my expense; for I have a
means of escape at hand.' Then what follows must be read in connection
with it, "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and
seven fold." If the ablative case be preferred, 'In my wound and bruise,'
there will still be a double exposition. The first is, 'Although I should
be wounded, I would still kill the man; what then will I not do when I am
whole?' The other, and, in my judgment, the sounder and more consistent
exposition, is, 'If any one provoke me by injury, or attempt any act of
violence, he shall feel that he has to deal with a strong and valiant
man; nor shall he who injures me escape with impunity.' This example
shows that men ever glide from bad to worse. The wickedness of Cain was
indeed awful; but the cruelty of Lamech advanced so far that he was
unsparing of human blood. Besides, when he saw his wives struck with
terror, instead of becoming mild, he only sharpened and confirmed himself
the more in cruelty. Thus the brutality of cruel men increases in
proportion as they find themselves hated; so that instead of being,
touched with penitence, they are ready to bury one murder under ten
others. Whence it follows that they having once become imbued with blood,
shed it, and drink its without restraint.

24. "Cain shall be avenged sevenfold." It is not my intention to relate
the ravings or the dreams of every writer, nor would I have the reader to
expect this from me; here and there I allude to them, though sparingly,
especially if there be any colour of deception; that readers, being often
admonished, may learn to take heed unto themselves. Therefore, with
respect to this passages which has been variously tortured, I will not
record what one or another may have delivered, but will content myself
with a true exposition of it. God had intended that Cain should be a
horrible example to warn others against the commission of murder; and for
this end had marked him with a shameful stigma. Yet lest any one should
imitate his crime, He declared whosoever killed him should be punished
with sevenfold severity. Lamech, impiously perverting this divine
declaration, mocks its severity; for he hence takes greater license to
sin, as if God had granted some singular privilege to murderers; not that
he seriously thinks so, but being destitute of all sense of piety, he
promises himself impunity, and in the meantime jestingly uses the name of
God as an excuse: just as Dionysus did, who boasted that the gods favour
sacrilegious persons, for the sake of obliterating the infamy which he
had contracted. Moreover, as the number seven in Scripture designates a
multitudes so sevenfold is taken for a very great increase. Such is the
meaning of the declaration of Christ, 'I do not say that thou shalt remit
the offence seven times, but seventy times seven,' (Matth. 18: 22.)

25. "Adam knew his wife again." Some hence infer that our first parents
were entirely deprived of their offspring when one of their sons had been
slain, and the other was cast far away into banishment. But it is utterly
incredible that, when the benediction of God in the propagation of
mankind was in its greatest force, Adam and Eve should have been through
so many years unfruitful. But rather before Abel was slain, the continual
succession of progeny had already rendered the house of Adam populous;
for in him and his wife especially the effect of that declaration ought
to be conspicuous, "Increase and multiply, and replenish the earth."
What, therefore, does Moses mean? Truly, that our first parents,
horror-struck at the impious slaughter, abstained for a while from the
conjugal bed. Nor could it certainly be otherwise, than that they, in
reaping this exceedingly sad and bitter fruit of their apostasy from God,
should sink down almost lifeless. The reason why he now passes by others
is that he designed to trace the generation of pious descendants through
the line of Seth. In the following chapter, however, where he will say,
that "Adam begat sons and daughters," he undoubtedly includes a great
number who had been born before Seth; to whom, however, but little regard
is paid since they were separated from that family which worshipped God
in purity, and which might truly be deemed the Church of God.
  "God", saith she, "has appointed me another seed instead of Abel." Eve
means some peculiar seed; for we have said that others had been born who
had also grown up before the death of Abel; but, since the human race is
prone to evil, nearly her whole family had, in various ways, corrupted
itself; therefore, she entertained slight hope of the remaining
multitude, until God should raise up to her a new seed, of which she
might expect better things. Wherefore, she regarded herself as bereaved
not of one son only, but of her whole offspring, in the person of Abel.

26. "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." In the verb 'to
call upon,' there is a synecdoche, for it embraces generally the whole
worship of God. But religion is here properly designated by that which
forms its principal part. For God prefers this service of piety and faith
to all sacrifices, (Psalm 50: 14.) Yea, this is the spiritual worship of
God which faith produces. This is particularly worthy of notice, because
Satan contrives nothing with greater care than to adulterate, with every
possible corruption, the pure invocation of God, or to draw us away from
the only God to the invocation of creatures. Even from the beginning of
the world he has not ceased to move this stone, that miserable men might
weary themselves in vain in a preposterous worship of God. But let us
know, that the entire pomp of adoration is nothing worth, unless this
chief point of worshipping God aright be maintained. Although the passage
may be more simply explained to mean, that then the name of God was again
celebrated; yet I approve the former sense, because it is more full,
contains a useful doctrine, and also agrees with the accustomed
phraseology of Scripture. It is a foolish figment, that God then began to
be called by other names; since Moses does not here censure depraved
superstitions, but commends the piety of one family which worshipped God
in purity and holiness, when religions among other people, was polluted
or extinct. And there is no doubt, that Adam and Eve, with a few other of
their children were themselves true worshippers of God; but closes means,
that so great was then the deluge of impiety in the world that religion
was rapidly hastening to destruction; because it remained only with a few
men, and did not flourish in any one race. We may readily conclude that
Seth was an upright and faithful servant of God. And after he begat a
son, like himself, and had a rightly constituted family, the face of the
Church began distinctly to appear, and that worship of God was set up
which might continue to posterity. Such a restoration of religion has
been effected also in our time; not that it had been altogether extinct;
but there was no certainly defined people who called upon God; and, no
sincere profession of faith, no uncorrupted religion could anywhere be
discovered. Whence it too evidently appears how great is the propensity
of men, either to gross contempt of God, or to superstition; since both
evils must then have everywhere prevailed, when Moses relates it as a
miracles that there was at that time a single family in which the worship
of God arose.





Chapter V.

1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God
created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their
name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his
own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred
years: and he begat sons and daughters:
5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:
and he died.
6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and
begat sons and daughters:
8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he
died.
9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years,
and begat sons and daughters:
11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he
died.
12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty
years, and begat sons and daughters:
14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he
died.
15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty
years, and begat sons and daughters:
17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five
years: and he died.
18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters:
20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and
he died.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred
years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.
25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat
Lamech:
26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and
two years, and begat sons and daughters:
27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years:
and he died.
28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us
concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which
the LORD hath cursed.
30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five
years, and begat sons and daughters:
31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years:
and he died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and
Japheth.

1. "This is the book of the generations of Adam." In this chapter Moses
briefly recites the length of time which had intervened between the
creation of the world and the deluge; and also slightly touches on some
portion of the history of that period. And although we do not comprehend
the design of the Spirit, in leaving unrecorded great and memorable
events, it is, nevertheless, our business to reflect on many things which
are passed over in silence. I entirely disapprove of those speculations
which every one frames for himself from light conjectures; nor will I
furnish readers with the occasion of indulging themselves in this
respect; yet it may, in some degree, be gathered from a naked and
apparently dry narration, what was the state of those times, as we shall
see in the proper places. "The book," according to the Hebrew phrase, is
taken for a catalogue. "The generations" signify a continuous succession
of a race, or a continuous progeny. Further, the design with which this
catalogue was made, was, to inform us, that in the great, or rather, we
might say, prodigious multitude of men, there was always a number, though
small, who worshipped God; and that this number was wonderfully preserved
by celestial guardianship, lest the name of God should be entirely
obliterated, and the seed of the Church should fail.
  "In the day that God created." He does not restrict these "generations"
to the day of the creation, but only points out their commencement; and,
at the same time, he distinguishes between our first parents and the rest
of mankind, because God had brought them into life by a singular method,
whereas others had sprung from a previous stock, and had been born of
parents. Moreover, Moses again repeats what he had before stated that
Adam was formed according to the image of God, because the excellency and
dignity of this favour could not be sufficiently celebrated. It was
already a great thing, that the principal place among the creatures was
given to man; but it is a nobility far more exalted, that he should bear
resemblance to his Creator, as a son does to his father. It was not
indeed possible for God to act more liberally towards man, than by
impressing his own glory upon him, thus making him, as it were, a living
image of the Divine wisdom and justice. This also is of force in
repelling the calumnies of the wicked who would gladly transfer the blame
of their wickedness to their Maker, had it not been expressly declared,
that man was formed by nature a different being from that which he has
now become, through the fault of his own defection from God.

2. "Male and female created he them." This clause commends the sacred
bond of marriage, and the inseparable union of the husband and the wife.
For when Moses has mentioned only one, he immediately afterwards includes
both under one name. And he assigns a common name indiscriminately to
both, in order that posterity might learn more sacredly to cherish this
connection between each other, when they saw that their first parents
were denominated as one person. The trifling inference of Jewish writers,
that married persons only are called Adam, (or man,) is refuted by the
history of the creation; nor truly did the Spirit, in this place, mean
anything else, than that after the appointment of marriage, the husband
and the wife were like one man. Moreover, he records the blessing
pronounced upon them, that we may observe in it the wonderful kindness of
God in continuing to grant it; yet let us know that by the depravity and
wickedness of men it was, in some degree, interrupted.

3. "And begat a son in his own likeness." We have lately said that Moses
traces the offspring of Adam only through the line of Seth, to propose
for our consideration the succession of the Church. In saying that Seth
begat a son after his own image, he refers in part to the first origin of
our nature: at the same time its corruption and pollution is to be
noticed, which having been contracted by Adam through the fall, has
flowed down to all his posterity. If he had remained upright, he would
have transmitted to all his children what he had received: but now we
read that Seth, as well as the rest, was defiled; because Adams who had
fallen from his original state, could beget none but such as were like
himself. If any one should object that Seth with his family had been
elected by the special grace of God: the answer is easy and obvious;
namely, that a supernatural remedy does not prevent carnal generation
from participating in the corruption of sin. Therefore, according to the
flesh, Seth was born a sinner; but afterwards he was renewed by the grace
of the Spirit. This sad instance of the holy patriarch furnishes us with
ample occasion to deplore our own wretchedness.

4. "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth." In the number of
years here recorded we must especially consider the long period which the
patriarchs lived together. For through six successive ages, when the
family of Seth had grown into a great people, the voice of Adam might
daily resound, in order to renew the memory of the creation, the fall,
and the punishment of man; to testify of the hope of salvation which
remained after chastisement, and to recite the judgments of God, by which
all might be instructed. After his death his sons might indeed deliver,
as from hand to hand, what they had learned, to their descendants; but
far more efficacious would be the instruction from the mouth of him, who
had been himself the eyewitness of all these things. Yet so wonderful,
and even monstrous, was the general obstinacy, that not even the sounder
part of the human race could be retained in the obedience and the fear of
God.

5. "And he died." This clause, which records the death of each patriarch,
is by no means superfluous. For it warns us that death was not in vain
denounced against men; and that we are now exposed to the curse to which
man was doomed, unless we obtain deliverance elsewhere. In the meantime,
we must reflect upon our lamentable condition; namely, that the image of
God being destroyed, or, at least, obliterated in us, we scarcely retain
the faint shadow of a life, from which we are hastening to death. And it
is useful, in a picture of so many ages, to behold, at one glance, the
continual course and tenor of divine vengeance; because otherwise, we
imagine that God is in some way forgetful; and to nothing are we more
prone than to dream of immortality on earth, unless death is frequently
brought before our eyes.

22. "And Enoch walked with God." Undoubtedly Enoch is honoured with
peculiar praise among the men of his own age, when it is said that he
walked with God. Yet both Seth and Enoch, and Cainan, and Mahalaleel, and
Jared, were then living, whose piety was celebrated in the former part of
the chapter. As that age could not be ruder or barbarous, which had so
many most excellent teachers; we hence infer, that the probity of this
holy man, whom the Holy Spirit exempted from the common order, was rare
and almost singular. Meanwhile, a method is here pointed out of guarding
against being carried away by the perverse manners of those with whom we
are conversant. For public custom is as a violent tempest; both because
we easily suffer ourselves to be led hither and thither by the multitude,
and because every one thinks what is commonly received must be right and
lawful; just as swine contract an itching from each other; nor is there
any contagion worse, and more loathsome than that of evil examples. Hence
we ought the more diligently to notice the brief description of a holy
life, contained in the words, "Enoch walked with God." Let those, then,
who please, glory in living according to the custom of others; yet the
Spirit of God has established a rule of living well and rightly, by which
we depart from the examples of men who do not form their life and manners
according to the law of God. For he who, pouring contempt upon the word
of God, yields himself up to the imitation of the world, must be regarded
as living to the devil. Moreover, (as I have just now hinted,) all the
rest of the patriarchs are not deprived of the praise of righteousness;
but a remarkable example is set before us in the person of one man, who
stood firmly in the season of most dreadful dissipation; in order that,
if we wish to live rightly and orderly, we may learn to regard God more
than men. For the language which Moses uses is of the same force as if he
had said, that Enoch, lest he should be drawn aside by the corruptions of
men, had respect to God alone; so that with a pure conscience, as under
his eyes, he might cultivate uprightness.

24. "And he was not, for God took him." He must be shamelessly
contentious, who will not acknowledge that something extraordinary is
here pointed out. All are, indeed, taken out of the world by death; but
Moses plainly declares that Epoch was taken out of the world by an
unusual mode, and was received by the Lord in a miraculous manner. For
"lakach" among the Hebrews signifies 'to take to one's self,' as well as
simply to take. But, without insisting on the word, it suffices to hold
fast the thing itself; namely, that Enoch, in the middle period of life,
suddenly, and in an unexampled method, vanished from the sight of men,
because the Lord took him away, as we read was also done with respect to
Elijah. Since, in the translation of Enoch, an example of immortality was
exhibited; there is no doubt that Gad designed to elevate the minds of
his saints with certain faith before their death; and to mitigate, by
this consolation, the dread which they might entertain of death, seeing
they would know that a better life was elsewhere laid up for them. It is,
however, remarkable that Adam himself was deprived of this support of
faith and of comfort. For since that terrible judgment of God, 'Thou
shalt die the death,' was constantly sounding in his ears, he very
greatly needed some solace, in order that he might in death have
something else to reflect upon than curse and destruction. But it was not
till about fifty years after his death, that the translation of Epoch
took place, which was to be as a visible representation of a blessed
resurrection; by which, if Adam had been enlightened, he might have
girded himself with equanimity for his own departure. Yet, since the
Lord, in inflicting punishment, had moderated its rigour, and since Adam
himself had heard from his own mouth, what was sufficient to afford him
no slight alleviation; contented with this kind of remedy, it became his
duty patiently to bear, both the continual cross in this world, and also
the bitter and sorrowful termination of his life. But whereas others were
not taught in the same manner by a manifest oracle to hope for victory
over the serpent, there was, in the translation of Enoch, an instruction
for all the godly, that they should not keep their hope confined within
the boundaries of this mortal life. For Moses shows that this translation
was a proof of the Divine love towards Enoch, by connecting it
immediately with his pious and upright life. Nevertheless, to be deprived
of life is not in itself desirable. It follows, therefore, that he was
taken to a better abode; and that even when he was a sojourner in the
world, he was received into a heavenly country; as the Apostle, in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, (11: 5,) plainly teaches. Moreover, if it be
inquired, why Enoch was translated, and what is his present condition; I
answer, that his transition was by a peculiar privilege, such as that of
other men would have been, if they had remained in their first state. For
although it was necessary for him to put off what was corruptible; yet
was he exempt from that violent separation, from which nature shrinks. In
short, his translation was a placid and joyful departure out of the
world. Yet he was not received into celestial glory, but only freed from
the miseries of the present life, until Christ should come, the
first-fruits of those who shall rise again. And since he was one of the
members of the Church, it was necessary that he should wait until they
all shall go forth together, to meet Christ, that the whole body may be
united to its Head. Should any one bring as an objection the saying of
the Apostle, 'It is appointed unto all men once to die,' (Heb. 9: 27,)
the solution is easy, namely, that death is not always the separation of
the soul from the body; but they are said to die, who put off their
corruptible nature: and such will be the death of those who will be found
surviving at the last day.

29. "And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us
concerning our work." In the Hebrew languages the etymology of the verb
"nacham" does not correspond with the noun "noach", unless we call the
letter "mem" superfluous; as sometimes, in composition, certain letters
are redundant. "Noach" signifies to give rest, but "nacham" to comfort.
The name Noah is derived from the former verb. Wherefore, there is either
the transmutation of one letter into another, or only a bare allusion,
when Lamech says, "This same shall comfort us concerning our work." But
as to the point in hand, there is no doubt that he promises to himself an
alleviation, or solace, of his labours. But it is asked, whence he had
conceived such hope from a son whose disposition he could not yet have
discerned. The Jews do not judge erroneously in declaring Lamech's
expression to be a prophecy; but they are too gross in restricting to
agriculture what is applicable to all those miseries of human life which
proceed from the curse of God, and are the fruits of sin. I come, indeed,
to this conclusion; that the holy fathers anxiously sighed, when, being
surrounded with so many evils they were continually reminded of the first
origin of all evils, and regarded themselves as under the displeasure of
God. Therefore in the expression, "the toil of our hands," there is the
figure synecdoche; because under one kind of toil he comprises the whole
miserable state into which mankind had fallen. For they undoubtedly
remembered what Moses has related above, concerning the labourious, sad,
and anxious life to which Adam had been doomed: and since the wickedness
of man was daily increasing, no mitigation of the penalty could be hoped
for, unless the Lord should bring unexpected succour. It is probable that
they were very earnestly looking for the mercy of God; for their faith
was strong, and necessity urged them ardently to desire help. But that
the name was not rashly given to Noah, we may infer hence, that Moses
expressly notes it as a thing worthy to be remembered. Certainly some
meaning was couched under the names of other patriarchs; yet he passes by
the reason why they were so called, and only insists upon this name of
Noah. Therefore the contentious reader is not to be allowed hence to
pronounce a judgment, that there was something peculiar in Noah, which
did not suit others before him. I have, then, no doubt that Lamech hoped
for something rare and unwonted from his son; and that, too, by the
inspiration of the Spirit. Some suppose him to have been deceived,
inasmuch as he believed that Noah was the Christ; but they adduce no
rational conjecture in support of the opinion. It is more probable, that,
seeing something great was promised concerning his son, he did not
refrain from mixing his own imagination with the oracle; as holy men are
also sometimes wont to exceed the measure of revelation, and thus it
comes to pass, that they neither touch heaven nor earth.

32. "And Noah was five hundred years old." Concerning the fathers whom
Moses has hitherto enumerated, it is not easy to conjecture whether each
of them was the first born of his family or not; for he only wished to
follow the continued succession of the Church. But God, to prevent men
from being elated by a vain confidence in the flesh, frequently chooses
for himself those who are posterior in the order of nature. I am,
therefore, uncertain whether Moses has recorded the catalogue of those
whom God preferred to others; or of those who, by right of primogeniture,
held the chief rank among their brethren; I am also uncertain how many
sons each had. With respect to Noah, it plainly appears that he had no
more than three sons; and this Moses purposely declares the more
frequently, that we may know that the whole of his family was preserved.
But they, in my opinion, err, who think that in this place the chastity
of Noah is proclaimed, because he led a single life through nearly five
centuries. For it is not said that he was unmarried till that time; nor
even in what year of his life he had begun to be a father. But, in simply
mentioning the time in which he was warned of the future deluge, Moses
also adds, that at the sane time, or thereabouts, he was the father of
three sons; not that he already had them, but because they were born not
long afterwards. That he had, indeed, survived his five hundredth year
before Shem was born, will be evident from the eleventh chapter;
concerning the other two nothing is known with certainty, except that
Japheth was the younger. It is wonderful that from the time when he had
received the dreadful message respecting the destruction of the human
race, he was not prevented, by the greatness of his grief, from
intercourse with his wife; but it was necessary that some remains should
survive, because this family was destined for the restoration of the
second world. Although we do not read at what time his sons took wives, I
yet think it was done long before the deluge; but they were unfruitful by
the providence of God, who had determined to preserve only eight souls.





Chapter VI.

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that
he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when
the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
[children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men
of renown.
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and
[that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil
continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face
of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls
of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect
in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for
the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will
destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and
shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15 And this [is the fashion] which thou shalt make it [of]: The length of
the ark [shall be] three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.
16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish
it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof;
[with] lower, second, and third [stories] shalt thou make it.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life, from under heaven;
[and] every thing that [is] in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into
the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every [sort] shalt thou
bring into the ark, to keep [them] alive with thee; they shall be male
and female.
20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every
creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every [sort] shall
come unto thee, to keep [them] alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt
gather [it] to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

1. "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply." Moses, having
enumerated in order, ten patriarchs, with whom the worship of God
remained pure, now relates, that their families also were corrupted. But
this narration must be traced to an earlier period than the five
hundredth year of Noah. For, in order to make a transition to the history
of the deluge, he prefaces it by declaring the whole world to have been
so corrupt, that scarcely anything was left to God, out of the widely
spread defection. That this may be the more apparent, the principle is to
be kept in memory, that the world was then as if divided into two parts;
because the family of Seth cherished the pure and lawful worship of Good,
from which the rest had fallen. Now, although all mankind had been formed
for the worship of God, and therefore sincere religion ought everywhere
to have reigned; yet since the greater part had prostituted itself,
either to an entire contempt of God, or to depraved superstitions; it was
fitting that the small portion which God had adopted, by special
privilege, to himself, should remain separate from others. It was,
therefore, base ingratitude in the posterity of Seth, to mingle
themselves with the children of Cain, and with other profane races;
because they voluntarily deprived themselves of the inestimable grace of
God. For it was an intolerable profanation, to pervert, and to confound,
the order appointed by God. It seems at first sight frivolous, that the
sons of God should be so severely condemned, for having chosen for
themselves beautiful wives from the daughters of men. But we must know
first, that it is not a light crime to violate a distinction established
by the Lord; secondly, that for the worshippers of God to be separated
from profane nations, was a sacred appointment which ought reverently to
have been observed, in order that a Church of God might exist upon earth;
thirdly, that the disease was desperate, seeing that men rejected the
remedy divinely prescribed for them. In short, Moses points it out as the
most extreme disorder; when the sons of the pious, whom God had separated
to himself from others, as a peculiar and hidden treasure, became
degenerate.
  That ancient figment, concerning the intercourse of angels with women,
is abundantly refuted by its own absurdity; and it is surprising that
learned men should formerly have been fascinated by ravings so gross and
prodigious. The opinion also of the Chaldean paraphrase is frigid;
namely, that promiscuous marriages between the sons of nobles, and the
daughters of plebeians, is condemned. Moses, then, does not distinguish
the sons of God from the daughters of men, because they were of
dissimilar nature, or of different origin; but because they were the sons
of God by adoption, whom he had set apart for himself; while the rest
remained in their original condition. Should any one object, that they
who had shamefully departed from the faith, and the obedience which God
required, were unworthy to be accounted the sons of God; the answer is
easy, that the honour is not ascribed to them, but to the grace of God,
which had hitherto been conspicuous in their families. For when Scripture
speaks of the sons of God, sometimes it has respect to eternal election,
which extends only to the lawful heirs; sometimes to external vocations
according to which many wolves are within the fold; and thought in fact,
they are strangers, yet they obtain the name of sons, until the Lord
shall disown them. Yea, even by giving them a title so honorable, Moses
reproves their ingratitude, because, leaving their heavenly Father, they
prostituted themselves as deserters.

2. "That they were fair." Moses does not deem it worthy of condemnation
that regard was had to beauty, in the choice of wives; but that mere lust
reigned. For marriage is a thing too sacred to allow that men should be
induced to it by the lust of the eyes! For this union is inseparable
comprising all the parts of life; as we have before seen, that the woman
was created to be a helper of the man. Therefore our appetite becomes
brutal, when we are so ravished with the charms of beauty, that those
things which are chief are not taken into the account. Moses more clearly
describes the violent impetuosity of their lust, when he says, that "they
took wives of all that they chose;" by which he signifies, that the sons
of God did not make their choice from those possessed of necessary
endowments, but wandered without discrimination, rushing onward according
to their lust. We are taught, however, in these words, that temperance is
to be used in holy wedlock, and that its profanation is no light crime
before God. For it is not fornication which is here condemned in the sons
of the saints, but the too great indulgence of license in choosing
themselves wives. And truly, it is impossible but that, in the succession
of time, the sons of God should degenerate when they thus bound
themselves in the same yoke with unbelievers. And this was the extreme
policy of Balaam; that, when the power of cursing was taken from him, he
commanded women to be privily sent by the Midianites, who might seduce
the people of God to impious defection. Thus, as in the sons of the
patriarchs, of whom Moses now treats, the forgetfulness of that grace
which had been divinely imparted to them was, in itself, a grievous evil,
inasmuch as they formed illicit marriages after their own host; a still
worse addition was made, when, by mingling themselves with the wicked,
they profaned the worship of God, and fell away from the faith; a
corruption which is almost always wont to follow the former.

3. "My Spirit shall not always strive." Although Moses had before shown
that the world had proceeded to such a degree of wickedness and impiety,
as ought not any longer to be borne; yet in order to prove more
certainly, that the vengeance by which the whole world was drowned, was
not less just than severe, he introduces God himself as the speaker. For
there is greater weight in the declaration when pronounced by God's own
mouth, that the wickedness of men was too deplorable to leave any
apparent hope of remedy, and that therefore there was no reason why he
should spare them. Moreover, since this would be a terrible example of
divine anger, at the bare hearing of which we are even now afraid, it was
necessary to be declared, that God had not been impelled by the heat of
his anger into precipitation, nor had been more severe than was right;
but was almost compelled, by necessity, utterly to destroy the whole
world, except one single family. For men commonly do not refrain from
accusing God of excessive haste; nay, they will even deem him cruel for
taking vengeance of the sins of men. Therefore, that no man may murmur,
Moses here, in the person of God, pronounces the depravity of the world
to have been intolerable, and obstinately incurable by any remedy. This
passage, however, is variously expounded. In the first place, some of the
Hebrews derive the word which Moses uses from the root "nadan" which
signifies a scabbard. And hence they elicit the meaning that God was
unwilling for his Spirit to be any longer held captive in a human body,
as if enclosed like a sword in the scabbard. But because the exposition
is distorted, and savours of the delirium of the Manichees, as if the
soul of man were a portion of the Divine Spirit, it is by us to be
rejected. Even among the Jews, it is a more commonly received opinion,
that the word in question is from the root "doon". But since it often
means to judge, and sometimes to litigate, hence also arise different
interpretations. For some explain the passage to mean, that God will no
longer deign to govern men by his Spirit; because the Spirit of God acts
the part of a judge within us, when he so enlightens us with reason that
we pursue what is right. Luther, according to his custom, applies the
term to the external jurisdiction which God exercises by the ministry of
the prophets, as if some one of the patriarchs had said in an assembly,
'We must cease from crying aloud; because it is an unbecoming thing that
the Spirit of God, who speaks through us, should any longer weary himself
in reproving the world.' This is indeed ingeniously spoken; but because
we must not seek the sense of Scripture in uncertain conjectures, I
interpret the words simply to mean, that the Lord, as if wearied with the
obstinate perverseness of the world, denounces that vengeance as present,
which he had hitherto deferred. For as long as the Lord suspends
punishment, he, in a certain sense, strives with men, especially if
either by threats or by examples of gentle chastisement, he invites them
to repentance. In this way he had striven already, some centuries, with
the world, which, nevertheless, was perpetually becoming worse. And now,
as if wearied out, he declares that he has no mind to contend any longer.
For when God, by inviting the unbelievers to repentance, had long striven
with them; the deluge put an end to the controversy. However, I do not
entirely reject the opinion of Luther that God, having seen the
deplorable wickedness of men, would not allow his prophets to spend their
labour in vain. But the general declaration is not to be restricted to
that particular case. When the Lord says, 'I will not contend for ever,'
he utters his censure on an excessive and incurable obstinacy; and, at
the same time, gives proof of the divine longsuffering: as if he would
say, There will never be an end of contentions unless some unprecedented
act of vengeance cuts off the occasion of it. The Greek interpreters,
deceived by the similitude of one letter to another have improperly read,
'shall not remain:' which has commonly been explained, as if men were
then deprived of a sound and correct judgment; but this has nothing to do
with the present passage.
  "For that he also is flesh." The reason is added why there is no
advantage to be expected from further contention. The Lord here seems to
place his Spirit in opposition to the carnal nature of men. In which
method, Paul declares that the 'natural man does not receive those things
which belong to the Spirit, and that they are foolishness unto him,' (1
Cor. 2: 14.) The meaning of the passage therefore is, that it is in vain
for the Spirit of God to dispute with the flesh, which is incapable of
reason. God gives the name of flesh as a mark of ignominy to men, whom
he, nevertheless, had formed in his own image. And this is a mode of
speaking familiar to Scripture. They who restrict this appellation to the
inferior part of the soul are greatly deceived. For since the soul of man
is vitiated in every part, and the reason of man is not less blind than
his affections are perverse, the whole is properly called carnal.
Therefore, let us know, that the whole man is naturally flesh, until by
the grace of regeneration he begins to be spiritual. Now, as it regards
the words of Moses, there is no doubt that they contain a grievous
complaint together with a reproof on the part of God. Man ought to have
excelled all other creatures, on account of the mind with which he was
endued; but now, alienated from right reason, he is almost like the
cattle of the field. Therefore God inveighs against the degenerate and
corrupt nature of men; because, by their own fault, they are fallen to
that degree of fatuity, that now they approach more nearly to beasts than
to true men, such as they ought to be, in consequence of their creation.
He intimates, however, this to be an adventitious fault, that man has a
relish only for the earth, and that, the light of intelligence being
extinct, he follows his own desires. I wonder that the emphasis contained
in the particle "beshagam" has been overlooked by commentators; for the
words mean, 'on this account, because he also is flesh.' In which
language God complains, that the order appointed by him has been so
greatly disturbed, that his own image has been transformed into flesh.
  "Yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." Certain writers
of antiquity, such as Lactantius, and others, have too grossly blundered
in thinking that the term of human life was limited within this space of
time; whereas, it is evident, that the language used in this place refers
not to the private life of any one, but to a time of repentance to be
granted to the whole world. Moreover, here also the admirable benignity
of God is apparent, in that he, though wearied with the wickedness of
men, yet postpones the execution of extreme vengeance for more than a
century. But here arises an apparent discrepancy. For Noah departed this
life when he had completed nine hundred and fifty years. It is however
said that he lived from the time of the deluge three hundred and fifty
years. Therefore, on the day he entered the ark he was six hundred years
old. Where then will the twenty years be found? The Jews answer, that
these years were cut off in consequence of the increasing wickedness of
men. But there is no need of that subterfuge; when the Scripture speaks
of the five hundredth year of his age, it does not affirm, that he had
actually reached that point. And this mode of speaking, which takes into
account the beginning of a period, as well as its end, is very common.
Therefore, inasmuch as the greater part of the fifth century of his life
was passed, so that he was nearly five hundred years old, he is said to
have been of that age.

4. "There were giants in the earth." Among the innumerable kinds of
corruptions with which the earth was filled, Moses especially records one
in this place; namely that giants practiced great violence and tyranny. I
do not, however, suppose, that he speaks of all the men of this age; but
of certain individuals, who, being stronger than the rest, and relying on
their own might and power, exalted themselves unlawfully, and without
measure. As to the Hebrew noun,
"nefilim", its origin is known to be from the verb "naphal", which is to
fall; but grammarians do not agree concerning its etymology. Some think
that they were so called because they exceeded the common stature;
others, because the countenance of men fell at the sight of them, on
account of the enormous size of their body; or, because all fell
prostrate through terror of their magnitude. To me there seems more truth
in the opinion of those who say, that a similitude is taken from a
torrent, or an impetuous tempest; for as a storm and torrent, violently
falling, lays waste and destroys the fields, so these robbers brought
destruction and desolation into the world. Moses does not indeed say,
that they were of extraordinary stature, but only that they were robust.
Elsewhere, I acknowledge, the same word denotes vastness of stature,
which was formidable to those who explored the land of Canaan, (Num. 13:
33.) But Moses does not distinguish those of whom he speaks in this
place, from other men, so much by the size of their bodies, as by their
robberies and their lust of dominion. In the context, the particle
"wegam", which is interposed, is emphatical. Jerome, after whom certain
other interpreters have blundered, has rendered this passage in the worst
possible manner. For it is literally rendered thus, 'And even after the
sons of God had gone in to the daughters of men;' as if he had said,
Moreover, or, 'And at this time.' For in the first place, Moses relates
that there were giants; then he subjoins, that there were also others
from among that promiscuous offspring, which was produced when the sons
of God mingled themselves with the daughters of men. It would not have
been wonderful if such outrage had prevailed among the posterity of Cain;
but the universal pollution is more clearly evident from this, that the
holy seed was defiled by the same corruption. That a contagion so great
should have spread through the few families which ought to have
constituted the sanctuary of God, is no slight aggravation of the evil.
The giants, then, had a prior origin; but afterwards those who were born
of promiscuous marriages imitated their example.
  "The same became mighty men which were of old." The word 'age' is
commonly understood to mean antiquity: as if Moses had said, that they
who first exercised tyranny or power in the world, together with an
excessive licentiousness and an unbridled lust of dominion, had begun
from this race. Yet there are those who expound the expression, 'from the
age,' to mean, in the presence of the world: for the Hebrew word "olam",
has also this signification. Some think that this was spoken
proverbially; because the age immediately posterior to the deluge had
produced none like them. The first exposition is the more simple; the sum
of the whole, however, is, that they were ferocious tyrants, who
separated themselves from the common rank. Their first fault was pride;
because, relying on their own strength, they arrogated to themselves more
than was due. Pride produced contempt of God, because, being inflated by
arrogance, they began to shake off every yoke. At the same time, they
were also disdainful and cruel towards men; because it is not possible
that they, who would not bear to yield obedience to God, should have
acted with moderation towards men. Moses adds they were "men of renown;"
by which he intimates that they boasted of their wickedness, and were
what are called, honorable robbers. Nor is it to be doubted, that they
had something more excellent than the common people, which procured for
them favour and glory in the world. Nevertheless, under the magnificent
title of heroes, they cruelly exercised dominion, and acquired power and
fame for themselves, by injuring and oppressing their brethren. And this
was the first nobility of the world. Lest any one should too greatly
delight himself in a long and dingy line of ancestry; this, I repeat, was
the nobility, which raised itself on high, by pouring contempt and
disgrace on others. Celebrity of name is not in itself condemned; since
it is necessary that they whom the Lord has adorned with peculiar gifts
should be preeminent among others; and it is advantageous that there
should be distinction of ranks in the world. But as ambition is always
vicious and more especially so when joined with a tyrannical ferocity,
which causes the more powerful to insult the weak, the evil becomes
intolerable. It is, however, much worse, when wicked men gain honour by
their crimes; and when, the more audacious any one is in doing injury,
the more insolently he boasts of the empty smoke of titles. Moreover, as
Satan is an ingenious contriver of falsehoods, by which he would corrupt
the truth of God, and in this manner render it suspected, the poets have
invented many fables concerning the giants; who are called by them the
sons of the Earth, for this reason, as it appears to me, because they
rushed forward to acquire dominions without any example of their
ancestors.

5. "And God saw that tee wickedness of man was great." Moses prosecutes
the subject to which he had just alluded, that God was neither too harsh,
nor precipitate in exacting punishment from the wicked men of the world.
And he introduces God as speaking after the manner of men, by a figure
which ascribes human affections to God; because he could not otherwise
express what was very important to be known; namely, that God was not
induced hastily, or for a slight cause, to destroy the world. For by the
word "saw", he indicates long continued patience; as if he would say,
that God had not proclaimed his sentence to destroy men, until after
having well observed, and long considered, their case, he saw them to be
past recovery. Also, what follows has not a little emphasis, that 'their
wickedness was great in the earth.' He might have pardoned sins of a less
aggravated character: if in one part only of the world impiety had
reigned, other regions might have remained free from punishment. But now,
when iniquity has reached its highest point, and so pervaded the whole
earth, that integrity possesses no longer a single corner; it follows,
that the time for punishment is more than fully arrived. A prodigious
wickedness, then, everywhere reigned, so that the whole earth was covered
with it. Whence we perceive that it was not overwhelmed with a deluge of
waters till it had first been immersed in the pollution of wickedness.
  "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart." Moses has traced the
cause of the deluge to external acts of iniquity, he now ascends higher,
and declares that men were not only perverse by habit, and by the custom
of evil living; but that wickedness was too deeply seated in their
hearts, to leave any hope of repentance. He certainly could not have more
forcibly asserted that the depravity was such as no moderate remedy might
cure. It may indeed happen, that men will sometimes plunge themselves
into sin, while yet something of a sound mind will remain; but Moses
teaches us, that the mind of those, concerning whom he speaks, was so
thoroughly imbued with iniquity, that the whole presented nothing but
what was to be condemned. For the language he employs is very emphatical:
it seemed enough to have said, that their heart was corrupt: but not
content with this word, he expressly asserts, "every imagination of the
thoughts of the heart;" and adds the word "only," as if he would deny
that there was a drop of good mixed with it.
  "Continually." Some expound this particle to mean, from commencing
infancy; as if he would say, the depravity of men is very great from the
time of their birth. But the more correct interpretation is, that the
world had then become so hardened in its wickedness, and was so far from
any amendment, or from entertaining any feeling of penitence, that it
grew worse and worse as time advanced; and further, that it was not the
folly of a few days, but the inveterate depravity which the children,
having received, as by hereditary right, transmitted from their parents
to their descendants. Nevertheless, though Moses here speaks of the
wickedness which at that time prevailed in the world, the general
doctrine is properly and consistently hence elicited. Nor do they rashly
distort the passage who extend it to the whole human race. So when David
says, 'That all have revolted, that they are become unprofitable, that
is, none who does good, no not one; their throat is an open sepulchre;
there is no fear of God before their eyes,' (Ps. 5: 10, and 14: 3;) he
deplores, truly, the impiety of his own age; yet Paul (Rom. 3: 12) does
not scruple to extend it to all men of every age: and with justice; for
it is not a mere complaint concerning a few men, but a description of the
human mind when left to itself, destitute of the Spirit of God. It is
therefore very proper that the obstinacy of the men, who had greatly
abused the goodness of Gods should be condemned in these words; yet, at
the same time, the true nature of man, when deprived of the grace of the
Spirit, is clearly exhibited.

6. "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth." The
repentance which is here ascribed to God does not properly belong to him,
but has reference to our understanding of him. For since we cannot
comprehend him as he is, it is necessary that, for our sakes he should,
in a certain sense, transform himself. That repentance cannot take place
in God, easily appears from this single considerations that nothing
happens which is by him unexpected or unforeseen. The same reasoning, and
remark, applies to what follows, that God was affected with grief.
Certainly God is not sorrowful or sad; but remains forever like himself
in his celestial and happy repose: yet, because it could not otherwise be
known how great is God's hatred and detestation of sin, therefore the
Spirit accommodates himself to our capacity. Wherefore, there is no need
for us to involve ourselves in thorny and difficult questions, when it is
obvious to what end these words of repentance and grief are applied;
namely, to teach us, that from the time when man was so greatly
corrupted, God would not reckon him among his creatures; as if he would
say, 'This is not my workmanship; this is not that man who was formed in
my image, and whom I had adorned with such excellent gifts: I do not
deign now to acknowledge this degenerate and defiled creature as mine.'
Similar to this is what he says, in the second place, concerning grief;
that God was so offended by the atrocious wickedness of men, as if they
had wounded his heart with mortal grief: There is here, therefore, an
unexpressed antithesis between that upright nature which had been created
by God, and that corruption which sprung from sin. Meanwhile, unless we
wish to provoke God, and to put him to grief, let us learn to abhor and
to flee from sin. Moreover, this paternal goodness and tenderness ought,
in no slight degree, to subdue in us the love of sin; since God, in order
more effectually to pierce our hearts, clothes himself with our
affections. This figure, which represents God as transferring to himself
what is peculiar to human nature, is called "antroopopateia".

7. "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth, both man and beast, &c." He again introduces God as
deliberating, in order that we may the better know that the world was not
destroyed without mature counsel on the part of God. For the Spirit of
the Lord designed that we should be diligently admonished on this point,
in order that he might cut off occasion for those impious complaints,
into which we should be otherwise too ready to break forth. The word
"said" here means decreed; because God utters no voice, without having
inwardly determined what he would do. Besides, he had no need of new
counsel, according to the manner of men, as if he were forming a judgment
concerning something recently discovered. But all this is said in
consideration of our infirmity; that we may cleverly think of the deluge,
but it shall immediately occur to us that the vengeance of God was just.
Moreover, God, not content with the punishment of man, proceeds even to
beasts, and cattle, and fowls and every kind of living creatures. In
which he seems to exceed the bounds of moderation: for although the
impiety of men is hateful to him, yet to what purpose is it to be angry
with unoffending animals? But it is not wonderful that those animals,
which were created for man's sake, and lived for his use, should
participate in his ruin: neither asses, nor oxen, nor any other animals,
had done evil; yet being in subjection to man when he fell, they were
drawn with him into the same destruction. The earth was like a wealthy
house, well supplied with every kind of provision in abundance and
variety. Now, since man has defiled the earth itself with his crimes, and
has vilely corrupted all the riches with which it was replenished, the
Lord also designed that the monument of his punishment should there be
placed: just as if a judge, about to punish a most wicked and nefarious
criminal, should, for the sake of greater infamy, command his house to be
razed to the foundation. And this all tends to inspire us with a dread of
sin; for we may easily infer how great is its atrocity, when the
punishment of it is extended even to the brute creation.

8. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." This is a Hebrew
phrase, which signifies that God was propitious to him, and favoured him.
For so the Hebrews are accustomed to speak:--'If I have found grace in
thy sight,' instead of, 'If I am acceptable to thee,' or, 'If thou wilt
grant me thy benevolence or favor.' Which phrase requires to be noticed,
because certain unlearned men infer with futile subtlety, that if men
find grace in God's sight, it is because they seek it by their own
industry and merits. I acknowledge, indeed, that here Noah is declared to
have been acceptable to God, because, by living uprightly and homily, he
kept himself pure from the common pollutions of the world; whence,
however, did he attain this integrity, but from the preventing grace of
God? The commencement, therefore, of this favour was gratuitous mercy.
Afterwards, the Lord, having once embraced him, retained him under his
own hand, lest he should perish with the rest of the world.

9. "These are the generations of Noah." The Hebrew word "toledot"
properly means generation. It has, however, sometimes a more extended
sense, and applies to the whole history of life; this indeed seems to be
its meaning in the present place. For when Moses had stated that one man
was found whom God,--when he had determined to destroy the whole world,--
would yet preserve, he briefly describes what kind of person he was. And,
in the first place, asserts, that he was just and upright among the men
of his age: for here is a different Hebrew noun, "dor", which signifies
an age, or the time of a life. The word "tamim" which the ancient
interpreter is accustomed to translate perfect, is of the same force as
upright or sincere; and is opposed to what is deceitful, pretended, and
vain. And Moses does not rashly connect these two things together; for
the world, being always influenced by external splendour, estimates
justice, not by the affection of the heart, but by bare works. If,
however, we desire to be approved by God, and accounted righteous before
him, we must not only regulate our hands, and eyes, and feet, in
obedience to his Law; but integrity of heart is above all things
required, and holds the chief place in the true definition of
righteousness. Let us, however, know that they are called just and
upright, not who are in every respect perfect, and in whom there is no
defect; but who cultivate righteousness purely, and from their heart.
Because we are assured that God does not act towards his own people with
the rigour of justice, as requiring of them a life according to the
perfect rule of the Law; for, if only no hypocrisy reigns within them,
but the pure love of rectitude flourishes, and fills their hearts, he
pronounces them, according to his clemency, to be righteous.
  The clause, "in his generations," is emphatical. For he has already
often said, and will soon repeat it, that nothing was more corrupt than
that age. Therefore, it was a remarkable instance of constancy, that Noah
being surrounded on every side with the filth of iniquity, should hence
have contracted no contagion. We know how great is the force of custom,
so that nothing is more difficult than to live homily among the wicked,
and to avoid being led away by their evil examples. Scarcely is there one
in a hundred who has not in his mouth that diabolical proverb, 'We must
howl when we are among the wolves;' and the greater part,--framing a rule
for themselves from the common practice,--judge everything to be lawful
which is generally received. As, however, the singular virtue of Noah is
here commended; so let us remember that we are instructed what we ought
to do, though the whole world were rushing to its own destruction. If, at
the present time, the morals of men are so vitiated, and the whole mode
of life so confused, that probity has become most rare; still more vile
and dreadful was the confusion in the time of Noah, when he had not even
one associate in the worship of God, and in the pursuit of holiness. If
he could bear up against the corruptions of the whole world, and against
such constant and vehement assaults of iniquity; no excuse is left for
us, unless, with equal fortitude of mind, we prosecute a right course
through innumerable obstacles of vice. It is not improbable that Moses
uses the word generations in the plural number, the more fully to declare
what a strenuous and invincible combatant Noah was, who, through so many
ages, had remained unaltered. Besides, the manner of cultivating
righteousness, which he had adopted is explained in the context; namely
that he had "walked with God," which excellency he had also commended in
the holy father Enoch, in the preceding chapter, where we have stated
what the expression means. When the corruption of morals was so great in
the earth, if Noah had had respect to man, he would have been cast into a
profound labyrinth. He sees, therefore, this to be his only remedy;
namely, to disregard men, that he may fix all his thoughts on God, and
make Him the sole Arbiter of his life. Whence it appears, how foolishly
the Papists clamour that we ought to follow the fathers; when the Spirit
expressly recalls us from the imitation of men, except so far as they
lead us to God. Moses again mentions his three sons, for the purpose of
showing that, in the greatest sorrow by which he was almost consumed, he
was yet able to have offspring, in order that God might have a small
remnant of seed for himself.

11. "The earth also was corrupt before God." In the former clause of this
verse Moses describes that impious contempt of God, which had left no
longer any religion in the world; but the light of equity being extinct,
all men had plunged into sin. In the second clause he declares, that the
love of oppression, that frauds, injuries, rapines, and all kinds of
injustice, prevailed. And these are the fruits of impiety, that men, when
they have revolted from God,--forgetful of mutual equity among
themselves,--are carried forward to insane ferocity, to rapines, and to
oppressions of all sorts. God again declares that he had seen this; in
order that he may commend his longsuffering to us. The earth is here put
for its inhabitants; and the explanation immediately follows, 'that all
flesh had corrupted its way.' Yet the word flesh is not here understood
as before, in a bad sense; but is meant for men, without any mark of
censure: as in other places of Scripture, 'All flesh shall see the glory
of the Lord,' (Isaiah 40: 5.) 'Let all flesh be silent before the Lord,'
(Zech. 2: 13.)

13. "And God said unto Noah." Here Moses begins to relate how Noah would
be preserved. And first, he says, that the counsel of God respecting the
destruction of the world was revealed to him. Secondly, that the command
to build the ark was given. Thirdly, that safety was promised him, if, in
obedience to God, he would take refuge in the ark. These chief points are
to be distinctly noted; even as the Apostle, when he proclaims the faith
of Noah, joins fear and obedience with confidence, (Heb. 11: 7.) And it
is certain that Noah was admonished of the dreadful vengeance which was
approaching; not only in order that he might be confirmed in his holy
purpose, but that, being constrained by fear, he might the more ardently
seek for the favour offered to him. We know that the impunity of the
wicked is sometimes the occasion of alluring even the good to sin: the
denunciation, therefore, of future punishment ought to be effectual in
restraining the mind of a holy man; lest, by gradual declension, he
should at length relax to the same lasciviousness. Yet God had special
reference to the other point; namely, that by keeping continually in view
the terrible destruction of the world, Noah might be more and more
excited to fear and solicitude. For it was necessary, that in utter
despair of help from any other quarter, he should seek his safety, by
faith, in the ark. For so long as life was promised to him on earth,
never would he have been so intent as he ought, in the building of the
ark; but, being alarmed by the judgment of God, he earnestly embraces the
promise of life given unto him. He no longer relies upon the natural
causes or means of life; but rests exclusively on the covenant of God, by
which he was to be miraculously preserved. No labour is now troublesome
or difficult to him; nor is he broken down by long fatigue. For the spur
of God's anger pierces him too sharply to allow him to sleep in carnal
delights, or to faint under temptations, or to be delayed in his course
by vain hope: he rather stirs himself up, both to flee from sin, and to
seek a remedy. And the Apostle teaches, that it was not the least part of
his faith, that through the fear of those things which were not seen he
prepared an ark. When faith is treated of simply, mercy and the
gratuitous promise come into the account; but when we wish to express all
its parts, and to canvass its entire force and nature, it is necessary
that fear also should be joined with it. And, truly no one will ever
seriously resort to the mercy of God, but he who, having been touched
with the threatening of God, shall dread that judgment of eternal death
which they denounce, shall abhor himself on account of his own sins,
shall not carelessly indulge his vices, nor slumber in his pollution; but
shall anxiously sigh for the remedy of his evils. This was, truly, a
peculiar privilege of grace, that God warned Noah of the future deluge.
Indeed, he frequently commands his threatening to be proposed to the
elect, and reprobate, in common; that by inviting both to repentance, he
may humble the former, and render the latter inexcusable. But while the
greater part of mankind, with deaf ears, reject whatever is spoken, he
especially turns his discourse to his own people, who are still curable,
that by the fear of his judgment he may train them to piety. The
condition of the wicked might at that time seem desirable, in comparison
with the anxiety of holy Noah. They were securely flattering themselves
in their own delights; for we know what Christ declares concerning the
luxury of that period, (Luke 17: 26.) Meanwhile, the holy man, as if the
world were every moment going to ruin, groaned anxiously and sorrowfully.
But if we consider the end; God granted an inestimable benefit to his
servant, in denouncing to him a danger, of which he must beware.
  "The earth is filled with violence through them." God intimates that
men were to be taken away, in order that the earth, which had been
polluted by the presence of beings so wicked, might be purified.
Moreover, in speaking only of the iniquity and violence, of the frauds
and rapines, of which they were guilty towards each other; he does it,
not as if he were intending to remit his own claims upon them, but
because this was a more gross and palpable demonstration of their
wickedness.

14. "Make thee an ark of gopher wood." Here follows the command to build
the ark, in which God wonderfully proved the faith and obedience of his
servant. Concerning its structure, there is no reason why we should
anxiously inquire, except so far as our own edification is concerned.
First, the Jews are not agreed among themselves respecting the kind of
wood of which it was made. Some explain the word gopher to be the cedar;
others, the fir-tree; others, the pine. They differ also respecting the
stories; because many think that the sink was in the fourth place, which
might receive the refuse and other impurities. Others make five chambers
in a triple floor, of which they assign the highest to the birds. There
are those who suppose that it was only three stories in height; but that
these were separated by intermediate divisions. Besides, they do not
agree about the window: to some it appears that there was not one window
only, but many. Some say they were open to receive air; but others
contend that they were only made for the sake of light, and therefore
were covered over with crystal, and lined with pitch. To me it seems more
probable, that there was only one, not cut out for the sake of giving
light; but to remain shut, unless occasion required it to be opened, as
we shall see afterwards. Further, that there was a triple story, and
rooms separated in a manner to us unknown. The question respecting its
magnitude is more difficult. For, formerly, certain profane men ridiculed
Moses, as having imagined that so vast a multitude of animals was shut up
in so small a space; a third part of which would scarcely contain four
elephants. Origin solves this question, by saying that a geometrical
cubit was referred to by Moses, which is six times greater than the
common one; to whose opinion Augustine assents in his fifteenth book on
the 'City of God,' and his first book of 'Questions on Genesis.' I grant
what they allege, that Moses, who had been educated in all the science of
the Egyptians, was not ignorant of geometry; but since we know that Moses
everywhere spoke in a homely style, to suit the capacity of the people,
and that he purposely abstained from acute disputations, which might
savour of the schools and of deeper learning; I can by no means persuade
myself, that, in this place, contrary to his ordinary method, he employed
geometrical subtlety. Certainly, in the first chapter, he did not treat
scientifically of the stars, as a philosopher would do; but he called
them, in a popular manner, according to their appearance to the
uneducated, rather than according to truth, "two great lights." Thus we
may everywhere perceive that he designates things, of every kind by their
accustomed names. But what was then the measure of the cubit I know not;
it is, however, enough for me, that God (whom, without controversy, I
acknowledge to be the chief builder of the ark) well knew what things the
place which he described to his servant was capable of holding. If you
exclude the extraordinary power of God from this history, you declare
that mere fables are related. But, by us, who confess that the remains of
the world were preserved by an incredible miracle, it ought not to be
regarded as an absurdity, that many wonderful things are here related, in
order that hence the secret and incomprehensible power of God, which far
surpasses all our senses, may be the more clearly exhibited. Porphyry or
some other caviler, may object, that this is fabulous, because the reason
of it does not appear; or because it is unusual; or because it is
repugnant to the common order of nature. But I make the rejoinder; that
this entire narration of Moses, unless it were replete with miracles
would be colds and trifling, and ridiculous. He, however, who will
reflect aright upon the profound abyss of Divine omnipotence in this
history, will rather sink in reverential awe, than indulge in profane
mockery. I purposely pass over the allegorical application which
Augustine makes of the figure of the ark to the body of Christ, both in
his fifteenth book of 'The City of God,' and his twelfth book against
Faustus; because I find there scarcely anything solid. Origin still more
boldly sports with allegories: but there is nothing more profitable, than
to adhere strictly to the natural treatment of things. That the ark was
an image of the Church is certain, from the testimony of Peter, (1 Peter
3: 21;) but to accommodate its several parts to the Church, is by no
means suitable, as I shall again show, in its proper place.

18. "But with thee will I establish my covenant." Since the construction
of the ark was very difficult, and innumerable obstacles might
perpetually arise to break off the work when begun, God confirms his
servant by a super added promise. Thus was Noah encouraged to obey God;
seeing that he relied on the Divine promise, and was confident that his
labour would not be in vain. For then do we freely embrace the commands
of God, when a promise is attached to them, which teaches us that we
shall not spend our strength for nought. Whence it appears how foolishly
the Papists are deceived, who triflingly argue, that men are led away by
the doctrine of faith from the desire of doing well. For what will be the
degree of our alacrity in well-doing, unless faith enlighten us? Let us
therefore know, that the promises of God alone, are they which quicken
us, and inspire each of our members with vigour to yield obedience to
God: but that without these promises, we not only lie torpid in
indolence, but are almost lifeless, so that neither hands nor feet can do
their duty. And hence, as often as we become languid, or more remiss than
we ought to be, in good works, let the promises of God recur to us, to
correct our tardiness. For thus, according to the testimony of Paul,
(Col. 1: 5,) love flourishes in the saints, on account of the hope laid
up for them in heaven. It is especially necessary that the faithful
should be confirmed by the word of God, lest they faint in the midst of
their course; to the end that they may certainly be assured that they are
not beating the air, as they say; but that, acquiescing in the promise
given them, and being sure of success, they follow God who calls them.
This connection, then, is to be borne in mind, that when God was
instructing his servant Moses what he would have him do, he declares, for
the purpose of retaining him in obedience to himself, that he requires
nothing of him in vain. Now, the sum of this covenant of which Moses
speaks was, that Noah should be safe, although the whole world should
perish in the deluge. For there is an understood antithesis, that the
whole world being rejected, the Lord would establish a peculiar covenant
with Noah alone. Wherefore, it was the duty of Noah to oppose this
promise of God, like a wall of iron, against all the terrors of death;
just as if it were the purpose of God, by this sole word, to discriminate
between life and death. But the covenant with him is confirmed, with this
condition annexed, that his family shall be preserved for his sake; and
also the brute animals, for the replenishing of the new world; concerning
which I shall say more in the ninth chapter.

19. "And of every living thing of all flesh." "All flesh" is the name he
gives to animals of whatsoever kind they may be. He says they went in two
and two; not that a single pair of each kind was received into the ark,
(for we shall soon see that there were three pairs of the clean kinds,
and one animal over, which Noah afterwards offered in sacrifice;) but
whereas here mention is made only of offspring, he does not expressly
state the number, but simply couples males with females, that Noah might
hence perceive how the world was to be replenished.

22. "Thus did Noah." In a few words, but with great sublimity, Moses here
commends the faith of Noah. The unskilful wonder that the apostle (Heb.
11: 7) makes him "heir of the righteousness which is by faith." As if,
truly, all the virtues, and whatsoever else was worthy of praise in this
holy man, had not sprung from this fountain. For we ought to consider the
assaults of temptation to which his breast was continually exposed.
First, the prodigious size of the ark might have overwhelmed all his
senses, so as to prevent him from raising a finger to begin the work. Let
the reader reflect on the multitude of trees to be felled, on the great
labour of conveying them, and the difficulty of joining them together.
The matter was also long deferred; for the holy man was required to be
engaged more than a hundred years in most troublesome labour. Nor can we
suppose him to have been so stupid, as not to reflect upon obstacles of
this kind. Besides, it was scarcely to be hoped, that the men of his age
would patiently bear with him, for promising himself an exclusive
deliverance, attended with ignominy to themselves. Their unnatural
ferocity has been before mentioned; there can therefore be no doubt that
they would daily provoke modest and simpleminded men, even without cause.
But here was a plausible occasion for insult; since Noah, by felling
trees on all sides, was making the earth bare, and defrauding them of
various advantages. It is a common proverb, that perverse and contentious
men will dispute about an ass's shadow. What, then, might Noah think,
would those fierce Cyclops do for the shadow of so many trees; who, being
practiced in every kind of violence, would seize with eagerness on all
sides an occasion of exercising cruelty? But this was what chiefly tended
to inflame their rage, that he, by building an asylum for himself,
virtually doomed them all to destruction. Certainly, unless they had been
restrained by the mighty hand of God, they would have stoned the holy man
a hundred times; still it is probable, that their vehemence was not so
far repressed, as to prevent them from frequently assailing him with
scoffs and derision, from heaping upon him many reproaches, and pursuing
him with grievous threats. I even think, that they did not restrain their
hands from disturbing his work. Therefore, although he may have addressed
himself with alacrity to the work committed to him; yet his constancy
might have failed more than a thousand times, in so many years, unless it
had been firmly rooted. Moreover, as the work itself appeared
impracticable, it may be further asked, Whence were provisions for the
year to be obtained? Whence food for so many animals? He is commanded to
lay up what will suffice for food during ten months for his whole family
for cattle, and wild beasts, and even for birds. Truly, it seems absurd,
that after he has been disengaged from agriculture, in order to build the
ark, he should be commanded to collect a two-years' store of provision;
but much more trouble attended the providing of food for animals. He
might therefore have suspected that God was mocking him. His last work
was to gather animals of all kinds together. As if, indeed, he had all
the beasts of the forest at his command, or was able to tame them; so
that, in his keeping, wolves might dwell with lambs, tigers with hares,
lions with oxen--as sheep in his fold. But the most grievous temptation
of all was, that he was commanded to descend, as into the grave, for the
sake of preserving his life, and voluntarily to deprive himself of air
and vital spirit; for the smell of dung alone pent up, as it was, in a
closely filled place, might, at the expiration of three days, have
stifled all the living creatures in the ark. Let us reflect on these
conflicts of the holy man--so severe, and multiplied and long-continued--
in order that we may know how heroic was his courage, in prosecuting, to
the utmost, what God had commanded him to do. Moses, indeed, says in a
single word that he did it; but we must consider how far beyond all human
power was the doing of it: and that it would have been better to die a
hundred deaths, than to undertake a work so labourious, unless he had
looked to something higher than the present life. A remarkable example,
therefore, of obedience is here described to us; because, Noah,
committing himself entirely to God, rendered Him due honour. We know, in
this corruption of our nature, how ready men are to seek subterfuges, and
how ingenious in inventing pretexts for disobedience to God. Wherefore,
let us also learn to break through every kind of impediment, and not to
give place to evil thoughts, which oppose themselves to the word of God,
and with which Satan attempts to entangle our minds, that they may not
obey the command of God. For God especially demands this honour to be
given to himself, that we should suffer him to judge for us. And this is
the true proof of faith, that we, being content with one of his commands,
gird ourselves to the work, so that we do not swerve in our course,
whatever obstacle Satan may place in our way, but are borne on the wings
of faith above the world. Moses also shows, that Noah obeyed God, not in
one particular only, but in all. Which is diligently to be observed;
because hence, chiefly, arises dreadful confusion in our life, that we
are not able, unreservedly to submit ourselves to God; but when we have
discharged some part of our duty, we often blend our own feelings with
his word. But the obedience of Noah is celebrated on this, account, that
it was entire, not partial; so that he omitted none of those things which
God had commanded.




Chapter VII.

1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark;
for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and
his female: and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his
female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep
seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I
destroy from off the face of the earth.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
6 And Noah [was] six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon
the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with
him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that [are] not clean, and of fowls, and
of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the
female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood
were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the
great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the
sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them,
into the ark;
14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their
kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his
kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
wherein [is] the breath of life.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God
had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased,
and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high
hills, that [were] under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were
covered.
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of
cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in
the dry [land], died.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of
the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl
of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only
remained [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.
24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

1. "And the Lord said unto Noah." I have no doubt that Noah was
confirmed, as he certainly needed to be, by oracles frequently repeated.
He had already sustained, during one hundred years, the greatest and most
furious assaults; and the invincible combatant had achieved memorable
victories; but the most severe contest of all was, to bid farewell to the
world, to renounce society and to bury himself in the ark. The face of
the earth was, at that time, lovely; and Moses intimates that it was the
season in which the herbs shoot forth and the trees begin to flourish.
Winter, which binds the joy of sky and earth in sharp and rugged frost,
has now passed away; and the Lord has chosen the moment for destroying
the world, in the very season of spring. For Moses states that the
commencement of the deluge was in the second month. I know, however, that
different opinions prevail on this subject; for there are three who begin
the year from the autumnal equinox; but that mode of reckoning the year
is more approved, which makes it commence in the month of March. However
this might be, it was no light trial for Noah to leave of his own accord,
the life to which he had been accustomed during six hundred years, and to
seek a new mode of life in the abyss of death. He is commanded to forsake
the world, that he may live in a sepulchre which he had been labouriously
digging for himself through more than a hundred years. Why was this?
Because, in a little while, the earth was to be submerged in a deluge of
waters. Yet nothing of the kind is apparent: all indulge in feasts,
celebrate nuptials, build sumptuous houses; in short, everywhere,
daintiness and luxury prevail; as Christ himself testifies, that that age
was intoxicated with its own pleasures, (Luke 17: 26.) Wherefore, it was
not without reason, that the Lord encouraged and fortified the mind of
his servant afresh, by the renewal of the promise, lest he should faint;
as if he would says 'Hitherto thou hast laboured with fortitude amid so
many causes of offence; but now the case especially demands that thou
shouldst take courage, in order to reap the fruit of thy labour: do not,
however, wait till the waters burst forth on every side from the opened
veins of the earth, and till the higher waters of heaven, with opposing
violence, rush from their opened cataracts; but while everything is yet
tranquil, enter into the ark, and there remain till the seventh day, then
suddenly shall the deluge arise.' And although oracles are not now
brought down from heaven, let us know that continual meditation on the
word is not ineffectual; for as new difficulties perpetually arise before
us, so God, by one and another promise, establishes our faith, so that
our strength being renewed, we may at length arrive at the goal. Our
duty, indeed, is, attentively to hear God speaking to us; and neither
through depraved fastidiousness, to reject those exercises, by which He
cherishes, or excites, or confirms our faith, according as he knows it to
be still tender, or languishing, or weak; nor yet to reject them as
superfluous. "For thee have I seen righteous." When the Lord assigns as
his reason for preserving Noah, that he knew him to be righteous, he
seems to attribute the praise of salvation to the merit of works; for if
Noah was saved because he was righteous, it follows, that we shall
deserve life by good works. But here it behaves us cautiously to weigh
the design of God; which was to place one man in contrast with the whole
world, in order that, in his person, he might condemn the unrighteousness
of all men. For he again testifies, that the punishment which he was
about to inflict on the world was just, seeing that only one man was left
who then cultivated righteousness, for whose sake he was propitious to
his whole family. Should any one object, that from this passage, God is
proved to have respect to works in saving men, the solution is ready;
that this is not repugnant to gratuitous acceptance, since God accepts
those gifts which he himself has conferred upon his servants. We must
observe, in the first place, that he loves men freely, inasmuch as he
finds nothing in them but what is worthy of hatred, since all men are
born the children of wrath, and heirs of eternal malediction. In this
respect he adopts them to himself in Christ, and justifies them by his
mere mercy. After he has, in this manner, reconciled them unto himself,
he also regenerates them, by his Spirit, to new life and righteousness.
Hence flow good works, which must of necessity be pleasing to God
himself. Thus he not only loves the faithful but also their works. We
must again observe, that since some fault always adheres to our works, it
is not possible that they can be approved, except as a matter of
indulgence. The grace, therefore, of Christ, and not their own dignity or
merit, is that which gives worth to our works. Nevertheless, we do not
deny that they come into the account before God: as he here acknowledges
and accepts the righteousness of Noah which had proceeded from his own
grace; and in this manner (as Augustine speaks) he will crown his own
gifts. We nay further notice the expression, "I have seen thee righteous
before me;" by which words, he not only annihilates all that hypocritical
righteousness which is destitute of interior sanctity of heart, but
vindicates his own authority; as if he would declare, that he alone is a
competent judge to estimate righteousness. The clause, "in this
generation," is added, as I have said, for the sake of amplification; for
so desperate was the depravity of that age, that it was regarded as a
prodigy, that Noah should be free from the common infection.

2. "Of every clean beast." He again repeats what he had before said
concerning animals, and not without occasion. For there was no little
difficulty in collecting from woods, mountains, and caves, so great a
multitude of wild beasts, many species of which were perhaps altogether
unknown; and there was, in most of them, the same ferocity which we now
perceive. Wherefore, God encourages the holy man, lest being alarmed with
that difficulty, and having cast aside all hope of success, he should
fail. Here, however, at first sight, appears some kind of contradiction,
because whereas he before had spoken of pairs of animals, he now speaks
of sevens. But the solution is at hand; because, previously, Moses does
not state the number, but only says that females were added as companions
to the males; as if he had said, Noah himself was commanded not to gather
the animals promiscuously together, but to select pairs out of them for
the propagation of offspring. Now, however, the discourse is concerning
the actual number. Moreover, the expression, "by sevens," is to be
understood not of seven pairs of each kind, but of three pairs, to which
one animal is added for the sake of sacrifice. Besides, the Lord would
have a threefold greater number of clean animals than of others
preserved, because there would be a greater necessity of them for the use
of man. In which appointment, we must consider the paternal goodness of
God towards us, by which he is inclined to have regard to us in all
things.

3. "To keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth." That is, that
hence offspring might be born. But this is referred to Noah; for
although, properly speaking, God alone gives life, yet God here refers to
those duties which he had enjoined upon his servant: and it is with
respect to his appointed office, that God commands him to collect animals
that he may keep seed alive. Nor is this extraordinary, seeing that the
ministers of the gospel are said, in a sense, to confer spiritual life.
In the clause which next follows, "upon the face of all the earth," there
is a twofold consolation: that the waters, after they had covered the
earth for a time, would again cease, so that the dry surface of the earth
should appear; and then, that not only should Noah himself survive, but,
by the blessing of God, the number of animals should be so increased, as
to spread far and wide through the whole world. Thus, in the midst of
ruin, future restoration is promised to him. Moses is very earnest in
showing that God took care, by every means, to retain Noah in obedience
to his word, and that the holy man entirely acquiesced. This doctrine is
very useful, especially when God either promises or threatens anything
incredible, since men do not willingly receive what seems to them
improbable. For nothing was less accordant with the judgment of the
flesh, than that the world should be destroyed by its Creator; because
this was to subvert the whole order of nature which he had established.
Wherefore, unless Noah had been well admonished of this terrible judgment
of God, he never would have ventured to believe it; lest he should
conceive of God as acting in contradiction to himself. The word "haykum",
which Moses here uses has its origin from a word signifying to stand; but
it properly means whatever lives and flourishes.

5. "And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded." This is not a
bare repetition of the former sentence; but Moses commends Noah's uniform
tenor of obedience in keeping all God's commandments; as if he would say,
that in whatever particular it pleased God to try his obedience, he
always remained constant. And, certainly, it is not becoming to obey one
or another commandment of God only, so that when we have performed a
defective obedience, we should feel at liberty to withdraw; for we must
keep in memory the declaration of James, 'He who forbade thee to kill,
forbade thee also to steal, and to commit adultery,' (James 2: 11.)

6. "And Noah was six hundred years old." It is not without reason that he
again mentions the age of Noah. For old age has this among other evils,
that it renders men more indolent and morose; whence the faith of Noah
was the more conspicuous, because it did not fail him in that advanced
period of life. And as it was a great excellence, not to languish through
successive centuries, so big promptitude deserves no little commendation;
because, being commanded to enter the ark, he immediately obeyed. When
Moses shortly afterwards subjoins, that he had entered on account of the
waters of the deluge, the words ought not to be expounded, as if he were
compelled, by the rushing of the waters, to flee into the ark; but that
he, being moved with fear by the word, perceived by faith the approach of
that deluge which all others ridiculed. Wherefore, his faith is again
commended in this place, because, indeed, he raised his eyes above heaven
and earth.

8. "Of clean beasts." Moses now explains,--what had before been
doubtful,--in which manner the animals were gathered together into the
ark, and says that they came of their own accord. If this should seem to
any one absurd, let him recall to mind what was said before, that in the
beginning every kind of animals presented themselves to Adam, that he
might give them names. And, truly, we dread the sight of wild beasts from
no other cause than this, that seeing we have shaken off the yoke of God,
we have lost that authority over them with which Adam was endued. Now, it
was a kind of restoration of the former state of things when God brought
to Noah those animals which he intended should be preserved through
Noah's labour and service. For Noah retained the untamed animals in his
ark, in the very same way in which hens and geese are preserved in a
coop. And it is not superfluously added, that the animals themselves
came, as God had instructed Noah; for it shows that the blessing of God
rested on the obedience of Noah, so that his labour should not be in
vain. It was impossible, humanly speaking, that in a moment such an
assemblage of all animals should take place; but because Noah, simply
trusting the event with God, executed what was enjoined upon him; God, in
return, gave power to his own precept, that it might not be without
effect. Properly speaking, this was a promise of God annexed to his
commands. And, therefore, we must conclude, that the faith of Noah
availed more, than all snares and nets, for the capture of animals; and
that, by the very same gate, lions, and wolves, and tigers, meekly
entered, with oxen, and with lambs, into the ark. And this is the only
method by which we may overcome all difficulties; while,--being
persuaded, that what is impossible to us is easy to God,--we derive
alacrity from hope. It has before been stated that the animals entered in
by pairs. We have also related the different opinions of interpreters
respecting the month in which the deluge took place. For since the
Hebrews begin their year in sacred things from March, but in earthly
affairs from September; or,--which is the same thing,--since the two
equinoxes form with them a double commencement of the year, some think
that the sacred year, and some the political, is here intended. But
because the former method of reckoning the years was Divinely appointed,
and is also more agreeable to nature, it seems probable that the deluge
began about the time of spring.

11. "The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up."
Moses recalls the period of the first creation to our memory; for the
earth was originally covered with water; and by the singular kindness of
God, they were made to recede, that some space should be left clear for
living creatures. And this, philosophers are compelled to acknowledge,
that it is contrary to the course of nature for the waters to subside, so
that some portion of the earth might rise above them. And Scripture
records this among the miracles of God, that he restrains the force of
the sea, as with barriers, lest it should overwhelm that part of the
earth which is granted for a habitation to men. Moses also says, in the
first chapter, that some waters were suspended above in the heaven; and
David, in like manner, declares, that they are held enclosed as in a
bottle. Lastly, God raised for men a theatre in the habitable region of
the earth; and caused, by his secret power, that the subterraneous waters
should not break forth to overwhelm us, and the celestial waters should
not conspire with them for that purpose. Now, however, Moses states, that
when God resolved to destroy the earth by a deluge, those barriers were
torn up. And here we must consider the wonderful counsel of God; for he
might have deposited, in certain channels or veins of the earth, as much
water as would have sufficed for all the purposes of human life; but he
has designedly placed us between two graves, lest, in fancied security,
we should despise that kindness on which our life depends. For the
element of water, which philosophers deem one of the principles of life,
threatens us with death from above and from beneath, except so far as it
is restrained by the hand of God. In saying that the fountains were
broken up, and the cataracts opened, his language is metaphorical, and
means, that neither did the waters flow in their accustomed manner, nor
did the rain distil from heaven; but that the distinctions which we see
had been established by God, being now removed, there were no longer any
bars to restrain the violent irruption.

12. "And the rain was upon the earth." Although the Lord burst open the
floodgates of the waters, yet he does not allow them to break forth in a
moment, so as immediately to overwhelm the earth, but causes the rain to
continue forty days; partly, that Noah, by long meditation, might more
deeply fix in his memory what he had previously learned, by instruction,
through the word; partly, that the wicked, even before their death, might
feel that those warnings which they had held in derision, were not empty
threats. For they who had so long scorned the patience of God, deserved
to feel that they were gradually perishing under that righteous judgment
of his, which, during a hundred years, they had treated as a fable. And
the Lord frequently so tempers his judgments, that men may have leisure
to consider with more advantage those judgments which, by their sudden
eruption, might overcome them with astonishment. But the wonderful
depravity of our nature shows itself in this, that if the anger of God is
suddenly poured forth, we become stupefied and senseless; but if it
advances with measured pace, we become so accustomed to it as to despise
it; because we do not willingly acknowledge the hand of God without
miracles; and because we are easily hardened, by a kind of superinduced
insensibility, at the sight of God's works.

13. "In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, &c." A repetition
follows, sufficiently particular, considering the brevity with which
Moses runs through the history of the deluge, yet by no means
superfluous. For it was the design of the Spirit to retain our minds in
the consideration of a vengeance too terrible to be adequately described
by the utmost severity of language. Besides, nothing is here related but
what is difficult to be believed; wherefore Moses the more frequently
inculcates these things, that however remote they may be from our
apprehension, they may still obtain credit with us. Thus the narration
respecting the animals refers to this point; that by the faith of holy
Noah they were drawn from their woods and caverns and were collected in
one place from their wandering courses, as if they had been led by the
hand of God. We see, therefore, that Moses does not insist upon this
point without an object; but he does it to teach us that each species of
animals was preserved, not by chance, nor by human industry, but because
the Lord reached out and offered to Noah himself, from hand to hand, (as
they say,) whatever animal he intended to keep alive.

16. "And the Lord shut him in." This is not added in vain, nor ought it
to be lightly passed over. That door must have been large, which could
admit an elephant. And truly, no pitch would be sufficiently firm and
tenacious, and no joining sufficiently solid, to prevent the immense
force of the water from penetrating through its many seams, especially in
an irruption so violent, and in a shock so severe. Therefore, Moses, to
cut off occasion for the vain speculations which our own curiosity would
suggest, declares in one word, that the ark was made secure from the
deluge, not by human artifice, but by divine miracle. It is, indeed, not
to be doubted that Noah had been endued with new ability and sagacity,
that nothing might be defective in the structure of the ark. But lest
even this favour should be without success, it was necessary for
something greater to be added. Wherefore, that we might not measure the
mode of preserving the ark by the capacity of our own judgment, Moses
teaches use that the waters were not restrained from breaking in upon the
ark, by pitch or bitumen only, but rather by the secret power of God, and
by the interposition of his hand.

17. "And the flood was forty days, &c." Moses copiously insists upon this
fact, in order to show that the whole world was immersed in the waters.
Moreover, it is to be regarded as the special design of this narrations
that we should not ascribe to fortune, the flood by which the world
perished; how ever customary it may be for men to cast some veil over the
works of God, which may obscure either his goodness or his judgments
manifested in them. But seeing it is plainly declared, that whatever was
flourishing on the earth was destroyed, we hence infer, that it was an
indisputable and signal judgment of God; especially since Noah alone
remained secure, because he had embraced, by faith, the word in which
salvation was contained. He then recalls to memory what we before have
said; namely how desperate had been the impiety, and how enormous the
crimes of men, by which God was induced to destroy the whole world;
whereas, on account of his great clemency, he would have spared his own
workmanship, had he seen that any milder remedy could have been
effectually applied. These two things, directly opposed to each other, he
connects together; that the whole human race was destroyed, but that Noah
and his family safely escaped. Hence we learn how profitable it was for
Noah, disregarding the world, to obey God alone: which Moses states not
so much for the sake of praising the man, as for that of inviting us to
imitate his example. Moreover, lest the multitude of sinners should draw
us away from God; we must patiently bear that the ungodly should hold us
up to ridicule, and should triumph over us, until the Lord shall show by
the final issue, that our obedience has been approved by him. In this
sense, Peter teaches that Noah's deliverance from the universal deluge
was a figure of baptism, (1 Pet. 3: 21;) as if he had said, the method of
the salvation, which we receive through baptism, degrees with this
deliverance of Noah. Since at this time also the world is full of
unbelievers as it was then; therefore it is necessary for us to separate
ourselves from the greater multitude, that the Lord may snatch us from
destruction. In the same manner, the Church is fitly, and justly,
compared to the ark. But we must keep in mind the similitude by which
they mutually correspond with each other; for that is derived from the
word of God alone; because as Noah believing the promise of God, gathered
himself his wife and his children together, in order that under a certain
appearance of death, he might emerge out of death; so it is fitting that
we should renounce the world and die, in order that the Lord may quicken
us by his word. For nowhere else is there any security of salvation. The
Papists, however, act ridiculously who fabricate for us an ark without
the word.




Chapter VIII.

1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle
that [was] with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the
earth, and the waters asswaged;
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped,
and the rain from heaven was restrained;
3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the
end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the
month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the
tenth [month], on the first [day] of the month, were the tops of the
mountains seen.
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the
window of the ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the
waters were dried up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated
from off the face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned
unto him into the ark, for the waters [were] on the face of the whole
earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto
him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove
out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth
[was] an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated
from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which
returned not again unto him any more.
13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first
[month], the first [day] of the month, the waters were dried up from off
the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and,
behold, the face of the ground was dry.
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month,
was the earth dried.
15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons'
wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that [is] with thee, of all
flesh, [both] of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and
be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives
with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, [and] whatsoever
creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean
beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I
will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the
imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again
smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

1. "And God remembered Noah." Moses now descends more particularly to
that other part of the subject, which shows, that Noah was not
disappointed in his hope of the salvation divinely promised to him. The
remembrance of which Moses speaks, ought to be referred not only to the
external aspect of things, (so to speak,) but also to the inward feeling
of the holy man. Indeed it is certain, that Gods from the time in which
he had once received Noah into his protection, was never unmindful of
him; for, truly, it was by as great a miracle, that he did not perish
through suffocation in the ark, as if he had lived without breath,
submerged in the waters. And Moses just before has said that by God's
secret closing up of the ark, the waters were restrained from penetrating
it. But as the ark was floating, even to the fifth month, upon the
waters, the delay by which the Lord suffered his servant to be anxiously
and miserably tortured might seem to imply a kind of oblivion. And it is
not to be questioned, that his heart was agitated by various feelings,
when he found himself so long held in suspense; for he might infer, that
his life had been prolonged, in order that he might be more miserable
than any of the rest of mankind. For we know that we are accustomed to
imagine God absent, except when we have some sensible experience of his
presence. And although Noah tenaciously held fast the promise which he
had embraced, even to the end, it is yet credible, that he was grievously
assailed by various temptations; and God, without doubt, purposely thus
exercised his faith and patience. For, why was not the world destroyed in
three days? And for what purpose did the waters, after they had covered
the highest mountains rise fifteen cubits higher, unless it was to
accustom Noah, and his family, to meditate the more profitably on the
judgments of Gods and when the danger was past, to acknowledge that they
had been rescued from a thousand deaths? Let us therefore learn, by this
example, to repose on the providence of God, even while he seems to be
most forgetful of us; for at length, by affording us help, he will
testify that he has been mindful of us. What, if the flesh persuade us to
distrust, yet let us not yield to its restlessness; but as soon as this
thought creeps in, that God has cast off all care concerning us, or is
asleep, or far distant, let us immediately meet it with this shield, 'The
Lord, who has promised his help to the miserable will, in due time, be
present with us, that we may indeed perceive the care he takes of us.'
Nor is there less weight in what is added that God also remembered the
animals; for if, on account of the salvation promised to man, his favour
is extended to brute cattle, and to wild beasts; what may we suppose will
be his favour towards his own children, to whom he has so liberally, and
so sacredly, pledged his faithfulness?
  "And God made a wind to pass over the earth." Here it appears more
clearly, that Moses is speaking of the effect of God's remembrance of
Noah; namely, that in very deed, and by a sure proof, Noah might know
that God cared for his life. For when God, by his secret power, might
have dried the earth, he made use of the wind; which method he also
employed in drying the Red Sea. And thus he would testify, that as he had
the waters at his command, ready to execute his wrath, so now he held the
winds in his hand, to afford relief. And although here a remarkable
history is recorded by Moses, we are yet taught, that the winds do not
arise fortuitously, but by the command of God; as it is said in Psalm
104: verse 4, that 'they are the swift messengers of God;' and again,
that God rides upon their wings. Finally, the variety, the contrary
motions, and the mutual conflicts of the elements, conspire to yield
obedience to God. Moses also adds other inferior means by which the
waters were diminished and caused to return to their former position. The
sum of the whole is, that God, for the purpose of restoring the order
which he had before appointed, recalled the waters to their prescribed
boundaries so that while the celestial waters, as if congealed, were
suspended in the air; others might lie concealed in their gulfs; others
flow in separate channels; and the sea also might remain within its
barriers.

3. "And after the end of the hundred and fifty days." Some think that the
whole time, from the beginning of the deluge to the abatement of the
waters, is here noted; and thus they include the forty days in which
Moses relates that there was continued rain. But I make this distinction,
that until the fortieth day, the waters rose gradually by fresh
additions; then that they remained nearly in the same state for one
hundred and fifty days; for both computations make the period a little
more than six months and a half. And Moses says, that about the end of
the seventh month, the diminution of the waters appeared to be such that
the ark settled upon the highest summit of a mountain, or touched some
ground. And by this lengthened space of time, the Lord would show the
more plainly, that the dreadful desolation of the world had not fallen
upon it accidentally, but was a remarkable proof of his judgment; while
the deliverance of Noah was a magnificent work of his grace, and worthy
of everlasting remembrance. If, however, we number the seventh month from
the beginning of the year, (as some do,) and not from the time that Noah
entered the ark, the subsidence of which Moses speaks, took place
earlier, namely, as soon as the ark had floated five months. If this
second opinion is received, there will be the same reckoning of ten
months; for the sense will be, that in the eighth month after the
commencement of the deluge, the tops of the mountains appeared.
Concerning the name Ararat, I follow the opinion most received. And I do
not see why some should deny it to be Armenian the mountains of which are
declared, by ancient authors, almost with one consents to be the highest.
The Chaldean paraphrase also points out the particular part, which he
calls mountains of Cardu, which others call Cardueni. But whether that be
true, which Josephus has handed down respecting the fragments of the ark
found there in his time; remnants of which, Jerome says, remained to his
own age, I leave undecided.

6. "At the end of forty days." We may hence conjecture with what great
anxiety the breast of the holy man was oppressed. After he had perceived
the ark to be resting on solid ground, he yet did not dare to open the
window till the fortieth day; not because he was stunned and torpid, but
because an example, thus formidable, of the vengeance of God, had
affected him with such fear and sorrow combined, that being deprived of
all judgment, he silently remained in the chamber of his ark. At length
he sends forth a raven, from which he might receive a more certain
indication of the dryness of the earth. But the raven perceiving nothing
but muddy marshes, hovers around, and immediately seeks to be readmitted.
I have no doubt that Noah purposely selected the ravens which he knew
might be allured by the odour of carcasses, to take a further flight, if
the earth, with the animals upon it, were already exposed to view; but
the raven, flying around did not depart far. I wonder whence a negation,
which Moses has not in the Hebrew text, has crept into the Greek and
Latin version, since it entirely changes the sense. Hence the fable has
originated, that the raven, having found carcasses, was kept away from
the arks and forsook its protector. Afterwards, futile allegories
followed, just as the curiosity of men is ever desirous of trifling. But
the dove, in its first egress, imitated the raven, because it flew back
to the ark; afterwards it brought a branch of olive in its bill; and at
the third time, as if emancipated, it enjoyed the free air, and the free
earth. Some writers exercise their ingenuity on the olive branch; because
among the ancients it was the emblem of peace, as the laurel was of
victory. But I rather think, that as the olive tree does not grow upon
the mountains, and is not a very lofty tree, the Lord had given his
servant some token whence he might infer, that pleasant regions, and
productive of good fruits, were now freed from the waters. Because the
version of Jerome says, that it was a branch with green leaves; they who
have thought, that the deluge began in the month of September, take this
as a confirmation of their opinion. But the words of Moses have no such
meaning. And it might be that the Lord, willing to revive the spirit of
Noah, offered some branch to the dove, which had not yet altogether
withered under the waters.

15. "And God spake unto Noah." Though Noah was not a little terrified at
the judgment of God, yet his patience is commended in this respect, that
having the earth, which offered him a home, before his eyes, he yet does
not venture to go forth. Profane men may ascribe this to timidity, or
even to indolence; but holy is that timidity which is produced by the
obedience of faith. Let us therefore know, that Noah was restrained, by a
hallowed modesty, from allowing himself to enjoy the bounty of nature,
till he should hear the voice of God directing him to do so. Moses winds
this up in a few words, but it is proper that we should attend to the
thing itself. All ought indeed, spontaneously, to consider how great must
have been the fortitude of the man, who, after the incredible weariness
of a whole year, when the deluge has ceased, and new life has shone
forth, does not yet move a foot out of his sepulchre, without the command
of God. Thus we see, that, by a continual course of faith, the holy man
was obedient to God; because at God's command, he entered the ark, and
there remained until God opened the way for his egress; and because he
chose rather to lie in a tainted atmosphere than to breathe the free air,
until he should feel assured that his removal would be pleasing to God.
Even in minute affairs, Scripture commends to us this self-government,
that we should attempt nothing but with an approving conscience. How much
less is the rashness of men to be endured in religious matters, if,
without taking counsel of God, they permit themselves to act as they
please. It is not indeed to be expected that God will every moment
pronounce, by special oracles, what is necessary to be done; yet it
becomes us to hearken attentively to his voice, in order to be certainly
persuaded that we undertake nothing but what is in accordance with his
word. The spirit of prudence, and of counsel, is also to be sought; of
which he never leaves those destitute, who are docile and obedient to his
commands. In this sense, Moses relates that Noah went out of the ark as
soon as he, relying on the oracle of God, was aware that a new habitation
was given him in the earth.

17. "That they may breed abundantly, &c." With these words the Lord would
cheer the mind of Noah, and inspire him with confidence, that a seed had
been preserved in the ark which should increase till it replenished the
whole earth. In short, the renovation of the earth is promised to Noah;
to the end that he may know that the world itself was inclosed in the
ark, and that the solitude and devastation, at the sight of which his
heart might faint, would not be perpetual.

20. "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord." As Noah had given many
proofs of his obedience, so he now presents an example of gratitude. This
passage teaches us that sacrifices were instituted from the beginning for
this end, that men should habituate themselves, by such exercises, to
celebrate the goodness of God, and to give him thanks. The bare
confession of the tongue, yea, even the silent acknowledgment of the
heart, might suffice for God; but we know how many stimulants our
indolence requires. Therefore, when the holy fathers, formerly, professed
their piety towards God by sacrifices, the use of them was by no means
superfluous. Besides, it was right that they should always have before
their eyes symbols, by which they would be admonished, that they could
have no access to God but through a mediator. Now, however, the
manifestation of Christ has taken away these ancient shadows. Wherefore,
let us use those helps which the Lord has prescribed. Moreover, when I
say that sacrifices were made use of, by the holy fathers, to celebrate
the benefits of God, I speak only of one kind: for this offering of Noah
answers to the peace-offerings, and the first-fruits. But here it may be
asked, by what impulse Noah offered a sacrifice to God, seeing he had no
command to do so? I answer: although Moses does not expressly declare
that God commanded him to do it, yet a certain judgment may be formed
from what follows, and even from the whole context, that Noah had rested
upon the word of Gods and that, in reliance on the divine command, he had
rendered this worship, which he knew, indubitably, should be acceptable
to God. We have before said, that one animal of every kind was preserved
separately; and have stated for what end it was done. But it was useless
to set apart animals for sacrifice, unless God had revealed this design
to holy Noah, who was to be the priest to offer up the victims. Besides,
Moses says that sacrifices were chosen from among clean animals. But it
is certain that Noah did not invent this distinction for himself since it
does not depend on human choice. Whence we conclude, that he undertook
nothing without divine authority. Also immediately afterwards, Moses
subjoins, that the smell of the sacrifice was acceptable to God. This
general rule, therefore, is to be observed, that all religious services
which are not perfumed with the odour of faith, are of an ill-savour
before God. Let us therefore know, that the altar of Noah was founded in
the word of God. And the same word was as salt to his sacrifices, that
they might not be insipid.

21. "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour." Moses calls that by which God
was appeased, an odour of rest; as if he had said, the sacrifice had been
rightly offered. Yet nothing can be more absurd than to suppose that God
should have been appeased by the filthy smoke of entrails, and of flesh.
But Moses here, according to his manner, invests God with a human
character for the purpose of accommodating himself to the capacity of an
ignorant people. For it is not even to be supposed, that the rite of
sacrifice, in itself, was grateful to God as a meritorious act; but we
must regard the end of the work, and not confine ourselves to the
external form. For what else did Noah propose to himself than to
acknowledge that he had received his own life, and that of the animals,
as the gift of God's mercy alone? This piety breathed a good and sweet
odour before God; as it is said, (Psalm 116: 12,) "What shall I render
unto the Lord for all his benefits? I will take the cup of salvation, and
will call upon the name of the Lord."
  "And the Lord said in his heart." The meaning of the passage is, God
had decreed that he would not hereafter curse the earth. And this form of
expression has great weight: for although God never retracts what he has
openly spoken with his mouth, yet we are more deeply affected when we
hear, that he has fixed upon something in his own mind; because an inward
decree of this kind in no way depends upon creatures. To sum up the
whole, God certainly determined that he would never more destroy the
world by a deluge. Yet the expression, 'I will not curse,' is to be but
generally understood; because we know how much the earth has lost of its
fertility since it has been corrupted by man's sin, and we daily feel
that it is cursed in various ways. And he explains himself a little
afterwards, saying, 'I will not smite anymore every thing living.' For in
these words he does not allude to every kind of vengeance, but only to
that which should destroy the world, and bring ruin both on mankind and
the rest of animals: as if he would say, that he restored the earth with
this stipulation, that it should not afterwards perish by a deluge. So
when the Lord declares, (Isa. 54: 9,) that he will be contented with one
captivity of his people, he compares it with the waters of Noah, by which
he had resolved that the world should only once be overwhelmed.
  "For the imagination of man's heart." This reasoning seems incongruous:
for if the wickedness of man is so great that it does not cease to
provoke the anger of God, it must necessarily bring down destruction upon
the world. Nay, God seems to contradict himself by having previously
declared that the world must be destroyed, because its iniquity was
desperate. But here it behaves us more deeply to consider his design; for
it was the will of God that there should be some society of men to
inhabit the earth. If, however, they were to be dealt with according to
their deserts, there would be a necessity for a daily deluge. Wherefore,
he declares, that in inflicting punishment upon the second world, he will
so do it, as yet to preserve the external appearance of the earth, and
not again to sweep away the creatures with which he has adorned it.
Indeed, we ourselves may perceive such moderation to have been used, both
in the public and special judgments of God, that the world yet stands in
its completeness, and nature yet retains its course. Moreover, since God
here declares what would be the character of men even to the end of the
world, it is evident that the whole human race is under sentence of
condemnation, on account of its depravity and wickedness. Nor does the
sentence refer only to corrupt morals; but their iniquity is said to be
an innate iniquity, from which nothing but evils can spring forth. I
wonder, however, whence that false version of this passage has crept in,
that the thought is prone to evil; except, as is probable, that the place
was thus corrupted, by those who dispute too philosophically concerning
the corruption of human nature. It seemed to them hard, that man should
be subjected, as a slave of the devil to sin. Therefore, by way of
mitigation, they have said that he had a propensity to vices. But when
the celestial Judge thunders from heaven, that his thoughts themselves
are evil, what avails it to soften down that which, nevertheless, remains
unalterable? Let men therefore acknowledge, that inasmuch as they are
born of Adam, they are depraved creatures, and therefore can conceive
only sinful thoughts, until they become the new workmanship of Christ,
and are formed by his Spirit to a new life. And it is not to be doubted,
that the Lord declares the very mind of man to be depraved, and
altogether infected with sin; so that all the thoughts which proceed
thence are evil. If such be the defect in the fountain itself, it
follows, that all man's affections are evil, and his works covered with
the same pollution, since of necessity they must savour of their
original. For God does not merely say that men sometimes think evil; but
the language is unlimited, comprising the tree with its fruits. Nor is it
any proof to the contrary, that carnal and profane men often excel in
generosity of disposition, undertake designs apparently honorable, and
put forth certain evidences of virtue. For since their mind is corrupted
with contempt of God, with pride, self-love, ambitious hypocrisy, and
fraud; it cannot be but that all their thoughts are contaminated with the
same vices. Again, they cannot tend towards a right end: whence it
happens that they are judged to be what they really are, crooked and
perverse. For all things in such men, which release us under the colour
of virtue, are like wine spoiled by the odour of the cask. For, (as was
before said,) the very affections of nature, which in themselves are
laudable, are yet vitiated by original sin, and on account of their
irregularity have degenerated from their proper nature; such are the
mutual love of married persons, the love of parents towards their
children, and the like. And the clause which is added, "from youth", more
fully declares that men are born evil; in order to show that, as soon as
they are of an age to begin to form thoughts, they have radical
corruption of mind. Philosophers, by transferring to habit, what God here
ascribes to nature, betray their own ignorance. And to wonder; for we
please and flatter ourselves to such an extent, that we do not perceive
how fatal is the contagion of sin, and what depravity pervades all our
senses. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the judgment of God, which
pronounces man to be so enslaved by sin that he can bring forth nothing
sound and sincere. Yet, at the same time, we must remember, that no blame
is to be cast upon God for that which has its origin in the defection of
the first man, whereby the order of the creation was subverted. And
furthers it must be noted, that men are not exempted from guilt and
condemnation, by the pretext of this bondage: because, although all rush
to evil, yet they are not impelled by any extrinsic force, but by the
direct inclination of their own hearts; and, lastly, they sin not
otherwise than voluntarily.

22. "While the earth remaineth." By these words the world is again
completely restored. For so great was the confusion and disorder which
had overspread the earth, that there was a necessity for some renovation.
On which account, Peter speaks of the old world as having perished in the
deluge, (2 Pet. 3: 6.) Moreover, the deluge had been an interruption of
the order of nature. For the revolutions of the sun and moon had ceased:
there was no distinction of winter and summer. Wherefore, the Lord here
declares it to be his pleasure, that all things should recover their
vigour, and be restored to their functions. The Jews erroneously divide
their year into six parts; whereas Moses, by placing the summer in
opposition to the winter, thus divides the whole year in a popular manner
into two parts. And it is not to be doubted, that by cold and heat he
designates the periods already referred to. Under the words, "seed-time,"
and "harvest," he marks those advantages which flow to men from the
moderated temperature of the atmosphere. If it is objected that this
equable temperament is not every year perceived; the answer is ready,
that the order of the world is indeed disturbed by our vices, so that
many of its movements are irregular: often the sun withholds its proper
heat,--snow or hail follow in the place of dew,--the air is agitated by
various tempests; but although the world is not so regulated as to
produce perpetual uniformity of seasons, yet we perceive the order of
nature so far to prevail, that winter and summer annually recur, that
there is a constant succession of days and nights, and that the earth
brings forth its fruits in summer and autumn. Moreover, by the
expression, 'all the days of the earth,' he means, 'as long as the earth
shall last.'





Chapter IX.

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of
the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon]
the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they
delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green
herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye
not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of
every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of
every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the
image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the
earth, and multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed
after you;
10 And with every living creature that [is] with you, of the fowl, of the
cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of
the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be
cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more
be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between
me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual
generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a
covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that
the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and
every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a
flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature
of all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I
have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham,
and Japheth: and Ham [is] the father of Canaan.
19 These [are] the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth
overspread.
20 And Noah began [to be] an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within
his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and
told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid [it] upon both their
shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father;
and their faces [were] backward, and they saw not their father's
nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done
unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed [be] Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be
unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be
his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;
and Canaan shall be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he
died.

1. "And God blessed Noah." We hence infer with what great fear Noah had
been dejected, because God, so often and at such length, proceeds to
encourage him. For when Moses here says, that God blessed Noah and his
sons, he does not simply mean that the favour of fruitfulness was
restored to them; but that, at the same time, the design of God
concerning the new restitution of the world was revealed unto them. For
to the blessing itself is added the voice of God by which he addresses
them. We know that brute animals produce offspring in no other way than
by the blessing of God; but Moses here commemorates a privilege which
belongs only to men. Therefore, lest those four men and their wives,
seized with trepidation, should doubt for what purpose they had been
delivered, the Lord prescribes to them their future condition of life:
namely, that they shall raise up mankind from death to life. Thus he not
only renews the world by the same word by which he before created it; but
he directs his word to men, in order that they may recover the lawful use
of marriage, may know that the care of producing offspring is pleasing to
Himself, and may have confidence that a progeny shall spring from them
which shall diffuse itself through all regions of the earth, so as to
render it again inhabited; although it had been laid waste and made a
desert. Yet he did not permit promiscuous intercourse, but sanctioned
anew that law of marriage which he had before ordained. And although the
blessing of God is, in some way, extended to illicit connections, so that
offspring is thence produced, yet this is an impure fruitfulness; that
which is lawful flows only from the expressly declared benediction of
God.

2. "And the fear of you." This also has chiefly respect to the
restoration of the world, in order that the sovereignty over the rest of
animals might remain with men. And although after the fall of man, the
beasts were endued with new ferocity, yet some remains of that dominion
over them, which God had conferred on him in the beginning, were still
left. He now also promises that the same dominion shall continue. We see
indeed that wild beasts rush violently upon men, and rend and tear many
of them in pieces; and if God did not wonderfully restrain their
fierceness, the human race would be utterly destroyed. Therefore, what we
have said respecting the inclemency of the air, and the irregularity of
the seasons, is also here applicable. Savage beasts indeed prevail and
rage against men in various ways, and no wonder; for since we perversely
exalt ourselves against God, why should not the beasts rise up against
us? Nevertheless, the providence of God is a secret bridle to restrain
their violence. For, whence does it arise that serpents spare us, unless
because he represses their virulence? Whence is it that tigers,
elephants, lions, bears, wolves, and other wild beasts without number, do
not rend, tear, and devour everything human, except that they are
withheld by this subjection, as by a barrier? Therefore, it ought to be
referred to the special protection and guardianship of God, that we
remain in safety. For, were it otherwise, what could we expect; since
they seem as if born for our destruction, and burn with the furious
desire to injure us? Moreover, the bridle with which the Lord restrains
the cruelty of wild beasts, to prevent them falling upon men, is a
certain fear and dread which God has implanted in them, to the end that
they might reverence the presence of men. Daniel especially declares this
respecting kings; namely, that they are possessed of dominion, because
the Lord has put the fear and the dread of them both on men and beasts.
But as the first use of fear is to defend the society of mankind; so,
according to the measure in which God has given to men a general
authority over the beasts, there exists in the greatest and the least of
men, I know not what hidden mark, which does not suffer the cruelty of
wild beasts, by its violence to prevail. Another advantage, however and
one more widely extended, is here noted; namely, that men may render
animals subservient to their own convenience, and may apply them to
various uses, according to their wishes and their necessities. Therefore,
the fact that oxen become accustomed to bear the yoke; that the wildness
of horses is so subdued as to cause them to carry a rider; that they
receive the pack-saddle to bear burdens; that cows give milk, and suffer
themselves to be milked; that sheep are mute under the hand of the
shearer; all these facts are the result of this dominion, which, although
greatly diminished, is nevertheless not entirely abolished.

3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you." The Lord
proceeds further, and grants animals for food to men, that they may eat
their flesh. And because Moses now first relates that this right was
given to men, nearly all commentators infer, that it was not lawful for
man to eat flesh before the deluge, but that the natural fruits of the
earth were his only food. But the argument is not sufficiently firm. For
I hold to this principle; that God here does not bestow on men more than
he had previously given, but only restores what had been taken away, that
they might again enter on the possession of those good things from which
they had been excluded. For since they had before offered sacrifices to
God, and were also permitted to kill wild beasts, from the hides and
skins of which, they might make for themselves garments and tents, I do
not see what obligation should prevent them from the eating of flesh. But
since it is of little consequence what opinion is held, I affirm nothing
on the subject. This ought justly to be deemed by us of greater
importance, that to eat the flesh of animals is granted to us by the
kindness of God; that we do not seize upon what our appetite desires, as
robbers do, nor yet tyrannically shed the innocent blood of cattle; but
that we only take what is offered to us by the hand of the Lord. We have
heard what Paul says, that we are at liberty to eat what we please, only
we do it with the assurance of conscience, but that he who imagines
anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean, (Rom. 14: 14.) And whence
has this happened to man, that he should eat whatever food he pleased
before God, with a tranquil mind, and not with unbridled license, except
from his knowing, that it has been divinely delivered into his hand by
the right of donation? Wherefore, (the same Paul being witness,) the word
of God sanctifies the creatures, that we may purely and lawfully feed on
them, (1 Tim. 4: 5.) Let the adage be utterly rejected which says, 'that
no one can feed and refresh his body with a morsel of bread, without, at
the same time, defiling his soul.' Therefore it is not to be doubted,
that the Lord designed to confirm our faith, when he expressly declares
by Moses, that he gave to man the free use of flesh, so that we might not
eat it with a doubtful and trembling conscience. At the same time,
however, he invites us to thanksgiving. On this account also, Paul adds
"prayer" to the "word," in defining the method of sanctification in the
passage recently cited.
  And now we must firmly retain the liberty given us by the Lord, which
he designed to be recorded as on public tables. For, by this word, he
addresses all the posterity of Noah, and renders this gift common to all
ages. And why is this done, but that the faithful may boldly assert their
right to that which, they know, has proceeded from God as its Author? For
it is an insupportable tyranny, when God, the Creator of all things, has
laid open to us the earth and the air, in order that we may thence take
food as from his storehouse, for these to be shut up from us by mortal
man, who is not able to create even a snail or a fly. I do not speak of
external prohibition; but I assert, that atrocious injury is done to God,
when we give such license to men as to allow them to pronounce that
unlawful which God designs to be lawful, and to bind consciences which
the word of God sets free, with their fictitious laws. The fact that God
prohibited his ancient people from the use of unclean animals, seeing
that exception was but temporary, is here passed over by Moses.

4. "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof." Some
thus explain this passages 'Ye may not eat a member cut off from a living
animal,' which is too trifling. However, since there is no copulative
conjunction between the two words, blood and life, I do not doubt that
Moses, speaking of the life, added the word blood exegetically, as if he
would say, that flesh is in some sense devoured with its life, when it is
eaten imbued with its own blood. Wherefore, the life and the blood are
not put for different things, but for the same; not because blood is in
itself the life, but inasmuch as the vital spirits chiefly reside in the
blood, it is, as far as our feeling is concerned, a token which
represents life. And this is expressly declared, in order that men may
have the greater horror of eating blood For if it be a savage and
barbarous thing to devour lives, or to swallow down living flesh, men
betray their brutality by eating blood. Moreover, the tendency of this
prohibition is by no means obscure, namely, that God intends to accustom
men to gentleness, by abstinence from the blood of animals; but, if they
should become unrestrained, and daring in eating wild animals they would
at length not be sparing of even human blood. Yet we must remember, that
this restriction was part of the old law. Wherefore, what Tertullian
relates, that in his time it was unlawful among Christians to taste the
blood of cattle, savours of superstition. For the apostles, in commanding
the Gentiles to observe this rite, for a short time, did not intend to
inject a scruple into their consciences, but only to prevent the liberty
which was otherwise sacred, from proving an occasion of offense to the
ignorant and the weak.

5. "And surely your blood of your lives will I require." In these words
the Lord more explicitly declares that he does not forbid the use of
blood out of regard to animals themselves, but because he accounts the
life of men precious: and because the sole end of his law is, to promote
the exercise of common humanity between them. I therefore think that
Jerome, in rendering the particle "ach", for, has done better than they
who read it as an adversative disjunctive; 'otherwise your blood will I
require;' yet literally it may best be thus translated, 'And truly your
blood.' The whole context is (in my opinion) to be thus read, 'And truly
your blood, which is in your lives, or which is as your lives, that is
which vivifies and quickens you, as it respects your body, will I
require: from the hand of all animals will require it; from the hand of
man, from the hand, I say, of man, his brother, will I require the life
of man.' The distinction by which the Jews constitute four kinds of
homicide is frivolous; for I have explained the simple and genuine sense,
namely, that God so highly estimates our life, that he will not suffer
murder to go unavenged. And he inculcates this in so many words, in order
that he may render the cruelty of those the more detestable, who lay
violent hands upon their neighbours. And it is no common proof of God's
love towards us, that he undertakes the defense of our lives, and
declares that he will be the avenger of our death. In saying that he will
exact punishment from animals for the violated life of men, he gives us
this as an example. For if, on behalf of man, he is angry with brute
creatures who are hurried by a blind impulse to feed upon him; what, do
we suppose, will become of the man who, unjustly, cruelly, and contrary
to the sense of nature, falls upon his brother?

6. "Whose sheddeth man's blood." The clause "in man" which is here added,
has the force of amplification. Some expound it, 'Before witnesses.'
Others refer it to what follows, namely, 'that by man his blood should be
shed.' But all these interpretations are forced. What I have said must be
remembered, that this language rather expresses the atrociousness of the
crime; because whosoever kills a man, draws down upon himself the blood
and life of his brother. On the whole, they are deceived (in my judgment)
who think that a political law, for the punishment of homicides, is here
simply intended. Truly I do not deny that the punishment which the laws
ordain, and which the judges execute, are founded on this divine
sentence; but I say the words are more comprehensive. It is written, 'Men
of blood shall not live out half their days,' (Ps. 55: 25.) And we see
some die in highways, some in stews, and many in wars. Therefore, however
magistrates may connive at the crime, God sends executioners from other
quarters, who shall render unto sanguinary men their reward. God so
threatens and denounces vengeance against the murderer, that he even arms
the magistrate with the sword for the avenging of slaughter, in order
that the blood of men may not be shed with impunity.
  "For in the image of God made he man." For the greater confirmation of
the above doctrines God declares, that he is not thus solicitous
respecting human life rashly, and for no purpose. Men are indeed unworthy
of God's care, if respect be had only to themselves. but since they bear
the image of God engraven on them, He deems himself violated in their
person. Thus, although they have nothing of their own by which they
obtain the favour of God, he looks upon his own gifts in them, and is
thereby excited to love and to care for them. This doctrine, however is
to be carefully observed that no one can be injurious to his brother
without wounding God himself. Were this doctrine deeply fixed in our
minds, we should be much more reluctant than we are to inflict injuries.
Should any one object, that this divine image has been obliterated, the
solution is easy; first, there yet exists some remnant of it, so that man
is possessed of no small dignity; and, secondly, the Celestial Creator
himself, however corrupted man may be, still keeps in view the end of his
original creation; and according to his example, we ought to consider for
what end he created men, and what excellence he has bestowed upon them
above the rest of living beings.

7. "And you, be ye fruitful and multiply." He again turns his discourse
to Noah and his sons, exhorting them to the propagation of offspring: as
if he would say, 'You see that I am intent upon cherishing and preserving
mankind, do you therefore also attend to it.' At the same time, in
commending to them the preservation of seed, he deters them from murder,
and from unjust acts of violence. Yet his chief end was that to which I
have before alluded, that he might encourage their dejected minds. For in
these words is contained not a bare precept, but also a promise.

8. "And God spake unto Noah." That the memory of the deluge might not
inspire them with new terrors, as often as the sky were covered with
clouds, lest the earth should again be drowned; this source of anxiety is
taken away. And certainly, if we consider the great propensity of the
human mind to distrust, we shall not deem this testimony to have been
unnecessary even for Noah. He was indeed endued with a rare and
incomparable faith, even to a miracle; but no strength of constancy could
be so great, that this most sad and terrible vengeance of God should not
shake it. Therefore, whenever any great and continued shower shall seem
to threaten the earth with a deluge, this barrier, on which the holy man
may rely, is interposed. Now although his sons would need this
confirmation more than he, yet the Lord speaks especially on his account.
And the clause which follows, 'and to his sons who were with him,' is to
be referred to this point. For how is it, that God, making his covenant
with the sons of Noah, commands them to hope for the best? Truly, because
they are joined with their father, who is, as it were, the stipulator of
the covenant, so as to be associated with him, in a subordinate place.
Moreover, there is no doubt that it was the design of God to provide for
all his posterity. It was not therefore a private covenant confirmed with
one family only, but one which is common to all people, and which shall
flourish in all ages to the end of the world. And truly, since at the
present time, impiety overflows not less than in the age of Noah, it is
especially necessary that the waters should be restrained by this word of
God, as by a thousand bolts and bars lest they should break forth to
destroy us. Wherefore, relying on this promise, let us look forward to
the last day, in which the consuming fire shall purify heaven and earth.

10. "And witch every living creature." Although the favour which the Lord
promises extends also to animals, yet it is not in vain that he addresses
himself only to men, who, by the sense of faith, are able to perceive
this benefit. We enjoy the heaven and the air in common with the beasts,
and draw the same vital breath; but it is no common privilege, that God
directs his word to us; whence we may learn with what paternal love he
pursues us. And here three distinct steps are to be traced. First, God,
as in a matter of present concern, makes a covenant with Noah and his
family, lest they should be afraid of a deluge for themselves. Secondly,
he transmits his covenant to posterity, not only that, as by continual
succession, the effect may reach to other ages; but that they who should
afterwards be born might also apprehend this testimony by faith, and
might conclude that the same thing which had been promised to the sons of
Noah, was promised unto them. Thirdly, he declares that he will be
propitious also to brute animals, so that the effect of the covenant
towards them, might be the preservation of their lives only, without
imparting to them sense and intelligence. Hence the ignorance of the
Anabaptists may be refuted, who deny that the covenant of God is common
to infants, because they are destitute of present faith. As if, truly,
when God promises salvation to a thousand generations, the fathers were
not intermediate parties between God and their children, whose office it
is to deliver to their children (so to speak) from hand to hand the
promise received from God. But as many as withdraw their life from this
protection of God (since the greater part of men either despise or
ridicule this divine covenant) deserve, by this single act of
ingratitude, to be immersed in eternal fire. For although this be an
earthly promise, yet God designs the faith of his people to be exercised,
in order that they may be assured that a certain abode will, by his
special goodness, be provided for them on earth, until they shall be
gathered together in heaven.

12. "This is the token of the covenant." A sign is added to the promise,
in which is exhibited the wonderful kindness of God; who, for the purpose
of confirming our faith in his word, does not disdain to use such helps.
And although we halve more fully discussed the use of signs in the second
chapter, yet we must briefly maintain, from these words of Moses, that it
is wrong to sever signs from the word. By the word, I mean not that of
which Papists boast; whereby they enchant bread, wine, water, and oil,
with their magical whisperings; but that which may strengthen faith:
according no the Lord here plainly addresses holy Noah and his sons; he
then annexes a seal, for the sake of assurance. Wherefore, if the
sacrament be wrested from the word, it ceases to be what it is called. It
must, I say, be a vocal sign, in order that it may retain its force, and
not degenerate from its nature. And not only is that administration of
sacraments in which the word of God is silent, vain and ludicrous; but it
draws with it pure satanic delusions. Hence we also infer, that from the
beginning, it was the peculiar property of sacraments, to avail for the
confirmation of faith. For certainly, in the covenant that promise is
included to which faith ought to respond. It appears to some absurd, that
faith should be sustained by such helps. But they who speak thus do not,
in the first place, reflect on the great ignorance and imbecility of our
minds; nor do they, secondly, ascribe to the working of the secret power
of the Spirit that praise which is due. It is the work of God alone to
begin and to perfect faith; but he does it by such instruments as he sees
good; the free choice of which is in his own power.

13. "I do set my bow in the cloud." From these words certain eminent
theologians have been induced to deny, that there was any rainbow before
the deluge: which is frivolous. For the words of Moses do not signify,
that a bow was then formed which did not previously exist; but that a
mark was engraven upon it, which should give a sign of the divine favour
towards men. That this may the more evidently appear, it will be well to
recall to memory what we have elsewhere said, that some signs are
natural, and some preternatural. And although there are many examples of
this second class of signs in the Scriptures; yet they are peculiar, and
do not belong to the common and perpetual use of the Church. For, as it
pleases the Lord to employ earthly elements, as vehicles for raising the
minds of men on high, so I think the celestial arch which had before
existed naturally, is here consecrated into a sign and pledge; and thus a
new office is assigned to it; whereas, from the nature of the thing
itself, it might rather be a sign of the contrary; for it threatens
continued rain. Let this therefore he the meaning, of the words, 'As
often as the rain shall alarm you, look upon the bow. For although it may
seem to cause the rain to overflow the earth, it shall nevertheless be to
you a pledge of returning dryness, and thus it will then become you to
stand with greater confidence, than under a clear and serene sky.' Hence
it is not for us to contend with philosophers respecting the rainbow; for
although its colours are the effect of natural causes, yet they act
profanely who attempt to deprive God of the right and authority which he
has over his creatures.

15. "And I will remember my covenant." Moses, by introducing God so often
as the speaker, teaches us that the word holds the chief place, and that
signs are to be estimated by it. God, however, speaks after the manner of
men, when he says, that at the sight of the rainbow he will remember his
covenant. But this mode of speaking has reference to the faith of men, in
order that they may reflect, that God, whenever he stretches out his arch
over the clouds, is not unmindful of his covenant.

18. "The sons of Noah." Moss enumerates the sons of Noah, not only
because he is about to pass on to the following history, but for the
purpose of more fully illustrating the force of the promise, "Replenish
the earth." For we may hence better conceive how efficacious the blessing
of God has been, because an immense multitude of men proceeded in a short
time from so small a number; and because one family, and that a little
one, grew into so many, and such numerous nations.

20. "And Noah began to be an husbandman." I do not so explain. the words,
as if he then, for the first time, began to give his attention to the
cultivation of the fields; but, (in my opinion,) Moses rather intimates,
that Noah, with a collected mind, though now an old man, returned to the
culture of the fields, and to his former labours. It is, however,
uncertain whether he had been a vine-dresser or not. It is commonly
believed that wine was not in use before that time. And this opinion has
been the more willingly received, as affording an honorable pretext for
the excuse of Noah's sin. But it does not appear to me probable that the
fruit of the vine, which excels all others, should have remained
neglected and unprofitable. Also, Moses does not say that Noah was
drunken on the first day on which he tasted it. Therefore, leaving this
question undetermined, I rather suppose, that we are to learn from the
drunkenness of Noah, what a filthy and detestable crime drunkenness is.
The holy patriarch, though he had hitherto been a rare example of
frugality and temperance, losing all self-possession, did, in a base and
shameful manner, prostrate himself naked on the ground, so as to become a
laughingstock to all. Therefore, with what care ought we to cultivate
sobriety, lest anything like this, or even worse, should happen to us?
Formerly, the heathen philosopher said, that 'wine is the blood of the
earth; and, therefore, when men intemperately pour it down their throats,
they are justly punished by their mother. Let us, however, rather
remember, that when men, by shameful abuse, profane this noble and most
precious gift of God, He himself becomes the Avenger. And let us know,
that Noah, by the judgement of Gods has been set forth as a spectacle to
be a warning to others, that they should not become intoxicated by
excessive drinking. Some excuse might certainly be made for the holy man;
who, having completed his labour, and being exhilarated with wine,
imagines that he is but taking his just reward. But God brands him with
an eternal mark of disgrace. What then, do we suppose, will happen to
those idle-bellies and insatiable gluttons whose sole object of
contention is who shall consume the greatest quantity of wine? And
although this kind of correction was severe, yet it was profitable to the
servant of God; since he was recalled to sobriety, lest by proceeding in
the indulgence of a vice to which he had once yielded, he should ruin
himself; just as we see drunkards become at length brutalized by
continued intemperance.

22. "And Ham, the father of Canaan." This circumstance is added to
augment the sorrow of Noah, that he is mocked by his own son. For we must
ever keep in memory, that this punishment was divinely inflicted upon
him; partly, because his fault was not a light one; partly that God in
his person might present a lesson of temperance to all ages. Drunkenness
in itself deserves as its reward, that they who deface the image of their
heavenly Father in themselves, should become a laughingstock to their own
children. For certainly, as far as possible, drunkards subvert their own
understanding, and so far deprive themselves of reason as to degenerate
into beasts. And let us remember, that if the Lord so grievously avenged
the single transgression of the holy man, he will prove an avenger no
less severe against those who are daily intoxicated; and of this we have
examples sufficiently numerous before our eyes. In the meanwhile, Ham, by
reproachfully laughing at his feather, betrays his own depraved and
malignant disposition. We know that parents, next to God, are most deeply
to be reverenced; and if there were neither books nor sermons, nature
itself constantly inculcates this lesson upon us. It is received by
common consent, that piety towards parents is the mother of all virtues.
This Ham, therefore, must have been of a wicked, perverse, and crooked
disposition; since he not only took pleasure in his father's shame, but
wished to expose him to his brethren. And this is no slight occasion of
offense; first, that Noah, the minister of salvation to men, and the
chief restorer of the world, should in extreme old age, lie intoxicated
in his house; and then, that the ungodly and wicked Ham should have
proceeded from the sanctuary of God. God had selected eight souls as a
sacred seed, thoroughly purged from all corruption, for the renovation of
the Church: but the son of Noah shows, how necessary it is for men to be
held as with the bridle of God, however they may be exalted by privilege.
The impiety of Ham proves to us how deep is the root of wickedness in
men; and that it continually puts forth its shoots, except where the
power of the Spirit prevails over it. But if, in the hallowed sanctuary
of God, among so small a number, one fiend was preserved; let us not
wonder if, at this day, in the Church, containing a much greater
multitude of men, the wicked are mingled with the good. Nor is there any
doubt that the minds of Shem and Japheth were grievously wounded, when
they perceived in their own brother such a prodigy of scorn; and, on the
other hand, their father shamefully lying prostrate on the ground. Such a
debasing alienation of mind in the prince of the new world, and the holy
patriarch of the Church, could not less astonish them, than if they had
seen the ark itself broken, dashed in pieces, cleft asunder, and
destroyed. Yet this cause of offense they alike overcome by their
magnanimity, and conceal by their modesty. Ham alone eagerly seizes the
occasion of ridiculing and inveighing against his father; just as
perverse men are wont to catch at occasions of offense in others, which
may serve as a pretext for indulgence in sin. And his age renders him the
less excusable; for he was not a lascivious youth, who, by his
though