Commentari biblici

Genesis 3:10. Because I was naked— That is, not only naked in body, but, what much more occasions my fear, naked in mind through sin; guilty, and stript of my original righteousness, and therefore ashamed to stand before thee.

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Genesis 3:12. The woman thou gavest me, &.— Here observe again another evil fruit of sin: what sad disturbance and overthrow it makes in the once calm, even, and innocent mind! With disingenuous ingratitude Adam attempts to throw all the guilt of his offence even upon his Divine Benefactor, by taxing his best gift, the woman, with being the cause of it—THIS woman, whom THOU gavest to be with me. Instead of acknowledging, with an ingenuous shame, his deep and almost inexcusable violation of his Creator's law; instead of imploring pardon for so aggravated a crime, he craftily transfers it all to Him, who had given him so mischievous a gift as the woman, to seduce and betray him. And let us ask, are not the effects of sin still and always found the same?

Let it be just remarked, that the same disposition is notorious in Eve also, who takes no shame to herself, but transfers it all to the serpent, Genesis 3:13. How few freely and ingenuously confers their guilt without seeking every idle palliation of vain self-love!

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Genesis 3:14. The Lord said unto the serpent, &c.— In this and the following verses, we have an account of the sentence which the Lord God passed upon the three delinquents. There is no difficulty in understanding that which was passed on the man and the woman: but various opinions and conjectures have been formed respecting that which was passed upon the serpent. According to our exposition, (see note, Genesis 3:1.) the serpent here before the Lord was a real serpent, made the agent or instrument of the spiritual and infernal one. We therefore rationally conclude, that the sentence, like the agent, is two-fold, and regards at once the visible and invisible serpent. It is plain enough that the first part of the sentence refers to the natural and visible serpent, and must be applied metaphorically, if at all, to the invisible deceiver. And it seems equally evident, that the latter part of the sentence, Gen 3:15 though in terms applicable to the visible, yet refers principally to the invisible deceiver, and can be applied only in a low and less important sense to the natural serpent. Upon this principle we ground our interpretation; and it must be acknowledged, that, as the agent was twofold, it was reasonable to expect something of a double nature in the sentence. And it is not at all to be wondered if it be dark and obscure in a measure, considering all the circumstances of the case, how little is known by us of diabolical agency, or what was the consequence to the grand tempter, upon so bold and presumptuous an offence against God: certain however it is, that an intelligent being and free agent is addressed, and therefore more than a mere serpent must be understood.

Thou art cursed above all cattle, &c.— Or, thou art cursed above every animal, and above every beast of the field. This plainly refers to the natural serpent, whose poisonous nature renders it the most deadly of all creatures, and, properly speaking, the most accursed. Upon thy belly shalt thou go; whence commentators have generally, and, as it seems, justly inferred, that the serpent, before this curse, went erect, and was as beautiful and pleasing as he is now loathsome and detestable: and indeed, unless this were the case, it is not easy to see the propriety of this denunciation: And dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; that is, as I conceive, in consequence of thy groveling form, thy food shall always be defiled and mingled with filth and dust; for I apprehend this to be only a connecting clause with the prime curse, and, as it were, the immediate consequence of it: Thou shalt go upon thy belly, and so, shalt eat dust. Dr. Delaney has taken the pains to inform us, that there are some species of serpents which actually feed upon the dry dusty earth, in the sandy deserts to which God hath condemned them. And accordingly Diodorus observes, that the most sandy and barren deserts abounded most with serpents. Thus we see the curse denounced upon the natural serpent is fulfilled in that poisonous and deadly nature and groveling form which it bears: a curse which refers, in my opinion, to the whole serpentine race, which we find verified in them, hateful and horrid as they are to mankind beyond every creature: a standing proof, no doubt, of the original transaction in Paradise, where we may reasonably conclude, before the fall, the serpentine race was neither poisonous nor groveling. Now, this part of the sentence can be applied to the infernal agent no otherwise than metaphorically: and, if any thing, it must express his peculiar accursedness, the virulence of his nature, the vileness of his pursuits, his fall, and still deeper degradation by this act, and his wretched appetite for destruction and misery, instead of that angel's food of holiness and happiness upon which he fed in heaven. See Psalms 72:9. Micah 7:17. Isaiah 65:25. But it may be asked, how it comes to pass, that the serpent, which was a mere instrument only, is thus degraded and punished? It was, doubtless, to shew by a lively and lasting emblem God's indignation against sin, and his value for mankind. And certainly the Deity might, with propriety, degrade a creature so obnoxious, and diminish its original perfections, as well as degrade man himself, for the offence to which the serpent was so instrumental.

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Genesis 3:15. And I will put enmity, &c.— If it be evident, that the former part of this sentence principally refers to the natural serpent; it seems no less so, that the latter part refers principally to the spiritual one. For though it is undeniable, that there is a natural enmity between the serpentine and the human race; though, as it is asserted, their juices* are alike destructive to each other: yet it does not appear worthy the majesty of God, or of the Scripture, and by no means adequate to the circumstances of our fallen parents, to suppose, that God should only pronounce a ceaseless enmity between mankind and serpents, and declare, that men should sometimes bruise their heads, destroy their lives, yet not without harm to themselves, as the serpents would avenge themselves by bruising their heels. On this account it will not admit of a doubt, but in these words there is an immediate reference to that prime source of comfort to fallen man, his redemption and conquest over Satan and sin, by Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman; peculiarly the seed of the woman, as being incarnate of a pure virgin. And though it cannot be asserted, how much of this original promise and prophecy our first parents understood, yet it is reasonable to believe, that they understood enough to raise their drooping spirits, and to fix their faith and hope upon their future and promised Deliverer. We who have lived to see this prophecy fulfilled, have opportunities to understand it in the clearest manner.

• That prince of Naturalists, the elder Pliny, who, as a heathen, must have been disinterested, asserts, that if the human spittle do but enter the serpent's mouth, it presently dies. See Nat. Hist. lib. Genesis 7:2. How true this is, I know not: how deadly the serpent's poison is to man we all know.

I will put enmity between thee and the woman— By these words is expressed that enmity and contest which then began (and will only cease, when death is swallowed up in victory) between Satan and his seed, that is, all wicked angels and wicked men, and the woman and her seed, that is, Jesus Christ, and all pious and true believers. It may be observed, that the sacred writer says, I will put enmity between thee and the WOMAN: not the man, whence one would be led to suppose, that the true seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, was more immediately referred to. See Matthew 3:7; Matthew 23:33. 1 John 3:10.

It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel— It, the seed, (Christ, who is also called the seed of Abraham, see Galatians 3:16.) shall bruise thy head, destroy thee, and work thy total overthrow. The phrase of bruising the head, expresses the total destruction of the serpent, whose life and power, it is known, lie in the head. And thou shalt bruise his heel, shalt wound and crush his lower and inferior part; that is, shalt put to death and destroy him in the body, whose divine nature shall raise him from death, triumphant over Satan and the grave, and leading captivity captive: for he was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

As the present poisonous, groveling state of the serpentine kind is a proof to us of the original curse; so the great veneration in which serpents were held among the heathens, in the idolatrous world, is a great collateral proof of this account: since no rational solution can be given of the introduction of so extraordinary a worship, except that which this history affords. It would be long to enumerate the instances of serpentile worship, which prevailed in all parts of the earth, in AEgypt, Greece, Italy, America, &c.

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Genesis 3:16. Unto the woman he said, &c.— "Thy sorrow, by thy conception," says Mr. Locke. This has indeed been fulfilled upon the female sex, as no females, it is asserted, know so much sorrow, and so much anguish, during the time of conception, and in the hour of parturition, as those of the human species.

Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee— Whence we may gather, that woman was thus degraded from that equality with man in which she was created, and would undoubtedly have continued in a state of innocence and perfection; for in such a state there seems no imaginable reason, why one sex should be in subjection to the other: the woman was given at first as a help-meet, as a proper and equal companion to the man.

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Genesis 3:17. Unto Adam he said, &c.— Now follows the curse of the man, who is doomed to toil and labour for his food and support all the days of his life; labour upon a soil, cursed for his sake, and consequently producing no good of itself, but only thorns and thistles: labour, till his body returned again to the original dust whence it was taken, dying the death denounced upon him, as the sure consequence of his transgression.

From the curse passed upon the ground, and the labour now made necessary to reap its fruits, it has been reasonably inferred, that had man continued perfect, the earth would have produced spontaneously its fruits: and there would have been no more thorns and thistles in the ground, than there would have been evil propensities in the human mind.

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Genesis 3:19. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return— The plain inference to be drawn from this part of the sentence is, that the human body would have been preserved from decay and death, immortal and incorruptible, had man persevered in innocence.

REFLECTIONS.—Our first parents wanted to be wiser, wanted to see more, and now they are gratified. But oh, what a sight! How preferable had blindness been to such a discovery!

1. They saw their own nakedness; not only of their bodies, but of their souls. The robe of innocence was rent; the image of God was defaced; their minds now a scene of disturbance; their happiness departed; their misery come upon them; all was lost, and dark despair; and dread of deserved punishment overwhelmed them. Observe, (1.) How dreadful a thing is sin: it smiles in the face, but it leaves behind the poison of a serpent: O that we felt its evil more, and, from the fear of its consequences, kept from the jaws of the destroyer! (2.) How shameful. It must cover us with confusion, either in time or eternity. Happy they, who, by real repentance, have taken shame to themselves here before God and man, and, through the Blood of Jesus, have their iniquity pardoned and their sin covered!
2. They sought to conceal it; and the methods they took shewed how improved they were in wisdom. Strange folly, to think that fig-leaves could hide their shame: it was a poor covering respecting themselves: it was useless respecting God. How like are we! (1.) We think all is well, if we can hide our shame from each other, and save our credit among men! But shall not the day come, when it shall be laid open before an assembled world? (2.) How apt are we to fly to excuses, instead of humbling ourselves under conscious guilt! Guilt and fear are inseparable. They no sooner hear the voice of God, than that which was before their delight and joy, becomes their horror and confusion. It is probable that the second Divine Person sometimes appeared to them in Eden, as he afterwards designed to appear in the world to suffer, viz. in a human form: and this might tempt them to think it was probable enough, that as, he appeared like them in person, they might become like him in power. But now their presumptuous hopes are at an end, and they seek the thickest covert to be hid from his eye. Their own consciences become accusers, and they have already the sentence of death in themselves: now they began to discover the lie of the tempter; their godhead is debased into the lowest wretchedness, their promised power into abject weakness, and their proud wisdom into senseless folly. Reader, stop, and learn!

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Genesis 3:20. And Adam called, &c.— Adam had probably expected the immediate infliction of the punishment denounced, thou shalt die; and finding it respited, and that he and his wife were to be the parents of the human race, he therefore gave her this name, in testimony of his joyfulness, Eve, the mother of all living human creatures. But still further: being raised from despair and the fear of death, and being assured of a restoration to life for himself and his posterity, and of a victory over the serpent by him who was to be the seed of the woman, he gave her this name in reference to that great and expected event: Eve, the mother of all, or universal life; for the Hebrew will bear this sense; and Jesus Christ is universal life, the life of the world. The LXX render the word Eve, by ζωη life. The gloss of Michaelis is Eve, quasi vivificatrix per Messiam, i.e.. Eve, the giver of new life by the Messiah. See John 1:4.

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