Angels was a later invention Ver. 18. And to rule over the day and over the Night Some have fansied that the ancient Idolatry sprung from this word Rule Men looking upon these glorious Lights as having a dominion over them Whence the Sun was called Baal that is Lord or Governor by the Eastern People and Moloch that is King by the Egyptians But one word sure was not the ground of so foul an Error when the scope of Moses was to show that these things were made by an higher Being and made not to rule over Men but over the Day and the Night which the Sun makes when it rises and sets by the order and appointment of God And God saw that it was good He was pleased with this Work as suitable to the Ends for which he intended it The first Light was good ver 4. for the purpose to which it served which was by its heat to agitate rarefie and separate the Matter of the CHAOS for the making of Air and gathering together the Waters and drying the Earth and producing Grass Herbs and Trees which made it necessary it should continue some Days near to the Earth that it might powerfully penetrate into the Matter it was to digest But if it should have continued longer so near to the Earth it would not have been good for it because it would have burnt up all the Plants that the Earth had brought forth and by its too scorching heat have hindred the Production of those living Creatures which were ready on the next Day to be made or at least made the Earth unfit for their habitation For the Air which all living things even Fishes themselves need nay the Plants also which have Vessels for conveying Air to all their Parts would have been so very hot that it would have afforded no refreshment to them Therefore it was good that it should be advanced into the Firmament of the Heaven and there embodied in those Luminaries which being removed further from us give such a moderate heat as is necessary for the preservation of us and of all things living that dwell upon the Earth Ver. 19. And the Evening c. Thus the fourth Day concluded Ver. 20. And God said Let the Waters c. Now God proceeded to form the lower sort of Animals or living Creatures viz. The Fish and the Fowl which are in many respects inferior to Beasts And the Fishes are called moving in the Hebrew creeping Creatures because their Bellies touch the Water as creeping things do the Earth Both Fishes and Fowls were made out of the Waters that is out of such Matter as was mixed with the Waters which contained in them many things besides simple Water for the Sea and Rivers are still very richly furnished with various Compounds for the nourishment of an innumerable multitude of Fishes The great congruity that there is between Fish and Fowl in many particulars will not let us doubt they had the same Original For they are both oviparous which makes them more fruitful than the Beasts of the Earth neither of them have any Teats they both direct and as I may say steer their Course by their Tail c. See Ger. Vossius de Orig. Progr Idolol L. III. c. 78. Bring forth abundantly That is various sorts of both kinds there being many hundred kinds of Fishes and Birds or Fowls many of the latter of which live in the Water which shows their Original to have been from thence and others of them live both in the Air and Water The formation of these Creatures is in every part of them very wonderful especially in those parts whereby they are fitted to swim and to fly Which demonstrate a most wise Agent by whose infinite Power they were so contrived as to be able also to propagate their Kind Ver. 21. And God created great Whales The vastness of these Creatures perhaps made Moses again use the word Create which he had not done since the beginning of the Chapter not because they were made as the CHAOS was out of Nothing but because it required a greater Power to make out of the precedent Matter moving things of so huge a Bulk and of such great Agility than to make any other thing hitherto formed The Hebrew word Tanim which we translate Whales comprehends several sorts of great Fishes as Bochartus observes in his Hierozoic P. 1. L. I. c. 7. where he shows the prodigious bigness of some of them But he should have added that this word also signifies Crocodiles which he himself shows are set forth in Job XLI as the most astonishing Work of God For Job Ludolphus I think hath demonstrated that nothing but the Crocodile can be meant by this word Tanim in Ezek. XXIX 3. and XXXII 2. and some other places Vid. L. I. Comment in Histor Aethiop Cap. XI n. 86. And God saw that it was good Was pleased with the Structure of these several Creatures Of the Birds who were furnished with Wings to fly in the Air and of the Fishes whose Fins serve them to swim in the Water and of Water-Fowl whose Feet are formed so as to serve for the same use and some of them such as dive under Water covered so thick with Feathers and those so smooth and slippery as the Learned and Pious Mr. Ray hath observed that their Bodies are thereby defended from the cold of the Water which cannot penetrate or moisten them See Wisdom of God in the Creation P. I. p. 135. Ver. 22. And God blessed them c. His blessing them was giving them a Power to Multiply and Increase till they had filled the Water with Fish and the Air with Fowl Which required a particular Care of Divine Providence as Abarbinel observes because they do not bring forth young Ones perfectly formed as the Beasts do but lay their Eggs in which they are formed when they are out of their Bodies This saith he is a wonderful thing That when the Womb as we may call it is separate from the Genitor a living Creature like it self should be produced Which is the reason he fansies that a Blessing is here pronounced upon them and not on the Beasts that were made the next Day The ancient Fathers are wont to observe That the first Blessing was given to the Waters as a Type of Baptism Theophilus ad Autolyc L. II. and Tertullian de Baptismo cap. 3. And let Fowl multiply in the Earth There for the most part they have their Habitation and their Food though some live upon the Water Ver. 23. See verse 19. Ver. 24. And God said Let the Earth bring forth Thus by a gradual process the Divine Power produced Creatures still more Noble The Matter being more digested and prepared in five Days time than it was at first I do not know whether there be any weight in the Note of Abarbinel who observes that Moses here uses a new word which we translate bring forth to show the difference between Plants
of the LORD For wheresoever mention is made of the LORD it is to be understood of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and his house of judgment as the Jewish Doctors speak i. e. of the Angels which attend his Divine Majesty And thus I find Arethas or Andreas Caesariensis in his Commentaries upon the Revelation p. 729. understand these words For he there compares that Captain who was over the Locusts Revel IX 11. to the Angel that was sent to cut off the Army of Senacherib and to this Angel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who had the Charge of executing the fiery destruction upon Sodom committed to him For all Angels saith he are not ministring Spirits 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Mens Preservation but some serve 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Punishment And that they can bring Fire from Heaven and raise Storms and Tempests appears by the Story of Job Out of Heaven From the Lord whose Seat is in Heaven The like expression we have Revel XX. 9. Vpon Sodom and upon Gomorrha And the neighbouring Cities Admah and Zeboim as appears from Deut. XXIX 23. Brimstone and fire A most hideous Shower or rather Storm of Nitre Sulphur or Bitumen mingled with Fire fell upon this Country from above and as the Tradition was among the Heathen accompanied with a dreadful Earthquake Which made an irruption of those bituminous Waters whereby this Country was turned into the Lake called Asphaltites or the salt or dead Sea So Strabo L. XVI in his description of that Lake And indeed it doth not seem improbable that the Earth quaked while the Heavens did so terribly frown and the Almighty's Voice thundred from the Clouds as Doctor Jackson speaks Book I. on the Creed c. 15. For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which St. Peter uses 2 Pet. II. 6. may be thought to import some such subversion But it was his Ignorance of the Sacred Tradition in the Scriptures which made Strabo wholly ascribe the desolation of that Country to the Earth and not at all to the Heavens Whereas Tacitus was better informed Who says these Judaical Cities as he calls them fulminum jactu or ictu arsisse were burnt by the stroke of Thunder-bolts from Heaven And a little after igne coelesti flagrasse were set on fire and consumed by Lightning L. V. Histor With which fell such abundance of bituminous Stuff that the Valley which had only some Pits of Bitumen in it before XIV 3 10. became a Lake of it Ver. 25. And he overthrew those Cities c. Super impium populum gehennam misit è coelo as Salvian glosses L. I. L. IV. de Gubern Dei He sent Hell from Heaven upon an impious People Of whose destruction there remains an everlasting Monument in the Salt-Sea Into which that plain Country is turned The quality of which and of the Soil about it is so contrary to the Nature of all other Seas or Inland Lakes that no Philosopher can give an account of it like that which Moses hath given us As the same Doctor Jackson truly observes He that will read Tacitus in the place fore-mentioned or Pliny or Diodorus may be satisfied of this The Country where these Cities stood being become a Pan or Receptacle as the fore-named Doctor well calls it of such a strange moisture that it may be called Liquid Pitch rather than Water For it is so stiff that no Wind will move it nor will a Camel sink if thrown into it nor any Fish or Bird that uses the Water live in it And therefore called the dead-Dead-Sea and Salt-Sea as Salmasius thinks Exerc. Plinian Pag. 577 614. because no Creature can live there and because the noisom Steams that come from it blast all that grows of it self or is sown in the Earth about it Nor do the Rivers that run into it at all alter it but it infects all their Waters with the loathsom Qualities of those Dregs of God's Wrath to use Doctor Jackson's words once more which first setled in it at this overthrow Just like bad Humours when they settle in any part of our Bodies plant as it were a new Nature in it and turn all Nourishment into their substance Ver. 26. His Wife looked back from behind him She not only lagg'd behind as we speak but turned about and stood still a while bewailing perhaps the loss of all there Or as some of the Jews fansie to see what would become of her Kindred and whether they would follow her or no. Became a pillar of Salt Or as some understand it an everlasting Monument Whence perhaps the Jews have given her the Name of Adith as they call her in Pirke Elieser cap. 25. because she remained a perpetual Testimony of God's just Displeasure For she standing still too long some of that dreadful Shower before-mentioned overtook her and falling upon her wrapt her Body in a Sheet of Nitro-Sulphureous Matter Which congealed into a Crust as hard as Stone And made her appear like a Pillar of Salt her Body being as it were candied in it Kimchi calls it an heap of Salt which the Hebrews say continued for many Ages Their Conjecture is not improbable who think the Fable of Niobe was hence derived Who the Poets feign was turned into a Stone upon her excessive Grief for the death of her Children Ver. 27. Get to the place where he stood before the LORD Where he prayed say the Jews or communed with God XVIII 22 33. Ver. 28. The smoke of the Country c. Some think the Hebrew word signifies like the smoke of a Lime-Kiln or of a boiling Cauldron After the Showre was over the Reek or Steam of it remained And made that Country look dismally which before was like the Garden of God XIII 10. but now become a stinking Puddle of filthy Water 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Diodorus speaks noisom beyond expression Ver. 29. Overthrew the Cities wherein Lot dwelt In one of which he dwelt Which is an usual manner of speaking in Scripture Gen. VIII 4. the Ark rested on the Mountains i. e. on one of the Mountains of Ararat Judg. XII 7. Jepthah was buried in the Cities i. e. one of the Cities of Gilead Which explains that of St. Matthew XXVI 8. when his Disciples i. e. one of his Disciples Judas saw it he had indignation c. Ver. 30. And Lot went up out of Zoar c. It appears from hence that this good Man was very timorous not having so strong a Faith as his Uncle Abraham For he that had lately obtain'd a Pardon for this Place because he was afraid he should not have time enough to get to the Mountain now forsakes it For fear I suppose a new Showre should come from Heaven and destroy it after the rest because the Inhabitants perhaps continued unreformed though they had seen such a terrible Example of the Divine Vengeance upon their wicked Neighbours If his fear to dwell in Zoar proceeded from this Cause it was
another Light being the Work of the first Day Ver. 6. And God said Let there be a firmament The next thing that God commanded to come forth of the Chaos was the Air particularly that Region next to us wherein the Fowls fly as it is expounded afterwards verse 20. The Hebrew word Rachia properly signifies a Body expanded or spread forth as may be seen in Exod. XXXIX 3. Isai XL. 19. Jer. X. 9. where it can have no other meaning but is by the LXX translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and from thence by us Firmament because the Air though vastly extended and fluid yet continues firm and stable in its place In the midst of the Waters and let it divide the Waters from the Waters This Region of the Air manifestly parts the Waters above it in the Clouds from those below it here upon Earth the one of which Waters bear a good proportion and are in some measure equal unto the other for there are vast Treasures of Water in the Clouds from whence the Waters here below in Springs and Rivers are supplied This appeared afterwards in the Deluge which was partly made by continued Rains for many days The great Objection against this Exposition is That now there were no Clouds neither had it after this rained on the Earth Gen. II. 6. But it must be considered That neither were the Waters below as yet gathered into one place And therefore Moses here speaks of the Air as a Body intended to be stretched between the Waters above and beneath when they should be formed That the Clouds above are called Waters in the Scripture-Language is plain enough from Psalm CIV 3. Jer. X. 13. and other places Ver. 7. And God made the firmament and divided c. What his Divine Will ordered his Power effected by that Light which rowled about the CHAOS and that Heat which was excited within it whereby such Exhalations were raised as made the Firmament That is the thicker Parts of them made this Region of the Air which is the lower firmament verse 20 And the thinner Parts of them made the Aether or higher Firmament wherein the Sun and the Planets are seated verse 14 15. Ver. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven Made it so different from the rest of the Mass called Earth that it had the Name of Heaven to distinguish it from the other So all above the Earth is called as appears by the following part of the Chapter in the Verses now mentioned And that 's the very import of the word Schamaim which in the Arabick Language as Aben Ezra observes signifies heighth or altitude And the Evening and the Morning were the second Day This was the Work of another whole Day Concerning which it is commonly noted That it is not said of this as of all the Works of the other five Days God saw that it was good What the reason of this should be is enquired by all Interpreters and the most solid Account that I can find of it is this That the Waters mentioned upon this Day were not yet separated and distinguished from the Earth And therefore in the next Day 's Work when he did gather the Waters together verse 10. and when he commanded the Earth which was become dry to bring forth verse 1.2 these words God saw that it was good are twice repeated Which made Picherellus and Ger. Vossius think the two next Verses 9 10. belonged to the second Days Work and that the first words of the ninth Verse should be thus translated And God had said Let the Waters under the Heaven c. And so the words in the end of the tenth Verse God saw that it was good relate to the second Day L. 2. de Orig. Idolol c. 67. Ver. 9. And God said Let the Waters under the Heaven All the Waters which continued mixed with the Earth and covered the surface of it Be gathered together c. Collected into one Body by themselves And let the dry Land appear Distinct and separate from the Waters There being such large portions of Matter drawn out of the CHAOS as made the Body of Fire and Air before-mentioned there remained in a great Body only Water and Earth but they so jumbled together that they could not be distinguished It was the Work therefore of the third Day to make a separation between them by compacting together all the Particles which make the Earth which before was Mud and Dirt and then by raising it above the Waters which covered its Superficies as the Psalmist also describes this Work Psalm CIV 6. and lastly by making such Caverns in it as were sufficient to receive the Waters into them Now this we may conceive to have been done by such Particles of Fire as were left in the Bowels of the Earth Whereby such Nitro-sulphureous Vapours were kindled as made an Earthquake which both lifted up the Earth and also made Receptacles for the Waters to run into as the Psalmist otherwise I should not venture to mention this seems in the fore-mentioned place to illustrate it Psalm CIV 7. where he says At thy rebuke they i. e. the Waters fled at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away And so God himself speaks Job XXXVIII 10. I brake up for it i. e. for the Sea my decreed place and set bars and doors Histories also tell us of Mountains that have been in several Ages lifted up by Earthquakes nay Islands in the midst of the Sea Which confirms this Conjecture That possibly the Waters were at the first separated by this means and so separated that they should not return to cover the Earth For the Word in the beginning of this Verse which we translate gathered comes from Kav which signifies a Square a Rule or perpendicular Line And therefore denotes they were most exactly collected and so poised in such just Proportions that they should not again overflow the dry Land This Work of God whereby the Waters were sent down into their proper Channels and the Earth made dry and fitted for the habitation of such Creatures as were afterwards created is observed by Strabo in his Geography as an act of Divine Providence L. XVII Because says he the Water covered the Earth and Man is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Creature that can live in the Water God made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. many Cavities and Receptacles in the Earth for the Water and raised the Earth above it that it might be fit for Man's habitation Ver. 10. And called the dry Land c. This is sufficiently explained by what hath been said upon Verse 5 8. only this may be added That the word Eretz Earth in Arabick signifies any thing that is low and sunk beneath opposite to Schamaim Heavens which in that Language as I noted before signifies high and lifted up Ver. 11. And God said Let the Earth bring forth grass the Herb yielding c. Or rather it should be translated and the Herb yielding
there was a remainder of the Name of Pison preserved in the Easterly River called Pasitigris which is the same with Oroatis as Salmasius observes in his Exerc. Plinianae in Solin p. 701 702 And is called as Mr. Carver notes by Xenophon simply Physeus in which the Name of Phison is plainly enough retained Which continued till the time of Alexander the Great For Q. Curtius as he further notes commonly calls Tigris it self by the Name of Phasis and says it was so called by the Inhabitants thereabouts Which in all probability was at first the Name of this other River Phison but lost by the many alterations which were made for a long time in the course of it as Pliny tells us For he says the Orcheni and other neighbouring Nations made great and deep Cuts or Canals to carry the Water of Euphrates meaning this River into their Fields and so it lost its course and run through Tigris and the Marshes into the Sea Strabo saith the same that from these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he calls them deep Trenches which carried the Water of Euphrates into Tigris came the Name of Pasitigris that is Pison mixed with Tigris See Salmasius in the fore-named Exercitations pag. 703 where he shows this River was not perfectly restored to its Course till the times of Alexander the Great That is it which compasseth the whole Land of Havilah By finding where this Country was we certainly find the River Phison Now Moses makes mention of two Havilah's one descended from Cush Gen. X. 7. and the other from Jocktan ver 29. The latter of these cannot be here meant for his Posterity were planted Eastward but the former who were a more Western People in that part of Arabia Foelix which bordered upon this Stream For the Ishmaelites who inhabited Arabia deserta are described by Moses XXV 18. as bounded by Shur towards Egypt and by Havilah in the way to Assyria And Saul found Havilah in after-times in the very same situation 1 Sam. XV. 7. And still much later Strabo mentions the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are certainly the Posterity of Chavilah among the People of Arabia See Bochart's Phaleg L. IV. c. 11. Where there is Gold Nothing is more famous than the Gold of Arabia Where Diodorus Siculus says it is digged up in great Lumps as big as a Chesnut L. II. p. 93. Edit H. Steph. Ver. 12. And the Gold of that Land is good i. e. Is excellent For the fore-named Author says it is of such a flaming Colour that it adds much to the Lustre of precious Stones that are set in it There is Bdellium The Hebrew word being Bedolach some have thought Bdellium to come from thence which is an Aromatick Gum. Others think Bedolach to be Chrystal others Amber but Bochart rather thinks it signifies Pearl Which he proves in his Hieroizoc P. II. L. V. c. 25. from the Country it self here mentioned viz. Havilah which he looks upon as that Part of Arabia which lies upon the Persian Gulph Where at Catipha there is a great Pearl-fishing The Manna also wherewith the Israelites were fed in the Wilderness is described Numb XI 7. to be round like Coriander-Seed and of the Colour of Bedolach Now in his former Description Moses says it was white Exod. XVI 14. which agrees to Pearls as also doth roundness but not to the sweet Gum called Bdellium Of which see Salmasius in his Exerc. Plin. p. 1150. And the Onyx Stone This Country also was famous for Precious Stones as appears by the Report which Nearchus Alexander's Admiral made of the Western Coast of the Persian Gulph in Strabo L. XVI But Braunius L. II. De Vestitu Sacerd. Hebr. cap. 18. thinks Schoham should rather be translated the Sardonyx Which soever it be Arabia was famous both for the Onyx and Sardonyae as Salmasius observes out of Pliny Ib. p. 562 563. Ver. 13. The name of the second River is Gihon There is no footsteps of this Name remaining that I can find but we are directed by the Country it is said to compass to take it to be the Eastern Stream that arose from the parting of Euphrates and Tigris as Pison I said was the Western Compasseth or runneth along by the whole Land of Aethiopia Or Cush Who was seated more Eastward than his Sons Havilah Seba and the rest mentioned Gen. X. 6 7. upon the Borders of this River For when People first began to spread themselves they kept as near to great Rivers as they could for the better Communication one with another and affording mutual Succour and Assistance It is probable that he gave Name to the Country of Susiana which the Greeks called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and is now called by the Persians Chuzestan i. e. The Province of Chus And when his Posterity multiplied they went more Westward toward the Arabian Sea From whence his Brother Mitzraim passed into Egypt Our Translators follow the LXX in rendring the Hebrew Name Cush by Aethiopia Not meaning that in Africa but this in Assa For the Ancients frequently mention a double Aethiopia as many have observed particularly Job Ludolphus who herein justifies the LXX in great part L. II. Comment in Histor Aethiop Cap. III. n. 16. Ver. 14. The name of the third is Hiddekel Which River being called by Daniel X. 4. the great river cannot be as many have fansied Nahar-malca For that was but a Cut made by Trajan to waft his Army out of Euphrates into Tigris as Ammian Marcellinus tells us and therefore Hiddekel is Tigris it self Which as Pliny says was called Diglito in those Parts where its Course was slow and where it began to be rapid it took the Name of Tigris And so the Arabians call this River Deglat and Degela from the Hebrew word Hiddekel Which Salmasius derives from Hadda or Chadda sharp pointed and Kal swift because of its very quick and hasty Motion And thence the Greeks he observes derive the Name of Tigris 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exerc. in Solin p. 694. Rauwolff in his Travels P. II. c. 9. says That when he was at Caruch on the Confines of Media which was about an hundred Years ago Tigris was still called in their Language Hidekel Which goeth toward the East of Assyria If it make a great bend Northward as Pliny saith it doth about Apamia it must needs run toward the East of Assyria for some time But this is not the Course of the River and therefore the LXX translate the word Kidmath which we english toward the East simply toward And it is certain Tigris did run by Assyria for Nineveh the chief City of Assyria stood upon the East side of this River as Bochart hath demonstrated in his Phaleg L. IV. cap. 20. The fourth River is Euphrates None doubt that the River called here in the Hebrew Perath or Phrath is the same that hath been called for many Ages Euphrates The Course of which was so well known in those Days that Moses
Moses Ararat as by Pliny they are called Taurus And that Author thinks the Ark setled in some of the Eastern Parts of Taurus because Noah planted himself in the East after the Flood and it is likely did not travel far from the place where the Ark rested as appears he thinks from Gen. XI 2. where we read his Posterity when they began to spread went Westward and built Babel The common Opinion is That the Ark rested in some of the Mountains of Armenia as the vulgar Latin translates the word Ararat i. e. saith St. Hierom upon the highest part of Taurus But Epiphanius who was before him saith upon the Gordiaean Mountains and so Jonathan and Onkelos and the Nubiensian Geographer and many others mentioned by Bochartus Who is of this Opinion as having the most Authority Many of which say That some Relicks of the Ark were remaining upon those Mountains Which as Theodoret observes upon Isa XIV 13. were accounted the highest in the whole World V. Phaleg L. II. c. 3. and L. IV. c. 38. There were such Remainders of this History among the ancient Scythians that in their dispute with the Egyptians about their Antiquity they argue it partly from hence that if the Earth had ever been drown'd their Country must needs be first inhabited again because it was first clear'd from the Water being the highest of all other Countries in the World Thus their Argument runs in Justin L. II. c. 1. where he hath given us a brief relation of it if we had Trogus whom he Epitomizes it 's likely we should have understood their Tradition more perfectly in this manner If all Countries were anciently drown'd in the Deep profectò editissimam quamque partem we must needs grant the highest parts of the Earth were first uncovered of the Waters that ran down from them And the sooner any part was dry the sooner were Animals there generated Now Scythia is so much raised above all other Countries that all the Rivers which rise there run down into the Moeotis and so into the Pontick and Egyptian Sea c. Ver. 5. And the Waters decreased continually until the tenth Month. For the Summer's heat must needs very much dry them up when there was no Rain In the tenth Month were the tops of the Mountains seen This shows the Mountain on which the Ark rested was the highest at least in those Parts Because it setled there above two Months before the tops of other Mountains were seen And perhaps the Ark by its weight might settle there while the top of that Mountain was covered with Water Which it 's possible might not appear much before the rest Ver. 6. At the end of forty Days Forty Days after the tops of the Mountains appeared i. e. on the eleventh Day of the eleventh Month which was about the end of our July Ver. 7. He sent forth a Raven For the same End no doubt that the Dove was sent forth To make discovery whether the Earth were dry For if it were the smell of the dead Carcases he knew would allure it to fly far from the Ark Which it did not but only hover'd about it as it follows in the next Words Went forth to and fro In the Hebrew more plainly going forth and returning That is it often went from the Ark and as often returned to it For after many flights finding nothing but Water it still betook it self unto the Ark either entring into it or sitting upon it 'till at last the Waters being dried up it returned no more That is Fifty Days after its first going forth Verse 13. All which time it spent in going out and coming back Bochart indeed approves of the Greek Version which makes the Raven not to have returned For which he gives some specious Reasons L. II. c. 12. P. 2. Hierozoic and hath such of the Hebrews to countenance him as R. Elieser who saith Pirke c. 23. That the Raven found a Carcase of a Man upon a Mountain and so would return no more But the next words which in the Greek and Hebrew are both alike confute this Translation Vntil the Waters were dried up from the Earth Which make this plain and easie Sence in connexion with the foregoing as they run in the Hebrew that while the Earth continued covered with Water the Raven often flew from the Ark but finding no convenient place to rest in returned thither again Till the Ground was dry Whereas according to the Greek we must suppose the Raven to have returned to the Ark when the Waters were dried up from the Ground Which is very absurd For if it had some time sat upon a Carcase floating in the Waters before they were dried up or upon the top of some Mountain which already appeared what should make it return when all the Waters were gone every where and not rather while they remained upon the Ground Ver. 8. Also he sent forth a Dove As a proper Creature to make further Discoveries Being of a strong flight loving to seed upon the Ground and pick up Seeds and constantly returning to its rest from the remotest places These two Birds the Raven and the Dove some imagine were sent forth upon one and the same Day or but a Day between as Bochartus conjectures But this doth not agree with Verse 10. where it is said Noah stayed yet other seven Days and then sent out the Dove again Which relates to seven Days preceding which seem to have passed between the sending out of the Raven and of the Dove Ver. 9. The Dove found no rest c. For though the tops of the Mountains appeared yet they continued muddy as some conceive or they were so far off that the Dove could not easily reach them Ver. 10. And he staid yet other seven Days It appears by this that on the seventh Day Noah expected a Blessing rather than on another Day It being the Day devoted from the beginning to Religious Services Which he having it is likely performed thereupon sent out the Dove upon this Day as he had done before with hope of good Tidings Ver. 11. And lo in her Mouth was an Olive-Leaf or Branch the word signifies pluckt off Bochart thinks the Dove brought this out of Assyria which abounds with Olive-Trees and lay South of Ararat the Wind then blowing towards that Country from the North. See Hierozoic L. I. c. 6. p. 2. where he shows out of many Authors that not only Olive-Trees but some other also will live and be green under Water All the difficulty is how the Dove could break off a Branch as the Vulgar translates it from the Tree But it is easily solved if we allow as I have said before that now it was Summer-time which brought new Shoots out of the Trees that were easily cropt So he knew the Waters were abated The tops of Mountains were seen before verse 5. but now he understood the Waters had left the lower Grounds Yet not so left them that
are of later standing and can shew us no Charter but are led by some reasonings of their own not by the Scripture Unless we will admit such a Criticism upon Gen. I. 30. as seems to me very forced And they would have this also understood only of clean Creatures But I do not find any Ground for the distinction of Clean and Unclean Creatures with respect to Food but only to Sacrifice as was said before The reason why God now granted the liberty to eat Flesh Abarbinel thinks was because otherwise there would not have been Food enough for Noah and his Sons The Fruits of the Earth which before were abundant being all destroyed so that for the present there was not sufficient for their sustenance Others think the reason of it was because the Fruits of the Earth were not now so nutritive as they had been before the salt water of the Sea very much spoiled the Soil Ver. 4. But flesh with the life thereof c. Here is one exception to the foregoing large Grant that the Blood of Beasts should not be eaten Just as at the first one Fruit in the midst of the Garden was excepted when all the rest were allowed The Hebrew Doctors generally understand this to be a prohibition to cut off any Limb of a living Creature and to eat it while the Life that is the Blood was in it Dum adhuc vivit palpitat seu tremit as a modern Interpreter truly represents their sence Which is followed by many Christians See Mercer Musculus especially Mr. Selden L. VII c. 1. de Jure N. G. Who think as Maimonides doth that there were some People in the old World so fierce and barbarous that they eat raw Flesh while it was yet warm from the Beast out of whose Body it was cut And he makes this to have been a part of their Idolatrous Worship See More Nevochim Par. III. c. 48. But supposing this to be true there were so few of these People we may well think for he himself saith it was the Custom of the Gentile Kings to do thus that there needed not to have been a Precept given to all Mankind to avoid that unto which Humane Nature is of it self averse St. Chrysostom therefore expounds this of not eating things Strangled And L. de Dieu of not eating that which died of it self For Nephesh in Scripture signifies sometime a dead Carkase But it is manifest it was not unlawful for all People to eat such things for God himself orders the Israelites to give that which died of it self to a Stranger or to sell it to an Alien Deut. XIV 21. And therefore the simplest sence seems to be that they should not eat the Blood of any Creature Which was a positive Precept like that of not eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And the reason of it perhaps was that God intending in after-times to reserve the Blood for the expiation of Sin required this early abstinence from it that they might be the better prepared to submit to that Law and understand the reason of it Which was that it was the Life of the Beast which God accepted instead of their Life when they had forfeited it by their Sins And there is another plain reason given of this Prohibition immediately after it that they might be the more fearful of sheding the Blood one of another when it was not lawful so much as to taste the Blood of a Beast Ver. 5. And surely Or rather for surely as the LXX the vulgar Latin and a great number of learned Men expound the particle Van as a Causal not as a Copulative in this place So that the sence is this Therefore I command you to abstain from the Blood of living Creatures that you may he the farther off from sheding the Blood of Men. For that is so precious in my account that I will take care he be severely punished by whom it is shed yea the very Beast shall die that kills a Man So it follows At the hand of every Beast will I require it Not as if Beasts were to blame if they killed a Man for they are capable neither of Vice nor Vertue but this was ordained with respect to Men for whose use Beasts were created For First such owners as were not careful to prevent such mischiefs were hereby punished And Secondly others were admonished by their example to be cautious And Thirdly God hereby instructed them that Murder was a most grievous Crime whose punishment extended even to Beasts And Lastly the Lives of Men were hereby much secured by the killing such Beasts as might otherways have done the like mischief hereafter See Bochart in his Hierozoic P. I. L. I. c. 40. At the hand of every Man's Brother c. And therefore much more will I require it at the Hand of every Man Whom he calls Brother to show that Murder is the more heinous upon this account because we are all Brethren Or the meaning may be as some will have it that though he be as nearly related as a Brother he shall not go unpunished Ver. 6. Whoso sheds Man's Blood He repeats it over again to enact this Law more strongly Or as the Hebrews understand it he spake before of the punishment he would inflict himself upon the Murderer and now of the care we should take to punish it By Man shall his Blood be shed That is by the Magistrate or Judges For God had kept the punishment of Murder in his own Hand 'till now as we may gather from the story of Cain whom he banished but suffered no Body to kill him But here gives authority to Judges to call every body to an account for it and put them to death They that would see more of the Sense of the Jews about these and the foregoing words may read Mr. Selden de Jure N. G. L. I. cap. 5. and L. IV. cap. 1. and de Synedriis L. I. cap. 5. I will only add that they rightly conclude that as Courts of Judicature were hereby authorized so what was thus ordained against Murder by a parity of reason was to be executed upon other great Offenders there being some things which are no less dear to us than Life as Virginal Chastity and Matrimonial Fidelity c. For in the Image of God made he Man Notwithstanding the Sin of Man there remained so much of the Image of God in him as intitled him to his peculiar protection Ver. 7. And ye be ye fruitful c. You need not doubt therefore of the blessing I now bestowed upon you Verse 1. for you see what care I take of the preservation as well as the propagation of Mankind Ver. 9. I will establish my Covenant with you Because Beasts cannot Covenant most understand by that Word simply a Promise as Jer. XXXIII 25. But there is no need of this explication the Covenant being made directly with Noah including all other Creatures who were
Sin which is of the very same signification with Pelusium Ver. 18. And the Arvadite These People are the same with the Aradii who possessed the Island called Aradus upon the Coast of Phoenicia and part of the neighbouring Continent Where a place called Antaradus opposite to the Island was seated Strabo and others speak of this Island and mention another of the same Name in the Persian Gulph as Salmasius observes upon Solinus p. 1023. whose Inhabitants said they were a Colony from this Island I now speak of and had the same Religious Rites with these Aradians Who were very skilful in Navigation and therefore joyned by Ezekiel with Zidon XXVII 8. where he makes them also a Warlike People verse 11. Zemarite They who make these the same with the Samaritans do not observe that these Names are written quite differently in the Hebrew And that the Samaritans so much spoken of in Scripture had their Name from Somron And therefore Bochart thinks these are the Samarites mentioned by St. Hierom who says they inhabited the Noble City of Edessa in Coelosyria it should be the City of Emesa or Emisa which was in that Country but Edessa in Mesopotamia beyond Euphrates and so both the Chaldee Paraphrases have here for Zemarite Emisaei But I do not see why we should not rather think this Son of Canaan Zemarus from whom the Zemarites came was the Founder of the City of Zemaraim Josh XVIII 22. which fell to the Lot of the Tribe of Benjamin Hamathite These were the posterity of the last Son of Canaan From whom the City and Country of Hamath took its Name Of which Name there were Two one called by the Greeks Antiochia the other Epiphania The former called the Great Amos VI. 2. to distinguish it from this which St. Hierom says in his time was called Epiphania and by the Arabians in the Nubian Geographer Hama This is the City which is meant when we so often read that the bounds of Judaea were to the Entrance of Hamath Northward Numb XIII 21. XXXIV 8. and other places For it is certain they did not reach to Antiochia but came near to Epiphania Afterwards were the Families of the Canaanites spread abroad In process of time they enlarged their bounds For they possessed all the Country which lies from Idumaea and Palestine to the mouth of Orontes Which they held for Seven hundred Years or thereabout Moses indeed confines the Land of Canaan in narrower bounds toward the North as hath been said but we must consider that he describes only that part of Canaan which God gave to the Israelites for their Portion Now there being Eleven Nations who had their Original as appears from this and the foregoing Verses from so many Sons of Canaan we do not find that the First and the Five last were devoted by God to destruction as the rest were For we read nothing of the Zidonians Arkites Sinites Aradites Zemarites and Hamathites among those Nations upon whom the Sentence of Excision was pronounced by God and their Country bestowed upon the Israelites But read of Two others not here mentioned who made up the Seven Nations whom God ordered to be cut off viz. the Perizzites and those who were peculiarly called Canaanites who sprang from some of the fore-named XI Families but we do not know from which We shall meet with it in the XV. Chapter of this Book Ver. 19. And the border of the Canaanites c. Here Moses describes the Bounds of that Country which was given by God to the Jews From Sidon i. e. The Country of Sidon which extended it self from the City so called towards the East as far as Jordan or near it This therefore may be lookt upon as the Northern bounds of the promised Land As thou comest to Gerar unto Gaza c. These and all the rest belong to the Southern bounds For these two were Cities near to the Philistims We often read of Gaza and Gerar was famous for Abraham's and Isaac's sojourning there Gen. XX. 1. XXVI 1. and for the overthrow of the Cushites 2 Chron. XIV 13. Sodom and Gomorrha c. These Four Cities are famous for their destruction by Fire and Brimstone from Heaven Even unto Lashah Or Lasa which St. Hierom takes for Callirrhoe as doth Jonathan also A place famous for hot Waters which run into the dead Sea But Bochartus L. IV. Phaleg c. 37. doubts of this because Callirrhoe was not in the Southern part of Judaea as Lashah was He propounds it therefore to consideration whether it may not be a City of the Arabs called Lusa Which Ptolomy places in the middle way between the Dead Sea and the Red. Ver. 20. These are the Sons of Ham after their Families c. This is sufficiently explained by what was said upon verse 5. where Moses concludes his account of the Sons of Japhet Only it may be observed in general that these Four Sons of Ham and their Children had all Africa for their Portion Mizraim having Egypt and Phut the rest and no small part of Asia which fell to the share of Cush and Canaan Ver. 21. Vnto Shem also the Father of all the Children of Eber. That is of the Hebrew Nation whom Moses would have to know from what an illustrious Original they sprung and therefore breaks off the Thread of his Genealogy to give a short touch of it I can give no reason so likely as this why he calls Shem the Father of Eber's Children rather than of any other descended from him He having told them before that Ham was the Father of Canaan IX 22. whom God Cursed and at the same time Blessed Shem He now tells them that this blessed Man was the Father from whom their Nation was descended that they might comfort themselves in their noble Stock and believe Canaan should be subdued by them The Brother of Japhet the Elder Scaliger translates these Words Sem the Elder Brother of Japhet But the he which is prefixt to Gadol i. e. Greater plainly directs us to referr the Word Greater or Elder to him who was last spoken of viz. Japhet Who may be plainly proved to have been the Eldest Son of Noah from this observation That Noah was Five hundred years old before any of his Three Sons Sem Ham and Japhet were born V. 32. When he was Six hundred Years old he entred into the Ark with them VII 11. And when he came out two Years after the Flood Shem begat Arphaxad being then an Hundred Years old XI 10. and consequently Noah was Six hundred and two From whence it follows that Shem was born when Noah was Five hundred and two Years old And therefore Japhet must be two Years older than he for Noah began to have Children when he was Five hundred But God preferred Shem before him giving hereby an early demonstration of which there were many instances afterward that he would not be confined to the order of Nature in the disposal