STRIAN FAT-TAILED SHEEP.

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, 10My 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.

fore 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 Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron and the sister of Tubal-cain 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:

15

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

1

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.

Verse 2. Abel.'-It is not said, as in the case of Cain, that his mother so named him at the birth, for the reason which she assigns. On this account, as well as because the name Abel signifies breath,' or something transitory, it is with great probability conjectured that this name was given to him retrospectively after his death, to denote the shortness of his life. Doubtless, in this case, he had a name while he lived, but which is lost in the one afterwards imposed.

6

Sheep.-There is no animal better known than the sheep, nor any species that has undergone more changes from domestication, if we except the dog. This animal in the time of Abel had not altered in its external ́shape from what it had been in its wild condition. In the Syrian variety the ears are pendent, and the tail is entirely composed of fat; whence it came to pass that, in the law of

12 Heb. Lemech. 13 Heb. whetter. 14 Or, I would 17 Heb. Enosh. 13 Or, to call themselves by the name of the LORD.

the peace-offering, where the fat was all to be consumed upon the altar, the tail or 'rump' was the first particular mentioned in the detail. (See Levit. iii. 9.)

4. The fat thereof.-The same word in Hebrew, differently pointed, means milk, as well as fat. Josephus expressly says it was milk; and Grotius and others think that milk was part of the offering. Milk used to be offered in sacrifice by the ancient Egyptians.

8. Cain talked with Abel.-The beginning of this verse is usually regarded as imperfect; and most commentators are disposed to admit the additional words which have been preserved in the ancient versions, wherein we read: 'And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go forth into the field.' This agrees with and elucidates the words which immediately follow.

.

15. The Lord set a mark upon Cain.'-This translation

embodies an old but erroneous interpretation. The word nix oth, nowhere in the Bible signifies a mark or brand set upon any one; but a sign,' a token,' 'a wonder.' The word D does indeed usually mean 'to set' or 'to place,' but it has often a meaning equivalent to 'give' and always has that when connected with this noun, nis. The obvious meaning, therefore, is that the Lord gave to Cain a sign or token, in attestation of the promise that his life should be preserved; and the translation should stand, The Lord gave a token to Cain,' etc. The Septuagint, by carelessly using the word 0ero, seems to have originated the common interpretation, on which many most curious speculations have been built. One Rabbi thinks the mark' was one of the letters of the Divine name imprinted on Cain's forehead; another, that it was a horn; and a third, that it was a dog which went always before him. Christian interpreters have more generally supposed that it consisted in a universal tremor, with a frightfully ferocious air.

16. The land of Nod.'-Nod seems to be here inaccurately used for a proper name: if so intended, the land must have been so called from Cain's removal to it, as the word means a removal or exile, or a wanderer, a banished man. 'The land of exile or banishment' is probably right. The land in question was probably not at any great distance from Eden; and we cannot therefore attempt to identify it while the site of Eden itself remains uncertain.

19. Lamech took unto him two wives.'-As the circumstance is so minutely recorded, this is probably the first instance of polygamy, a practice which continues to prevail in the countries where it originated.

20. He was the father.'-It was a practice among the Jews to call a man the 'father' of any thing or circumstance for which he was remarkable. The same usage prevails now, and always did, among the Arabians, and in many instances it furnishes a name which supersedes the praper name of the person denoted. Thus the first of the Arabian caliphs is known as Abu-bekr, or the father of the girl,' that is, of Aayeshah, the wife of Mohammed. The same practice extends to the domestics of a large household, each of whom is called the father' of that department of duty entrusted to him.

of such as dwell in tents and-have cattle.'-He was then the first of those wandering shepherds who, to this day, occupy so conspicuous a place among the inhabitants of Asia, living under tents, and removing from place to place with their flocks and herds, according to the season or the demand for pasturage. These notices of the founders of the primary occupations of mankind are interesting. We have seen Adam as the primitive gardener, Cain as a husbandman, Abel as a shepherd, and now Jabal as a nomade. The reader, by comparing this verse with the 17th, will observe that men lived in houses before they lived in tents. A city was built by Cain; but dwelling in tents was not practised until the seventh generation from Adam.

6

21. The father of all such as handle the harp and organ.'-It is thought that this mention of the principal stringed and wind instruments only denotes generally that Jubal was the first inventor of instruments of music. The ⚫ harp,' i kinnor, in after times, became a popular instrument among the Hebrews; and, as such, is duly noticed under Ps. xliii. 4, where suitable pictorial illustrations are also supplied. The organ,' yugab, certainly could not resemble the modern instrument of that name. It is concluded to have been a kind of flute, at first composed of one or two, and afterwards of about seven pipes of reeds, of unequal length and thickness, joined together; being nearly identical with the pipe of Pan.. among the Greeks, or that simple instrument called a 'mouth-organ,' which is still in common use.

22. Brass and iron.'-Native copper and native iron were doubtless the metals here intended, since the method of separating the metals from their ores was not known so early as the time of Tubal-cain, the first who taught the use of them in the making of tools and other mechanical implements. The superior hardness of these metals recoin

mended them in cases where an unyielding edge is required. Copper is slightly inferior in this respect to iron, the hardness of one being represented by 8, and the other by 9. Copper is more frequently found in its native state than iron; hence we see the reason why xаλós, or copper, is in ancient writers by metonymy applied to the sword and all kinds of cutting instruments. Native iron, indeed, was so scarce, that it was once doubted whether it could be found in that state. Its existence, however, is now placed beyond a doubt. In whatever region Tubal-cain began to exert his inventive genius, native iron might have been found, whether the site was volcanic or otherwise. The language of the original on this occasion is very expressive, for it does not stop to inform us that Tubal-cain converted copper and iron into edged tools, but tells us that he instructed every artificer in this new mode of applying these useful metals. The powers of every cunning workman received a new impulse in his particular art, at the very moment when the bruising hack of a stone adze was exchanged for the keen edge of a metallic one.

23. Adah and Zillah, hear my voice,' etc.-The speech of Lamech to his wives exhibits the parallelism and other characteristics of Hebrew poetry. It has, in fact, all the appearance of an extract from an old poem, which we may suppose to have been handed down by tradition to the time of Moses. In this point of view it becomes highly interesting, as the only specimen of antediluvian poetry extant. The following is perhaps a better translation, and certainly a more correct arrangement, than our version exhibits: 'Adah and Zillah, hear my voice!

Wives of Lamech, receive my speech!

A man I have slain, to my wounding,
And a young man, to my hurt ;-
If Cain was avenged seven times,

Then Lamech-seventy times seven.'

It is very difficult to collect the meaning of this fragment; and the best interpretation can be but conjectural: for the story which the Rabbinical writers adduce in illustration, has no authority, and is too absurd to be worth repeating. The most probable explanation supposes it to be an apology by Lamech for the committal of homicide in his own defence, upon some man who had violently assaulted him, and, as it would seem, struck and wounded him: and he opposes a homicide of this nature to the wilful and inexcusable fratricide of Cain. Under this view, Lamech would seem to be intending to comfort his wives by the assurance that he was really exposed to no danger for this deed, and that any attempt upon his life, on the part of the friends of the deceased, would not fail to bring down the severest vengeance upon them.

26. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.— This is regarded as one of the most difficult texts of Genesis. The original is open to three different translations, each of which has had numerous and learned advocates: 1. A beginning was made for calling by the name of Jehovah; 2. A beginning was made for calling upon the name of Jehovah; and, 3. A profanation was committed for calling the name of Jehovah,' i. e., applying the Divine Name to other objects. The first of these implies that, in consequence of the awful increase of wickedness, the true worshippers of God then began to be distinguished by the appellation of the sons of God.' Thus understood, the clause stands in an illustrative connection with its proper sequel, Gen. vi. 1; for ch. v. is an insulated part, which, in the modern way of composition, would be a genealogical table. On this ground the interpretation has been preferred by many careful Biblical scholars of high name, and it is indicated in the margin of the common version. Dr. J. Pye Smith, who has discussed the matter with his usual perspicuity in his art. Noan, in the Cyclop. of Biblical Literature, concludes for it, and quotes Dereser's note in illustration of it: Some pious families began to call themselves sons (in the Hebrew idiom equivalent to disciples, learners) of God, in order to distinguish themselves from the sons of men, those who disregarded the instructions of divine authority, and gave themselves up to wickedness.' Dr. Smith admits, however, that the second interpretation, which the

authorized version embodies, has great weight both of reason and authority in its favour, and that probably the majority of interpreters have sanctioned it. It seems to signify that the righteous then began to invoke the name of God in a solemn manner, or in public worship, to distinguish themselves from the unrighteous. A strong argument in its favour is drawn from the fact, that the term 'to call upon the name of the Lord' always means in the Old Testament an act of solemn worship. The third interpretation seems to have been generally preferred by the Jewish

CHAPTER V.

1 The genealogy, age, and death of the patriarchs from Adam unto Noah. 24 The godliness and translation of Enoch.

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

writers. Peculiar interpretations, not included in the three we have noticed, may be found, but have acquired no prevalence; such as that of Cyril of Alexandria (Glaph. i. 23), who supposes the sentence to mean that Enos had the title of God conferred upon him on account of his sanctity; and that of Dawson (New Transl. of Fourth and Fifth Chaps. of Genesis, 1772), with whom Geddes concurs (Crit. Remarks, in loc.), that Enos was the first man who presumed to claim divine honours.

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 10 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.

Verse 1. The book of the generations.'-Out of the genealogical table contained in this chapter has arisen a large portion of the well-known discrepancy between the sums of the different chronological computations-being

6 Heb. Jered. 7 Gr. Mathusala.

that portion which has respect to the interval between the Creation and the Deluge. To that interval we shall comfine our present attention, reserving some further remarks for the tenth chapter, where occurs the chief cause of the

discrepancies after the Deluge. The other discrepancies -that is such as do not arise out of these two chaptersare of comparatively small importance. All chronological computations for the period from the Creation to the Deluge, and for the generations immediately following the Deluge, are necessarily founded upon the book of Genesis, which, till the birth of Abraham, affords no other data than such as may be collected from these genealogical tables. Still the task of forming such computations from those rude elements, would be easy, were there no conflicting authorities with respect to these tables. But the Hebrew text of these chapters, as that text now stands, and also that of the Samaritan Pentateuch, severally give a much shorter number of years from the Creation to the Deluge, and from the Deluge to the birth of Abraham, than the Septuagint translators found in the more ancient copies from which their version was made, and which was followed, with a very trifling difference, by Josephus. It is clear, therefore, that this larger computation was followed in and before the time of Christ: and there is great reason to suspect that the present shortened computation was designedly effected by the Masorete Jews, in the second century of the Christian era. The larger, or Septuagint computation, long continued prevalent in the Christian church, and was used by the fathers; nor does it seem to have been called in question till the eighth century, when the Venerable Bede manifested a disposition to prefer the shorter Hebrew reckoning. This, however, can scarcely be regarded as having become prevalent till after the Reformation, when the minds of men, shocked by the corruptions of the papal system, recurred with eagerness to whatever, in' matters connected with the Old Testament, bore the stamp of the Hebrew language. It was hence adopted into our Bibles, and the dates inserted therein are in conformity with it, according to the arrangement of Archbishop Usher. This has here given such currency to the shorter system, that it is likely long to remain in use for popular purposes, although careful inquirers and exact writers usually prefer the longer computation (even when they do not adopt it in their works), not only as founded on better evidence, and forming a more consistent whole, but as relieving early history from much embarrassment which the shorter reckoning occasions. This revolution in favour of the Septuagint chronology, we, in this country, owe chiefly to the labours of Jackson, in his great work on Chronological Antiquities; whose conclusions (with few essential improvements) Dr. Hales helped much to render acceptable, by adopting them, and giving them the sanction of his learning and character, in his New Analysis of Chronology. The following table will exhibit the extent and nature of the difference, as to the period from the Creation to the Deluge, between the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint. Josephus is omitted, as he only differs from the latter by six years, which Dr. Hales has managed to square off:

year. The cause of the remarkable variation, or rather the manner in which it seems to have been occasioned, arose out of the mode in which the Hebrews constructed their chronological tables. They computed the several eras of their ancient history, not by adding together the full lives of their patriarchs, but by taking the sum of their generations that is, the age to which they had respectively attained at the birth of their eldest son. For example, the generation of Enos, or his age at the birth of his eldest son Cainan, is estimated by the Hebrew and Samaritan texts as having extended to 90 years, the residue of his life being stated at 815 years, and the total length of his life, being the amount of both these sums, is 905 years; whereas in the Septuagint and Josephus the generation is enlarged to 190 years, the residue of life is diminished to 715 years, while the full length of life, or 905 years, is the same in all. Thus, in order to lengthen or shorten a particular era, it was only necessary to alter the proportion between the generation and the residue of life and such was, without doubt, the process adopted in producing the discrepancy which now exists between these accounts.

Generations of Adam.'-' Adam' is properly a generic term for man; but is here employed as a proper name designating the first of the race. It may therefore • or Adam,' as the case

either be translated man requires.

24. Enoch walked with God.'-This phrase is a pure and familiar orientalism, denoting friendly and intimate intercourse, and implying similarity of character.

He was not; for God took him.'-This would scarcely by itself justify the impression that Enoch was translated to heaven. It might mean no more than that he was removed prematurely, by death, to a better world. But the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews distinctly states that 'Enoch was translated, that he should not see death;' and this must be conclusive with those who acknowledge the divine authority of that epistle.

27. Methuselah.'-Sir Thomas Brown, in his Inquiries into Vulgar and Common Errors (book vii. ch. iii.), remarks that this passage affords no ground for the common opinion that Methuselah was the longest liver of all the children of Adam. It merely appears that he lived the longest of the few antediluvian patriarchs whose ages are particularised; but it were scarcely reasonable from hence to conclude that none exceeded him in age among the multitudes concerning whom no information is given.

28. Lamech.'-This Lamech, the father of Noah, must not be confounded with the Lamech who was the fourth in descent from Cain. The two Lamechs have, however, one remarkable circumstance in common. To each of them a fragment of inartificial poetry is attached as his own composition. That of the Cainite Lamech has been noticed under iv. 23; the other is before us in the shape of a speech uttered by Lamech on the birth of Noah. The translation which Dr. J. Pye Smith has given, in the article NOAH, above referred to, appears to us to have caught the sense very exactly; but we shall substitute because of' for 'from' in the penultimate line:

'This shall comfort us

From our labour,

And from the sorrowful toils of our hands; Because of the ground,

Which Jehovah hath cursed.'

Dr. Smith says that the allusion is undoubtedly to the penal consequences of the Fall in earthly toils and sufferings, and to the hope of a Deliverer excited by the promise made to Eve. That this expectation was founded upon a divine communication we infer from the importance attached to it, and the confidence of its expression. See this subject well argued in Bishop Sherlock's Use and Intent of Prophecy, Disc. IV. This is high ground of interpretation. The Jewish writers offer us lower. R. Solomon ben Melech urges that as Noah was the first patriarch born after the death of Adam, Lamech rejoices in the hope that the curse inflicted upon the earth on his account would be now withdrawn. Dr. Frank has: Lamech, fatigued and exhausted by the labour he is forced to bestow on the ground that had