The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 3

from heaven, equipollent in all lta parte," but contoine the remnantR of a lihrnry, the inspired frngmente of o national literature, preeerved for us by God's providence out of much that hos pneeed 11woy. To 11ee that thifl is the case we need go no further than the Bible iteelf, which quote■ pass11ges from mony books now lost, and in som'l instances diroctly refers to them 08 authoritiee for the fa.et& which it norr11tes. 1 But the extant books of Scripture, in which has been preserved 1111 thot is eesentiol for the ealvotion ond enlightenment of mankind, are the diversified record of a prf}- greseive revelotion, which during 4000 years gave, first to mankind, and then to tho chosen people-by slow degrees, and os they were able to bear it-a gradually clearer vision ond insight into the eternal relotione between God and man. 1 a. Tho diversity of this record is a very important element. St. Paul calfa special attention to it when he speaks of "the manifold wisdom" of God. The word which he uses is extremely picturesque; it is ri 'll'oXv'll'oio:iAo, u01iia-literally, "the richly-varicgatecl wisdom of God. " 8 The soul of man is as little capable of grasping abstract truth as the eye is capable of gazing on the sun, The sunlight gives its glory and beauty to the world by being reflected in a thoW!and different colours from the objects around us. And because we should be only wearied and dazzled by a continuance of the intolerable blaze of noon, God's care for us is shown by the manner in which the clouds and the sunset refresh us with the softer glow of reflected and refracted light. Indeed this light is never more beautiful than when its sevenfold perfection and colourless indif- ference is divided by falling showers, and flung in the colours of the rainbow upon the clouds. It is even so in the spiritual world. God is light. When that light passes in one direct, unbroken ray we have, in his Son, "the brightness of his glory, 11nd the express image of his person; "t but even this revelation of the Father passes in part through the medium of human language, and so reaches us in sweet grada- tions, and softened by gracious shadows of mystery which only faith can pierce. Much more is this the case in the Old Testament revelation. .According to the wise saying of the Rabbis-in which lies the germ of all right Biblical interpretation, and which, had it been duly attended to, might have saved the Rabbis themselves, as well as generations of Christians, from grievous mistakes-" the Law a-pealc& in the tongue of the sons of men,." .Scripture ought always to have been interpreted with direct primary reference to what must have been the original meaning and intention of those who wrote, and of those who received it. It has been for centuries interpreted with reference to dogmatic pias and traditional conceptions. Ignorance of the laws which govern all the highest utterances of human thought and passion ; ignorance alike of the " syllogism of grammar" and of the "syllogism of emotion; " neglect of th original languages in which Scripture was written ; neglect of the circamstances by which its writers were sqnounded; neglect of it as a whole, and of ita books as separate wholes, and even of the context which a.lone gives the due meaning to its isolated expressions-these, and mnny other forms of theological carelessness, have led sometimes to an unintelligent literalism, sometimes to a. spiritualising extravagance, which, while it oould not indeE1d wholly frustrate the purpose of God by robbing 1 As, for instance, the Book of Jasher, Josh. x. 13; the Book of the Acts of Solomon, 1 J:Gngs xi. 41; the Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. xxi., U; and others, I Chron. uu:. 29 ; 2 Chron. ix. 29 ; xii. 15; xx. 34, &c. 3 The very name Bible implies that it is a library, for it is derived from the plural Biblia, and means '' the books." In Early English literature it ia called BiblioJ,ece, as being the great treasure-house of books. St. Jerome, following 2 Mace. ii 13, speaks of the Bible as "the Sacred Library." It is said that the collective term Biblia is first found in the writings of St. Chrysostom, ' Ephcs. iii. 10. ' Hob. .i. 3. H.aupt rui l J ob.n iv. 8. b2  iv GENRRAL IN'TRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.