BOOK OF GENESIS. -- 'l'llE PR.IJ\fEVAL ... AGE OF THE WORLD • (C HS •I. - I X.).
FilOIII 'l'IIE CREATION 'l'O THE DELUGE.
§ 1. THE BEGINNING (Cu. I. 1-II. 3).
EXPOSITION. them, it is destitute of either local colouring CHAPTER I. or national peculiarity, being no moro Jewish I. THAT this initial section is-not histor?J than it is Assyrian or Indian, Persian or is apparent from the circumstance ·that the Egyptian. The inspired original, of which occurrences it describes belong to a period of heathen creation-stories are the corruptecl time which antedates the dawn of history. traditions, it may be; impartial reason and That it is not science is evinced by the fact honest criticism alike forbid its relegation to that, in some, at least, of its particulars, it a common category with them. Since, then, refers to a condition of our globe concerning it is neither history, nor science, nor myth- wliich even modem research has e.ttained to ology, it must be REYELATION; unless in- no definite conclusions, whilo in all of them deed it be regarded as either " the rccordccl it claims to be regarded not as uttering the intuition of the first man, handed down by findings of reason, but as declaring the b-aclition," a theory successfully demon- course of nature. That still less can it be sh·ated by Kurtz to be altogether inadequate, myth must be obvious to any who will care- or the inductive speculation of some primi- fully contrast it with those heathen cosmo- tive cosmogonist, a solution of its genesis gonies which it is said to resemble. Only scarcely less satisfactory. To characterise the most absolute devotion to preconceived it as a pious fraud, of post-Mosaic origin, opinion can render one oblivious of its mitten to uphold the Jewish week cycle and immense superiority to them in respect of tl10 institution of the Jewish sabbath, is not IJ1>lh simplicity of constrnction and sub- only to negative its inspiration, but to in- J:mity of conception. The absurdities, pue- validate the Divine authority of the whole rilities, nml monstrosities that nbound in hook, to which it serves ns an introduction. them are conspicuously absent from it. It Happily its inspfration is a much less violent nlono ascends to the idea of a creation e:c supposition than its invention, and one which nihifo, and of a supreme Intelligence by is susceptible of almost perfect demonstration. r-·hom that creation is elfo:ted. Unlike Rightly vime,l, its inspir..tion is im·ol.ed i'J liflll!>I~. II 2 'l'HE DOOK OF GENESIS. [en. 1. 1, 2