The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 144

gaYc rise to the oolief entertained by mn,ny difficulty of dccidins- with absoluto certainty Enstern nnt.ions, And referred to in seve1t1.1 between theso rival mterpromtions. I's. xoi. Diblicnl nllusions (Isa. !xv. 25 ; Micah vii. 13 and Rom. xvi. 20 appear to s1tnction the l 7)-thnt they cnt <lust" (Kalisch). More first; the second is f:wourcd by the aJ;>plication prohn blr it originated in a too literal inter- of the same word to tho hostilo action of the prd,1t.ion of the Mosnic nurativo. Applied serpent, which is not trending, but biting; tho to the dc,il, this part of the curse 'll'BS an feeblcnoss of the third is its chief objection; n,l<lit.ional intimntion of his degradation. To Thy hee.d. I. e. tho superior part of thee "lick the dust" or "cat the dust" "is (Calvin), moe.ning that the serpent would bo PquiYalent to bci11g reduced to a rondition of completely destroyed, tho head of the reptile meanness, shame, nnd contempt" (Bush); being that pa.rt of its body in wl1ich a wound "is innicatil-c of nisappointmcnt in all the was most dan$erous, e.nd which the creature aims of being" (Murphy) ; "denotes the itself instinctively protects ; or the import highest intensity of a moral condition, of of the oxprossion may be, He shall attack which the feelings of the prodigal (Luke xv. thoo in a bold and manly way (T. Lewis). ]6) may be considered a type" (Macdonald; And thou she.It bruise his heel, I. e. the cf. Ps. Jxxii. 9). All the days of thy life. inferior pnrt (Calvin), implying that in the 'l'hc degradation should be perpetual as well conflict he would be wounded, but not de- as complete. stroyed; or "the biting of the heel may Yer. 15. -And I will put enmity between denote the mean, insidious character of the thee e.ud the wome.n. Refcning-1. To the devil's warfare" (T. Lewis). fixed and inveterate antipathy between the Ver. 16.-Unto the wome.n he said. Pass- serpent and the human race (Bush, Lange); ing judgment on her first who he.d sinned to that a.lone (Knobel). 2. To the antago- first, but cw"Sing neither her nor her hus- nism henceforth to be established between band, as " being candidates for restoration " the tempter and mankind (Murphy) ; to (Tertnllian). The sentence pronounced on that alone (Calvin, Bonar, Wordsworth, Eve was twofold. I will greil.tly multiplJ :Macdonald). And between thy seed and thy sorrow e.nd thy conception. A hendiadys her seed. Here the curse manifestly out- for " the sorrow of thy conception" (Gese- !!l'OWs the literal serpent, nnd refers almost nius, Bush), though this is not necessary. ~xclnsively to the invisible tempter. The The womanly and wifely sorrow of Eve was hostility commenced between the woman to be intensified, and in particular the pains and her destroyer was to be continued by of parturition were to be multiplied (cf. J er. their descendants-the seed of the serpent x.x.xi. 8). The second inea is more fully bein" those of Eve's posterity who should explained in the next c~ause. In. sorrow imL,ibe the devil's spirit and obey the devil's she.l t thou bring forth children. L1 teral1y, rule (cf. Matt. =iii 33 ; l John iii. 10) ; sons, daughters o~ing i!lcluded, The J;>ains and the seed of the woman signifying those of childbirth are m Scripture emblematic of whose character and life should be of an the severest anguish both of body and mind opposite description, and in particular the (cf. Ps. xlvili. 7; Micah iv. 9, 10; 1 Thess. Lord Jesus Christ, who is styled by pre- v. 3 • John xvi. 21; Rev.. xii. 2). The gospel eminence " the Seed " (Gal. iiL lo, 19 ), e.nd give~ a special promise to mothers (1 Tim. ii who came " to destroy the works of the 15). " By bringing forth is also meant devil" (Heb. ii. 4; l John iiL 8). This we bringing up e.fter the birth, as in eh. 1. 23" learn from the words which follow, and (Ainsworth). And _thy desire ~hall be to which, not obscurely, point to a seed which thy husbe.nd. i1~~~T;l, from P·le.' to run, to should be individual and personal. It-orhe; aura, (LX.X.); not ipsa (Vulgate, Augusti!le, have a vehement longing for a thing, may Ambrose, Gregory the Great ; l~te! Ro=h have the same meaning here ns in Cant. interpreters understanding the Vugm)-she.11 vii. l O (Dnthe, Rosenmiiller, I?elitzsch, Keil, bruiae. 1. Shall crush, trample down-ren- Bohlen Kalisch, Alford); but 1s better taken as exp;essi ve of deferential su~missi veness, dering 9~ei by terere or conterere (Vnlgatc, as in eh. iv. 7 (Luther,· Calvm, Le Cle~, Syriac, Samaritan, Tuc1!,, Baumgarten., ~eil, Lange, Macdonald, Speaker's,' Commente.ry .) Kalisch). 2. Sha.II pierce_, wound, bite- Followin~ the LXX. (a~oarpo</),j), ~u~hy taking the verb as = 9;1~, to bite (Fiirst~ explains 1t as meaning, The detel'Il1mat1on Calvin). 3. Shall watch, lie in wait= 9~f of thy will shall be yielded to thy husba~d." (LXX., r 11 p,icm-Wordsworth su9gestsasthe According to the analogy of,the two previous correct reading rtp•JrIEI, from rEptw, perforo, clauses the precise import of this is expresse_d vulnero - Gesenius Knobel). The word in the ~ext, though by many it is rega!ded occurs only in tw~ other p)aees in Scrip- e.s a distinct item in the curse (Kalisch, turc-J ob i.x. 17; Ps. cxx:nx. 11-and m Alford Clarke, Wordsworth). And he Mhe.11 the latter of these the reading is doubtful rule o~er thee. Not merely a pro1;>hccy of :,.-f. Perowne on Ps. in loco). Hence the woman's subjection, but o.n investiture of (Jll, I. 8~19.] THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 67