Creeping thing, w (Remes) "all the different genera of serpents, worms, and such animals as have no feet."*

Beast of the earth, in (chaiyetho airetz.) “The word in (chaiyetho) seems to signify all wild animals, as lions, tigers, &c. and especially such as are carnivorous or live on flesh.

"In beasts also God has shewn his wondrous skill and power; in the vast elephant, or still more colossal mammoth or megalonyx, the whole race of which appears to be extinct, a few skeletons only remaining. This animal, an astonishing effect of God's power, he seems to have produced merely to shew what he could do; and after suffering a few of them to propagate, he extinguished the race by a merciful providence, that they might not destroy both man and beast. The mammoth, or megalonyx, is a carnivorous animal, as the structure of teeth proves; and of an immense size: from a considerable part of a skeleton which I have seen, it is computed that the animal to which it belonged must have been nearly twenty-five feet in height and sixty in length! The bones of one toe are entire; the toe upwards of three feet in length. Few elephants have ever been found to exceed eleven feet in height. How wondrous are the works of God! But his skill and power are not less seen in the beautiful' chevrotin, or tragulus, a creature of the antelope kind, the smallest of all bifid, or cloven-footed animals, whose delicate limbs are scarcely so large as a goose quill; and also in the shrew mouse, perhaps the smallest of the many-toed quadrupeds. In the reptile kind we see also the same skill and power, not only in the immense snake called the Boa constrictor, the mortal foe and conqueror of the royal tiger; but also in the Cobra de Manille, a venomous serpent, only a little larger than a common sewing needle."†

Verse 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; &c. Let us make, my (Naaseh) R. Bechai, on this passage, ; "We will make, is said in the plural number,

observes

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which is the customary language of kings and honourable ones of the earth-that one of them speaks in the plural number, and it is by way of dignity and excellence. And behold Laban was one, yet he says, 'we will give thee this also.' (Gen. xxix. ver. 27). And it is written, if I prevail, we will smite him.' (Num. xxii. 6). Again it is written, and its interpretation we will declare before the king.' (Dan. ii. 7). It is the custom of great men to speak thus."* But if this were the case, is it not singular that not one of the kings or honourable men, mentioned by Moses and the succeeding writers of the Old Testament, should speak in the plural number, but uniformly in the singular, except in the instances which he has cited? Surely if such phraseology had obtained in the courts of Egypt, Judah, or Babylon, the writings of those times would have abounded with it as much as those of later ages. Those instances which are adduced are very doubtful; as an examination of the context will shew. Laban had told Jacob that it was not the custom of the place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the first-born, and adds, "fulfil her week, we (speaking collectively of himself and the men of the place) will give thee this also." In Num. xxii. 6. Balak (or rather his messengers with those of Midian) is speaking not only of himself but also of the king of Midian. (See Num. xxii. 7.) And in Dan. ii. 7. it is expressly said, "they (the magicians, &c.) answered again and said, let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it." Besides, is it at all probable that the Deity would have employed the phraseology of kings before the creation of man?

"It has been supposed by some, that God speaks here to the angels, when he says, let us make man :' but to make this a likely interpretation, these persons must prove, 1. That angels

were then created. 2. That angels could assist in a work of creation. 3. That angels were themselves made in the image and likeness of God. If they were not, it could not be said,

in OUR image;' and it does not appear from any part of the sacred writings, that any creature but man was made in the image of God."*

It would, therefore, appear that ELOHIM, the Divine Plurality, neither addressed the angels nor adopted the language of kings: the expression, "Let us make man in OUR image,' plainly indicates, in our opinion at least, a plurality of persons in the Divine Essence, as united in counsel and effort in this work of creation.

Man, DIN (Adam) the appellative name of human nature. The most usual derivation of this word is from 8 (adamah) vegetable earth or mould, because man was formed y

T T-:

TN from the dust of the ground, (Gen. ii. 7.) But we conceive the derivation given by Mr. Parkhurst to be far preferable. He derives it from 7 (damah) to be like, because created, ♫ (bidmooth) in the likeness of God. (See Gen. v. 1, 2.)

11. On the New Testament.

MATTHEW, Chap. II.

Verse 9. And, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

The star, aorng. This word denotes not only a fixed star,.

Dr. A. Clarke in loco. The Targum on the Pentateuch, ascribed to Jonathan, (though we think falsely ;) not only daringly aud blasphemously ascribes the creation of man to angels, but mentions the very day when àngels were created!

vah said to the angels that ministered before him, who were created on the second day of the creation of the world, 'we will make man in our image, in our similitude." The Targum of Onkelus has faithfully preserved the phraseology of the Heb. Scriptures.

planet, or comet, but also a luminous body somewhat resembling a star. So Homer plainly uses arriga for the meteor commonly called the shooting of a star. (Il. iv. line 75.)

Οιον δ' ΑΣΤΕΡΑ ηκε Κρόνου παις αγκυλομήλεω.

"And as a STAR, sent by (the son of) crafty Saturn, comes.'

And Lucian (Navig. tom. ii. p. 671.) explains his own expression, rna naupon AETEPA, a certain shining star, by Atorxugar Town srapov, i. e. one of those luminous appearances called by the ancient sailors, Castor or Pollux. It is evident that the motion of this luminous body which appeared to the Magi, was quite different from the apparent motion of any of the stars; for, it moved by intervals; whereas they move perpetually; and its motion was from north to south, while theirs is from east to west. It would appear, then, that it was a simple meteor of a starlike form, provided for the occasion. *

In the east, w Ty avaтory, At its rise. very frequently answers to the Heb. n and thence the east.t

This word in the LXX the rising of the sun,

Verse 11.-And falling down they worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They worshipped him, posuvnav aur. The word pornuven, from Teo to, and XUVEN to adore, which is from xv, a dog, properly signifies to crouch and fawn like a dog at his master's feet. It means, to prostrate oneself to another, after the eastern custom, which is very ancient and still in use. In this act, the person kneels and puts his head between his knees, his forehead at the same time touching the ground. It was the posture both of civil reverence or homage and of religious worship. Whether the former or the latter was intended must be determined by the circumstances of the case. But though the word itself will not prove the divinity of Christ, it is worthy our observation, that the primitive Christians, either from the adoration, or the gifts offered, even then collected that he was God, whatever the wise men might think of him. Thus Justin

* Vide Parkhurst, voce aong, and Whitby in loco. † Parkhurst sub avaroλn.

Martyr teacheth, that Christ being God, could not receive the Holy Ghost as wanting him, or his assistance; and saith, of this we have testimony from the Magi of Arabia, who, as soon as the child was born, came and worshipped him. Ireneus saith, "the wise men, by the gifts they offered, shewed who he was who was worshipped; they offered myrrh, because he was to die for mankind; gold, because he was a king, whose kingdom should have no end; and frankincense, because he was God."+ Tertullian saith, they honoured him with these gifts, quasi Deum et regem, as a God and king. And when Celsus laughed at the wise men, as worshipping Christ whilst an infant, as God ;§ Origen answers, "that they brought gifts to him, compounded, as it were, of God and man; gold, as an ensign of his kingly power; myrrh, as one that was to die; and frankincense, as God.||

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Verse 15. And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet, saying, out of Egypt have I called my son. That it might be fulfilled, vanpoon. Gusset, Rosenmüller, Wolf, and others, give four rules, according to which, the phrase, that it might be fulfilled, may be applied in the New Testament.

1. When the thing predicted, is literally accomplished. 2. When that is done, of which the Scripture has spoken, not in a literal, but a spiritual sense.

3. When a thing is done neither in a literal nor spiritual sense, according to the fact referred to in the Scripture; but is similar to that fact.

* Υπο των Αραβίας Μαγων ουτινες αμα τω γεννηθηναι το παιδίον ελθόνίες προσεκύνησαν αυτώ. Dial. cum Tryph. p. 315. C.

† Per ea quæ obtulerunt munera ostendisse quis erat qui adorabatur; myrrha, quidem quod ipse erat qui pro mortali humano genere moreretur; aurum vero, quoniam rex, cujus regni finis non est; thus vero, quoniam Deus, b. 3. c. 10. Adv. Marcion. b. 3. c. 12. Adv. Jud. c. 9. p. 196.

Ο προσκυνονίες Χριστω ετι νηπιον, ως Θεόν. Origen contra Cels. p. 45.

|| Idem p. 46. Φέρονταν μεν δωρα α συνθελω τινα εκ θες και ανθρωπε, ως βασιλει τον Χρυσον, ως τεθνηξομενω την σμυρνων, ως και Θεω τον λιβανωτον. Vide Parkburst voce Пgov. Drs. A. Clarke and Whitby in loco.