Commentary on Genesis 1 part 7/15

And if this should be raised up to refer to the Church, who else could be the mother of the living, in accordance with the Life which is our Lord Jesus Christ, who says:

'I am the Life'—or the Church, which has life from him as from a fountain, from which also those enrolled in her—she being the Church of the firstborn—partake of divine life.

And it is clear that, if she is the mother, Christ also is the father of those who believe, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them.

Fittingly for her who was to be the mother of all—with her husband contributing to this end—the garments of skin come into being, which one could say are none other than the bodies.

For even if lovers of curious lore should suppose that God made garments out of the skins of animals, why is it added that 'he clothed them,' when they were able to do this by themselves? For they were not without knowledge of coverings, seeing that they had sewn for themselves loincloths out of leaves.

That in many places of the divine instructions the body is called 'skin,' one can find.

For the blessed Job says:

'For I know that he who is about to release me is everlasting;

to raise up upon the earth my skin which endures these things'—and it is plain to everyone that Job was saying these things concerning his own body.

And again the same man says such things concerning himself:

'You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.' For it is a clear and most manifest proof that the garments of skin are the body, since Job also mentions 'you clothed,' the very word which was said also of the first-formed pair.

For although it could have been said that God made garments of skin for the two of them, it was not so said, but 'God made for Adam and for his wife garments.'

For it is clear that the characteristics of male and female are different, and their particular constitutions are diverse, and very many other things differ, according to which the one holds the place of the man, and the other, holding the place of the woman, is the beginning of the succession.

Earlier, then, the human being was said to have been made 'according to the image,' which signifies that which is immaterial;

but since he came into being also in another condition, such that he needed something which he might use, he had need of an organic body; and now they also become clothed in skin.

Illustrative of these things is that which is said:

'For a corruptible body weighs down the soul'—the corruptible body signifying this coarse mass—then next, 'and the earthly tent burdens the mind that ponders many things,' calling 'earthly tent' that which the soul uses when, being released from this body, it moves in its transitional motions—which is the intermediate joining the intellectual substance to the coarse element;

this weighs down the soul—although the tent burdens not the soul but the mind.

This the Apostle also teaches, saying:

'We know that if our earthly house of this tent be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens;

for indeed we who are in this tent groan;'

for by saying 'house of the tent' he plainly teaches the things aforesaid.

Someone might inquire: if paradise is a region set on high, how are they there clothed and thus cast out?

To which it must be said that things are not as the wording has it, so also are the facts.

For in things that come to pass simultaneously it often is fitting that the one be mentioned first and the other later—not so that, as the wording has it, the facts also have it.

Of this kind is that which is said thus in the prophecy:

'Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come into Egypt, and the handmade idols of Egypt shall be shaken;'

for one must not think that the Lord brought his body from heaven, so that borne upon it he might thus come to Egypt, the earthly place; but rather, at the same moment that he took a body he was in Egypt—and it was said for the sake of order, without the order confounding the facts.

As, then, concerning the Saviour we do not say that he first sat upon the light cloud and then came into the world, but we say these things happened together—so also here we do not say that they had the coarse bodies in paradise and were thus cast out;

for it was not possible to dwell there with such a body.

Indeed, at any rate, he brought the thief into paradise with his soul bare, saying to him:

'Today you shall be with me in paradise'—for his own body remained on the cross until it was also given over to the earth—and at the same time also he who heard:

'You are the seal of likeness and the crown of beauty in the luxuriance of paradise'—no one was shown to be like you dwelling there.

Through these things he shows that coarse bodies could not abide in it.

Behold, Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest ever he stretch out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat and live forever.

The many take this saying of God to Adam as spoken mockingly, saying that it is something unbefitting to God.

For it is not proper for an earnest man to trample upon another's fall—much less indeed for God.

For since, he says, the serpent had promised this to the woman, saying:

'For God knew that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil'—God said to Adam who had transgressed:

'Behold, Adam has become as we are,' speaking to him with irony.

We, then, driving away and banishing such a notion from God, let us understand the passage before us in a manner befitting the intent of the God-inspired Scripture.

devil and Satan and the evil one;

but then he was good and beautiful, when he belonged to the order of the angels; but from among them he departed, cast down to earth on account of the pride which he devised for himself.

Behold, you have become as one of us—but 'as one of us';

for this one fell out from the heavenly places, as the psalmist also teaches, saying:

'You are gods and all of you sons of the Most High, but you indeed die as men and fall as one of the rulers.' For that one too was a ruler and a god—not according to essence, but according to being made a god—and he fell out, just as those did concerning whom it was said:

'I have begotten sons and exalted them, but they have set me at nought.' And having said, 'Behold, Adam has become as one of us,' he added 'how':

'to know good and evil.'

For this very thing alone is what those who do not practise virtue possess—knowing only what is good and what is evil, but not making the distinction so as to choose the good and flee the evil.

At any rate, they use things in reverse, like those pronounced wretched, concerning whom it is said:

'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.' And God speaks thus, the 'of us,' to his own angels, just as a king to his own bodyguards.

That God associates himself with his own creatures is known from Scripture; one can learn this from what was said by the Saviour to the disciples:

'Rise, let us go hence,' which itself contains no small observation to be made;

for the 'rise' is directed to those, while the 'let us go' is with those.

For since the Saviour did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, and therefore he did not come under any fall, he does not need such a rising as the disciples did, to whom he said 'Rise'—stand up from human things; yet he numbers himself with them in the departing.

Since it is not possible for human nature alone, apart from the inbreathing of God, to make use of virtue, for this reason he says 'let us go hence';

for he himself is both shepherd and way and staff, which leads by the hand toward the things of God.

Indeed, at any rate, he said also to the thief:

'Today you shall be with me in paradise.' But also concerning the godless tower-building devised by men it was said:

'Come, and let us go down and confound their tongue.' For even though God does what he wills through ministering angels—yet I say that the things that come to pass come to pass by his decision—he is said to come down together with those sent forth by him.

'Behold, then,' he says, 'Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil'—to which the Lover of mankind adds, as it were, a condemnation, yet out of tender care.

For He makes even His threats and the calamities He brings to bear serve for our benefit.

'And now, lest he stretch out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.' Envy has been driven far away from the divine choir;

and if this is so, then far more, and to an overwhelming degree, is it impossible for such a thing to exist in God.

It is not therefore out of envy that He forbids them to take again of the tree of Life, but He forbids it because it would be unfitting.

For as the Saviour commands:

'Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine,' and He adds the reason, saying:

'lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.' In the same way, it is not good that one who has fallen into sins and is still in them should partake of the tree of life;

for such a thing breeds contempt.

But if the worthless man be hindered from such a way of life, and does not have teaching pressed upon him unseasonably day by day, he may at some point come to long for the good, once he perceives into what evils he has fallen;

and even if he should not long for it, his lingering amid the evils of his own devising is better than his contempt for divine things, if these were to be pressed upon him unseasonably;

for the evil becomes long-lasting when the good is held in contempt, whence it comes about that one is left without any love for it.

The phrase 'forever' is added in the sense of 'throughout life,' to which is similar what is said by Paul:

'I will make my brother stumble.'

'And the Lord God sent him forth from the paradise of delight, to till the ground from which he was taken; and He drove out Adam, and made him dwell over against the paradise of delight.'

One might inquire why, since the serpent became the cause of the transgression, and the woman was the first to be deceived, nothing is said of these as having been cast out, but only of Adam, who is said by the wise Paul not to have been deceived.

We say that, if he who suffered the lesser fault came to be outside the paradise, how much more those who committed the greater offences.

For if the serpent had been cast out, it would not yet be clear that the woman and Adam were worthy of being cast out of the paradise; but since Adam, who is not subject to the great transgressions, came to be outside, it is clear that so also do those who sinned in the greater matters.

It is also possible to understand, concerning the woman, that she too was cast out together with Adam when he was cast out, being expelled along with him;

for indeed the name 'Adam' signifies 'man,' which the divine oracle confirms in that it says thus:

'And God formed man, male and female,' it says, 'and called their name Adam' — that is, He called their name 'man.'

But concerning the serpent it might be said that it was in the paradise not as one worthy to spend its time there, but just as it is said in Job that 'the angels of God came to stand before Him' — so too must the serpent's presence be understood.

So God sent Adam forth — and clearly the woman also — out of the paradise; but that which is 'sent forth' has a time for returning again;

for He did not send him forth so that he should be without any return, but so that, being settled over against God, he might in his recollection of Him keep gazing intently toward Him.

'To till the ground from which he was taken' — he was cast out that he might guide his own vessel with dignity, holding it in rein like a charioteer, and not permitting the bodily impulses to run down and overrun his reason.

For this reason too God made him dwell over against the paradise of delight, having given him a law in his understanding, which He also afterward furnished in written form, so that, finding virtue implanted in His commandments, he might make use of it, and through it gain an apprehension of the divine and purer life of the paradise.

And consider how, in the case of Cain, it is not said:

'God cast him out from His own presence,' but 'Cain went out from the presence of God'; yet now He also 'cast out Adam,' who in a certain way still retained a breath of longing for the paradise, but was cast out on account of his unworthiness.

Yet He did not cast him out as one utterly estranged;

for 'He made him dwell,' it says, 'over against the paradise,' since He was still caring for him and had not renounced the settling of him; and He settled him lawfully, as was said before, implanting in him the notion of the laws that forbid evil — which is the introduction to the good — not hiding the paradise from him;

for He did not take from him the knowledge of the good, nor did He make him forget the virtue by which he lived in the paradise.

'And He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turns every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.'

The appellations of the surpassing Powers are not, so to speak, simply proper names of the sort we ordinarily call by, but are indicative of orders of governance;

'principalities and authorities, thrones, dominions' — so called because of ruling and exercising authority and reigning (for this is what 'throne' signifies, according to what is said in Proverbs:

'For with righteousness a throne of rule is prepared') — and they are called 'dominions' because of exercising lordship.

So too the cherubim were named from that which resides in them;

for 'cherubim' is interpreted as 'fullness of knowledge.'

From this very thing, then, which belongs to them, the appellation is derived.

— of virtue, as also those set forth above.

For having passed over from a lesser virtue, which was signified by the first names, to a greater one, they received appellations proper to virtue, as one may observe by consulting the interpretations of these names.

For 'Abram' is interpreted, among other things, as 'father of a son,' but 'Abraham' as 'father of sons,' the first indicating a teaching disposition not yet able to extend to all, while the second made this plain;

'Sarah' — when a single rho is written — is interpreted as 'smallness,' which indicates the introductory stage; but 'Sarrah' (with double rho) means 'ruling,' by which the perfection of virtue is shown;

for this is ruling and most powerful.

'Jacob,' interpreted as 'supplanter,' represents the ascetic disposition that resists the passions; but 'Israel,' renamed by God, who does nothing without purpose, represents the contemplative faculty and the purity of mind by which one sees God — which comes about after moral rectification;

for 'Israel' is interpreted as 'a mind seeing God.'

And what need is there to speak of the foremost of the apostles, when our Lord Jesus Christ openly in the Gospel so named him on account of his confession?

For when he said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,' He answered:

'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.' So much, then, concerning these matters;

let us now return to what was said at the beginning:

'And He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turns every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.'

And it is possible from these words to refute those who suppose that even now the paradise is upon the earth, by asking them how a lifeless sword can 'guard,' if it be taken thus;

for 'to guard' belongs not only to a living being but also to a rational one — and especially the paradise of God.

And what account will they give for the fact that no others were appointed to guard the way to the tree of life than the transcendent, rational cherubim? For from the guardians one can conceive the greatness of that which is guarded.

And how is it that of the sword the singular form is used, but of the cherubim the plural? Well then, since nothing will be said by those men but certain frigid notions, which it is not even good to mention, it is time for us — conceiving the guard that was given as worthy of the divine paradise — fittingly to treat of this matter, God granting it.

Now the fact that there is one sword signifies the loving-kindness of the God of all — for it is a sign of the chastising power that guards; while the plurality of the cherubim signifies the abundance of the knowledge that leads to divine virtue.

For God does not inflict punishments according to the measure of sins, giving many occasions that lead to salvation.

And that He does not punish according to desert, the psalm makes plain:

'If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who shall stand? For with Thee there is forgiveness.'

And of the things that call men to virtue the causes are many: first, the giving of the common notions, by preserving which unperverted virtue is achieved; and when these have been obscured through the multitude of sin, there come the patriarchs, the law, the prophets, and at the consummation of the ages the Lord, who also gave the apostles; and in short there is nothing that comes from providence which does not call to salvation.

But the sword too has been usefully set there, and for this very purpose.

Or is not the very word of Scripture a divine paradise, having in itself both the threats against those unwilling to follow God's ordinances, and the countless corrections that call to virtue? For these too, being productive of entrance into the paradise, also ward off the bitterness of punishment.

And that the sword stands in the Scriptures for punishment, one can testify from many places:

'By the sword,' it says, 'shall all the sinners of the people die';

and the words 'And you, O Ethiopians, are the slain of my sword' present the same meaning;

and moreover what is said in Exodus by those afflicted under Pharaoh, to Moses and Aaron:

'May God look upon you and judge, in that you have put a sword into the hands of Pharaoh' — by the name of the sword they signify the affliction brought upon themselves.

In accord with these is also the saying: 'Unless you turn back, He will whet His sword';

and this sword is said to 'turn every way,' so that, when a man turns from evil to virtue, it too may turn and grant him entrance.

The guard, then, in which the sword and the cherubim were set, as was said before, is for benefit, so that, if there should arise in anyone a longing for entrance, through these the guidance may be given — the cherubim hinting at the knowledge of the truth, in which he who wishes to enter must partake, and the sword at the laborious discipline;

for indeed it is through many tribulations that one may attain entrance into the kingdom, as it is written.

And that the punishment set forth by God 'turns,' and is not by all means carried into effect, the events concerning the Ninevites teach — those who by repentance averted the wrath.

but upon these the terms of the threat were reversed.

But the saints also, knowing the judgment concerning the cherubim, and that it is not possible to enter into paradise apart from God's dispensation regarding them, say:

'O You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, appear, mounted upon them as a charioteer, and by Your will opening or closing the entrance; for it is those obeying Your commands who, being outside, desire to enter in.'

But others also, understanding that He Himself is the One who pronounced sentence against man—

'You are earth, and to earth you shall return'—entreat Him, saying:

'O You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, let the earth be shaken, so that, a change having come about concerning the earth, You may say to the thief:

Today you shall be with Me in paradise.'

'Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and having conceived she bore Cain, and she said:

I have gotten a man through God.'

'And she proceeded to bear his brother Abel.'

'And Abel became a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was one who tilled the earth.'

Consequently, after the expulsion from paradise and the making of the garments of skins, it is said:

'Now Adam knew Eve his wife'—the 'knowing' being spoken of in place of the experience and the union with his wife.

For he knew her also according to the meaning of 'to be acquainted with';

thus indeed he also said when he beheld her:

'This is now bone of my bones.'

According to the 'knowledge' by which Adam knew Eve his wife, it is said also in the books of Kingdoms:

'Elkanah knew Hannah his wife.'

Thus it is said also concerning Rebecca:

'She was a virgin, no man had known her'—and she was in no way known by any man; but it is clear that it is said thus because she had not yet come together with a man.

'She was a virgin, no man had known her';

unless this be understood with discernment, it would be a redundancy; rather, the oracle, wishing to make clear that she was most pure both in body and in mind, spoke thus.

So too, in a more divine manner, Mary said:

'How shall this be to me, since I know not a man?' For being truly unacquainted with the sight of a man, she was greatly troubled when she beheld the angel, until he himself took away her fear; and it is likely, too, that being learned in the Law, she reflected whether perhaps the one who appeared was one of the transgressing angels—of those said to have desired the daughters of men.

'And having conceived she bore Cain.' Another mode of the generation of human beings is here sketched out.

For Adam was formed from dust, and Eve, taken from the man's rib, was built up; but this one now begotten came forth first from both parents, whereas the generation of the Saviour came about from a virgin alone.

...so that they may be numbered among the generation of human beings, we preserving the things previously said concerning the dust, inasmuch as the bodily substance is being signified—the body being, of course, suited to the sojourn in paradise.

But 'having conceived' is said here, and it is clear that these were from seed;

and consequently, inasmuch as she was not wholly bereft of the doctrine concerning providence, she said:

'I have gotten a man through God';

for even if they served as parents in the bringing-forth, yet the whole was set in order by the guidance of God.

And 'through God' must be taken more simply, in place of 'from God';

for thus also Joseph said:

'Is not the interpretation of them through God?'—in place of 'from God.'

'And she proceeded to bear the brother of Cain, Abel.'

Now Philo wishes them to be twins from a single conception;

wherefore, he says, to the phrase 'she bore Cain' there is added 'she proceeded to bear his brother Abel.'

Whether this is sound or not, you will judge upon examination, since it is possible for them also to have been begotten separately at different times;

for indeed, if it be anyone's pleasure to add the book of the Testament (of Moses), he will find in it also how much the one exceeded the other in time.

Now as for all that Philo said in allegorizing upon this, the lover of the beautiful will come to know; nevertheless something must be said upon this matter according to our ability.

The soul, then, when it falls into oversight and stumbling, brings forth base offspring; but if the mind, having sobered up, obtains some turning-back (conversion), then indeed it begins to thrust those away and to bring forth an introduction to virtue, which is a thing to be welcomed;

increasing little by little in progress, it will at length come to perfection; but the opposite is a thing to be shunned—when virtue has taken the lead, to add vice, the good reasoning having been turned aside.

And it is well too that their pursuits have been recorded;

for Abel, it says, became a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was one who tilled the earth—which, as regards the historical sense, would afford an observation not to be despised, if we attend to the order as well.

For in the account of the birth it placed Cain first, time itself compelling this; but in the pursuits it places the righteous one first.

For the things of Abel, which Cain neglected to zealously pursue, are more excellent and more honourable;

for animate things differ from inanimate by the very principle of nature.

And in this way Philo well said that those who are about to take up the rule both of others and of themselves are trained beforehand in the shepherd's art.

But Cain was not called a husbandman (farmer), but 'one working the earth';

for he was not excellent according to Noah, who is said to be a husbandman, not a mere worker.

Now with respect to allegory, Abel is a shepherd of animals—that is, of the senses—bringing these under knowledge as an excellent herdsman, setting reasoning as charioteer and captain over the spirited and the appetitive part.

But Cain, groveling about the earth and earthly things, is not called a husbandman—for otherwise he would have sought order even in these—but 'one working the earth' merely, being a lover of the body, having no reason or order, who might fittingly say concerning himself:

'for tomorrow we die'—unlike the one who does these things with divine knowledge, according to the saying: 'Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,' but is a mere worker of the earth.

And these, as was said before, would be differing dispositions of the soul, wrought at differing times.

'And it came to pass after some days that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord, and Abel also himself brought of the firstborn of his sheep and of their fat.'

'And God looked upon Abel and upon his gifts, but upon Cain and upon his sacrifices He did not have regard;'

'and it grieved Cain exceedingly, and his countenance fell.'

It is fitting that the virtuous man be intense and without hesitation, so that he is not only himself more ready for the exercise of virtue, but also, when others hinder, is willing to face danger on its behalf, just as the blessed Susanna and the most manly Joseph;

for being tempted, they, as those cleaving to self-control, gained the victory by their resistance.

For those urging them on to sin appeared to be masters, able to cast them into these (sins);

yet they did not yield, but chose to preserve their genuine faithfulness toward God, even if death should come;

thus with burning longing they clung to purity, and the end also showed even to the unbelievers their judgment and their testing to be God's salvation, since He accepted them on account of their virtue.

But Cain is not such a one; rather he is introduced as a delayer;

for 'after some days he brought of the fruits of the earth,' as though remembering God out of some sort of afterthought (change of mind).

This the divine Scripture teaches, in reproof, saying:

'Do not withhold from doing good to the needy, whenever your hand has the power to help.'

'Do not say, Go and come back, and tomorrow I will give, when it is in your power to do good.'

But concerning Abel it is not said 'after some days,' but:

'And Abel brought, he also';

and of what kind he brought, the oracle indicates, hinting at what was proper and precious of them (his flocks).

from the firstborn of his sheep and from their fat.

Now since Cain had performed the act of his offering carelessly, but Abel genuinely, God looked with favor upon Abel and upon his gifts, but upon Cain and upon his sacrifices He did not have regard.

For the genuineness of Abel shines forth;

for he brought forth the firstborn, having judged it right to render to God the most precious things, among which are also the portions of fat—just as Cain too ought to have done, offering from the firstfruits.

For it is fitting above all to offer firstfruits to God, which the blessed David does spiritually when he says:

'From the night my spirit rises early to You, O God'; nothing else is preferable to me than my refuge in You;

and indeed to You, O God, before every matter let the things that are due be rendered.

A gift differs from a sacrifice in this: that a gift is brought from living creatures, whereas a sacrifice is not;

and it is evident by how much living creatures are more precious by nature than lifeless things.