Chapter Two
Manage episode 421984238 series 3573575
CHAPTER II
Some years ago a learned man asked me a question of great importance;
the problem and the solution which we gave in our reply deserve the
closest attention. Before, however, entering upon this problem and its
solution I must premise that every Hebrew knows that the term Elohim is
a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of
countries, and that Onkelos the proselyte explained it in the true and
correct manner by taking Elohim in the sentence, “and ye shall be like
Elohim” (Gen. iii. 5) in the last-mentioned meaning, and rendering the
sentence “and ye shall be like princes.” Having pointed out the
homonymity of the term “Elohim” we return to the question under
consideration. “It would at first sight,” said the objector, “appear
from Scripture that man was originally intended to be perfectly equal
to the rest of the animal creation, which is not endowed with
intellect, reason, or power of distinguishing between good and evil:
but that Adam’s disobedience to the command of God procured him that
great perfection which is the peculiarity of man, viz., the power of
distinguishing between good and evil—the noblest of all the faculties
of our nature, the essential characteristic of the human race. It thus
appears strange that the punishment for rebelliousness should be the
means of elevating man to a pinnacle of perfection to which he had not
attained previously. This is equivalent to saying that a certain man
was rebellious and extremely wicked, wherefore his nature was changed
for the better, and he was made to shine as a star in the heavens.”
Such was the purport and subject of the question, though not in the
exact words of the inquirer. Now mark our reply, which was as
follows:—“You appear to have studied the matter superficially, and
nevertheless you imagine that you can understand a book which has been
the guide of past and present generations, when you for a moment
withdraw from your lusts and appetites, and glance over its contents as
if you were reading a historical work or some poetical composition.
Collect your thoughts and examine the matter carefully, for it is not
to be understood as you at first sight think, but as you will find
after due deliberation; namely, the intellect which was granted to man
as the highest endowment, was bestowed on him before his disobedience.
With reference to this gift the Bible states that “man was created in
the form and likeness of God.” On account of this gift of intellect man
was addressed by God, and received His commandments, as it is said:
“And the Lord God commanded Adam” (Gen. ii. 16)—for no commandments are
given to the brute creation or to those who are devoid of
understanding. Through the intellect man distinguishes between the true
and the false. This faculty Adam possessed perfectly and completely.
The right and the wrong are terms employed in the science of apparent
truths (morals), not in that of necessary truths, as, e.g., it is not
correct to say, in reference to the proposition “the heavens are
spherical,” it is “good” or to declare the assertion that “the earth is
flat” to be “bad”; but we say of the one it is true, of the other it is
false. Similarly our language expresses the idea of true and false by
the terms emet and sheker, of the morally right and the morally wrong,
by tob and ra’. Thus it is the function of the intellect to
discriminate between the true and the false—a distinction which is
applicable to all objects of intellectual perception. When Adam was yet
in a state of innocence, and was guided solely by reflection and
reason—on account of which it is said: “Thou hast made him (man) little
lower than the angels” (Ps. viii. 6)—he was not at all able to follow
or to understand the principles of apparent truths; the most manifest
impropriety, viz., to appear in a state of nudity, was nothing
unbecoming according to his idea: he could not comprehend why it should
be so. After man’s disobedience, however, when he began to give way to
desires which had their source in his imagination and to the
gratification of his bodily appetites, as it is said, “And the wife saw
that the tree was good for food and delightful to the eyes” (Gen. iii.
6), he was punished by the loss of part of that intellectual faculty
which he had previously possessed. He therefore transgressed a command
with which he had been charged on the score of his reason; and having
obtained a knowledge of the apparent truths, he was wholly absorbed in
the study of what is proper and what improper. Then he fully understood
the magnitude of the loss he had sustained, what he had forfeited, and
in what situation he was thereby placed. Hence we read, “And ye shall
be like elohim, knowing good and evil,” and not “knowing” or
“discerning the true and the false”: while in necessary truths we can
only apply the words “true and false,” not “good and evil.” Further
observe the passage, “And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew
they were naked” (Gen. iii. 7): it is not said, “And the eyes of both
were opened, and they saw”; for what the man had seen previously and
what he saw after this circumstance was precisely the same; there had
been no blindness which was now removed, but he received a new faculty
whereby he found things wrong which previously he had not regarded as
wrong. Besides, you must know that the Hebrew word pakaḥ used in this
passage is exclusively employed in the figurative sense of receiving
new sources of knowledge, not in that of regaining the sense of sight.
Comp., “God opened her eyes” (Gen. xxi. 19). “Then shall the eyes of
the blind be opened” (Isaiah xxxviii. 8). “Open ears, he heareth not”
(ibid. xlii. 20), similar in sense to the verse, “Which have eyes to
see, and see not” (Ezek. xii. 2). When, however, Scripture says of
Adam, “He changed his face (panav) and thou sentest him forth” (Job
xiv. 20), it must be understood in the following way: On account of the
change of his original aim he was sent away. For panim, the Hebrew
equivalent of face, is derived from the verb panah, “he turned,” and
signifies also “aim,” because man generally turns his face towards the
thing he desires. In accordance with this interpretation, our text
suggests that Adam, as he altered his intention and directed his
thoughts to the acquisition of what he was forbidden, he was banished
from Paradise: this was his punishment; it was measure for measure. At
first he had the privilege of tasting pleasure and happiness, and of
enjoying repose and security; but as his appetites grew stronger, and
he followed his desires and impulses, (as we have already stated
above), and partook of the food he was forbidden to taste, he was
deprived of everything, was doomed to subsist on the meanest kind of
food, such as he never tasted before, and this even only after exertion
and labour, as it is said, “Thorns and thistles shall grow up for thee”
(Gen. iii. 18), “By the sweat of thy brow,” etc., and in explanation of
this the text continues, “And the Lord God drove him from the Garden of
Eden, to till the ground whence he was taken.” He was now with respect
to food and many other requirements brought to the level of the lower
animals; comp., “Thou shalt eat the grass of the field” (Gen. iii. 18).
Reflecting on his condition, the Psalmist says, “Adam unable to dwell
in dignity, was brought to the level of the dumb beast” (Ps. xlix. 13).
“May the Almighty be praised, whose design and wisdom cannot be
fathomed.”
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