Notes, Critical and Explanatory, on the Holy Scriptures

St. Basil observes, that this reference to the beginning of all things is expressly directed to exclude the error of those who maintained that the world had no beginning. Laplace, quoted by Qenoude, says : A remarkable astronomical epoch is that in which the great axis of the earthly globe coincided with the line of the equinoxes: for then the true equinox and the middle equinox were united. I find that this phenomenon took place about the year 4004 before the Christian era, an epoch at which most of our chrono- logists place the creation of the world, and which, under this point of view, ought to be regarded as an astronomical epoch." Mecanique celetU , p. 113.

D'rhH- This noun of a plural form, connected with the verb in the singular number, aptly inti* mates the mysterious nature of the Deity, although it does not directly reveal it. The unity of the crea- tive act Is consistent with a plurality of Persons in the Divine Nature. Elsewhere the unity of the Godhead is insisted on. Deut. 4 : 36, 30 ; 6:4. The tern is thought to be derived from an Arabic verb, which signifies to fear, or to worship, and denotes the object of the fear and worship of men. 1 102. This sometimes means to fashion a material already existing; but it is here employed in the strict sense of creating, that Is, bringing forth from nothing, since otherwise the Divine act could not have been styled M in the beginning," if matter previously existed. Hence the creation has been oele- brated by all subsequent Jewish writers as the great work of Almighty Power. Ps. 32 : 6 ; 185 : 6 ; Eccl.

: 1 ; 2 Msec. 7 : 28; Acts 14 : 14; 17 : 24. God, as St. Basil remarks, is described as making heaven and earth, without exhausting His creative po^er.

The Spirit of Elooim— the Divine power— was on the waters, to fashion and prepare them for the end of their creation. This is represented by a term used also Deut. 32 : 4, which expresses the incuba- tion of a bird brooding, as 8t Basil, after a Syrian interpreter, probably 8t Bphrem, remarks : " He moved over the waters," says St. Augustin, "not through space, as the sun over the earth, but by the force of His invincible excellence." Dt Gtn. contra Manich , 1. 1, c. 5. The wind is sometimes called the Spirit of God. Exod. 15 : 10; Ps. 147 : 18 ; Isa. 40 : 7. But St. Jerome insists that the creating Spirit, the source of life, is here understood. Quast, in Gtn. L. "The Spirit of God was waving over the face of the waters."

The green herb, which propagates itself by the root, vegetables, shrubs, and trees of every kind, are not necessary productions of Nature. They shot forth from the earth in obedience to the Creative Power. The sacred writer is careful to mark, that natural causes are not of themselves endowed with any efficiency, but derive it from the will and decree of the Creator.

By the figure hendyadis for signs of the seasons. The times for agricultural operations were thus determined. Religions solemnities were afterwards distinguished in like manner.

They are so called relatively to ns, because they appear such. It is, however, known that the moon is an opaque body, which reflects the light of the sun ; whence she changes her appearance as she varies her position in her orbit around the earth, of which she is a satellite. She Is far smaller than the pri- mary planets, or the fixed stars, although, being near the earth, she appears as a great light. The sun himself is probably opaque, and the spots on his disc are portions of his surface made apparent through the incandescent atmosphere with which he is invested. For us, however, he is a great light, although astronomers conjecture that the fixed stars may be as suns, each one the centre of a system ; and that several of them may be larger than our sun, whilst they appear to us only as bright points, on account of their immense distance from the earth. St. Gregory of Nyssa observes, that the sun is vastly greater than the earth, although from his great distance he appears small. M The rule of the sun is not that of an Intelligent being : his central position and his attraction, with the dependence of the stars and planets on him, mako him to be regarded as rnier of the entire system. The law of the Creator regulates their relations.

Infra 6:1; 9:6; 1 Cor. 11 : 7 ; Col. 3 : 10. This manner of expressing the Divine counsel is re- markable. God seems to concentrate Himself in His own essence : " Learn tby value and dignity, 0 man," cries St Gregory of Nyssa. The use of the plural number is indicative of distinct Persons in tbe Deity. This Father, speaking in accordance with Christian revelation, says : " Observe two Persons, one who speaks, the other who is addressed. But why did He not say : Make ; but rather : Let Us make man! That thou mightest understand His power and dominion ; lest knowing the Son, thou mightest not know the Father: that thou mightest know that the Father acted through the Son, and that the Son created by the will of the Father, and that thou mightest praise tbe Father in the Son, and the Son in tbe Holy Ghost. Thou art Their oommon work, that thou mightest adore and worship them alike, and not divide their veneration and worship, understanding that the Divinity is one only." Orat. 1 in ea Scripture verba : Fadamut kominem.

P. " In our image, after our likeness." Some MSS. 8ept support V. The difference is between 2 2- The two terms are employed to express more fully the same idea. The resemblance is not in the bodily shape, since Mooes warned the Israelites not to conoeive God after the similitude of male or female. Dent. 4 : 6. "There is nothing truly in the shape of our body which suits His image." St. Gregory of Nyssa.

V. M Ut habeant ad vescendum." It is free. H. P. " I have given every green herb for meat." M Eccl. 31 : 21 ; Mark 7 : 37. All creatures are relatively good, since they serve the purpose of the Creator in the general economy of the universe.