Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/60

 42

71ie

oi the goodness.

eanty.

1

the universe and of

Book of Genesis

wisdom, and divine purpose and holiness of

Hfe.

ll The name of this book, Genesis, comes from the Greek. means "beginning"' or "creation". The hrst translation of the Hebrew Bible was made into Greek during the third and second cenIt turies I). C. was made for the Ijcnefit of the Greek-speaking Jewish conununity of Alexandria, and was called the Septuagint. Most of the sui)scciuent translations of the Bible into European languages were made from this Greek, rather than from the original

Hebrew version. In consequence many of the books of the Bible commonly cited l)y their Greek names. In Hebrew Genesis is called Bcreshith, from the first word of the Hebrew text, which are

means

"in

the beginning".

V".

Creation

3.

Similarly the other books of the Penta-

Hebrew by

teuch are called in

their first

significant

here and throughout this

is

words.

chapter represented

having come about merely at God's command. God uttered His word and the thing commanded immediately came into being. This is the significance of the words. "And it was so"', occurring

as

divine

cf. Psalm XXXHI, 6-9. names here and elsewhere is

after each separate act of creation;

V. 5. cordance

The giving with

was

being.

its

it

considered

of the

name here

the

ancient belief

the

essential part of

of

really is

Not

that until

the

name

a thing

complete and

of

a

thing

had received

existent.

Hence

in is

an

name

its

the

ac-

giving

the very last step of each act of creation

(cf.

Gen. H. 19 and 23).

That evening

l)efore morning is due to the reckoned the day from sunset to sunset, and therefore in their reckoning evening preceded morning. The conception of the unierse which underlies tins V. 6fT. chapter is ver>- interesting. Xaturally it is not at all scientific, and from a modern standpoint it may seem rather crude. It can be best explained by an illustration. Imagine a large bowl filled with water, upon the surface of which, and in the center, floats a round piece of bread. At a little distance above the lower bowl is another bowl. also filled with water. In the bottom of the upper bowl are little openings, which may be either opened or closed. The two liowls of water above and below, represent two great oceans or reservoirs of water. The piece of bread is the earth, wliich floats upon the surface of the lower ocean. The pores in the liread represent the holes in the earth, through which the water from below bubbles uii to the surface in the form of springs and wells (cf. the expression. "The water under the earth". Exodus XX, 4). The ocean above is the is

here mentioned

fact that our ancestors