Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/75

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The Garden of Bden But

universe.

as a last thought,

He

57

took one handful of

dust from the spot where the altar of Solomon's temple was

order that man might ever he- inclined to God, and repent and make atonement for his sins. But the Jewish doctrine of repentance and atonement demands more explanation than this, and must be deferred later to stand, in

seek

after.

for later consideration.

For the present it suffices to realize that this beautiful Garden of Eden presents concretely and convincingly the Jewish conceptions of man and of life, man possessed of the knowledge of right and wrong, and able to choose between them, able, through choosing rightly, through choosing life and living in accordance with God's commands, to realize the divine in his nature and to rise to the heights of the angels, or failing in this, to sink to the level, or below story of the

the level, of the beasts.

choose blessing. the life

This

Who

man

for

is

to

choose

him

for

to

live,

life,

to

This

is

and this alone

is

God's purpose with him.

is

God has meant

pleasing to God.

It

In the Psalmist's words

shall ascend into the

mountain of the Lord?

And who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart;

Who

hath not taken

My name

in vain,

And hath not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the And righteousness from the God of

Lord, his salvation.

NOTES A

little

consideration will

show

that actually this

story gives an

account of creation different from, and totally independent of that in Genesis I. Here man is created first, a-nd after him the trees. Then, that man be not alone, God creates the animals, one after the But not one proves suitable for this other, to be helpmates to him. purpose.

Finally

God

woman from

creates

"bone of his bone and

flesh

of

his

flesh",

man's

rib,

she proves

and now, the

desired

helpmate.

The conception

of

God here

also

differs

radically

from that

in