face shall I be hid 24; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me 25.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold 26. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him 27.'

be withheld from him. 25 Whosoever met him, he expected would seek to slay him, as one put out of protection, and universally abhorred.- Unpardoned guilt can, when God pleases, fill men with continual terrors, and is as hell begun on earth.

26 Whosoever thus presumed to take the vengeance of God into his own hands, should have a very manifold heavier punishment than Cain himself: thus denouncing in the most solemn manner all such violence, and the shedding of human blood by private individuals under any pretext. 27 Distinguishing him from the rest of the human race by some visible token that all who saw it, might remember the awful threat, (which we may suppose would be made known through the family of Adam,) and not incur it by slaying the accursed man.'

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We shall next give the Rev. Mr. Holden's exposition of the same passage. His specific aim has been, to state, as briefly as was consistent with perspicuity, the result of a critical investigation into the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures.'

'CHAPTER IV.

'1. I have gotten, &c.] These words cannot be intended as an expression of Eve's thankfulness to God for enabling her to conceive, and bring forth a son, because the phrase rendered "from the Lord," never denotes through the favour and aid of God, because the words are not literally expressive of exultation, and because thanksgiving for the blessing of children is differently expressed, Gen. v. 29. They must, therefore, have reference to the promised Redeemer, ch. iii. 15. viz. if the Bible translation be admitted, "I have now gotten THE man from the Lord," the deliverer who was to be from God, him who by uniting the divine and human natures was to bruise the head of the serpent. But there can be little doubt that the true rendering is, "I have gotten the man, the Jehovah," the divine person promised as the Redeemer. Eve might not mean that, by the birth of Cain she had obtained the wished-for deliverer, but that she had then, by that event, the proof and pledge of his appearance in due time. In either case he is styled "the man, Jehovah," and as Moses could only know by means of Revelation that Eve uttered these remarkable expressions, we cannot but conclude divinity is here plainly and distinctly ascribed to the Redeemer by the pen of inspiration.

3. in process of time] Some think the Hebrew denotes at the conclusion of a week; others, at the end of a year, and others again, indefinitely, at the end of days, or "in process of time;" which last seems the best supported. "Of the fruit of the ground," i. e. vegetable productions good for food; Numb. xiii. 26.; Deut. vii. 13. xxviii. 4.; Ps. cv. 35. We are not informed what kind they were,

VOL. XVI.-N.S.

H

but Cain brought them for "an offering," i. e. a gift or oblation to the Lord.

4. of the firstlings, &c.] Abel's offering, therefore, was an animal sacrifice, unto which “the Lord had respect,” i. e. had a favourable regard to it; Ps cxix. 117. This was manifested by some outward and visible token, for Cain knew the divine preference of his brother's oblation; but in what manner this attestation was given, we are not informed. Perhaps it was by consuming it by fire, as in other instances; ch. xv. 17.; Levit. ix. 26.; Judg. xiii. 20.; 1 Kings xviii. 38.; 2 Chron. vii. 1.; Heb. xi. 4. note.

5. his countenance fell.] His looks indicated his anger and chagrin. 7. if thou doest well, &c.] Viz. if thou doest that which is right in the sight of God, "is there not (or, shall there not be) excellency" [to thee], i. e. will not thy conduct have as much excellency in my sight as thy brother Abel's; in other words, shalt thou not be equally accepted with him by a righteous Creator? "“and if thou doest not well, a sin-offering coucheth at the door." is ready at hand to make an atonement with; “and unto thee is its subjection, and thou shalt have power over it,” i. e. the brute creation being now even after the Fall equally subject to man as at the first, thou shalt have the power, when so inclined, to offer an animal sacrifice, which is the appointed means of making an atonement for transgression, and of reconciling offenders to God. Such the author of these pages is convinced, from repeated and careful examinations, is the exact rendering and interpretation of this passage; and it displays the magnitude of the divine mercy even amidst severity. To encourage Cain in well doing, and to point out the danger of indulging malignant passions, the Deity declares that if he would act in conformity to the divine will, he should be accepted as well as Abel; and even if he was betrayed into any offence, the indignation which the infinite purity and holiness of God must ever manifest against all sin, might be appeased by a sinoffering; and a victim should never be wanting when he purposed to present such an oblation to Heaven in sincerity and faith.

'From this view of v. 3-7. two important questions arise; first, What was the cause or motive for the offerings of Cain and Abel? and secondly, Why was the one accepted, and the other rejected? To the first it may be answered that their offerings originated in the divine appointment of sacrifice; for 1st, To suppose that, without a previous institution, they should both come to the same conclusion as to the acceptability of such services, and should both offer oblations, and both at the same time, and the same place; and that Abel could suppose that the slaughter of an animal could recommend him to the favour of the Deity, exceeds all the bounds of credibility. Their oblations, then, could proceed from no other source than instruction. 2dly. The rejection of Cain's offering implies a previous institution, for the Almighty can only be offended by the violation of some law, and if there had been no law promulgated in regard to sacrificial rites, Cain would not have been guilty of any offence by offering of the fruit of the ground. 3dly. The divine institution of sacrifice may be inferred from v. 7, which means, whenever thou art guilty of an offence against God, thou knowest that the means of reconciliation is

a sin-offering, which shall always be in thy power to offer, if thou art so inclined. In these remarks we have an answer to the second question. God, after the promise of a great deliverer in the Seed of the woman, instituted the ordinance of animal sacrifices to prefigure the atonement and sacrifice of Christ; and Abel, by offering the firstlings of his flock, complied with the divine ordinance, and testified his belief in the appointed propitiation for sin; while Cain, by a different offering, showed his unbelief of that propitiation; the former, consequently, was accepted, and the latter rejected. This conclusion is fully confirmed by Heb. xi. 4., where the apostle says, Abel offered "by faith; and as a deliverer in the seed of the woman had been revealed, his faith must have comprehended a belief in that Redeemer, which Cain's faith did not. Abel's faith, also, was the means, the Apostle says, " by which he obtained witness that he was righteous; but no human being ever was, or ever can be, justified except through the merits of Christ; and therefore the faith of Abel, by which he was declared " righteous," or was justified, must have rested on the promise of a Redeemer. Now such a faith as comprehended a belief in the Redeemer could not be testified by an animal oblation, except by the appointment of the Deity, for there is no natural connexion between the one and the other. Hence we may infer that sacrificial rites were originally by divine command, and that Abel's offering was accepted as being in obedience to that command.

8. talked] Several ancient versions read, "Cain said to Abel, let us go into the fields, and it came to pass when," &c. ; but this is an unwarranted addition, and unnecessary, as the meaning may be, that Cain talked with, or spoke to Abel as usual, in order the better to disguise his purpose.

9. keeper?] Was the duty committed to me, to keep and to guard him? It may seem strange that Cain should make such an excuse, and add a lie to his crime, when he must have known who addressed him; but such is the inconsistency into which vice betrays its slaves: comp. ch. iii. 9. note.

10. crieth] Calls for vengeance; Heb. xii. 24. note; James v. 4. ; Rev. vi. 10.

11. cursed] This is to be taken in connexion with the preceding verse; "And now thou art cursed" in consequence of this call for vengeance "from the earth (Heb. is the same as "from the ground," v. 10.) which hath opened her mouth," &c. i. e. which hath imbibed, and as it were drunk in thy brother's blood. The particulars of the curse follow, viz. "When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength," her fruit or increase; Joel ii. 22. i. e. it shall be unproductive; "a fugitive," &c.; i. e. thou shalt wander about without a fixed habitation.

13. My punishment, &c.] The reason is stated in the next verse. But it may be rendered as in the margin. "My iniquity. is greater (or interrogatively, Is my iniquity greater) than that it may be forgiven."

14. from the face of the earth;] From this region where I live, as many explain it; it may more probably mean, by this curse thou

hast condemned me to have no fixed abode on the earth. "From thy face shall I be hid," meaning, perhaps, I shall be secluded from the place where the sacrifices were offered, or, from that place where thou hast more peculiarly manifested thyself in the cherubic emblems, ch. iii. 24. note. Or, I shall be separated from thy regard; Ps. li. 11. exliii. 7.; 2 Kings xiii. 23.; Jer. xxiii. 39. lii. 3.; so that I dare not come before thy Majesty with sacrifice. "Every one that findeth me will slay me;" i. e. as some interpret it, every wild beast; but the next verse shows that it includes men, of whose vengeance Cain will thus express apprehension. The verb "will slay," implies restrictedly, will have the power, will be inclined to slay me.

15. Therefore] In order to prevent this, or in order to allay thy fears, it is declared that "whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold;” i. e. he shall be most severely punished; Ps. xii. 6. cxix. 164.; Prov. xxiv. 16. "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain; " rather, "the Lord gave a sign or token to Cain that no one who found him should kill him."

Mr. Bush, whose Volume on the Millennium has already made him advantageously known to our readers, has drawn up his annotations in the form of Answers to Scripture Questions, the work having been originally undertaken for the use principally of Adult Bible Classes.

'CHAPTER IV.

'What was Eve's exclamation upon the birth of her first-born? "I have gotten a man from the Lord;" Heb. "I have gotten a man with Jehovah ;" i. e. with the help and blessing of Jehovah; Gr. "by God." She accordingly bestowed upon him the name of Cain, which signifies" possession," or rather "acquisition." It is not perhaps to be understood from this, as some have done, that Eve really imagined that the son now born was the Divine personage promised as the Messiah, but recollecting the gracious assurance given, ch. 3, 15, she is now, on the birth of her first-born, so fully persuaded of the truth of the promise, that although she is never to see the predicted seed in person, yet by faith she already possesses him, and in token thereof bestows upon her first-born a name which should be a standing testimony of her faith to all succeeding generations. Thus the patriarchs, Heb. 11, 13, "not having received the promises, (i. e. the things promised,) but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them, and embraced them;" Gr. "saluted them."

What is said in the N. T. of Cain's spiritual parentage? 1 John

3. 12.

'What is the circumstance next related in the narrative? V. 2. "She again bare;" Heb. " she added to bear." From the phrase of "adding to bear," without the mention of a previous conception, as is usual in such cases, the belief is general among the Jewish, and received by many Christian commentators, that Cain and Abel were twins.

*See Eclec. Rev. 3d Ser. Vol. XIII.

• What is signified by the name is the same term employed?

، Ans 66

66 Abel," and in what other passages

: Vanity.” See Ps. 39. 6; James 4. 14.

'What were the respective occupations of the two brothers? v. 2. What other distinguished persons followed Abel's occupation? Ex. 3. 1; Ps. 78. 70, 71.

'What occurred in process of time? v. 3.

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،،، Process of time," Heb. “ end of days ;" i. e. as is most probable, at the end of the year, the time at which the feast of the ingathering was afterward kept. A day is very often used in the Heb. Scriptures for a year. It is to be presumed that the offerings were brought to Adam as the priest of the family.

Of what did their offerings severally consist?

6.66

or "

Offering," Heb. "Mincha," i. e. oblation, usually rendered "meat-offering," Lev. 2. 1, 4, 7, although, as it consisted of flour, cakes, wafers, &c., a more correct version would be "meal-offering" wheat-offering." The ambiguity will be removed if it be borne in mind that the English word "meat," at the time when the present translation was made, was applied to farinaceous as well as to animal substances. Thus, Prov. 23. 3, "Be not desirous of his dainties for they are deceitful meat," (Heb. "bread of lies.") 1 Sam. 20. 34, "And Jonathan did eat no meat (Heb. no bread ') on the second day of the month."

،

'What was the law afterwards enacted respecting the first-fruits? Lev. 23. 14.

'How were the respective offerings received, and to what was the difference owing? v. 4, 5.

'See Heb. 11. 4; Prov. 15. 8. "The fat thereof," Heb. "the fatness thereof," implying the choicest and best of the whole flock, as well as the best parts of a single lamb. The "fat" of any thing is equivalent to the "best." Thus, Num. 18. 2, "All the best (Heb. 'the fat') of the oil, and all the best (Heb. the fat') of the wine," &c. Gen. 45. 18, “And I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land."

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Why was Abel's a more excellent sacrifice" than Cain's? Heb.

11. 4.

'Cain and Abel may be considered as the prototypes of two great classes of men, one of whom serve God merely according to the light of natural reason, which would never have suggested the propriety of animal sacrifices, the other according to the precepts of revelation, recognising the grand principle laid down by the Apostle, Heb. 9. 22. How is it probable that God signified his acceptance of the one, and his rejection of the other? Lev.9.24;1 Chron. 21. 26.

What was the effect produced thereby upon Cain, and what did the Lord say to him? v. 5-7.

"His countenance fell;" i. e. not merely on this one occasion, but it henceforward assumed a settled, gloomy, lowering aspect.

How does it appear that Cain did not "do well" in bringing his offering, seeing it was duty? Prov. 21. 27; John 6. 29.

'What is meant by the words "unto thee shall be his desire?" 'Ans. "He (Abel) shall be cordially disposed to respect and ho