"This is a separate and independent account of the origin of man; quite distinct, and meant to be distinct, from the former. The two, when fairly viewed, are not at all inconsistent with one another: they are rather supplementary to one another. In the first, man comes forth in his high spiritual or heavenly nature, as allied to God and capable of intercourse with God; in the second he appears as 'of the earth, earthy' (1 Cor. 15:47); having an earthly origin and earthly relations.…This may partly explain a puzzle which was once more troublesome than it is likely to be now. For it is to be observed, that throughout this last account, God is called by a name not used in the preceding section; the name 'Lord,' or 'Jehovah,' being joined to the name 'God.' …In this chapter, the state of things on the earth at its first creation is briefly described. 'These are the generations,'—or, as we would say, the following is the account of the original condition—'of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens' (ver. 4)…In the present instance, this formula introduces a description of the world, both natural and moral, as it stood completely adjusted, on the day of the finished creation. 1. The economy of the kingdom of inanimate nature, or of the vegetable world, was fitted at once to maintain the sovereignty of God, and to provide for the welfare of man, viewing man as a compound being, having both body and soul. (ver. 5–7)… – Robert Candlish |
