God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was
very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 Modern English Version (MEV)
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And
God saw everything that he had made,.... Either all that he had made on the
several six days of the creation, he took a survey of them, looked over them
again, as workmen do when they have finished their work, to see if anything is
amiss or wanting; not that anything of this nature can be supposed in the works
of God, but such a survey is attributed to him after the manner of men, to show
the completeness of his works, and the excellency of them. Picherellus (q)
limits this to what had been done on this day, with respect to man, who alone,
as he thinks, was the subject of this day's work; and so it respects the
creation of man after the image and likeness of God; the forming of the woman
out of his rib, and so providing a suitable helper for him; giving them
dominion over all the creatures, and suitable food for the support of the
animal life; and God reflected on this, and foresaw it would be good in the
issue, as it was in itself,
And
behold, it was very good; it had been said of everything else, at the close of each day's work,
excepting the second, that it was good; but here the expression is stronger
upon the creation of man, the chief and principal work of God, that it was
"very good"; he being made upright and holy, bearing the image of his
Creator upon him, and in such circumstances as to be happy and comfortable
himself, and to glorify God: the phrase may be expressive not only of the
goodness of everything God had made, as it was in itself, and in its use; but
of his complacency, and delight therein, every thing being made for himself and
for, his pleasure, Rev_4:11.
and
the evening and the morning were the sixth day; by that time all these works on this day
were finished; the sun had gone round the earth, or the earth about that, for
the space of twenty four hours, which completed the sixth day, within which
term of time God had determined to finish all his works, as he did. This day,
according to Capellus, was the twenty third of April, and, according, to
Archbishop Usher, the twenty eighth of October, or, as others, the sixth of
September. Mr. Whiston, as has been before observed, is of opinion, that the
six days of the creation were equal to six years: and the Persians have a
tradition, which they pretend to have received from Zoroastres, that God
created the world, not in six natural days, but in six times or spaces of
different length, called in their tongue "Ghahan barha". The first of
these spaces, in which the heavens were created, was a space of forty five
days; the second, in which the waters were created, sixty days; the third, in
which the earth was created, seventy five days; the fourth, in which grass and
trees were created, thirty days; the fifth, in which all creatures were made,
eighty days; the sixth, in which man was created, seventy five days; in all
three hundred sixty five days, or a full year (r). The first of the six
principal good works they are taught to do is to observe the times of the
creation (s). And the ancient Tuscans or Etrurians allot six thousand years to
the creation; the order of which, with them, is much the same with the Mosaic account,
only making a day a thousand years: in the first thousand, they say, God made
the heaven and the earth; in the next, the firmament, which appears to us,
calling it heaven; in the third, the sea, and all the waters that are in the
earth; in the fourth, the great lights, the sun and moon, and also the stars;
in the fifth, every volatile, reptile, and four footed animal, in the air,
earth and water, (which agrees with Picherellus); see Gill on Gen_1:25,
and in the sixth, man; and whereas they say God employed twelve thousand years
in all his creation, and the first six being passed at the creation of man, it
seems, according to them, that mankind are to continue for the other six
thousand years (t). And it is a notion that obtains among the Jews, that, answerable
to the six days of creation, the world will continue six thousand years. It is
a tradition of Elias (u), an ancient Jewish doctor, that
"the
world shall stand six thousand years, two thousand void, two thousand under the
law, and two thousand, the days of the Messiah.''
And
Baal Hatturim (w) observes, there are six "alephs" in the first verse
of this chapter, answerable to the six thousand years the world is to continue:
and R. Gedaliah says (x), at the end of the sixth millennium the world shall
return without form and void, (to its former condition, "tohu" and
"bohu",) and the whole shall be a sabbath: and very particular is
another writer (y) of theirs concerning these six days of the creation, who
having spoken of the day of judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the
world to come, observes, that the six days' work is an intimation and sign of
these things: on the sixth day man was created, and the work was perfected on
the seventh; so the kings of the nations shall be in the world five thousand
years, answerable to the five days in which the fowls, and creeping things of
the waters, and the rest, were created; and the holding of their kingdoms will
be a little within the sixth millennium, answerable to the creation of cattle
and beasts, who were now created on the beginning of it, the "sixth
day"; and the kingdom of the house of David will be in the sixth
millennium, answerable to the creation of man, who knew his Creator, and ruled
over them all; and at the end of that millennium will be the day of judgment,
answerable to man's being judged at the end of it, "the sixth day; and the
seventh millennium will be the sabbath". And a like notion obtains among
the Persian Magi; it is said that Zerdusht, or Zoroastres, was born in the
middle age of the world, so it was told him from the age of Keiomaras (the
first man) unto thy age are 3000 years, and from this thy age unto the
resurrection are 3000 years (z).
(q) In
Cosmopoeiam, p. 2841. (r) Hyde Hist. Relig. vet. Pers. p. 164, 166, 168, 483,
484. (s) Lib. Sad-der, port. 6. 94. apud Hyde, ib. p. 439, 483. (t) See
Universal History, vol. 1. p. 64. (u) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 1. Avoda
Zara, fol. 9. 1. (w) Comment. in Gen. i. 1. (x) Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 36.
1. (y) Comment. in Maimon. Hilch. Teshuva, c. 9. sect. 2. (z) Lib. Sad-der,
port. 11. Vid. Hyde, ut supra, (Hist. Relig. vet. Pers. p. 481.)
John
Gill’s Exposition of the Bible
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Despite what many seem to think, nothing God created is evil. Matter is not evil. Once we understand that we gain a whole new perspective on what is going on in God’s creation.
Genesis 1:31 Modern English Version (MEV)
Despite what many seem to think, nothing God created is evil. Matter is not evil. Once we understand that we gain a whole new perspective on what is going on in God’s creation.
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