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Gen 2:7 “He formed, it says, the Lord God man from the slime of the earth — behold the flesh. And He breathed into his face the breath of life — behold the soul. And man became a living soul.” For the whole man consists of soul and body; but He placed the matter of the body from earth, and the soul from Himself. For almost everywhere Moses speaks not of invisible things, but of visible things alone. Therefore he gave an account not of those things which are above heaven, but of those which are beneath it. For he awaited Him of whom it is said: “He who is of the earth speaks of the earth; He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:32).
And indeed there are some things whose matter we do not know; likewise there are things which are not made from something, but from nothing by God. For from what matter were the heavens made? The earth? From where came the waters, from where the angels? Since therefore we are ignorant of the manner of creation, let us at least know this for certain: although the soul is inspired by God, it is nevertheless not a part of God, as some imagine; for He could not punish a part of Himself with torments. But whether God created all souls at once, or whether, just as flesh comes from flesh, so soul comes from soul, or whether He breathes them into bodies already formed in the mother’s womb — this is no small question. Yet concerning the first man it is said that God created him from the slime of the earth, and then it is added that He breathed into his face the breath of life; according to whose likeness, if the others also have souls, it is not unreasonable.
Gen 2:8--14 “Now the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning, in which He placed the man whom He had formed. And the Lord God brought forth from the ground every tree beautiful to behold and pleasant for food, also the tree of life in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out from the place of pleasure to water paradise, and from there it was divided into four heads. The name of one is Phison; this is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where gold is born, and the gold of that land is excellent; there is also found bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gehon; this is it which compasses the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Tigris; this goes toward the Assyrians. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”
How greatly the Lord loved man can also easily be understood from this: that He had prepared for him such a dwelling place, in which, if he had not sinned, and in a most chaste marriage without any concupiscence, he would have begotten children, from whom, when the number of the elect had been completed, having tasted no bitterness of death, ascending to the heavenly Jerusalem, differing from the angels neither in merit nor in number, he would enjoy eternal blessedness.
Among the other trees of paradise (whose fragrance, taste, beauty, and power no one can describe), the Lord also placed the tree of life, to which He had given this nature: that if anyone tasted of it, he could not die. He also placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, from which after the first humans had eaten, they immediately understood what goods they had lost and what evils they had become subject to. For every contrary is better known through its contrary. Hence it happens that the sick praise health with great commendations, though while they were healthy they rarely spoke of it. So also these, after they sinned, seeing how great a loss and how great a danger threatened them, began to admire that very good, which previously they had indeed not known, much more than before.
Therefore it is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because in the first transgressors it taught us how good it is to keep the commandments of God, and how evil and dangerous it is not to obey His commandments. But what sweetness and delight do we suppose that river has, which goes forth from the place of pleasure? For since in the regions of the East, as philosophers relate, there are rivers more pleasant for drinking than any beverage, what kind of river shall we say that is which proceeds from paradise?
But these things are according to the letter; now let us see their spiritual meaning. For the paradise of pleasure, which God planted from the beginning, signifies the holy Church. And it is well said to have been planted from the beginning, because He chose her before the foundation of the world. For paradise is interpreted as “garden of delights.” But who can enumerate those delights? For the living Bread alone, which is eaten in her, surpasses all delights.
And what is the tree of life except Christ? For He Himself says: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood shall live forever” (John 6:53). Likewise: “If they do these things in the green wood, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31). And the Psalmist: “And he shall be like a tree planted beside running waters” (Psalm 1:3). And Solomon, speaking of Wisdom, who is Christ, says: “She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her, and blessed is he who holds her fast” (Proverbs 3:18).
But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the transgression of the commandments of God. For when He says: “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods” (Luke 18:20), then man is forbidden to approach that tree. But if a man does all these things, then by dying he will indeed feel what good it is to observe them, and what evil it is to transgress them.
The river which goes forth from paradise is understood as evangelical doctrine, whose sweetness that man tasted who said: “How sweet are Your words to my palate, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). And this is divided into four heads, because the four books of the Gospels, written from it, water the whole world with the waters of divine speech.
See how even the names of the four rivers correspond to the four Gospels. Phison is interpreted as “change of mouth” or “invocation,” because the Gospel changed the mouths of all nations, so that they no longer praise many gods, but worship and venerate one God in truth. Gehon is said to mean “breast,” because evangelical preaching has filled the breasts of the faithful with wisdom and made them stronger against enemies. Tigris takes its name from swiftness, because the Gospel with swift course suddenly filled the whole world. Euphrates is called “fruitfulness,” because the doctrine of the Gospel makes the holy Church fruitful in all good things and causes her to abound.
Gen 3:1-3 “But the serpent was more crafty than all the animals of the earth which the Lord God had made; and he said to the woman: ‘Why has God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?’ The woman said to him: ‘Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God has commanded us that we should not eat, nor touch it, lest perhaps we die.’
It can be understood, however, that the serpent not only through diabolical inspiration, which dwelt in him, but also in his own nature, by God’s granting, had this: that he was more crafty than all the animals. But the malignant spirit, because he is invisible, could not show himself to the woman except through some form. For if, as the Apostle says, ‘Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light’ (2 Corinthians 11:14), it was easy for him to transform himself into a serpent.
And indeed the woman could have recognized the deception there, since she heard the serpent speaking against nature; but because she knew that all God’s creatures are good, and suspected no evil anywhere in anything, and because she had not heard from anyone that anyone had ever been deceived, what evil could she suspect? Especially since it was not the serpent which was seen, but the devil himself who spoke so craftily to her in the serpent. For as if ignorant, he questions her and asks why God commanded that they should not eat of every tree of paradise. For he wished to know whether they were mindful of God’s commandment, so that, if they sinned knowingly and willingly, they might incur a greater indignation of God.
But what did the woman answer him? ‘Of the fruit of the trees of paradise we eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise we do not eat, lest we die.’ Well, I say, you speak well, woman: remain in this, hold fast to faith; you know what kind of tree it is, you know that it is forbidden to you, and you know the sin and the punishment of sin; there will be no excuse, if you touch it; and whatever excuse there might be, it will be useless.
Gen 3:4-7a It follows: ‘But the serpent said to the woman: You shall not surely die; for God knows that on whatever day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like gods, knowing good and evil. Therefore the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to behold; and she took of its fruit and ate, and gave to her husband, who ate, and the eyes of them both were opened.’
‘You shall not die,’ says the serpent, if you eat, but with the eyes of your mind opened, you will also see invisible things, ‘and you shall be like gods,’ like angels in heaven, because you do not see how much they are superior to you; you are ignorant. ‘You shall be,’ he says, ‘like gods’; but in what way? ‘Knowing good and evil.’ For to know pertains not to the eyes of the body, but to the eyes of the mind; nor are we wiser when we open our bodily eyes; otherwise fools and the insane would be wiser.
But did the angels know good and evil, and did the first humans still not know what good and evil were? For if they did not know this, they were foolish; and if they were such, they were not made to the image and likeness of God. For in this especially they are said to have the likeness of God, because they are rational; for rationality is the discernment of good and evil. Therefore, since they were rational, they knew good and evil; and in this, therefore, they did not differ from the angels.
And indeed in this place also the crafty persuasion of the devil is made manifest; for because that tree, which was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and by its very name could frighten them lest they presume to approach it, he wickedly interpreted the very name: ‘You shall be,’ he says, ‘like gods, knowing good and evil.’ Which is as if he were to say: you shall know all things — whatever is useful or useless, whatever is prosperous or adverse, whatever can help or harm you — you shall know all things.
But the devil lies, because that tree is not called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it was to bestow all these things, but because good and evil are set for just and unjust. But what will you do, O unhappy woman? Whom will you believe, God or the devil? For God says: ‘On whatever day you eat of it, you shall surely die.’ The devil says: ‘You shall not surely die.’ But the one is truthful; the other from the beginning a liar. Yet you believed him, to your own harm and to ours. You saw the tree, and delighted by it both in taste and in sight, you ate; you gave to your husband; you were deceived and you deceived; he also ate, and the eyes of both were opened.
Were your eyes, then, O Adam, not open before? How then, seeing the woman, did you say: ‘This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh’? What kind of eyes, then, were opened to you? Surely the eyes of the mind. For then at last you understood how great a good you had lost, and how great an evil you had incurred.
Gen 3:7b-9‘And when they knew that they were naked, they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of paradise.’ For before they were naked and were not ashamed; but after they sinned, they became aware of a certain movement of concupiscence in their members, which they were ashamed to see in one another. And before, although they were naked, they did not know their nakedness, because their most radiant flesh before sin was more delightful to behold than any garment.
But why did they make themselves coverings by sewing fig leaves? Perhaps because they occurred to them first; or also because, among the others which were then present, they were broader. For fig leaves in the regions of the East are said to be such as to exceed the width of a shield. Moreover, fig leaves have in themselves a certain roughness of natural itching; whence they signify that those parts of the body which were covered by them are always vexed and disturbed by a certain heat of concupiscence.
CONTINUE
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