GENESIS.

    11  The above in Genesis.

     1  The Generations of Aaron and Moses. Num. 3:1.
     1  The Generations of Pharez. Ruth 4:18-22.
    13
     1  1The Generations of Jesus Christ. Matt.1:1.
    14

   Numbers are used in Scripture, not merely as in Nature, with supernatural design, but with spiritual significance, which may be summarized as follows*:-
   ONE. Denotes unity,and commencement. The first occurrences of words or utterances denote their essential significance, in interpretation. Words that occur only once, in the originals, are emphatic and important. First day, Light.
   TWO. Denotes difference. If two different persons agree in testimony it is conclusive. Otherwise two implies opposition, enmity, and division, as was the work of the Second day. Compare the use of the word "double" applied to "heart", "tongue", "mind", &c.
   THREE. Denotes completeness, as three lines complete a plane figure. Hence, Three is significant of Divine perfection and completeness. The Third day completes the fundamentals of creation-work. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth day are counterparts and repetition of the First, Second, and Third, and correspond respectively. The number, three,includes resurrection also; for on the Third day the earth rose up out of the deep, and fruit rose up out of the earth.
   FOUR. Denotes creative works (3+1), and always has reference to the material creation, as pertaining to the earth, and things "under the sun",and things terrestrial.
   FIVE. Denotes Divine grace. It is 4 + 1. It is God adding His gifts and blessings to the works of His hands. The Hebrew Ha'aretz (the earth), by "Gematria" (i.e. the addition of the numerical value of the letters together) is a multiple of four, while Hashamayim (the heavens) is a multiple of five. The Gematria of charis, the Greek for Grace, is also a multiple of five. It is the leading factor in the Tabernacle measurements.
   SIX. Denotes the human number. Man was created on the sixth day; and this first occurrence of the number makes it (and all multiples of it) the hall-mark of all connected with man. He works six days. The hours of his day are a multiple of six. Athaliah usurped the throne of Judah six years. The great men who have stood out in defiance of God (Goliath and Nebuchadnezzar and Antichrist [who is Satan]) are all emphatically marked by this number.
   SEVEN. Denotes spiritual perfection. It is the number or hall-mark of the Holy Spirit's work. He is the Author of God's Word, and seven is stamped on it as the water-mark is seen in the manufacture of paper. He is the Author and Giver of life.; and seven is the number which regulates every period of Incubation and Gestation, in insects, birds, animals, and man.
   EIGHT. Denotes resurrection, regeneration; a new beginning or commencement. The eighth is a new first. Hence the octave in music, color, days of the week, &c. It is the number that has to do with the Lord, Who rose on the eighth, or new "first-day". This is, therefore, the Dominical number. By Gematria (see #5), Jesus makes the number 888. It, or its multiple is impressed on all that has to do with the Lord's Names, the Lord's People, and the Lord's works.
   NINE. Denotes Finality of judgment. It is 3 X 3, the product of Divine completeness. The number nine, and its factors or multiples, is seen in all cases whenjudgment is the subject.
   TEN. Denotes Ordinal perfection. Another new first; after the ninth digit, when numeration begins anew.
   ELEVEN. Denotes disorder, disorganization, because it is one short of the number twelve (see below).
   TWELVE. Denotes Governmental perfection. It is the number or factor of all numbers connected with government: whether by Tribes or Apostles, or in measurement of time, or in things which have to do with government in the heavens and the earth.
   THIRTEEN. Denotes rebellion, apostasy, defection, disintegration, revolution, &c. The first occurrence fixes this (Gen.14:4); and the second confirms it (Gen.17:25). It, and its multiples, are seen in all numbers, and in the Gematria (see #5) of all names and passages that are associated with rebellion, &c.
   SEVENTEEN. Denotes a combination of spirit and order (10 + 7). It is the seventh prime number (as 13 is the sixth prime number).
   Other numbers follow the laws which govern the smaller numbers, as being their factors, sums, products or multiples. e.g. 24 is 12 X 2, a higher form of 12.
   25=5 X 5. Grace intensified.
   27=3 X 3 X 3. Divinity intensified.
   28=7 X 4. Spiritual perfection in connection with the earth.
   30=3 X 10. Divine perfection, applied to order.
   40=10 X 4. Divine order applied to earthly things. Hence, the number of probation.
   The four perfect number, 3, 7, 10, and 12, have for their product the remarkable number 2,520 (From the time of The 10 Northern Tribes of Israel leaving the Assyrian captivity to the signing of the Declaration of Independence of 1776=2,520 years! a coincidence? I think not.). It is the Least Common Multiple of the ten digits governing all numeration; and can, therefore, be divided by each of the nine digits, without a remainder. It is the number of chronological perfection (7 X 360). Oh How great and wonderful the workings of our heavenly Father!

    * The whole subject may be studied in Dr. Bullinger's work on Numbers in Scripture.

   GENESIS is the seed plot of the whole Bible. It is essential to the true understanding of its every part. It is the foundation which Divine Revelation rests; and on which it is built up. It is not only the foundation of all Truth, but it enters into, and forms part of all subsequent inspiration; and is at once the warp and the woof of Holy Writ.

   Genesis is quoted or referred to 60 times in the New Testament; and Divine authority is set like a seal on its historical facts. See Matt. 19:4-6; 24:37-39. Mark 7:4,10; 10:3-8. Luke 11:49-51; 17:26-29,32. John 1:51; 7:21-23; 8:44-56.

   It, and the Book of the Law (Torah), of which it forms a part, are ascribed to Moses. See Deut. 31:9,10,24-26. Josh. 1:7; 8:32,35; 23:6. 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 23:25. 2 Chron. 23:18; 30:16; 34:14. Ezra 3:2; 7:6. Neh. 8:1. Dan. 9:11,13. Mal. 4:4. Mark 12:26. Luke 2:22. John 7:23. Acts 13:39; 15:5; 28:23. 1 Cor. 9:9. Heb. 10:28.

   The date of the writing was probably during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, 1491-1451 B.C.

   The Book of Genesis covers 2,369 years (not including the unknown amount of time from the beginning of the creation of the Universe), from the creation of Adam, to the death of Joseph 1635 B.C.

   The Book of Genesis (with the first chapters of Exodus) describes the steps which led to the establishment of the theocracy. It is a part of the writer's plan to tell us what the Divine preparations of the world was, in order to show first, the significance of the call of Abraham and next, the true nature of the Israeli theocracy. He begins with the creation of the world, because God Who created the world and the God Who revealed Himself to the fathers is the same God. The Book of Genesis has thus a character at once special and universal.

   It is clear that Moses must have derived his knowledge of the events which he records in Genesis either from immediate Divine Revelation or from oral traditions or written documents. The nature of many of the facts related, and the minuteness of the narration, render it extremely improbable that immediate revelation was the source from where they were drawn. That this knowledge should have been derived from oral tradition appears morally impossible when we consider the great number of names, ages, dates and minute events which are recorded. The conclusion, then, seems fair that he must have obtained his information from written documents coeval, or nearly so, with the events which they are recorded, and composed by persons intimately acquainted with the subjects to which they relate. He may have collected these, with additions from authentic tradition or existing monuments, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,into a single book. Certain is it that several of the first chapters of Genesis have the air of being made up of selections from very ancient documents, written by different authors at different periods. The variety which is observable in the names and titles of the Supreme Being is appealed to among the most striking proofs of this fact. This is obvious in the English translation, but still more so in the Hebrew original. In Gen. 1-2:3, which is really one piece of composition, as the title, v. 4, "These are the Generations", shows, the name of the Most High is uniformly Elohim, God. In Chapter 2:4-3, which may be considered the second document, the title is uniformly Yehoveh Elohim, Lord God; and in the third, including Chapter 4, it is Yahaveh, Lord, only; while in Chapter 5 it is Elohim, God, only, except v. 29, where a Quotation is made, and Yahaveh used. It is hardly conceivable that all this should be the result of mere accident. The change of the name corresponds exactly to the changes in the narrative and the titles of the several Pieces. "Now, do all these accurate quotations", says Professor Stowe, "impair the credit of the Mosaic Books, or increase it? Is Marshall's Life of Washington to be regarded as unworthy of credit because it contains copious extractions from Washington's correspondence and literal Quotations from important public documents? Is not its value greatly enhanced by this circumstance? The objection is altogether futile. In the common editions of the Bible the Pentateuch occupies about one hundred and fifty pages, of which perhaps ten may be taken up with quotations. This surely is no very large portion for an historical work extending through so long a period." -Bush. On the supposition that writing was known to Adam, Gen. 1-4, containing the first two of these documents, formed the Bible of Adam's descendants, or the antediluvians. Gen. 1-11:19, being the sum of these two and the following three, constitutes the Bible of the descendants of Noah. The whole of Genesis may be called the Bible of the posterity of Jacob; and the five Books of the Law were the first Bible of Israel as a nation. - Canon Cook.

   Man starts from nothing. He begins in helplessness, ignorance, and inexperience. All his works, therefore, proceed on the principle of evolution. This principle is seen only in human affairs; from the hut to the palace; from the canoe to the ocean liner. But the birds build their nest today as at the beginning. The moment we pass the boundary line, and enter the Divine sphere, no trace or vestige of evolution is seen. There is growth and development within, but no passing change, or evolution out from one into another. On the other hand, all God's works are perfect.

   It will be noted that the word "God" (Elohim) occurs in this introduction 35 time, the product of 7 and 5, the number of Spiritual perfection and Grace.

   There are also 10 words connected with the word "God"; this is the number of Ordinal perfection.

   There is only one verb used alone with the pronoun "He", instead of "God", and that verb is "rested". This makes eleven in all which denotes disorder, disorganization, because it is one short of the number 12 which is Governmental perfection.

   The word "and" is repeated 102 times, thus by the figure of peach Polysyndeton, marking and emphasizing each separate act as being equally independent and important, emphatic with no climax at the end.

   Evolution is only one of several theories invented to explain the phenomena of created things. It is admitted by all scientists that no one of these theories cover all the ground; and the greatest claim made for evolution, or Darwinism, is that "it covers more ground than any of the others".

   The Word of God claims to cover all the ground; and the only way in which this claim is meet, is by a denial of the inspiration of the Scripture, in order to weaken it. This is the special work undertaken by the so-called "Higher Criticism", which bases its conclusions on human assumptions and reasoning,instead of the documentary evidence of manuscripts, as Textual Criticism does.

   The word "without form" (Heb. tohu) is used of a subsequent event which, we know not how long after the Creation, befell the primitive creation of Gen. 1:1. It occurs in Gen. 1:2. Deut. 32:10. 1 Sam. 12:21 (twice). Job 6:18; 12:24; 26:7. Ps. 107:40. Isa. 24:10; 29:21; 34:11; 40:17,23; 41:29; 44:9;45:18,19; 59:4. Jer. 4:23.
   The Heb. bohu, rendered "void", means desolate and occurs in Gen. 1:2. Isa.34:11. Jer.4:23. The two word together occur in these same verses.

1) The Tablets begin with chaos.
*The Bible with perfection (Gen. 1:1).
2) The Tablets make the heavenly bodies to be gods.
*Genesis makes them created matter.
3) The Tablets are all polytheistic mythology.
*Genesis's monotheistic truth.
4) The Tablets make all the work of a craftsman.
*In Genesis, God speak, and it is done.
5) In the Tablets we meet everywhere with the peurilities of a grotesque superstition.
*In Genesis we find the grand and solemn realities of righteousness and holiness.

    The word "day" is never used for a year. Sometimes a corresponding number of days is used for a corresponding number of years, but in that case it is always expressly stated to be so used; as in Num.14:33,34. But, even in these cases, the word "day" means a day, and the word "year" means a year. It is not said that a day means a year; but the number of the 40 years is said to be "after the number of the days in which you all searched the land, even forty days".

    It is the same in Ezek. 4:5, where the years of Israel's iniquity were laid on Ezekiel "according to the number of days". In this case also, the word "days" means days,and the word "years" means years.
   There is no Scriptural warrant for arbitrarily assuming this to be a general principle in the absence of any statement to that effect.