Chapter Two

THE GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, SECOND EDITION

CHAPTER II

Some years ago a learned man asked me a question of great importance;

the problem and the solution which we gave in our reply deserve the

closest attention. Before, however, entering upon this problem and its

solution I must premise that every Hebrew knows that the term Elohim is

a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of

countries, and that Onkelos the proselyte explained it in the true and

correct manner by taking Elohim in the sentence, “and ye shall be like

Elohim” (Gen. iii. 5) in the last-mentioned meaning, and rendering the

sentence “and ye shall be like princes.” Having pointed out the

homonymity of the term “Elohim” we return to the question under

consideration. “It would at first sight,” said the objector, “appear

from Scripture that man was originally intended to be perfectly equal

to the rest of the animal creation, which is not endowed with

intellect, reason, or power of distinguishing between good and evil:

but that Adam’s disobedience to the command of God procured him that

great perfection which is the peculiarity of man, viz., the power of

distinguishing between good and evil—the noblest of all the faculties

of our nature, the essential characteristic of the human race. It thus

appears strange that the punishment for rebelliousness should be the

means of elevating man to a pinnacle of perfection to which he had not

attained previously. This is equivalent to saying that a certain man

was rebellious and extremely wicked, wherefore his nature was changed

for the better, and he was made to shine as a star in the heavens.”

Such was the purport and subject of the question, though not in the

exact words of the inquirer. Now mark our reply, which was as

follows:—“You appear to have studied the matter superficially, and

nevertheless you imagine that you can understand a book which has been

the guide of past and present generations, when you for a moment

withdraw from your lusts and appetites, and glance over its contents as

if you were reading a historical work or some poetical composition.

Collect your thoughts and examine the matter carefully, for it is not

to be understood as you at first sight think, but as you will find

after due deliberation; namely, the intellect which was granted to man

as the highest endowment, was bestowed on him before his disobedience.

With reference to this gift the Bible states that “man was created in

the form and likeness of God.” On account of this gift of intellect man

was addressed by God, and received His commandments, as it is said:

“And the Lord God commanded Adam” (Gen. ii. 16)—for no commandments are

given to the brute creation or to those who are devoid of

understanding. Through the intellect man distinguishes between the true

and the false. This faculty Adam possessed perfectly and completely.

The right and the wrong are terms employed in the science of apparent

truths (morals), not in that of necessary truths, as, e.g., it is not

correct to say, in reference to the proposition “the heavens are

spherical,” it is “good” or to declare the assertion that “the earth is

flat” to be “bad”; but we say of the one it is true, of the other it is

false. Similarly our language expresses the idea of true and false by

the terms emet and sheker, of the morally right and the morally wrong,

by tob and ra’. Thus it is the function of the intellect to

discriminate between the true and the false—a distinction which is

applicable to all objects of intellectual perception. When Adam was yet

in a state of innocence, and was guided solely by reflection and

reason—on account of which it is said: “Thou hast made him (man) little

lower than the angels” (Ps. viii. 6)—he was not at all able to follow

or to understand the principles of apparent truths; the most manifest

impropriety, viz., to appear in a state of nudity, was nothing

unbecoming according to his idea: he could not comprehend why it should

be so. After man’s disobedience, however, when he began to give way to

desires which had their source in his imagination and to the

gratification of his bodily appetites, as it is said, “And the wife saw

that the tree was good for food and delightful to the eyes” (Gen. iii.

6), he was punished by the loss of part of that intellectual faculty

which he had previously possessed. He therefore transgressed a command

with which he had been charged on the score of his reason; and having

obtained a knowledge of the apparent truths, he was wholly absorbed in

the study of what is proper and what improper. Then he fully understood

the magnitude of the loss he had sustained, what he had forfeited, and

in what situation he was thereby placed. Hence we read, “And ye shall

be like elohim, knowing good and evil,” and not “knowing” or

“discerning the true and the false”: while in necessary truths we can

only apply the words “true and false,” not “good and evil.” Further

observe the passage, “And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew

they were naked” (Gen. iii. 7): it is not said, “And the eyes of both

were opened, and they saw”; for what the man had seen previously and

what he saw after this circumstance was precisely the same; there had

been no blindness which was now removed, but he received a new faculty

whereby he found things wrong which previously he had not regarded as

wrong. Besides, you must know that the Hebrew word pakaḥ used in this

passage is exclusively employed in the figurative sense of receiving

new sources of knowledge, not in that of regaining the sense of sight.

Comp., “God opened her eyes” (Gen. xxi. 19). “Then shall the eyes of

the blind be opened” (Isaiah xxxviii. 8). “Open ears, he heareth not”

(ibid. xlii. 20), similar in sense to the verse, “Which have eyes to

see, and see not” (Ezek. xii. 2). When, however, Scripture says of

Adam, “He changed his face (panav) and thou sentest him forth” (Job

xiv. 20), it must be understood in the following way: On account of the

change of his original aim he was sent away. For panim, the Hebrew

equivalent of face, is derived from the verb panah, “he turned,” and

signifies also “aim,” because man generally turns his face towards the

thing he desires. In accordance with this interpretation, our text

suggests that Adam, as he altered his intention and directed his

thoughts to the acquisition of what he was forbidden, he was banished

from Paradise: this was his punishment; it was measure for measure. At

first he had the privilege of tasting pleasure and happiness, and of

enjoying repose and security; but as his appetites grew stronger, and

he followed his desires and impulses, (as we have already stated

above), and partook of the food he was forbidden to taste, he was

deprived of everything, was doomed to subsist on the meanest kind of

food, such as he never tasted before, and this even only after exertion

and labour, as it is said, “Thorns and thistles shall grow up for thee”

(Gen. iii. 18), “By the sweat of thy brow,” etc., and in explanation of

this the text continues, “And the Lord God drove him from the Garden of

Eden, to till the ground whence he was taken.” He was now with respect

to food and many other requirements brought to the level of the lower

animals; comp., “Thou shalt eat the grass of the field” (Gen. iii. 18).

Reflecting on his condition, the Psalmist says, “Adam unable to dwell

in dignity, was brought to the level of the dumb beast” (Ps. xlix. 13).

“May the Almighty be praised, whose design and wisdom cannot be

fathomed.”