CHAPTER XIV. THE NEBULAR THEORY IN GENESIS. WITH these preliminary remarks, we will now proceed to compare the Mosaic record with the discoveries of science, in order to ascertain how far they are consistent with one another. What is called the nebular theory, is the only theory which attempts to explain the great facts of astronomy, as the result of the operation of natural laws. It is true that it has not received the confirmation that was expected, from the revelations of the sidereal heavens obtained by Lord Rosse's telescope. At the same time, it must be remembered that the resolution of the nebula by that wonderful instrument, while it does not confirm, certainly does not disprove the great idea upon which the theory is founded,—viz., that all the celestial bodies are produced by the condensation of an exceedingly thin and almost imperceptible substance spread throughout space. According to this theory, our earth, as well as all the planets and stars, were formed from an atmosphere millions of times lighter than air, somewhat after the same fashion as drops of rain are formed by the condensation of the watery vapours that float in the atmosphere. This, although it constitutes the leading principle of the theory, is not the whole of it; but as the object of the present chapter is not to explain or discuss it, the reader is referred to other sources for a detailed account of this ingenious speculation,-all that is proposed at present being to shew that if this great fundamental principle of the nebular theory be established, the Mosaic narrative of creation will be found to harmonise with it in a very remarkable manner. If it be true that the Creator at first merely called into being the materials of the universe in the state of a thin atmosphere, and that the substances of which the earth is composed were originally expanded over a large space in the heavens; in short, that it formed only a part of the general chaos or atmosphere, without being distinct and separate from it; then the first verse of Genesis would ascribe the creation of this substance to Jehovah God. 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. That is, He created the materials of which the sidereal heavens are composed, including also, of course, the earth: and the second verse would describe the character of this chaos; at least it would describe that part of it whose history especially was to be the subject of the narrative. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. : When the Spirit of God moved or brooded over this chaos, what we call the natural laws were not so much the consequence, as the method of His operation; and the first result was the production of light. Whether this happened in the manner described in the ninth chapter of this essay is of little importance; the evolution of light during condensation of any kind is not a difficulty. 3 And God said, Let there be light and there was light. : 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. After the light had been created, or according to our supposition, after stars had been kindled, this condensation would be followed by a division of the chaos into parts; so that the materials of each star would be detached from the surrounding chaos, and an intermediate expanse would be formed between them. So it would happen with the earth; the materials of which it is composed, though originally a part of an undivided whole, would gradually concentrate itself apart from all the rest, and when combustion commenced and terminated, would become a sphere. This change is described in the following verses :— 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. morning were the second day. And the evening and the Let us examine the passage a little more carefully to ascertain whether the words will bear this novel interpretation first, let us examine the description given of the chaos. 1. It was without form, and void. 2. Darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. 1. The Hebrew word h, which is here translated "without form," occurs so seldom in the Bible that its meaning can only be determined by the sense of the passages in which it is found. The following are the only other passages in which -: occurs תהוּ 1. Deut. xxxii. 10. He found him in a desert land, and in the "waste" howling wilderness. 2. Job vi. 18. The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to "nothing," and perish. 3. Job xii. 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in "a wilderness," where there is no way. 4. Job xxvi. 7. He stretcheth out the north over the "empty place," and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 5. Isaiah xxiv. 10. The city of "confusion" is broken down. 6. Isaiah xxxiv. 11. He shall stretch out upon it the line of "confusion," and the stones of emptiness. The general idea conveyed in these passages is that of emptiness; and accordingly lexicographers thus express the shades of meaning which it has conveyed to their minds: "emptiness, a vain thing, nothing, desolation, a desert, wilderness, in vain." There are two of these passages which especially invite attention, because they express exactly the idea which the nebular theory requires. These are Job xxvi. 7 and vi. 18. "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place (Mn-by), and hangeth the earth upon nothing." This opinion is strengthened when we remember that in Hebrew poetry we generally have each verse presented in the form of a couplet, the second idea being often a repetition or variation of the first. Thus, in the previous verse it is said— "Hell is naked before him, And destruction hath no covering." Here the idea of "destruction" is a variation of the idea of "hell," and "naked before him" is echoed in the expression "hath no covering." So in the succeeding verse we find "north" corresponding with "earth," and "empty space" corresponding with "nothing." As the literal meaning of hy is not "over," but " translate the sentence thus on," we may "He stretcheth out the north on the empty place,' And hangeth the earth upon nothing." The other passage is in the sixth chapter of Job, at the eighteenth verse :—— 15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; 16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid. 17 What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to " nothing," and perish. The words here translated, "they go to nothing and but this is not a literal ,יַעֲלוּ בַתּחוּ וִיאבְדוּ perish, are translation. The literal meaning of by is not "they go," but " they ascend," or "go up." Again, the literal meaning of is not "to," but "in." And lastly, the literal meaning of 7 is not "they perish," but "they are lost,” or "they go astray." This translation is evidently more expressive of the idea of the whole passage. Job is comparing the inconstancy of his friends to the brooks in the desert, which, when they are dried up by the heat, disappoint the troops of Tema, who expected to quench their thirst when they came to them. 17 What time they (the brooks) wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18 The paths of their way (the brooks) are turned aside; they ascend in empty space," and they are lost. 19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. 20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. |