the earliest stages of their growth; hence the classification of flora is not threefold—grass, herbs, trees (Di. Dri. al.)—but twofold, the generic דשא including the two kinds עֵשֶׂב and עֵץ (De. Gu. Ho. etc.). The distinction is based on the methods of reproduction; the one kind producing seed merely, the other fruit which contains the seed.—The v. continues (amending with the help of G): grass producing seed after its kind, and fruit-tree producing fruit in which (i.e. the fruit) is its (the tree's) seed after its (the tree's) kind.—after its kind] v.i.—upon the earth] comes in very awkwardly; it is difficult to find any suitable point of attachment except with the principal verb, which, however, is too remote.
14-19. Fifth work: The heavenly luminaries.—On the parallelism with the first day's work see above, p. 8 f. The vv. describe only the creation of sun and moon; the clause and the stars in v.16 appears to be an
the absence of וְ before עשב; and, second, the syntactic consideration that דשא as cognate acc. may be presumed to define completely the action of the vb.—רשׁא denotes especially fresh juicy herbage[1] (Pr. 2725) and those grasses which never to appearance get beyond that stage. עשב, on the other hand (unlike דּ׳), is used of human food, and therefore includes cultivated plants (the cereals, etc.) (Ps. 10414).—עץ] read וְעֵין with ⅏GVS, and 3 Heb. MSS (Ball).—למינו, למינהו] On form of suff. see G-K. § 91 d. G in v.11 inserts the word after זרע (rendering strangely κατὰ γένος καὶ καθ’ ὁμοιότητα,—and so v.12), and later in the v. (κατὰ γέν. εἰς ὁμ.) transposes as indicated in the translation above.—מין] a characteristic word of P, found elsewhere only in Dt. 1413. 14. 15. 18 (from Lv. 11), and (dubiously) Ezk. 4710,—everywhere with suff. The etymology is uncertain. If connected with תְּמוּנָה (form, likeness), the meaning would be 'form' (Lat. species); but in usage it seems to mean simply 'kind,' the sg. suff. here being distributive: "according to its several kinds." In Syr. the corresponding word denotes a family or tribe. For another view, see Frd. Delitzsch, Prol. 143 f.—12. ותוצא] One is tempted to substitute the rare ותרשא as in v.11 (so Ball).—After עין G adds פרי: Ball deletes the פרי in v.11.
14. יהי מארת] (|| יהי אור in v.3). On the breach of concord, see G-K. § 145 o; Dav. § 113 b.—מאור] a late word, is used of heavenly bodies in Ezk. 328, Ps. 7416; it never means 'lamp' exactly, but is often applied collectively to the seven-armed lampstand of the tabernacle; once it is
- ↑ In Ar. this sense is said to belong to ʿušb, but Heb. עשׁב has no such restriction.
