CONSISTENCY OF GEOLOGY WITH SACRED HISTORY. 447 



verse, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly," (is heretzu hamaim). 

 We find the verb obviously having this meaning in other passages, of 

 which we shall quote examples: Gen. viii. 17, ''That theijmay breed 

 abundantly (vesharetzu) in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply in 

 the earth;" Exod. i. 7, "And the children of Israel were fruitful and 

 increased abundantly (vaisheretzu), and multiplied, and waxed exceed- 

 ing mighty, and the land was filled with them;" Exod. viii. 3, "And. 

 the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly (vesharatz), * * * and 

 the frogs shall come up both on thee and on thy people, and upon all 

 thy servants." 



From all this it appears that the proper translation of the noun 

 sheretz is not the creeping but the rapidly multiplying creature. 

 The creatures expressed by this noun were part of those which were 

 created during the fifth epoch. 



The other word translated creeping thing is (remes), and the crea- 

 tures expressed by the noun were created during the sixth epoch. 

 We shall afterwards shew that it has a very different meaning from 

 sheretz. ' ' ' 



In the history of the fifth day's work, the translators have rendered 

 the Hebrew word (oph), by fowl. This limits its meaning so as to 

 include only the birds. But the term includes also the winged insects, 

 as is evident from Leviticus xi. 20, "All fowls (haoph) that creep, go- 

 ing upon four." The proper translation of the term is not fowl, but 

 flying thing, including the tribes of all kinds that can raise themselves 

 up into the air; as is indeed rendered obvious by the expression in 

 the 21st verse of the 1st chapter of Genesis itself (cal oph canaph),. 

 "every flying thing that hath wings." 



In the 21st verse it is said, "God created (hathananim hagedolim),"* 

 which Hebrew words, our translators, following the Septuagint, (which 

 has given for them ra JcrjT-/) <ra ixs/aXct,) have rendered great whales. 

 We have abundant resources to shew that this translation is erroneous. 

 In fact, neither the Greek nor the English translators have been con- 

 sistent with themselves in translating the Hebrew word (than) or 

 (thanim), for it occurs in both these forms. We find them in other 

 places translating it severally by the terra Spaxuiv, and dragon. It 

 would be tedious to quote the passages where they have thus varied 

 from themselves. We shall refer to Ezekiel xxix. 3, for the latter 

 sense, "I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon 

 (hathanim hagadol) that lieth in the midst of his rivers," where the 

 Septuagint has rov dpaxovra rov fxs/av. The figure in this passage is 

 evidently borrowed from the crocodile of the Nile, and this circum- 



