Collected Works of Martin Luther

by Martin Luther

  And this indeed is the opinion of the Jews themselves, who assert that KERUB is a Chaldaic term and that the letter Kappa is a servile letter, and that RUB signifies a beautiful youth, who has a full and florid face; and they affirm that the angels are called KERUBIM, as representing their florid and joyful and delightful countenance or appearance; and thus they are generally represented in paintings.

  In like manner the name Seraphim is a general appellation of angels; a name derived from fire or burning on account of the quality of their form, as is shown in Numbers 21:6, where Moses says, “And the Lord sent HANNECHASCHIM HASSERAPHIM, ‘fiery serpents’ among the people;” or, “serpent Seraphim” (serpentes Seraphim); that is, “serpents burning or on fire.” So that we may here understand Seraphim or fiery angels; that is, angels not only beautiful in their full and florid face, as are Cherubim, but also fiery or shining as the angel is represented in the Gospel to have been, which sat on the stone at the tomb of our Lord, of whom Matthew says, “His countenance was like lightning,” Math. 28:3; and as angels are also described by the Psalmist, when he says, “Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire,” Ps. 104:4. And again, it is said, Luke 2:9, “That when the angel of the Lord came to the shepherds, the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” Of the same description also was the countenance of Christ at his transfiguration on Mount Tabor, of whom it is said, “And his face did shine as the sun,” Math. 17:2. The same also shall be our countenances, when we shall be raised again at the last day to enter into the glory Christ hath prepared for us.

  With respect to what is written in the Books of Kings concerning “the Cherubims overlaid with gold,” Cherubici certini, we are there to understand these full and blooming countenances of angels, together with their wings, 1 Kings 6:28. Not that angels really have wings, but because they cannot otherwise be described. Hence it is that we find, Is. 6:6, that the angel, who comes flying with a joyous and beautiful countenance, such as angels are described on pictures of tapestry, is called CHERUB. And if to this full and florid countenance there be added also brightness, such as was the shining countenance of Stephen, full of joy and delight, so that nothing but rays of joy dart from the eyes, such angels are called Seraphim.

  Such as these shall we also be. Our countenances shall shine as bright as the mid-day sun. There shall be no wrinkle, no contracted brow, no watery eyes; but as it is written, Rev. 21:4, “and God shall wipe all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Let us therefore hold fast this hope and live in the fear of God, until, being delivered from this life of affliction, we shall live that angelic and eternal life which is to come. Amen! Amen!

  CHAPTER IV.

  PART I. GENERATION, MARRIAGE, BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF CAIN AND ABEL.

  I. THUS HAVE we at length waded through that mighty sea of matter, in doing which, all who have made the attempt have so greatly sweated and toiled, and this sweat we also have fully experienced. To us however the whole way was much more direct and plain, because, throwing aside all allegories, we have followed throughout the historical and proper sense of every passage. Whereas, the most commentators have not regarded that proper sense, but have made Origen, Dionysius and others their teachers, rather than Moses himself; and so have deservedly wandered out of the way. The things which now follow in the divine record are plainer than the preceding and admit of less dispute; and therefore they tend more to support my view of the sacred narrative; because every one must plainly say that the intent of Moses was not to put forth a host of allegories, but simply to write a history of the primitive world.

  V. 1a. And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain.

  When Adam had fallen into death by sin, he had the promise given him, as we have heard, that from his flesh, thus made subject to death, there would surely arise unto him a Branch of life. He fully understood therefore that he must propagate his seed; and especially so, since the blessing pronounced on him and his wife, “Be fruitful and multiply,” was not only not taken away, but afterwards confirmed by the divine promise concerning the Seed of the woman, which should bruise the serpent’s head. Therefore Adam did not know his wife Eve from the mere inclination of the flesh, as we generally judge; but it was the necessity of that salvation, which was to come unto him through the blessed Seed of the woman that constrained him to do so.

  No one therefore ought to be offended with the relation of this circumstance by Moses that Adam “knew his wife.” For although, on account of original sin, this divine act of generation is considered to be one of turpitude, by which we find pure ears to be generally offended; yet spiritual men ought always to distinguish between original sin and the creature or the appointment of God. The act of generation, as a creation-appointment of God, is good and holy, for it is the very blessing pronounced of God upon male and female when they were created. And if man had not fallen this act of generation would have been most pure, most holy and most honorable. For as no one blushes to converse, eat and drink with his wife, because all these things are honorable among all men, so, had it not been for the fall of Adam, the act of generation would also have been most honorable and void of all “shame!”

  Generation has indeed been left to us, even in this state of fallen and corrupted nature. But there has adhered to it that poison of the devil, an impure lust and prurient concupiscence, which is the cause of numberless sins and evils; from all of which, nature in its unfallen state was perfectly free. Now however we find by experience that the flesh is filled with inordinate and unsatisfied desires; so much so that even marriage is not for many a sufficient remedy. If it were, there would be no adulteries nor fornications. Whereas these, to our shame and pain, everywhere abound. Nay, in how many and various ways does this infirmity of the flesh discover itself, even in married persons? These infinite evils are not the consequences of the creation nor of the blessing pronounced on male and female. These latter proceeded from God. But they are the consequences of sin and of the curse, which proceeded from the sin of Adam. Therefore, the creation-appointment of God ought to be separated from all these evils; for that is a good creature of God, concerning which even the holy spirit himself we see is not ashamed to speak.

  But further. Not only is there no idea of impurity to be attached to this mention of the creation-command and “blessing” of God made by Moses, when he says, “and Adam knew Eve his wife;” it was even necessary that Moses should write and teach these things on account of the heresies which were in later times to arise; such as those of Nicolaus, Tatian, etc.; and, above all, on account of the papacy. For we see the Papists were not the least moved by that which is written above, that the Lord created man “male and female.” They so live and so bind and fetter themselves by vows, that they seem to be utterly ignorant that there are any such beings as the male and female sexes. They are not at all moved by what is also above written, that Jehovah God “Brought Eve unto Adam.” and that Adam said “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” They are not moved by the promise and blessing of God, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The Decalogue touches them not, when it commandeth, “Honor thy father and thy mother!” Yea, they disregard their very origin; born as they are from the union of male and female, commanded and blessed of God. Passing by, despising and casting away all these things, they compel their contemptible priests, monks and nuns to devote themselves to perpetual celibacy; as if the married life, of which Moses here speaks, were a life reprobate and damnable!

  The Holy Ghost however hath a purer mouth and purer eyes than the Pope! The Holy Spirit himself therefore blushes not to mention the act of generation, or the union of husband and wife; though these great saints condemn it as impure and base. Nor does that Holy Spirit mention this marriage union in one place only of the sacred record. The whole Scriptures are filled with such histories; so much so, that on that very account some popes have prohibited young monks and nuns from re
ading the holy Bible. But I need not enlarge. Suffice to say, that such has been the rage of the devil against this institution of God, holy matrimony, that the Papists have compelled men to abjure marriage, to the very end that they might institute their orders of a celibate life; and they have condemned the commandment of God, married life, as polluted in comparison with the life of celibacy, which they themselves have set up!

  This wickedness however has not been left without its own just punishments. For there are continually before our own eyes examples of the fruits which impure celibacy brings forth, and there are extant in books, record of most horrible crimes, of which it has been the cause. That holy man Udalric, an Augustan bishop, testifies that after Pope Gregory had determined on establishing celibacy, and had forbidden even those to live with their wives, who had been married before the decree concerning celibacy had gone forth, the Pope had a mind on one occasion to fish in a pond which he had in his park at Rome; and that when he did so it led to the discovery, that the fish-pond contained more than six thousand heads of infants! The same Udalric also writes that Pope Gregory, being struck with awe and consternation at such a sight, revoked his sanction of the impious decree concerning celibacy. The successors of Gregory however easily swamped the foulness of this discovery, and the pious abolition of the decree by Gregory also; for they also, like their predecessors, considered that celibacy was adapted not only to increase their wealth, but to support their dignity.

  A similar example presented itself also in my time, when some nuns at Neumburg were compelled to leave the place, on account of their flagitious lives, and the monastery was given to the Franciscans; and when these latter, for their convenience, caused some alterations to be made in the building; in laying these new foundations, there were discovered twelve pots, each one of which contained the dead body of an infant! An infinite number of similar instances have occurred at other places in every direction.

  Rightly therefore did Gregory act in revoking his decree, by which, as Bishop Udalric remarks, he made a very beautiful application of the word of the Apostle Paul, who says, “It is better to marry than to burn,” to which, I also add, “It is better to marry, than to incur the peril of eternal death by sin.”

  At Rome itself also on account of the great numbers of infants who are exposed monasteries are erected, of whom the Pope is nominated “the father!” And the near relatives of the infants, which have been so exposed, precede him in the public processions! I forbear to testify of an infinite number of other kindred enormities, which are too bad to mention.

  Wherefore, it behooves us all to guard against such doctrines of devils as these, and to learn to hold marriage in all reverence; and with all reverence to speak of that holy life, which we see God himself has instituted; and which we hear is commended of him in the Decalogue, where he says, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” to which holy matrimony, is also added the blessing, “Be fruitful and multiply.” And concerning this holy marriage it is, that the Holy Ghost is here speaking, whose mouth is holy and chaste. But all those sins and vices, and all that turpitude which have entered into the originally pure creation of God by sin, we ought not to agitate, or deride, or touch, when speaking of holy marriage, but rather carefully to cover them; just in the same way as we see that God covered the originally naked Adam and Eve with coats of skin after their sin. For marriage ought to be treated and spoken of by all as honorable, being the holy union from which we all are born; and which is, as it were, the seminary not only of each nation but of the Church and kingdom of Christ unto the end of the world.

  This high glory of marriage however the heathen and profane men do not understand. Therefore, all they can do is to collect the vices which exist in the marriage life itself, and in the abandoned female sex. And thus, separating the unclean things from the clean, they retain the unclean only; and the clean they see not at all. Hence also, certain profane lawyers so irreverently judge and speak of this book of Genesis as to affirm that it contains nothing more than the marriage doings of the Jews. Are not then such men as these, I ask you, worthy of living to see marriage despised and unclean celibacy introduced, and themselves, subjected to its crimes and punishments, which exceed even those of Sodom?

  The Holy Spirit however thought it not enough to say here “And Adam knew Eve;” but he also adds, “his wife!” For the Holy Spirit approves not wandering lusts and promiscuous intercourse! He wills that every man should live content with his own wife. And although, alas! even that union of married people itself is very far from being pure, as it would have been had man continued in his state of innocency; nevertheless even in the midst of the vices of lust and of all the other calamities of the fall of Adam, the “blessing” of God on marriage still stands unaltered. For the fact of Adam knowing Eve his wife, which Moses records, was not written for Adam and Eve’s sake. When Moses penned these words, Adam and Eve had long been reduced to their original dust. It was for our sakes therefore that this was written; “That those who cannot contain might marry,” 1 Cor. 7:9, “live content each with his Eve, and not desire strange women.”

  This expression, “knew his wife,” is a phrase peculiar to the Hebrews; for neither the Latins nor the Greeks so expressed themselves. It is a form of speech particularly beautiful; not only on account of the modesty and reverence it preserves, but on account of the peculiarity of signification it conveys. For the verb YADA has a much more extensive meaning than the verb “to know” in our language. Thus, when Job says, concerning the wicked, “They shall know what it is to act against God” he means that they shall feel and experience the consequences of such actions. So, when David says, “For I acknowledge my sin,” Ps. 51:3, his meaning is, I feel and experience what it is to sin. Again, when the angel of the Lord says to Abraham, “For now I know that thou fearest God,” Gen. 22:12, his meaning is, “I know by sense and experience.” And again, when the Virgin Mary said unto the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man,” Luke 1:34, her meaning is the same as that of Job, David, etc. For, it is evident that Mary knew many men, but she had neither known nor experienced any man, as man or the male of God’s creation. It was in this manner therefore that Adam “knew Eve his wife,” as it is expressed in the present passage. Adam did not know his Eve as an object of sight or of a speculative knowledge, but he experienced in reality what she was as the “woman,” whom God had created such.

  That which follows, “And Eve conceived, and bare Cain,” is sure evidence that the human nature was more excellent and perfect then than it is now. For there were originally no unfruitful embraces, as there are now in this old age of the world. As soon as Eve was known by her Adam, she was immediately impregnated and conceived.

  II. Here a question may arise, why Moses says, “And bare Cain!” Why he does not say, And bare a son, Cain; as below, verse 25, where his expression is, “And she bare a son, and called his name Seth.” Both Cain and Seth were sons. Why, then, are they not both called “sons”? The answer to this question is, that these different expressions of Moses were so ordered on account of the posterities. For, Abel being murdered by his brother, perished corporally; but Cain by his sin perished spiritually. And yet the generation or seed-bed of the Church was not propagated from Cain, though he was still alive corporally; for all his posterity perished in the flood. Therefore neither the blessed Abel, nor the accursed Cain, has in the Scriptures the name of “son.” But Seth was the one from whose posterity Christ, that promised Seed, was ordained to be born. Seth therefore is the first of the children of Adam and Eve, who is counted worthy the name of “son.”

  V. 1b. And Eve said, I have gotten a man with the help of (from) Jehovah.

  From this expression of Eve there may be gathered another reason why she did not call Cain a “son.” It was the greatness of her joy and of her reverential awe, which prevented her from calling Cain a “son.” For she thought something greater concerning Cain than a natural son. She considered Cain would be that man who should bruise t
he serpent’s head. And therefore she does not say simply, “a man;” but, “a man of Jehovah,” implying that he would be that man concerning whom the Lord God had promised her that her Seed should bruise the serpent’s head. And although Eve was deceived in this her hope, yet it plainly appears that she was a holy woman, and that she believed in the salvation that was to come by the blessed Seed. And it was because she believed this, that she so greatly rejoiced in the son which she had borne, and that she spoke of him in the exalted terms contained in the text before us. It was as if she had said, “I have gotten a man of God, who will conduct himself more righteously and happily than I and my Adam conducted ourselves in paradise. Therefore I call him not my ‘son.’ He is a man of God, promised to me and shown to me of God.” It might have been for this latter reason also, as well as for the former, that Eve did not call Cain “a son.”

  With respect therefore to Eve’s adhering so closely to the divine promise and believing so firmly in the deliverance that should surely come through her Seed, in all this she did rightly. For, by the same faith in the “Seed” that was to come, all the saints of old were justified and sanctified. But with respect to the individual intended by the promise, she erred. She believed that it was Cain who should put an end to all those calamities into which Satan had hurled man by sin. This faith of Eve however rested on a certain opinion of her own, without any sure sign and without the sure Word. The promise indeed was true, and certain, and sure; but nothing was said or signified definitely, whether it was Cain or Abel who should be that great conqueror of the serpent.