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Genesis 16

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1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3 And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I gave my handmaid into they bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: Jehovah judge between me and thee.

6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her that which is good in thine eyes. And Sarai dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face.

7 And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction.

12 And he shall be [as] a wild ass among men; his hand [shall be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren.

13 And she called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou art a God that seeth: for she said, Have I even here looked after him that seeth me?

14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

   

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Pairs of hands, eyes, etc.

  

'Pairs of hands, eyes, etc.' relate to the will and understanding, or to good and truth. The right side to the will or good, and the left to the understanding or truth.

(Odkazy: Conjugial Love 310)

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Conjugial Love # 310

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310. 14. After the wedding the marriage of the spirit becomes also one of the body and thus complete. Everything that a person does in the body flows in from his spirit. For as we know, the mouth does not speak of itself, but the thought of the mind by means of it. Neither do the hands act or the feet move of themselves, but the will of the mind by means of them. Consequently we see that it is the mind that speaks in the body by means of its organ of speech, and the mind that acts in the body by means of its organs of action. It is apparent therefore that as the mind is, such are the utterances of the mouth and actions of the body.

It follows as a conclusion from this that the mind continually flows into the body and directs the body toward activities in harmony with it and its development. Accordingly, viewed in themselves, human bodies are simply replicas of minds outwardly organized to carry out the bidding of the soul.

This much is said by way of introduction to make perceptible why it is that a couple's minds or spirits should be united to each other and as though married first, before they are united also in respect to the body; namely, that the marriage may be a marriage of the spirit when it becomes one of the body; consequently, that the partners may love each other because of the spirit and in body as a result of that.

[2] From this perspective let us now consider marriage. When conjugial love joins a couple's minds and molds them into a marriage, it also then joins and molds their bodies for it; for as said, the form of the mind is also, inwardly, the form of the body, with the single difference, that the form of the body is outwardly organized to carry out the ends to which its interior form is directed by the mind. When the mind has been molded by conjugial love, moreover, not only is it inwardly present in the whole body so as to radiate throughout, but it is inwardly present further in the organs dedicated to reproduction, which are situated in their own area below the other areas of the body. In people who are united by conjugial love, their cast of mind finds final expression there. Consequently the affections and thoughts of their minds are channeled to them. In this the operations of their minds differ from those arising from other loves, loves which do not extend to those organs.

It follows in conclusion from this that as conjugial love is in a couple's minds or spirits, such is it inwardly in the organs belonging to it.

Besides, it is evident in itself that a marriage of the spirit after the wedding becomes also one of the body, thus complete. Consequently, that if the marriage is chaste in spirit and draws its quality from its sanctity in the spirit, it is of the same character when it comes into its complete expression in the body; and of the opposite character if the marriage in spirit is unchaste.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.