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Genesis 24

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1 And Abraham was old, [and] well stricken in age. And Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh.

3 And I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.

4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spake unto me, and who sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land. He will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.

8 And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath. Only thou shalt not bring my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning this matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed, having all goodly things of his master's in his hand. And he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I am standing by the fountain of water. And the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink. And she shall say, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac. And thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her. And she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord. And she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him Drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man looked stedfastly on her, holding his peace, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold,

23 and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bare unto Nahor.

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man bowed his head, and worshipped Jehovah.

27 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken his lovingkindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Jehovah hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren.

28 And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me. That he came unto the man. And, behold, he was standing by the camels at the fountain.

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of Jehovah. Wherefore standest thou without? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

32 And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels. And he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.

33 And there was set food before him to eat. But he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.

35 And Jehovah hath blessed my master greatly. And he is become great. And he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and asses.

36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old. And unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell.

38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.

39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

40 And he said unto me, Jehovah, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way. And thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house.

41 Then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred. And if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go.

43 Behold, I am standing by the fountain of water. And let it come to pass, that the maiden that cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher to drink.

44 And she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels. Let the same be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son.

45 And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. And she went down unto the fountain, and drew. And I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels Drink also. So I drank, and she made the camels Drink also.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him. And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 And I bowed my head, and worshipped Jehovah, and blessed Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.

49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me. That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from Jehovah. We cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as Jehovah hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth unto Jehovah.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night. And they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us [a few] days, at the least ten. After that she shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Jehovah hath prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Our sister, be thou [the mother] of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gate of those that hate them.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way of Beer-lahai-roi. For he dwelt in the land of the South.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel.

65 And she said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant said, It is my master. And she took her veil, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. And he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 3020

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3020. 'Who administered all that he had' means the functions of the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'administering', and in particular of 'administering all things', as performing functions or duties. The relationship of the natural man to the rational, or what amounts to the same, of the external man to the internal, is like that of one who administers in a house, see 1795. All things in man are like one house, that is, one family, for there is one who has the duty to be head of the family, and others who have the duty of servants. The rational mind itself is the one that organizes everything, like the head of the family, and by influx brings order into the natural mind. The natural mind however is one that serves and administers. And because the natural mind is distinct and separate from the rational mind, existing on a level below the latter, and also in a sense acts independently, it is called in relationship to the rational 'the servant, the oldest of the house' and 'the one who administered all that he had there'.

[2] The fact that the natural mind is distinct and separate from the rational, existing on a level below it, and in a sense acting independently, becomes clear from the things it has within it, and from the functions it performs. The things it has within it are all facts, and so also all cognitions of every kind - in short, every single thing belonging to the exterior or physical memory, dealt with in 2471, 2480. To this memory also belongs the whole faculty of imagination, which constitutes man's interior sensory awareness and is particularly active with children and during the early stages of adolescence. To the exterior memory belong in addition all the natural affections which man has in common with animals. From this it is evident what the functions of the natural mind are.

[3] The rational mind however is interior. The items of knowledge it has within it, that is to say, every single thing belonging to the interior memory, are not evident to man, but are imperceptible during his lifetime, dealt with in 2470-2474, 2489, 2490. It also has within it the power of thought, which is a perceptivity of what is fair and righteous, as well as of what is true and good. In addition it has all the spiritual affections which are strictly human and which mark man off from animals. From these things within itself the rational mind flows into the natural mind and activates the things that are there, views them with a certain vision, and in this way forms judgements and conclusions. The fact that these two minds are distinct and separate is quite evident from this consideration: With many people the natural mind has dominion over the rational mind, or what amounts to the same, the external man has dominion over the internal; yet it does not have dominion and is subservient only with those in whom the good of charity is present, that is, who allow themselves to be led by the Lord.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine # 51

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51. Of sciences and knowledges, by which the internal spiritual man is opened.

Those things are called scientifics, which are in the external or natural man, and its memory, but not those which are in the internal or spiritual man (n. 3019-3020, 3293, 3309, 4967, 9918, 9922). Scientifics, as belonging to the external or natural man, are respectively instruments of service, inasmuch as the external or natural man is made to serve the internal or spiritual man, just as the world is made to serve heaven (n. 5077, 5125, 5128, 5786, 5947, 10272, 10471). The external man is respectively the world, because the laws of Divine order existing in the world are inscribed therein; and the internal man is respectively heaven, because the laws of Divine order existing in heaven are inscribed therein (n. 4523-4524, 5368, 6013, 6057, 9278-9279, 9283, 9709, 10156, 10472); and in the work on Heaven and Hell (n. 51-58).

There are scientifics which concern natural things, scientifics which relate to the civil state and life, scientifics which relate to the moral state and life, and scientifics which relate to the spiritual state and life (n. 5774, 5934). But for distinction's sake, those which relate to the spiritual state and life are called knowledges, consisting principally of doctrinals (n. 9945).

Man ought to be imbued with sciences and knowledges, since by these he learns to think, then to understand what is true and good, and finally to be wise, that is 129 to live according to them 1 (n. Arcana Coelestia 129, 1450-1451, 1453, 1548, 1802). Scientifics and knowledges are the first things, on which is built and founded the civil, moral, and spiritual life of man; but they are to be learned for the sake of the use of life as their end (n. 1489, 3310). Knowledges open the way to the internal man, and then conjoin it with the external according to uses (n. 1563, 1616). The rational is born by sciences and knowledges (n. 1895, 1900, 3086). Yet not by sciences and knowledges themselves, but by the affection of uses from them, and according to such affection (n. 1895). The internal man is opened and successively perfected by sciences and knowledges, provided man has some good use for an end, particularly a use that regards eternal life (n. 3086). Then the scientifics and knowledges which are in the natural man meet the spiritual things from the celestial and spiritual man and adopt those which agree (n. 1495). Uses of heavenly life are then extracted, refined, and elevated by the Lord, through the internal man, from the scientifics and knowledges which are in the natural man (n. 1895-1896, 1900-1902, 5871, 5874, 5901). And the scientifics which are incongruous and adverse are rejected to the sides and exterminated (n. 5871, 5886, 5889). The sight of the internal man calls nothing forth from the scientifics and knowledges of the external man, but such as are of its love (n. 9394[1-6]). Scientifics and knowledges are disposed in bundles, and conjoined according to the loves which introduced them (n. 5881). Then in the sight of the internal man, those which are of the love are in the middle and in clearness, but those which are not of the love are at the sides and in obscurity (n. 6068, 6084). Scientifics and knowledges with man are successively implanted in his loves, and dwell in them (n. 6325). Man would be born into every science, and thereby into intelligence, if he were born into love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; but because he is born into the love of self and the world, he is born in total ignorance (n. 6323, 6325). Science, intelligence, and wisdom are the sons of love to the Lord and of love towards the neighbor (n. 1226, 2049, 2116).

Scientifics and knowledges, because they are of the external or natural man, are in the light of the world; but truths, which are become truths of love and faith, and have thus obtained life, are in the light of heaven (n. 5212). Nevertheless the truths, which have thus obtained life, are comprehended by man through natural ideas (n. 5510). Spiritual influx is through the internal man into the scientifics and knowledges which are in the external (n. 1940, 8005). Scientifics and knowledges are the receptacles and as it were the vessels of the truth and good of the internal man (n. 1469, 1496, 3068, 5489, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077, 7770, 9922). Therefore by "vessels" in the Word, in the spiritual sense, are signified scientifics and knowledges (n. 3068-3069, 3079, 9394, 9544, 9723-9724). Scientifics are as it were mirrors, in which the truths and goods of the internal man appear, and are perceived as in an image (n. 5201[1-7]). And there they are together as in their ultimate (n. 5373, 5874, 5886, 5901, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077). Scientifics, because they are in the light of the world, are involved and obscure respectively to those things which are in the light of heaven; thus the things which are in the external man respectively to those in the internal (n. 2831). For which reason also by "involved" in the Word is signified what is scientific (n. 2831). So also by "the obscurity of a cloud" (n. 8443, 10551).

Every principle is to be drawn from the truths of doctrine from the Word, which are first to be acknowledged, and then it is allowable to consult scientifics in order to confirm those truths, and thus they are corroborated (n. 6047). Thus it is allowable for those who are in the affirmative concerning the truths of faith, intellectually to confirm them by scientifics; but not for those who are in the negative, because a preceding affirmative draws all to favor its side, and a preceding negative draws all to its side (n. 2568, 2588, 3913, 4760, 6047). There is a doubting affirmative, and a doubting negative, the former with some who are good, and the latter with the evil (n. 2568). To enter from the truths of faith into scientifics is according to order; but on the other hand, to enter from scientifics into the truths of faith is contrary to order (n. 10236). In as much as influx is spiritual, and not physical or natural, thus from the truths of faith, because these are spiritual, into scientifics, because these are natural (n. 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427-5428, 5478, 6322, 9109-9110).

Whoever is in a doubting negative state, which in itself is a negative, and says that he will not believe until he is persuaded by scientifics, will never believe (n. 2094, 2832). They who do so, become insane as to those things which are of the church and heaven (n. 128-130). They fall into the falsities of evil (n. 232-233, 6047). And in the other life, when they think about spiritual things, they are as it were drunken (n. 1072). A further description of them (n. 196). Examples to illustrate that spiritual things cannot be comprehended, if the order of entering into them be inverted (n. 233, 2094, 2196, 2203, 2209). Many of the learned are more insane in spiritual things, than the simple, because they are in the negative, and have abundance of scientifics, by which they confirm the negative (n. 4760). An example of a learned man, who could understand nothing concerning spiritual life (n. 8629). They who reason from scientifics against the truths of faith, reason sharply, inasmuch as they do it from the fallacies of the senses, which captivate and persuade, for it is with difficulty these can be shaken off (n. 5700). They who understand nothing of truth, and they also who are in evil, can reason concerning the truths and goods of faith, and yet be in no enlightenment (n. 4214). Only to confirm a dogma, is not the part of an intelligent man, because falsity can be as easily confirmed as the truth (n. 1017, 2482, 2490, 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521, 8780). They who reason concerning the truths of the church, whether a thing be so or not, are evidently in obscurity respecting truths, and not yet in spiritual light (n. 215, 1385, 3033, 3428).

There are scientifics which admit Divine truths, and others which do not (n. 5213). Vain scientifics ought to be destroyed (n. 1489, 1492, 1499-1500). Those are vain scientifics which regard for their end and confirm the loves of self and the world, and which withdraw from love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor because such scientifics shut up the internal man, so that he is not then capable of receiving anything from heaven (n. 1563, 1600). Scientifics are the means of becoming wise, and the means of becoming insane; and by them the internal man is either opened or shut; and thus the rational is either cultivated or destroyed (n. 4156, 8628, 9922).

Sciences after death are of no account, but only those things which man has imbibed in his understanding and life by means of sciences (n. 2480). Nevertheless all scientifics remain after death, but they are quiescent (n. 2476-2479, 2481-2486).

The same scientifics which with the evil are falsities because applied to evils, with the good are truths, because applied to goods (n. 6917). Scientific truths with the evil are not truths, however they may appear as truths when spoken, because within them there is evil, and consequently they are falsified; and the science of those men by no means deserves to be called science, inasmuch as it is destitute of life (n. 10331).

It is one thing to be wise, another to understand, another to know, and another to do; but still, with those who are in spiritual life, they follow in order, and correspond, and are together in doing or in deeds (n. 10331). It is also one thing to know, another to acknowledge, and another to have faith (n. 896).

What is the quality of the desire of knowing, which spirits have is shown by an example (n. 1973). Angels have an immense desire of knowing and of becoming wise, inasmuch as science, intelligence and wisdom, are spiritual food (n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 4976, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 6277, 8562, 9003).

The chief science with the ancients was the science of correspondences, but at this day it is lost (n. 3021, 3419, 4280, 4844, 4964, 4966, 6004, 7729, 10252). The science of correspondences flourished with the orientals, and in Egypt (n. 5702, 6692, 7097, 7779, 9391, 10407). Thence came their hieroglyphics (n. 6692, 7097). The ancients by the science of correspondences introduced themselves into the knowledges of spiritual things (n. 4749, 4844, 4966). The Word is written by mere correspondences, whence its internal or spiritual sense, the existence of which cannot be known without the science of correspondences, nor can the quality of the Word (n. 3131, 3472-3485, 8615, 10687). How much the science of correspondences excels other sciences (n. 4280).

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The translator omitted the clause which reads: ", and finally to be wise, that is to live according to them". We have inserted it.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.