Bible

 

Genesis 27

Studie

   

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son. And he said unto him, Here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison.

4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat. That my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats. And I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth.

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver. And I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son. Only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother. And his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.

17 And she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I. Who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father. And he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat. And he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.

28 And God five thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine.

29 Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee.

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father. And he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau.

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? Yea, [and] he shall be blessed.

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly name Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two time. He took away my birthright. And, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants. And with grain and new wine have I sustained him. And what then shall I do for thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And of the dew of heaven from above.

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then will I slay my brother Jacob.

42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. And arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran.

44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away.

45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him. Then I will send, and fetch thee from thence. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 3542

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

3542. 'And on the smooth of his neck' means so that truth which disjoined was not apparent. This is clear from 'smooth' or 'the smooth' having reference to truth, dealt with in 3527, and from the meaning of 'the neck' as that which joins together, dealt with below. Here therefore, since the appearance was 'on the smooth of his neck' it means so that truth which disjoins was not apparent. The implications of all this may be seen from what has been stated and shown above in 3539, to the effect that the good and the truths which flow from the understanding but not at the same time from the will are neither good nor truths, no matter how much they seem to be so to outward appearance. And if the will is bent on evil, good and truths are disjoined and do not join together. But if the will is in some measure desirous of good, they do not in that case disjoin but join together, even though the order in which they stand is the reverse of proper order; for it is by means of such good and truths that a person is regenerated. And because such good and truths standing thus serve first in the regeneration of man it is said that truth which disjoined would not be apparent. But more of this in what follows below.

[2] The reason why 'the neck' means that which joins together is that higher things with man which belong to the head communicate with lower that belong to the body by means of the neck between. Consequently both influx and communication, and therefore conjunction, are meant by that which lies between. This will be seen far more clearly from the correspondences of the Grand Man with the parts of the human body, to be dealt with at the ends of chapters. The same is consequently meant in the Word by 'the neck', as in Isaiah,

His spirit, like an overflowing stream, will divide even at the neck. Isaiah 30:28.

Here 'an overflowing stream' stands for falsity flowing over in this fashion. 'Dividing at the neck' stands for blocking and cutting off the communication and consequent joining together of higher things with lower ones, which are blocked and cut off when spiritual good and truth are not being received.

[3] In Habakkuk,

You crushed the head from the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation even at the neck. Habakkuk 3:13.

'Crushing the head from the house of the wicked' stands for destroying false assumptions. 'Laying bare the foundation even at the neck' stands for preventing thereby any joining together. In Jeremiah,

Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck. He has struck at my strength; the Lord has given me into [their] hands; I am unable to rise up again. Lamentations 1:14.

'Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck' stands for falsities coming up towards interior or rational things.

[4] Because 'the neck' meant that communication and joining together, 'bands around the neck' therefore meant the cutting off and so the destruction of truth, which occurs when spiritual things that are flowing in constantly from the Lord are no longer allowed to pass into the rational part of a person's mind, nor as a consequence into the natural part. It is this cutting off or destruction that is represented by Jeremiah's being told to make bands and bars for himself and put them on his neck; to send them to different peoples and say that they would be serving Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel; and to say that those who did not place their necks under his yoke would be visited by sword, famine, and pestilence; but those who did bring their necks under it would be left in the land, Jeremiah 27:2-3, 8, 11. 'Placing the neck under the yoke of the king of Babel and serving him' stands for being made desolate as regards truth and vastated as regards good. For 'Babel' means one who lays waste, see 1327 (end); and people undergo vastation to prevent holy things from being profaned, 301-303, 1327, 1328, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402. And since evil and falsity come to be served once the influx of good and truth has been cut off, 'placing the neck under the yoke' also means serving. In the same prophet,

Jehovah said, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel from over the neck of all nations within two years. Jeremiah 28:11.

This stands for their being delivered from vastation. In Isaiah,

Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. Isaiah 52:2.

'Loosing the bonds from the neck' stands for letting in and receiving good and truth In Micah,

Behold, against this family I am devising this evil from which you will not remove your necks nor go erect, for that will be a time of evil. Micah 2:3.

'Not removing necks from evil' stands for not letting truth in. 'Not going erect' stands for not looking up to higher things, that is, to those of heaven, 248.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 3539

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

3539. 'And put them on Jacob her younger son' means the affection for truth, that is, the life of good originating in truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Rebekah' as the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational, from the representation of 'Jacob' as the Divine Truth of the Divine Natural, and from the meaning here of 'putting on' as the communication, also the learning, of something, namely truths that clothe good, meant by 'Esau's clothes', 3537, accordingly the affection for natural truth, which affection is at this point the same as the life of good originating in truth. How these matters are to be understood may be known from what has been stated above in 3518. Yet because they are such as are completely unknown at the present day, let some explanation enabling them to be grasped be given. The subject in this chapter [in the highest sense] is the Lord and how He made His Natural Divine, and in the representative sense man's regeneration as regards his natural, see 3490.

[2] In the case of man the situation is as follows: The end in view of regeneration is that a person may be made new as regards his internal man, and so as regards the soul or spirit. But he is unable to be made new or be regenerated as regards that internal man without also being made new as regards the external man. For although a person becomes a spirit after death he nevertheless takes with him into the next life those things that belong to his external man, namely natural affections, also matters of doctrine, as well as factual knowledge; in short he takes with him everything belonging to the exterior or natural memory, see 2475-2483. Indeed these things form the groundwork on which his interiors ultimately rest. The disposition of those exterior things therefore determines what the interior become when these latter enter into the former, for within those exterior things they undergo modification. From this it is evident that a person has to be regenerated or made new not only as regards the internal or rational man but also as regards the external or natural man. Except for this there would not be any correspondence. Regarding the correspondence that exists between the internal man and the spiritual things belonging to the internal man with the external man and the natural things belonging to the external man, see 2987, 2989-2991, 3002, 3493.

[3] The state of man's regeneration is described in the representative sense in this chapter as Esau and Jacob. At this point the nature of the first stage of that state is described, that is to say, when a person is being regenerated or before he has become regenerated. In fact this state is the complete reverse of the state in which a person has become regenerate. Indeed in the former state, that is to say, when a person is being regenerated or before he has become regenerated, things of the understanding, which are those of truth, seemingly take the lead; but once he has become regenerate those of the will, which are those of good, do so. The fact that things of the understanding or of truth seemingly take the lead in the first state was represented by Jacob claiming for himself Esau's birthright - see 3325, 3336 - and then claiming his blessing, the subject under discussion here. And the fact that the state is the complete reverse of the regenerate state is represented by Jacob's impersonating Esau, that is to say, being dressed in Esau's clothes and with the skins of the kids of the she-goats. Indeed in this state rational truth has not yet been so joined to rational good, or what amounts to the same, the understanding has not been so joined to the will, as to flow and act into the natural and set in order the things that are so reversed there.

[4] This also becomes clear from much experience, in particular from this. A person is able to discern in his understanding, and from this the natural is able to know many things that are good and true, but the will is unable as yet to act in accordance with those things. Take for example the truth that love and charity are the essential thing with a human being. He is able to see and confirm this in his understanding, but until he has been regenerated he is unable to acknowledge it in his will. There are also people totally lacking in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour who can well grasp this truth. The same applies to the truth that love is the very life of man, and that the nature of his life is determined by that of his love; also the truth that all delight and all pleasantness stem from love, as do all gladness and all happiness, where again the nature of the love determines that of the gladness and the happiness. A person is also able to grasp in his understanding, even though the will disagrees with it or even opposes it, the truth that the happiest life originates in love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour because the Divine itself is flowing into that life, and conversely that the unhappiest life originates in self-love and love of the world because hell is flowing into that life.

[5] Consequently the understanding, but not the will, is able to perceive the truth that love to the Lord is the life of heaven, and that mutual love is the soul from that life. In the measure therefore that a person does not think from the life of his [unregenerate] will, and does not reflect on his own life from there, he perceives that truth in his understanding; but in the measure that he does think from the life of his [unregenerate] will he does not perceive it, indeed he refuses to believe it. It may also be perfectly clear to a person in his understanding that it is into humility, if it exists in him, that the Divine is able to enter, because in that state of humility self-love and love of the world, and therefore hellish things which stand in the way, are removed. But as long as his will is not a new will, and his understanding is not united to this, no humility of heart can exist in a person. Indeed, in the measure that a person leads an evil life, that is, in the measure that his will is bent on evil, such humility cannot be there in him, and also the truth spoken of above is unclear to him and he refuses to believe it. Therefore a person may also be able to perceive in his understanding that when humility is present in someone it is not there for the sake of a love of glory in the Lord but for the sake of Divine Love, in which case the Lord is able to enter in with goodness and truth and bring blessing and happiness to that person. But to the extent that the will is consulted, this truth is obscured. And the same is so with very many other circumstances.

[6] This ability of being able to understand what good and truth is even though he does not will it has been conferred on man to enable him to be reformed and regenerated. For this reason this ability exists with evil and good alike; indeed the ability is sometimes keener with the evil. But there is this difference - with the evil no affection for truth exists for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life which originates in truth, and so they are not capable of being reformed. But with the good there does exist the affection for truth for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life, and so they are capable of being reformed. The first state in the reformation of the latter however is a state in which truth taught by doctrine seems to them to be primary, and the good of life secondary, since truth is the source of their good actions. But their second state is a state in which the good of life is primary and truth taught by doctrine secondary, since good, that is, the will for good, is the source of their good actions. And when this is the case, because the will is joined to the understanding as in a marriage, the person is regenerate. These two states are the subject in the internal sense in these incidents involving Esau and Jacob.

  
/ 10837  
  

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