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Matthew 2

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1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.

7 Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found [him,] bring me word, that I also may come and worship him.

9 And they, having heard the king, went their way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

12 And being warned [of God] in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 Now when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14 And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt;

15 and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18 A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

20 Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's life.

21 And he arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned [of God] in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee,

23 and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he should be called a Nazarene.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 1171

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1171. 'The sons of Raamah' similarly means those who had no internal worship but cognitions of faith, in the mere possession of which they made religion consist; and 'Sheba and Dedan' are nations with whom they existed and by these same nations cognitions themselves are meant in the internal sense. This is evident from the places in the Prophets given below, and from the following in David concerning Seba, Sheba, and Raamah,

The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring a gift, and the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer a present; and all kings will fall down before Him. Psalms 72:10-11.

This refers to the Lord, His kingdom, and the celestial Church. Anyone may see that here 'gift' and 'present' mean types of worship, though exactly which types of worship, and the nature of them, cannot be known unless it is known what 'Tarshish and the islands' and 'Sheba and Seba' are used to mean. The fact that 'Tarshish and the islands' is used to mean forms of external worship corresponding to internal has been shown already, from which it follows that 'Sheba and Seba' is used to mean forms of internal worship - 'Sheba' the celestial things of worship, and 'Seba' the spiritual.

[2] In Isaiah,

I gave Egypt as your expiation, Cush and Seba in place of you. Isaiah 43:3.

Here 'Cush and Seba' stands for the spiritual things of faith. In the same prophet,

The labour of Egypt, and the wares of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you. Isaiah 45:14.

'The labour of Egypt' stands for knowledge, 'the wares of Cush and the Sabeans' for cognitions of spiritual things which serve people who believe in the Lord.

[3] In the same prophet,

A drove of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. The whole Rock of Arabia will be gathered to you. Isaiah 60:6-7.

Here 'Sheba' is used to mean celestial things and the spiritual things deriving from these, described as 'gold and frankincense', which, as now explained, are 'the praises of Jehovah', that is, internal worship.

[4] In Ezekiel,

The traders of Sheba and Raamah, they were your traders in the best of every spice, and in every precious stone, and they gave gold for your resources. Ezekiel 27:22-23.

This refers to Tyre. What 'Sheba and Raamah' means is clear from the commodities in which they are said to have traded - spices, precious stones, and gold. 'Spices' in the internal sense are charity, 'precious stones' are faith deriving from charity, and 'gold' is love to the Lord, all of which are the celestial things meant by 'Sheba'. Strictly, 'Sheba' means the cognitions of those things - and this is why they are here called 'merchandise' - with which those who become members of the Church are endowed, for without cognitions no one is able to become a member of the Church.

[5] Similar things were represented by the Queen of Sheba who came to Solomon and brought him spices, gold, and precious stones, 1 Kings 10:1-3, and also by the wise men from the east who came to Jesus at His birth, and who fell down and worshipped Him, and who opened their treasures, and offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, Matthew 2:1, 11. These gifts meant celestial, spiritual, and natural good. In Jeremiah,

To what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and best sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable. Jeremiah 6:20.

Here also it is evident that 'Sheba' stands for cognitions and adoration, meant by 'frankincense and sweet cane', though here they are those things devoid of charity, which are not pleasing.

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