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Genesis 46

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1 And Israel went on his journey with all he had, and came to Beer-sheba, where he made offerings to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God said to Israel in a night-vision, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

3 And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there:

4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will see that you come back again, and at your death Joseph will put his hands on your eyes.

5 Then Jacob went on from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Jacob took their father and their little ones and their wives in the carts which Pharaoh had sent for them.

6 And they took their cattle and all the goods which they had got in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, even Jacob and all his seed:

7 His sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his daughters' sons and all his family he took with him into Egypt.

8 And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, even Jacob and all his sons: Reuben, Jacob's oldest son;

9 And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi;

10 And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan;

11 And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari;

12 And the sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah: but Er and Onan had come to their death in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13 And the sons of Issachar: Tola and Puah and Job and Shimron;

14 And the sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel;

15 All these, together with his daughter Dinah, were the children of Leah, whom Jacob had by her in Paddan-aram; they were thirty-three in number.

16 And the sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli;

17 And the sons of Asher: Jimnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah, and Sarah, their sister; and the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

18 These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and Jacob had these sixteen children by her.

19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

20 And Joseph had Manasseh and Ephraim in the land of Egypt, by Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On.

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard.

22 All these were the children of Rachel whom Jacob had by her, fourteen persons.

23 And the son of Dan was Hushim.

24 And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and Shillem.

25 These were the children of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, seven persons.

26 All the persons who came with Jacob into Egypt, the offspring of his body, were sixty-six, without taking into account the wives of Jacob's sons.

27 And the sons of Joseph whom he had in Egypt were two. Seventy persons of the family of Jacob came into Egypt.

28 Now he had sent Judah before him to Goshen, to get word from Joseph; and so they came to the land of Goshen.

29 And Joseph got his carriage ready and went to Goshen for the meeting with his father; and when he came before him, he put his arms round his neck, weeping.

30 And Israel said to Joseph, Now that I have seen you living again, I am ready for death.

31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's people, I will go and give the news to Pharaoh, and say to him, My brothers and my father's people, from the land of Canaan, have come to me;

32 And these men are keepers of sheep and owners of cattle, and have with them their flocks and their herds and all they have.

33 Now when Pharaoh sends for you and says, What is your business?

34 You are to say, Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our early days up to now, like our fathers; in this way you will be able to have the land of Goshen for yourselves; because keepers of sheep are unclean in the eyes of the Egyptians.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Genesis 46

Napsal(a) Helen Kennedy

Genesis 46

1. So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.

“Israel took his journey” tells us that he was starting the process of being rejoined with his son, Joseph. Because this is moving towards a heavenly connection, Beersheba has a good meaning: charity and faith. By practicing charity, or kindness towards others in our thoughts and actions, and believing in God, we are worshiping Him, which is the inner meaning of offering sacrifices. (See Secrets of Heaven 5995)

2. Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”

When God speaks to Israel at night, it connotes darkness, or that Jacob is in a state of obscurity about God, perhaps not really sure of his visions. This can further be seen by God calling him “Jacob” which denotes natural truth, or God’s way as seen in natural truths. When Jacob says, “Here I am”, it shows that he was starting to understand the things of God.

3. And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

Because Jacob is starting to understand, “the God of your father” denotes that divine intelligence is flowing into the truths that Jacob is seeing, in a natural way. “Not fearing to go down to Egypt” shows us, in our natural way, that we shouldn’t fear learning about God’s ways for us, but should instead feel confident that the Lord will guide us. This can be seen in what follows immediately — the great nation that the Lord will make from Jacob means that the truths will turn out good, or that we will be led to good things because of the truths we learn.

4. “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

We are assured of the Lord’s presence with us, because He tells Jacob, “I will go down with you to Egypt,” and then He will “surely bring you up again.” The mention of Joseph means that there will be truths from the deeper, inmost parts of us that will come and put a “hand on your eyes,” or help Jacob to see things in a deeper, more inward way (Secrets of Heaven 6008). This is the Lord saying that he will help all of us who believe in Him and live in charity to see truths with more detail and clarity.

5. Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

Being enlightened by natural truths is meant by Jacob arising from Beersheba (Secrets of Heaven 6009).

His sons carrying him can mean that truths from a more spiritual origin (the sons) bring light into our natural truths and enlighten our minds (see below for the meanings of the names of Jacob’s sons.) “Their little ones” brings to mind the innocence in this, especially since the children are named before “their wives,” the latter denoting charity. In other words, there begins to be innocence within our kind and gentle intentions towards others.

Jacob being put into the carts sent by Pharaoh shows that this further progression is enlightening things obtained from factual knowledge meant by Pharaoh (Secrets of Heaven 6009).

6. So they took their livestock and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt, Jacob and his descendants with him.

Taking their livestock and goods which they already possessed denotes the things of good and truth which a person already has before starting on the journey -- things of faith and natural truths. Faith belonging to natural truths is how we follow the commandments literally, without any sense of a deeper meaning. An example is we do not commit murder, but don't understand that to hate another person is, in our spirits, also to commit murder. (Again, refer to Secrets of Heaven 6009).

7. His sons and his son’s sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

“Sons” in the Word symbolize truths and “daughters” goods, so his sons' daughters would mean good things that spring from truths already known.

8. Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.

In the Word “names” indicate “qualities,” so the listing of all the names of the sons of Jacob plus their offspring indicates spiritual qualities which the Lord is providing for us as He takes us on the journey of being made spiritual. Reuben means faith in the understanding, so it occupies first place.

To understand the complexity of the things the Lord is doing for us, it helps to know the meanings of the names of Jacob’s descendants:

9. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

Reuben’s sons mean teachings about faith (Secrets of Heaven 6024).

10. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

The sons of Simeon mean faith in the will, or a willingness to do the things that faith teaches.

11. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Levi represents spiritual love, which is why his descendants were priests, meaning they represent teachings about spiritual things.

12. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zehar (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

Judah means celestial or the innermost love, so his sons indicate teachings regarding it. For example, a spiritual love is to love others as ourselves, but a celestial or innermost love is to love others more than ourselves.

13. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job and Shimron.

Since Issachar represents heavenly married love (conjugial love), his sons indicate true teachings about married love.

14. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

Zebulun and his sons mean the heavenly marriage and teachings regarding it. By the heavenly marriage is meant the joining of love and wisdom, or good and truth together in a marriage, meaning that wisdom gives guidance to our love, and love motivates our wisdom.

15. These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

“Leah,” being female, represents an affection or love--here the spiritual affection flowing into the natural part of us. “Padan Aram” means that we “must be born anew or made spiritual,” (Secrets of Heaven 6025) and that process begins with knowing things, or having knowledges, about it.

That all of Jacob’s sons so far were born there represents new births or new insights into this process.

16. The sons of Gad were Ziphon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

They represent the good actions which are the result of us having faith, and the teachings from it.

17. The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.

These mean the happiness of eternal life, the delight of it, and teachings about it.

18. These were the sons of Zilpah whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

Gad and Asher, being born of Zilpah, a handmaid of Leah and not a wife, shows that they represent outer or external qualities or things in the natural part of us. Doing the things faith teaches us needs to occur in our natural life, while thinking of the happiness and delight of living forever is a truth that buoys us up. With this truth we are inspired to continue living the life of being born anew (Secrets of Heaven 6024).

19. The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.

Contrasted with the sons of Zilpah, who represent outer or external qualities, the sons of Rachel represent inner or spiritual qualities, Joseph representing good of our inner life and Benjamin, the truth of it.

20. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt there were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, bore to him.

To Joseph in the land of Egypt means that inmost and inner heavenly qualities are flowing down into the natural part of us. Asenath was a priest’s daughter, and their marriage must represent a quality of the marriage of good and truth. The priest was Egyptian, and Egypt represents truths in the natural needed to receive the inner good represented by Joseph. Joseph’s children, Manasseh and Ephraim, symbolize a new area of the will and a new associated area of the understanding which the Lord is creating in those being prepared for heaven.

21. The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

The sons of Benjamin represent the deeper spiritual part of us, and teachings regarding it.

22. These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.

Mentioning that these were the descendants of Rachel shows that they were born from affection — Rachel, a female, representing a love within us. Since she is Joseph’s mother, her name represents a love for the innermost, or celestial qualities.

23. The son of Dan was Hushim.

We are back to the sons of Jacob, now talking about Dan and Naphtali.

Dan represents the first state of a person who is about to be regenerated, but in the outer, or most external part of him or her (Secrets of Heaven 3923).

Dan’s son, Hushim, means the holiness of faith and the good of life, and teachings regarding them. When we believe right things, then they show us how to live a better life.

24. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

Naphtali represents victory over temptations, and also a perception of usefulness after temptation (Apocalypse Revealed 354).

Naphtali’s sons represent temptations in which victory is won, and teachings regarding them. As soon as we start to live a better life, thoughts and desires wanting to lead us astray are not far behind.

25. These were the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob seven persons in all.

Bilhah was a handmaid, so she signifies things which belong to Rachel, which are a love for the deepest or innermost qualities God opens up in us. The seven in “Seven persons in all” shows us a completion as these states flow into us from the Lord. This is further shown by the next sentence, which is a short summation of this.

26. All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.

The people going with Jacob to Egypt represent all the truths and forms of good introduced into the natural or external part of us. His sons' wives didn't come from Jacob, so they represent things that aren’t really serving good things of love coming from the Lord into our natural life (Secrets of Heaven 6024).

27. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

The sons of Joseph born in Egypt signify innermost heavenly, or celestial, and inner spiritual qualities flowing down into the natural part of us, as in verse 20 where it says they were born to Joseph. That they were “two persons” means that new areas of the will and understanding were opening up. “Seventy” means all and in its proper order (Secrets of Heaven 6024).

28. Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.

Judah going before Joseph means forms of good that are intermediary, or in the middle between the good in innermost parts of us (Joseph) and the good in outermost or natural (Jacob). “Goshen,” the land they were going to, signifies inner things within our natural person.

29. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

Joseph making his chariot ready means truth and teachings about innermost things, like loving the Lord above all or not looking for personal credit when doing something good. Joseph presenting himself to his father, Israel, tells us there is an inflowing from our deeper self into our outer self, and our conscious mind is perceiving it. Joseph falling on his father's neck shows the immediacy with which our innermost self wants to be joined with our outermost or natural self. Weeping shows the depth of mercy in this joining, and Joseph weeping for a good while shows the depth of love the Lord has for this joining of our inner and outer selves.

(Refer to Secrets of Heaven 6026).

30. And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

“Israel said to Joseph” means spiritual good is now present within our natural self. “Now let me die” tells us an old way of life is ending and a new way is beginning. "Since I have seen your face,” means that mercy has been discerned in our outermost or conscious self. “Because you are still alive” explains the outer parts discern there are much better things flowing in now, showing better ways to live.

31. Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, 'My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

"Joseph said to his brothers" indicates that our conscious mind understands some of the celestial or deepest things represented by Joseph. “His father’s household” means that it understands in the way that it can. "I will go up and tell Pharaoh" shows communication even to the point where innermost things are flowing into our factual knowledges about the life we must live to be in heaven. Joseph’s brothers and his father’s house coming to him means all the truths and forms of good that we have are going to be infilled with the deeper, celestial love that Joseph brings.

32. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds and all that they have.'

“The men are shepherds” means that the truths represented by his brothers leads to good. That all their flocks and herds are with them shows that good things of the interior and the exterior, and whatever is dependent on them, are all present. An example of this is that we are supposed to do useful things for one another. The innermost or celestial person does good things because he or she loves the Lord; the spiritual or inner person because they love the neighbor; and the outermost or natural person does good things for others out of obedience.

33. “So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?'

“When Pharaoh calls you,” represents the natural part of us where factual knowledge about heavenly things resides. “What is your occupation?” shows the natural is interested and wants to know about the good that will be flowing into it.

34. “That you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

This verse shows that truths leading to good have been present and are present now. “That you may dwell in the land of Goshen” shows that spiritual truths will be in the center of natural things from now on. Since they’re in Egypt it shows they will be inflowing into the factual knowledge that teaches about a heavenly life.

“Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians,” signifies the separation between the false outer knowledge we knew (the Egyptians), and the new things which are true and teaching us the way to heaven (Joseph's brothers). (Secrets of Heaven 6039).

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Arcana Coelestia # 6024

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6024. Verses 8-27 And these are the names of the sons of Israel who were coming to Egypt - of Jacob and his sons: Jacob's firstborn was Reuben. And the sons of Reuben were Enoch, 1 and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. And the sons of Levi were Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Judah were Er and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar were Tola and Puvah, and Job and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, and Dinah his daughter. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three. And the sons of Gad were Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher were Jimnah, and Jishvah, and Jishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob. They were sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt were those whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him, Manasseh and Ephraim. And the sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; all the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan were Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, and Cuni, and Jezer and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob. All the souls were seven. Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt - those who came out of his thigh, not counting Jacob's sons' wives - all the souls were sixty-six. And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt were two souls; all the souls belonging to the house of Jacob who was coming to Egypt were seventy.

[2] 'And these are the names of the sons of Israel who were coming to Egypt' means the essential nature of the truths from the spiritual in their order, which were gathered into the Church's factual knowledge. 'Jacob and his sons' means the truth of the natural in general and the truths of the natural in particular. 'Jacob's firstborn was Reuben' means faith in the understanding, which seemingly occupies first place. 'And the sons of Reuben were Enoch, and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi' means teachings regarding faith in general. 'And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar' means faith in the will, and teachings regarding it in general. 'And Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman' means a teaching that did not spring from a genuine source. 'And the sons of Levi were Gershon and Kohath and Merari' means spiritual love, and teachings regarding it in general.

[3] 'And the sons of Judah were Er and Onan and Shelah, and Perez and Zerah' means celestial love, and teachings regarding it. 'And Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan' means that falsity and evil were wiped out. 'And the sons of Perez were Hezron, and Hamul' means the truths of that good, which are forms of the good of charity. 'And the sons of Issachar were Tola, and Puvah, and Job, and Shimron' means heavenly conjugial love, and teachings regarding it. 'And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, and Elon and Jahleel' means the heavenly marriage, and teachings regarding it. 'These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram' means that those things sprang from a spiritual affection in the natural through cognitions of goodness and truth. 'And Dinah his daughter' means the Church. 'Every soul of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three' means the state in which spiritual life existed, and the essential nature of it.

[4] 'And the sons of Gad were Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli' means the good of faith and the deeds that are a product of it, and teachings regarding them. 'And the sons of Asher were Jimnah and Jishvah, and Jishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel' means the happiness of eternal life and the delight supplied by affections, and teachings regarding them. 'These were the sons of Zilpah' means that these things belong to the external Church. 'Whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter' means received from the affection for external good. 'And these she bore to Jacob' means that they were begotten by the natural. 'They were sixteen souls' means their state and essential nature.

[5] 'The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife' means things that are born from a heavenly affection. 'Joseph and Benjamin' means the internal aspect of the Church, 'Joseph' its good, 'Benjamin' truth from that good. 'And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt' means internal celestial and spiritual entities within the natural. 'Were those whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him' means born from the marriage of good wedded to truth and truth to good. 'Manasseh and Ephraim' means a new area of will and a new associated area of understanding, which the Church possesses. 'And the sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard' means the spiritual internal, and teachings regarding it. 'These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob' means that those things were born from a celestial affection. 'All the souls were fourteen' means their state and essential nature. 'And the sons of Dan were Hushim' means the holiness of faith and the good of life, and teaching regarding them. 'And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem' means temptations in which victory was won, and teachings regarding them. 'These were the sons of Bilhah' means that they belong to the internal Church. 'Whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter' means received from the affection for internal good. 'All the souls were seven' means their state and essential nature.

[6] 'Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt' means all the truths and forms of good that were introduced into the Church's factual knowledge. 'Who came out of his thigh' means which were born of the marriage. 'Not counting Jacob's sons' wives' means quite apart from the affections for things not born of the marriage. 'All the souls were sixty-six' means their state and essential nature. 'And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt' means celestial and spiritual entities within the natural. 'Were two souls' means the resulting new areas of will and understanding, which the Church possesses. 'All the souls belonging to the house of Jacob who was coming to Egypt were seventy' means the entire number in their proper order.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. In most English versions this name appears as Hanoch, but in the Latin, as in the original Hebrew, the spelling is the same as that of the one mentioned in Genesis 4:17-18; 5:18-24. Cp Genesis 25:4.

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