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創世記 30

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1 拉結見自己不給雅各生子,就嫉妒他姊姊,對雅各:你給我孩子,不然我就死了

2 雅各向拉結生氣,:叫你不生育的是,我豈能代替他作主呢?

3 拉結:有我的使女辟拉在這裡,你可以與他同房,使他生子在我膝下,我便因他也得孩子(原文作被建立)。

4 拉結就把他的使女辟拉丈夫為妾;雅各便與他同房,

5 辟拉就懷孕,給雅各生了一個兒子

6 拉結伸了我的冤,也了我的聲音,賜我一個兒子,因此他起名但(就是伸冤的意思)。

7 拉結的使女辟拉又懷孕,給雅各生了第二個兒子

8 拉結:我與我姊姊大大相爭,並且得勝,於是給他起名拿弗他利(就是相爭的意思)。

9 利亞見自己停了生育,就把使女悉帕雅各為妾。

10 利亞的使女悉帕給雅各生了一個兒子

11 利亞:萬幸!於是給他起名迦得(就是萬幸的意思)。

12 利亞的使女悉帕又給雅各生了第二個兒子

13 利亞:我有福阿,眾女子都要稱我是有福的,於是給他起名亞設(就是有福的意思)。

14 割麥子的時候,流便往田裡去,尋見風茄,拿來母親利亞。拉結對利亞:請你把你兒子的風茄我些。

15 利亞:你奪了我的丈夫還算小事麼?你又要奪我兒子的風茄麼?拉結:為你兒子的風茄,今夜他可以與你同寢。

16 到了晚上雅各從田裡回,利亞出迎接他,:你要與我同寢,因為我實在用我兒子的風茄把你雇下了。那一夜,雅各就與他同寢。

17 應允了利亞,他就懷孕,給雅各生了第五個兒子

18 利亞了我價值,因為我把使女了我丈夫,於是他起名以薩迦(就是價值的意思)。

19 利亞又懷孕,給雅各生了第六兒子

20 利亞賜我厚賞;我丈夫必與我同住,因我給他生了個兒子,於是給他起名西布倫(就是同住的意思)。

21 來又生了一個女兒,給他起名底拿。

22 顧念拉結,應允了他,使他能生育。

23 拉結懷孕生子,除去了我的羞恥,

24 就給他起名約瑟(就是增添的意思),意思:願耶和華再增添我一個兒子

25 拉結生約瑟之後,雅各拉班:請打發我走,叫我回到我本鄉本土去。

26 請你把我服事你所得的妻子和兒女我,讓我走;我怎樣服事你,你都知道

27 拉班對他:我若在你眼前蒙恩,請你仍與我同住,因為我已算定,耶和華賜福與我是為你的緣故;

28 :請你定你的工價,我就你。

29 雅各對他:我怎樣服事你,你的牲畜在我手裡怎樣,是你知道的。

30 我未來之先,你所有的很少,現今卻發大眾多,耶和華隨我的步賜福與你。如今,我甚麼時候才為自己興家立業呢?

31 拉班:我當你甚麼呢?雅各:甚麼你也不必我,只有一件事,你若應承,我便仍舊牧放你的羊群

32 今天我要走遍你的羊群,把綿中凡有點的、有的,和黑色的,並山羊中凡有的、有點的,都挑出來;將來這一等的就算我的工價。

33 以後你查看我的工價,凡在我手裡的山羊不是有點有的,綿羊不是黑色的,那就算是我的;這樣便可證出我的公

34 拉班:好阿!我情願照著你的行。

35 當日,拉班把有紋的、有的公山羊,有點的、有的、有雜白紋的母山羊,並黑色的綿羊,都挑出來,交在他兒子們的下,

36 又使自己和雅各相離的路程。雅各就牧養拉班

37 雅各拿楊樹、杏樹、楓樹的嫩枝,將皮剝成白紋,使枝子露出白的來,

38 將剝了皮的枝子,對著羊群,插在飲溝裡和裡,的時候,牝牡配合。

39 對著枝子配合,就生下有紋的、有點的、有的來。

40 雅各羔分出來,使拉班的與這有紋和黑色的相對,把自己的另放一處,不叫他和拉班的混雜。

41 羊群肥壯配合的時候,雅各就把枝子插在水溝裡,使對著枝子配合。

42 只是到瘦弱配合的時候就不插枝子。這樣,瘦弱的就歸拉班,肥壯的就歸雅各

43 於是雅各極其發大,得了許多羊群、僕婢、駱駝,和

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 3913

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3913. 'She said, Behold, my maidservant Bilhah' means the affirming means, which has its place between natural truth and interior truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a maidservant', and also of 'a servant-girl' as the affection for the cognitions which belong to the exterior man, dealt with in 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, and in this particular case since that affection is the means by which interior truths become joined to natural or external truths, 'a maidservant' therefore describes the affirming means that has its place between these; and from the representation of 'Bilhah' as the nature of that means. The two servant-girls which Rachel and Leah gave to Jacob as wives for producing offspring represented and meant in the internal sense nothing else than something which is of service, in this case something serving as the means by which those two things are joined together, namely interior truth with external truth, for 'Rachel' represents interior truth, 'Leah' external, 3793, 3819. Indeed by means of the twelve sons of Jacob twelve general or principal requisites are described here by which a person is introduced into spiritual and celestial things while he is being regenerated or becoming the Church.

[2] Actually when a person is being regenerated or becoming the Church, that is, when from being a dead man he is becoming a living one, or from being a bodily-minded man is becoming a heavenly-minded one, he is led by the Lord through many states. These general states are specified by those twelve sons, and later by the twelve tribes, so that the twelve tribes mean all aspects of faith and love - see what has been shown in 3858. For any general whole includes every particular and individual detail, and each detail exists in relation to the general whole. When a person is being regenerated the internal man is to be joined to the external man, and therefore the goods and truths which belong to the internal man are to be joined to those which belong to the external man, for it is truths and goods that make a person a human being. These cannot be joined together without means. These means consist in such things as take something from one side and something from the other, and act in such a way that insofar as a person moves closer to one the other plays a subordinate role. These means are meant by the servant-girls - Rachel's servant-girls being the means available from the internal man, Leah's the means available from the external man.

[3] The necessity for means by which the joining together is effected may be recognized from the consideration that of himself the natural man does not agree at all with the spiritual but disagrees so much as to be utterly opposed to the spiritual. For the natural man regards and loves self and the world, whereas the spiritual man does not, except insofar as to do so leads to the rendering of services in the spiritual world, and so he regards service to it and loves this service because of the use that is served and the end in view. The natural man seems to himself to have life when he is promoted to high positions and so to pre-eminence over others, but the spiritual man seems to himself to have life in self-abasement and in being the least. Not that he despises high positions, provided they are means by which he is enabled to serve the neighbour, society as a whole, and the Church. Neither does the spiritual man view the important positions to which he is promoted in any selfish way but on account of the services rendered which are his ends in view. Bliss for the natural man consists in his being wealthier than others and in his possessing worldly riches, whereas bliss for the spiritual man consists in his having cognitions of truth and good which are the riches he possesses, and even more so in the practice of good in accordance with truths. Not however that he despises riches, because these enable him to render a service in the world.

[4] These few considerations show that on account of their different ends in view the state of the natural man and the state of the spiritual are the reverse of each other, but that the two can be joined one to the other. That conjunction is effected when things which belong to the external man become subordinate and are subservient to the ends which the internal man has in view. In order that a person may become spiritual therefore it is necessary for the things belonging to the external man to be brought into a position of subservience, and so for ends that have self and the world in view to be cast aside and those that have the neighbour and the Lord's kingdom to be adopted. The former cannot possibly be cast aside or the latter adopted, and so the two cannot be joined, except through means. It is these means that are meant by the servant-girls, and specifically by the four sons born to the servant-girls.

[5] The first means is one that affirms, or is affirmative towards, internal truth; that is to say, it affirms that it really is internal truth. Once this affirmative attitude is present, a person is in the first stage of regeneration, good from within being at work and leading to that spirit of affirmation. That good cannot pass into a negative attitude, nor even into one of doubt, until this becomes affirmative. After this, that good manifests itself in affection; that is to say, it causes the person to feel an affection for, and delight in, truth - first through his coming to know this truth, then through his acting in accordance with it. Take for example the truth that the Lord is the human race's salvation. If the person does not develop an affirmative attitude towards this truth, none of the things which he has learned about the Lord from the Word or in the Church and which are included among the facts in his natural memory can be joined to his internal man, that is, to the truths that are able to be truths of faith there. Nor can affection accordingly enter in, not even into the general aspects of this truth which contribute to the person's salvation. But once he develops an affirmative attitude countless things are added and are filled with the good that is flowing in. For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but where no affirmative attitude exists it is not accepted. An affirmative attitude is therefore the first means and so to speak first dwelling-place of the good flowing in from the Lord. And the same is so with all other truths called the truths of faith.

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