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創世記 37

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1 雅各迦南,就是他父親寄居的

2 雅各的記略如下。約瑟十七歲與他哥哥們一同牧。他是個童子,與他父親的妾辟拉、悉帕的兒子們常在一處。約瑟將他哥哥們的惡行報給他們的父親

3 以色列原來約瑟過於他的眾子,因為約瑟是他年老生的;他給約瑟做了一件彩衣。

4 約瑟的哥哥們見父親約瑟過於他們,就恨約瑟,不與他和睦的話。

5 約瑟做了一夢,告訴他哥哥們,他們就越發恨他。

6 約瑟對他們:請我所做的夢:

7 我們在田裡捆禾稼,我的捆起來站著,你們的捆來圍著我的捆下拜。

8 他的哥哥們回答:難道你真要作我們的王麼?難道你真要管轄我們麼?他們就因為他的夢和他的越發恨他。

9 後來他又做了一夢,也告訴他的哥哥:看哪,我又做了一夢,夢見太陽月亮,與十一個向我下拜。

10 約瑟將這夢告訴他父親和他哥哥們,他父親就責備他:你做的這是甚麼夢!難道我和你母親、你弟兄果然要俯伏在,向你下拜麼?

11 哥哥們都嫉妒他,他父親卻把這存在心裡。

12 約瑟的哥哥們往示劍去放他們父親

13 以色列對約瑟:你哥哥們不是在示劍放羊麼?你來,我要打發你往他們那裡去。約瑟:我在這裡。

14 以色列:你去哥哥們平安不平安,平安不平安,就回來報信給我;於是打發他出希伯崙,他就往示劍去了。

15 遇見他在田野走迷了路,就問他:你甚麼?

16 :我找我的哥哥們,求你告訴我,他們在何處放羊。

17 :他們已經走了,我見他們要往多坍去。約瑟就去追趕他哥哥們,遇見他們在多坍。

18 他們遠遠地見他,趁他還沒有走到跟前,大家就同謀要害死他,

19 彼此:你看!那做夢的來了

20 來罷!我們將他殺了,丟在裡,就有惡獸把他吃了我們他的夢將來怎麼樣。

21 流便見了,要救他脫離他們的我們不可害他的性命;

22 :不可流他的血,可以把他丟在這野地的裡,不可下害他。流便的意思是要救他脫離他們的,把他歸還他的父親

23 約瑟到了他哥哥們那裡,他們就剝了他的外衣,就是他穿的那件彩衣,

24 把他丟在裡;那是空的,裡頭沒有

25 他們飯,舉目觀,見有一夥米甸的以實瑪利人從基列,用駱駝馱著香料、乳香、沒藥,要埃及去。

26 猶大對眾弟兄我們我們兄弟,藏了他的血有甚麼益處呢?

27 我們不如將他以實瑪利人,不可下害他;因為他是我們兄弟我們的骨。眾弟兄就從了他。

28 有些米甸的商人從那裡經過,哥哥們就把約瑟從裡拉上來,講定二十舍客勒子,把約瑟以實瑪利人。他們就把約瑟埃及去了。

29 流便回到邊,見約瑟不在裡,就撕裂衣服

30 回到兄弟們那裡,:童子沒有了。我往那裡去才好呢?

31 他們宰了一隻公山羊,把約瑟的那件彩衣染了血,

32 打發人送到他們的父親那裡,:我們撿了這個;請認一認是你兒子的外衣不是?

33 他認得,就:這是我兒子的外衣。有惡獸把他吃了,約瑟被撕碎了!撕碎了!

34 雅各便撕裂衣服,腰間圍上麻布,為他兒子悲哀了多日。

35 他的兒女都起來安慰他,他卻不肯受安慰:我必悲哀著陰間,到我兒子那裡。約瑟的父親就為他哀哭。

36 米甸人帶約瑟到埃及,把他法老的內臣─護衛長波提乏。

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Genesis 37

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Joe David

The stories in the Old Testament foreshadow future events -- not so much historical events, but changes in the spiritual states of humankind.

In the inner meaning, the story of Jacob, and his twelve sons, and Joseph and his dreams, deals with people's eventual rejection of the Divine truths that they would receive from the Lord in the Christian church, and their acceptance of falsities instead.

Specifically, this chapter is about the way that some theologians in the Christian church developed the idea of salvation by faith alone, when the Lord really wants us to conjoin faith and charity in our lives.

This seems like a stretch - that a story from 3500+ years ago could be foreshadowing modern theological arguments. And yet, human beings, as partly-spiritual creatures, are always players in a big, long spiritual story - and the Old Testament stories are archetypes for things we wrestle with in our own lives. For the details of this story's meaning, look at Arcana Coelestia 4665, and the following passages.

Here is an excerpt from Swedenborg's "Arcana Coelestia" that helps start explain the inner meaning of this chapter:

"The subject treated of in this chapter in the internal sense is the Divine truths which are from the Lord‘s Divine Human, that in course of time they have been rejected in the church, and that at last falsities have been received in their stead. Specifically, those are described who are in faith separate from charity, in that they are against the Lord’s Divine Human." AC 4665.

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 4665

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4665. Genesis 37

1. And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

2. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, a son of seventeen years, was pasturing the flock with his brothers; and he, still a boy, was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's womenfolk; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

3. And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was the son of his old age; and he made him a tunic of various colours.

4. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

5. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him all the more. 1

6. And he said to them, Hear now this dream which I have dreamed.

7. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood up, and behold, your sheaves gathered round it and bowed down to my sheaf.

8. And his brothers said to him, Are you indeed going; to reign over us? Or are you indeed going to have dominion over us? And they hated him all the more 1 for his dreams and for his words.

9. And he dreamed yet another dream, and he recounted it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon, and the eleven stars were bowing down to me.

10. And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall we indeed come - I and your mother, and your brothers - to bow down to you to the earth?

11. And his brothers envied him; and his father kept the matter 2 [in mind].

12. And his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father, in Shechem.

13. And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing [the flock] in Shechem? Go, and I will send you to them. And he said to him, Behold, here I am.

14. And he said to him, Go now, see the peace of your brothers and the peace of the flock, 3 and bring back word to me. And he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15. And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field and the man asked him, saying, What are you looking for?

16. And he said, I am looking for my brothers; tell me now, where they are pasturing [the flock].

17. And the man said, They have travelled on from here, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18. And they saw him from a distance; and before he drew near to them they plotted against him, to put him to death.

19. And they said, a man to his brother, Behold, that dreamer 4 is coming.

20. So now come, and let us kill him, and let us throw him into one of the pits, and let us say, An evil wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what his dreams are going to be.

21. And Reuben heard it and rescued him out of their hands, and said Let us not strike him, [as to his] soul. 5

22. And Reuben said to them, Do not shed blood; throw him into this pit in the wilderness and do not lay a hand on him - so that he might therefore rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.

23. And it happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of various colours that was on him.

24. And they took him and threw him into the pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25. And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and resin, and stacte, 6 taking them down to Egypt.

26. And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in our killing our brother and concealing his blood?

27. Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, because he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers hearkened.

28. And men passed by, Midianites, who were traders; and they drew Joseph out and caused him to come up out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they led Joseph to Egypt.

29. And Reuben resumed to the pit, and behold, there was no Joseph in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30. And he resumed to his brothers and said, The lad is no more; and I, where do I go?

31. And they took Joseph's tunic and killed a he-goat of the she-goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

32. And they sent the tunic of various colours, and brought it to their father, and said, We have found this; recognize now whether this is your son's tunic or not.

33. And he recognized it, and said, My son's tunic! An evil wild animal has devoured him; Joseph has been torn to pieces.

34. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned over his son many days.

35. And all his sons rose up, and all his daughters, to comfort him; and he refused to comfort himself, and said, For I will go down to my son, to the grave mourning. And his father wept for him.

36. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's bedchamber-servant, the chief of the attendants.

CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with the eventual rejection, within the Church, of Divine truths received from the Lord's Divine Human, and the acceptance at length of falsities instead. Specifically the chapter deals with the opposition to the Lord's Divine Human of those governed by faith separated from charity.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, they added more still to hating him

2. literally, word

3. A Hebrew idiom meaning See whether all is well with your brothers and with the flock.

4. literally, lord of dreams

5. i. e. Let us not kill him

6. spices, resin, and stacte are all aromatic substances.

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