Bible

士师记 3

¹ 耶和华留下这几族，为要试验那不曾知道与迦南争战之事的以色列人，

² 好叫以色列的後代又知道又学习未曾晓得的战事。

³ 所留下的就是非利士的五个首领和一切迦南人、西顿人，并住利巴嫩山的希未人，从巴力黑们山直到哈马口。

⁴ 留下这几族，为要试验以色列人，知道他们肯听从耶和华藉摩西吩咐他们列祖的诫命不肯。

⁵ 以色列人竟住在迦南人、赫人、亚摩利人、比利洗人、希未人、耶布斯人中间，

⁶ 娶他们的女儿为妻，将自己的女儿嫁给他们的儿子，并事奉他们的神。

⁷ 以色列人行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，忘记耶和华─他们的神，去事奉诸巴力和亚舍拉，

⁸ 所以耶和华的怒气向以色列人发作，就把他们交在米所波大米王古珊利萨田的手中。以色列人服事古珊利萨田八年。

⁹ 以色列人呼求耶和华的时候，耶和华就为他们兴起一位拯救者救他们，就是迦勒兄弟基纳斯的儿子俄陀聂。

¹⁰ 耶和华的灵降在他身上，他就作了以色列的士师，出去争战。耶和华将米所波大米王古珊利萨田交在他手中，他便胜了古珊利萨田。

¹¹ 於是国中太平四十年。基纳斯的儿子俄陀聂死了。

¹² 以色列人又行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，耶和华就使摩押王伊矶伦强盛，攻击以色列人。

¹³ 伊矶伦招聚亚扪人和亚玛力人，去攻打以色列人，占据棕树城。

¹⁴ 於是以色列人服事摩押王伊矶伦十八年。

¹⁵ 以色列人呼求耶和华的时候，耶和华就为他们兴起一位拯救者，就是便雅悯人基拉的儿子以笏；他是左手便利的。以色列人托他送礼物给摩押王伊矶伦。

¹⁶ 以笏打了一把两刃的剑，长一肘，带在右腿衣服里面。

¹⁷ 他将礼物献给摩押王伊矶伦（原来伊矶伦极其肥胖）；

¹⁸ 以笏献完礼物，便将抬礼物的人打发走了，

¹⁹ 自己却从靠近吉甲凿石之地回来，说：“王啊，我有一件机密事奏告你。”王说：“回避吧！”于是左右侍立的人都退去了。

²⁰ 以笏来到王面前；王独自一人坐在凉楼上。以笏说：我奉神的命报告你一件事。王就从座位上站起来。

²¹ 以笏便伸左手，从右腿上拔出剑来，刺入王的肚腹，

²² 连剑把都刺进去了。剑被肥肉夹住，他没有从王的肚腹拔出来，且穿通了後身。

²³ 以笏就出到游廊，将楼门尽都关锁。

²⁴ 以笏出来之後，王的仆人到了，看见楼门关锁，就说：他必是在楼上大解。

²⁵ 他们等烦了，见仍不开楼门，就拿钥匙开了，不料，他们的主人已死，倒在地上。

²⁶ 他们耽延的时候，以笏就逃跑了，经过凿石之地，逃到西伊拉；

²⁷ 到了，就在以法莲山地吹角。以色列人随着他下了山地，他在前头引路，

²⁸ 对他们说：你们随我来，因为耶和华已经把你们的仇敌摩押人交在你们手中。於是他们跟着他下去，把守约但河的渡口，不容摩押一人过去。

²⁹ 那时击杀了摩押人约有一万，都是强壮的勇士，没有一人逃脱。

³⁰ 这样，摩押就被以色列人制伏了。国中太平八十年。

³¹ 以笏之後，有亚拿的儿子珊迦，他用赶牛的棍子打死六百非利士人。他也救了以色列人。

Ze Swedenborgových děl

Apocalypse Revealed # 367

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367. Clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. This symbolizes a communication and conjunction with the higher heavens, and a confession springing from Divine truths.

To be clothed with white robes means, symbolically, to have a communication and conjunction with the heavens (see no. 328 above). Holding palm branches in the hands symbolizes confessions springing from Divine truths because palm branches symbolize Divine truths. For every tree symbolizes some element of the church, and palm branches symbolize Divine truth in outmost expressions, which is the Divine truth in the literal sense of the Word.

Engraved, therefore, on all the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem, inside and out, and also on its doors, were cherubim and palm trees (1 Kings 6:29, 32). Likewise in the New Temple described in Ezekiel 41:18-20. Cherubim symbolize the Word (no. 239), and palm trees the Divine truths in it.

That palm trees symbolize Divine truths in the Word, and palm branches in the hands confessions springing from them, can be seen from the fact that the Israelites were commanded to take, at the feast of Tabernacles, "the fruits of honorable trees and branches of palms, and rejoice before Jehovah." (Leviticus 23:39-40)

It can be seen also from the fact that when Jesus came to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, the people "took palm branches and went to meet Him, crying, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (John 12:12-13)

These symbolize a confession of the Lord springing from Divine truths.

A palm tree symbolizes Divine truth also in the book of Psalms:

The righteous man shall flourish like a palm tree; he shall grow... planted in the house of Jehovah; he shall sprout in the courts of our God. (Psalms 92:12-13)

So, too, elsewhere.

Because Jericho was a city near the Jordan, and the Jordan river symbolized that which is first in the church, namely Divine truth such as it is in the literal sense of the Word, therefore the city was called the city of palms (Deuteronomy 34:3, Judges 1:16; 3:13). For the Jordan was the first boundary of or point of entrance into the land of Canaan, and the land of Canaan symbolizes the church.

Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.