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Genesis 41

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1 To År senere hændte det, at Farao havde en drøm. Han drømte, at han stod ved Nilen;

2 og se, op af Floden steg der syv smukke og fede Køer, som gav sig til at græsse i Engen;

3 efter dem steg der syv andre Køer op af Nilen, usle at se til og magre, og de stillede sig ved Siden af de første Køer på Nilens Bred;

4 og de usle og magre Køer åd de syv smukke og fede Køer. Så vågnede Farao.

5 Men han sov ind og havde en Drøm og så syv tykke og gode Aks skyde frem på et og samme Strå;

6 men efter dem volksede der syv golde og vindsvedne Aks frem;

7 og de golde Aks slugte de syv tykke og fulde Aks. Så vågnede Farao, og se, det var en Drøm.

8 Men om Morgenen var hans Sind uroligt; og han sendte Bud efter alle Ægyptens Tegnsudlæggere og Vismænd og fortalte dem sin Drøm, men ingen kunde tyde den for Farao.

9 Da sagde Overmundskænken til Farao: "Jeg må i Dag minde om mine Synder.

10 Den Gang Farao vrededes på sine Tjenere og lod dem sætte i Forvaring i Livvagtens Øverstes Hus, mig og Overbageren,

11 da drømte vi engang samme Nat hver en Drøm med sin særlige Betydning.

12 Sammen med os var der en Hebraisk Yngling, som var Træl hos Livvagtens Øverste, og da vi fortalte ham vore Drømme, tydede han dem for os, hver på sin Måde;

13 og som han tydede dem for os, således gik det: Jeg blev indsat i mit Embede, og Bageren blev hængt."

14 Da sendte Farao Bud efter Josef, og man fik ham hurtigt ud af Fangehullet; og efter at have ladet sig rage og skiftet Klæder fremstillede han sig for Farao.

15 sagde Farao til Josef: "Jeg har haft en Drøm, som ingen kan tyde; og nu har jeg hørt om dig, at du kun behøver at høre en Drøm, så kan du tyde den."

16 Josef svarede Farao: "Ikke jeg men Gud vil give Farao et gunstigt Svar!"

17 Da sagde Farao til Josef: "Jeg drømte, at jeg stod på Nilens Bred;

18 og se, op af Floden steg der syv fede og smukke Køer, som gav sig til at græsse i Engen;

19 efter dem steg der syv andre Køer op, ringe, såre usle og magre, så usle Dyr har jeg ikke set nogensteds i Ægypten;

20 og de magre og usle Køer åd de syv første, fede Køer;

21 men da de havde slugt dem, var det ikke til at kende på dem; de så lige så usle ud som før. Så vågnede jeg.

22 Men jeg sov atter ind og så i Drømme syv fulde og gode Aks skyde frem på et og samme Strå;

23 men efter dem voksede der syv udtørrede, golde og vindsvedne Aks frem,

24 og de golde Aks slugte de syv gode Aks. Det fortalte jeg mine Tegnsudlæggere, men ingen kunde forklare mig det."

25 Da sagde Josef til Farao: "Faraos Drømme betyder begge det samme, og Gud har kundgjort Farao, hvad han vil gøre.

26 De syv gode Køer betyder syv År; de syv gode Aks betyder ligeledes syv År; det er en og samme Drøm.

27 Og de syv magre og usle Køer, der steg op efter dem, betyder syv År, og de syv golde og vindsvedne Aks betyder syv Hungersnødsår.

28 Det var det, jeg mente, når jeg sagde til Farao: Hvad Gud vil gøre, har han ladet Farao skue!

29 Se, der kommer syv År med stor Overflod i hele Ægypten;

30 men efter dem kommer der syv Hungersnødsår, og man skal gemme al Overfloden i Ægypten; og Hungersnøden skal hærge Jorden,

31 så man intet mærker til Overfloden på Jorden på Grund af den påfølgende Hungersnød; thi den bliver såre hård.

32 Men at Drømmen gentog sig to Gange for Farao, betyder, at Sagen er fast besluttet af Gud, og at han snart vil lade det ske.

33 Men nu skulde Farao udse sig en indsigtsfuld og klog Mand og sætte ham over Ægypten,

34 og Farao skulde tage og indsætte Tilsynsmænd over Landet og opkræve Femtedelen af Ægyptens Afgrøde i Overflodens syv År;

35 og de skal samle al Afgrøden fra de gode År, der kommer, og oplagre Høsten som Faraos Eje og bringe Afgrøden under Lås og Lukke i Byerne,

36 for at Afgrøden kan tjene til Forråd for Landet i Hungersnødens syv År, som skal komme over Ægypten, at ikke Landet skal gå til Grunde ved Hungersnøden."

37 Både Farao og alle hans Tjenere syntes godt om den Tale,

38 og Farao sagde til sine Tjenere: "Hvor finder vi en Mand, i hvem Guds Ånd er som i ham?"

39 Og Farao sagde til Josef: "Efter at Gud har åbenbaret dig alt dette. kan ingen måle sig med dig i Indsigt og Kløgt;

40 du skal forestå mit Hus, og efter dit Ord skal alt mit Folk rette sig; kun Tronen vil jeg have forud for dig."

41 Og Farao sagde til Josef: "Så sætter jeg dig nu over hele Ægypten!"

42 Og Farao tog Seglringen af sin Hånd og satte den på Josefs, klædte ham i fine Linnedklæder og hængte Guldkæden om hans Hals:

43 han lod ham køre i sin næstbedste Vogn, og de råbte Abrek for ham. Således satte han ham over hele Ægypten.

44 Og Farao sagde til Josef: "Jeg er Farao, men uden dit Minde skal ingen røre Hånd eller Fod nogensteds i Ægypten!"

45 Derpå gav Farao Josef Navnet Zafenat Panea, og han lod ham ægte Asenat, en Datter af Præsten Potifera i On; og Josef drog omkring i Ægypten.

46 Josef var tredive År gammel. da han stededes for Farao, Ægyptens Konge. Så forlod Josef Farao og drog omkring i hele Ægypten.

47 Og Landet bar i bugnende Fylde i Overflodens syv År;

48 og Josef samlede al Afgrøden i de syv År, i hvilke der var Overflod i Ægypten, og bragte den til Byerne; i hver By samlede han Afgrøden fra Markerne der omkring.

49 Således ophobede Josef Korn i vældig Mængde, som Havets Sand, indtil man opgav at måle det, da det ikke var til at måle.

50 Før Hungersnødens År kom. fik Josef to Sønner med Asenat, Præsten i On Potiferas Datter;

51 og Josef gav den førstefødte Navnet Manasse, thi han sagde: "Gud har ladet mig glemme al min Møje og hele min Faders Hus."

52 Og den anden gav han Navnet Efraim, thi han sagde: "Gud har givet mig Livsfrugt i min Elendigheds Land."

53 Da Overflodens syv År, som kom over Ægypten, var omme,

54 begyndte Hungersnødens syv År, som Josef havde sagt; og der opstod Hungersnød i alle Lande, men i hele Ægypten var der Brød.

55 Så hungrede hele Ægypten; og Folket råbte til Farao om Brød; men Farao sagde til alle Ægypterne: "Gå til Josef og gør, hvad han siger eder!"

56 Og der var Hungersnød over hele Jorden. Da åbnede Josef for alle Kornlagrene og solgte Korn til Ægypterne; men Hungersnøden tog til i Ægypten;

57 og Alverden kom til Ægypten for at købe Korn hos Josef; thi Hungersnøden tog til over hele Jorden.

   


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Apocalypse Explained # 440

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440. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand.- That this signifies the goods of life thence, is evident from the representation, and thence the signification of the tribe of Manasseh, which denotes the Voluntary (voluntarium) of the church, and thence the good of life. The good of life is signified, because this makes one with the Voluntary of the church, or of the men of the church. For a man does what he wills, when it is possible a deed being nothing else but the will (voluntas) acting as is evident from this fact that action ceases when the will ceases, and continues so long as the will remains. What the will of the regenerated man does, is called the good of life. Since then Manasseh and his tribe signify the Voluntary of the church, he also signifies the good of life. Also after regeneration good of life from charity towards the neighbour succeeds as an effect from its cause, and this is signified by Asher and Naphtali. For those who are in charity towards the neighbour are regenerated by the Lord, and those who are regenerated are in the good of life, for they act from charity, and every action from charity is good of life.

[2] The two things which make the church, are, truth of doctrine and good of life, and a man must possess both of these in order to be a man of the church. These two were represented, and thence are signified in the Word, by Ephraim and Manasseh; the truth of doctrine, by Ephraim, and the good of life, by Manasseh. Truth of doctrine is also called the Intellectual of the church, and the good of life its Voluntary (voluntarium). For truth is of the understanding (intellectus), and good of the will (voluntas); and therefore Ephraim and Manasseh signify the Intellectual and the Voluntary of the church, Ephraim signifying the Intellectual, and Manasseh the Voluntary. In order that such things might be represented, and thence signified by Ephraim and Manasseh, they were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. For Joseph signifies the Celestial-Spiritual, or the spiritual kingdom itself, which is adjoined to the celestial kingdom, and the land of Egypt signifies the Natural. Therefore good of the will in the Natural, born from the Celestial-Spiritual, is signified by Manasseh, and truth of the understanding in the Natural, also born from the same, is signified by Ephraim. It is said of their nativity in Moses,

"And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh; for God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim; for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Genesis 41:50-52).

What is meant by these words in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5347-5356), namely, that by the name of the first-begotten, Manasseh, is meant the new Voluntary in the Natural, and its quality, and by the name of the second, Ephraim, the new Intellectual in the Natural and its quality, or what is the same, by Manasseh, the good of the new natural man, and by Ephraim, the truth thereof (see n. 5351, 5354).

[3] That Ephraim and Manasseh have this signification, is evident from the fact that they were adopted by Jacob as Reuben and Simeon, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now thy two sons which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance" (Genesis 48:5, 6).

Because Reuben signifies truth in the understanding, which is the truth of doctrine, and Simeon, truth in the will, which is the good of life, therefore Jacob said that Ephraim and Manasseh should be to him as Reuben and Simeon, consequently Ephraim signifies intellectual truth, and Manasseh voluntary good. But these things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6234-6241).

[4] The same is also evident from the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob, at that time Israel, which is as follows:

"Israel blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, did walk, the God who hath fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and in them shall my name be called, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth" (Genesis 48:15, 16).

That Ephraim here also means intellectual truth, and Manasseh, voluntary good, both of them in the natural man, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6274-6285). Again, in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Moses, it is said of Joseph:

"In the firstling of his bullock he hath honour, and his horns the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall push the peoples together to the ends of the earth; and they are the myriads of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh" (Deuteronomy 33:17).

The explanation of these words may be seen above (n. 316:23, 336:4).

That Ephraim signifies the understanding of truth, and Manasseh, the will of good, each in the natural man, is clear also from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land darkened and the people have become as fuel of fire; a man shall not spare his brother. And if he cut down on the right hand, he shall yet be hungry; and if he eat on the left hand, they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm; Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together against" Jehovah (9:19-21).

That by Manasseh eating Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh, is here signified that all the good and truth of the church would perish, the good by falsity, and the truth by evil, may be seen above (n. 386:2), where these things are explained in detail.

[5] In David:

"Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver" (Psalm 60:7; 108:8).

Manasseh here signifies the good of the church, Ephraim, its truth, and Gilead, the Natural; and because truth from good in the Natural possesses Divine power, it is therefore said, "Ephraim is the strength of my head." The reason why there is Divine power by means of truth from good in the Natural is, that the Natural is the ultimate into which interior things, which are celestial and spiritual, flow, and there they exist and subsist together; they are consequently there in their fulness, in which and from which is all Divine operation. Therefore the sense of the letter of the Word possesses Divine power, because it is natural; concerning this see above (n. 346), and in the Arcana Coelestia 9836). From these considerations the reason is evident why Ephraim is called the strength of the head of Jehovah. Judah is called His lawgiver, because by Judah is signified Divine Truth internal, or the Word in the spiritual sense, and similarly by lawgiver and law.

[6] In the same:

"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, and come and save us" (Psalm 80:1, 2).

It is plain from the spiritual sense that these words contain a supplication to the Lord to instruct those who are of the church, and lead them by truths to good, and so to heaven. The Lord is called "shepherd of Israel" because He instructs and leads; it is therefore said, "Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock," and by Joseph are meant those of the church who are in truths from good. Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, signifies the Lord above the heavens, whence He sends forth the light which enlightens the mind and therefore it is said "shine forth." Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, signifies that the light of truth may penetrate even to those who are in natural truth and good, thus to the ultimates in the church. Ephraim means those who are in natural truth, such as the truth of the Word in the sense of the letter; Manasseh means those who are in natural good, which is the delight of doing good and learning truth; Benjamin means the conjunctive [principle] of good and truth, or the conjoining medium in the Natural; by stirring up strength is meant to penetrate even there with light. Come and save us, signifies that they should be saved.

[7] Because all the good which is in the natural man flows in from the Lord through the Spiritual, and apart from that influx no good can exist in the Natural, and because Manasseh represented, and thence signifies, good from a spiritual source in the natural man, therefore an inheritance was given to that tribe beyond or without the Jordan, and also on this side, or within the Jordan; to half of the tribe, beyond or without the Jordan, and to the other half, on this side, or within the Jordan (see Num. 32:33, 39, 40; Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 13:29-31; 17:5-13, 16-18). The land beyond, or without the Jordan, represented and signified the external church with men in the natural man, but the land on this side, or within the Jordan, represented and signified the internal church with men in the spiritual man. Concerning this distinction, see above (n. 434:11). And good is that which makes the church; this good flows in immediately out of the spiritual man into the natural; apart from this influx the church does not exist in man. This is the reason why an inheritance both within and without the Jordan was given to the tribe of Manasseh, which signified the good of the church. That spiritual good flows into natural good immediately, but into natural truth mediately, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia (3314, 3573, 3576, 3616, 3969, 3995, 4563); and that hence there is a parallelism between spiritual good and natural good, but not between spiritual truth and natural truth (1831, 1832, 3514, 3564).

[8] That Manasseh signifies the good of the church, or the good of life, which is the same with the good of the will, is evident from the representation and thence the signification of Ephraim, which denotes the truth of the church, or the truth of doctrine, and this is the same with truth of the understanding; for they were brethren, and good and truth are termed brethren in the Word. That Ephraim signifies the truth of doctrine, and thence the Intellectual of the church, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5354), where many passages from the Word, in which Ephraim is mentioned, are quoted and explained; see also in the same work (n. 3969, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296).

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.