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Deuteronomy 27

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1 And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.

2 And it shall be on the day when ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

3 and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou goest over that thou mayest enter into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Jehovah the God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

4 And it shall be when ye go over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, as I command you this day, on mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.

5 And there shalt thou build an altar to Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt not lift up an iron [tool] upon them;

6 of whole stones shalt thou build the altar of Jehovah thy God; and thou shalt offer up burnt-offerings thereon to Jehovah thy God.

7 And thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before Jehovah thy God.

8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

9 And Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, Be silent and hearken, Israel! this day thou art become the people of Jehovah thy God.

10 And thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

11 And Moses gave commandment to the people the same day, saying,

12 These shall stand to bless the people upon mount Gerizim, when ye have gone over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.

13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 And the Levites shall declare and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice:

15 Cursed be the man that maketh a graven or molten image, an abomination to Jehovah, a work of the craftsman's hand, and putteth it up secretly! And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

16 Cursed be he that slighteth his father or his mother! And all the people shall say, Amen.

17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark! And all the people shall say, Amen.

18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.

19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow! And all the people shall say, Amen.

20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; for he uncovereth his father's skirt! And all the people shall say, Amen.

21 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast! And all the people shall say, Amen.

22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother! And all the people shall say, Amen.

23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law! And all the people shall say, Amen.

24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly! And all the people shall say, Amen.

25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to smite mortally [shedding] innocent blood! And all the people shall say, Amen.

26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them! And all the people shall say, Amen.

   

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Wife

  

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])