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Deuteronomy 33

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1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, And rose up from Seir unto them; He shone forth from mount Paran, And he came from the myriads of the sanctuary; From his right hand [went forth] a law of fire for them.

3 Yea, he loveth the peoples, All his saints are in thy hand, And they sit down at thy feet; Each receiveth of thy words.

4 Moses commanded us a law, The inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

5 And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people And the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

6 Let Reuben live, and not die; And let his men be few.

7 And this of Judah; and he said, Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, And bring him unto his people; May his hands strive for them; And be thou a help to him against his oppressors.

8 And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are for thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

9 Who said to his father and to his mother, I see him not, And he acknowledged not his brethren, And knew not his own children; For they have observed thy word, And kept thy covenant.

10 They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances, And Israel thy law: They shall put incense before thy nostrils, And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.

11 Bless, Jehovah, his substance! And let the work of his hands please thee; Crush the loins of his adversaries, And of them that hate him, that they may never rise again!

12 Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah, -- he shall dwell in safety by him; He will cover him all the day long, And dwell between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land! By the precious things of the heavens, By the dew, and by the deep that lieth beneath,

14 And by the precious fruits of the sun, And by the precious things put forth by the months,

15 And by the best things of the ancient mountains, And by the precious things of the everlasting hills,

16 And by the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof. And let the good will of him that dwelt in the bush Come upon the head of Joseph, Upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

17 His majesty is as the firstling of his ox; And his horns are as the horns of a buffalo. With them shall he push the peoples Together to the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim, And these are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And thou, Issachar, in thy tents!

19 They shall invite [the] peoples to the mountain; There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they will suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad! As a lion doth he dwell, and teareth the arm, even the top of the head.

21 And he provided the first part for himself, For there was reserved the portion of the lawgiver; And he came with the heads of the people; The justice of Jehovah and his judgments Hath he executed with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a young lion; He shall spring forth from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, Naphtali, satisfied with favour, And full of the blessing of Jehovah, Possess thou the west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said, Asher shall be blessed with sons; Let him be acceptable to his brethren, And let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Iron and brass shall be thy bolts; And thy rest as thy days.

26 There is none like unto the ùGod of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heavens to thy help, And in his majesty, upon the clouds.

27 [Thy] refuge is the God of old, And underneath are the eternal arms; And he shall drive out the enemy from before thee, And shall say, Destroy [them]!

28 And Israel shall dwell in safety alone, The fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

29 Happy art thou, Israel! Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah, The shield of thy help, And the sword of thine excellency? And thine enemies shall come cringing to thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 1788

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1788. That 'a shield' means protection against evils and falsities which is able to be trusted is clear without explanation, for repeated usage has made the saying familiar that 'Jehovah is a shield and buckler'. But what is meant specifically by 'a shield' becomes clear from the Word, namely that in reference to the Lord it means protection, and in reference to man trust in the Lord's protection. As 'war' means temptations, as shown in 1664, so every implement of war means some specific aspect of temptation and of defence against evils and falsities, that is, against the devil's crew who bring temptation about and do the tempting. Consequently 'shield' means one thing, 'buckler' another, 'target' another, 'helmet' another, 'spear' and also 'javelin' another, 'sword' another, 'bow and arrows' another, and 'breastplate' another. In the Lord's Divine mercy these will be dealt with individually later on.

[2] The reason why in reference to the Lord 'a shield' means protection against evils and falsities, and in reference to man trust in the Lord, is that it was a means of protection to the breast, and 'the breast' meant good and truth - good because the heart is within it, and truth because the lungs are within it. That 'a shield' has this meaning is clear in David,

Blessed be Jehovah my rock who trains my hands for battle and my fingers for war; my mercy, and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I trust. Psalms 144:1-2.

Here 'battle' and 'war' are the battle and war of temptations, and in the internal sense, of the Lord's temptations. 'A shield' in reference to Jehovah is protection, and in reference to man trust, as is quite evident.

[3] In the same author,

O Israel, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. You who fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. Psalms 115:9-11.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

Jehovah is my fortress, my God in whom I will trust. He will cover you with His wing, and under His wings will you put your trust. His truth is a buckler and target. Psalms 91:2, 4.

Here 'buckler and target' stands for protection against falsities.

[4] In the same author,

Jehovah is my rock (petra) and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock (rupee) in whom I trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation. Jehovah is a shield for all who trust in Him. Psalms 18:2, 30.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

You who test the heart 1 and reins, a righteous God; my shield is with God who saves the upright in heart. Isaiah 7:9, 10.

'Shield' stands for trust. In the same author,

You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand will support me. Psalms 18:35.

'Shield' stands for trust.

[5] In the same author,

The shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted. Psalms 47:9.

'Shields' stands for trust. In the same author,

Jehovah God is a sun and shield; grace and glory will Jehovah give; no good thing will be withheld from those walking blamelessly. Psalms 84:11.

'Shield' stands for protection. In Moses,

Your blessings, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved in Jehovah, the shield of your help, and One who is the sword of your excellency! Your enemies will be mistaken in regard to you. Deuteronomy 33:29.

'Shield' stands for protection.

[6] Even as weapons of war are attributed to those engaged in conflicts brought about by temptations, so also are the same weapons attributed to the enemies assailing and tempting. When attributed to the latter, the contrary meanings held by those weapons is being expressed; for example, 'a shield' in this case means the evils and falsities from which those enemies fight, and which they defend, and in which they put their trust, as in Jeremiah,

Prepare shield and buckler, and advance for battle. Harness the horses, and mount, O horsemen! Take up your stations in your helmets, polish your lances, put on your breastplates. Jeremiah 46:3-4.

There are many more examples besides these.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, hearts

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