Bible

 

Genesis 29

Studie

   

1 And Jacob continued his journey, and went into the land of the children of the east.

2 And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the fields, and behold there, three flocks of sheep were lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was at the mouth of the well.

3 And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the mouth of the well in its place.

4 And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

5 And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do know [him].

6 And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, [He is] well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep.

7 And he said, Behold, it is yet high day; it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together; water the sheep, and go, feed [them].

8 And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.

9 While he was still speaking to them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

10 And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother.

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was a brother of her father, and that he was Rebecca's son; and she ran and told her father.

13 And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he told Laban all these things.

14 And Laban said to him, Thou art indeed my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him a month's time.

15 And Laban said to Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou serve me for nothing? tell me, what shall be thy wages?

16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel.

17 And the eyes of Leah were tender; but Rachel was of beautiful form and beautiful countenance.

18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes as single days, because he loved her.

21 And Jacob said to Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her.

24 And Laban gave to her Zilpah, his maidservant, to be maidservant to Leah his daughter.

25 And it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done to me? Have I not served thee for Rachel? Why then hast thou deceived me?

26 And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 Fulfil the week [with] this one: then we will give thee the other one also, for the service that thou shalt serve me yet seven other years.

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled the week [with] this one, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife.

29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah, his maidservant, to be her maidservant.

30 And he went in also to Rachel; and he loved also Rachel more than Leah. And he served with him yet seven other years.

31 And when Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Reuben; for she said, Because Jehovah has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.

33 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Because Jehovah has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this one also; and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Now this time will my husband be united to me, for I have borne him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi.

35 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, This time will I praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased to bear.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Apocalypse Explained # 439

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 1232  
  

439. Of the tribe Naphtali twelve thousand sealed, signifies regeneration and temptation. This is evident from what is represented and thence signified by "Naphtali" and his tribe, as meaning temptation and the state after it; and as temptations occur for the sake of regeneration, regeneration too is signified by "Naphtali." (That those who are regenerated undergo temptations see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 187-201.) That "Naphtali" and thence the tribe named from him, signify temptation and the state after it, and accordingly regeneration, can be seen from the words of Rachel, when Bilhah her handmaid bare him, which are these:

And Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali (Genesis 30:7, 8).

"Wrestlings of God" signify spiritual temptations; and as Rachel represented the internal church, which is spiritual, and Leah the external church, which is natural, Rachel's wrestling with her sister and prevailing signifies evidently the combat between the spiritual and the natural, since every temptation is a combat between the spiritual man and the natural; for the spiritual man loves and wills the things that are of heaven, since it is in heaven, while the natural man loves and wills the things that are of the world, since it is in the world; consequently the desires of the two are opposite, which gives rise to collision and combat, and this is called temptation.

[2] That "Naphtali" signifies temptation and the state after it, and thence regeneration, is further evident from the following passages. From the blessing he received from his father Israel:

Naphtali is a hind let loose; giving sayings of elegance (Gen. 49:21).

"Naphtali" here signifies the state after temptation, which state is full of joy from affection, that the spiritual and the natural, and good and truth, have been conjoined, for these are conjoined by temptations; "a hind let loose" signifies the freedom of the natural affection; "giving sayings of elegance," signifies gladness of mind. (This is more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia, n. 6412-6414.)

[3] Again, from the blessing he received from Moses:

And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with the good pleasure and full of the blessing of Jehovah; possess thou the west and the south (Deuteronomy 33:23).

This, too, describes the state after temptation, in which man is filled with every good of love and with truths therefrom; for after temptations he is filled with joy, and good bears fruit, and truth is multiplied with him; to be filled with the good of love is meant by "satisfied with the good pleasure of Jehovah;" and to be filled with truths therefrom is signified by "full of the blessing of Jehovah;" the consequent affection of truth and illustration are signified by "possess thou the west and the south," the affection of truth is signified by "the west," and illustration by "the south." It is said "possess thou the west and the south," because those who are raised up into heaven after having been instructed are carried through the west to the south, that is, through the affection of truth into the light of truth.

[4] "Naphtali" has a similar signification in the song of Deborah and Barak, in the book of Judges:

Zebulun, a people that devoted their soul to death, and Naphtali upon the heights of the field (Judges 5:18).

These were the two tribes that fought against Sisera, the captain of the host of Jabin, king of Canaan, and conquered him, the other ten tribes remaining quiet; and this represented the spiritual combat against the evils that infest the church; as is evident also from the prophetic song of Deborah and Barak, of which this is the subject. Only the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali fought, because "Zebulun" signifies the conjunction of good and truth which constitutes the church, and "Naphtali" the combat against the evils and falsities that infest it and that resist the conjunction of good and truth, consequently the two signify reformation and regeneration; "the heights of the field" signify the interiors of the church, from which combat is maintained. Again "Zebulun and Naphtali" together also signify reformation and regeneration by means of temptations (in Isaiah 8:22; 9:1, 2; also in Matthew 4:12-16).

[5] In the highest sense however "Zebulun and Naphtali" signify the uniting of the Divine and the Human in the Lord, for the highest sense treats solely of the Lord, in general of the glorification of His Human, and the subjugation of the hells, and the arranging of the heavens by Him. In this sense Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned in David:

They have seen Thy goings, O God; the goings of my God, my King in the midst of the sanctuary. The singers went before, the minstrels after, in the midst of the maidens playing on timbrels. Bless ye God in the assemblies, the Lord from the fountain of Israel. There little Benjamin is set over them, the princes of Judah their company, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength; put on strength, O God; this Thou hast wrought for us out of Thy temple at Jerusalem; kings shall bring oblations to Thee. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty among the calves of the peoples; trampling upon the plates of silver, He hath scattered the peoples, they desire combats. Those that are fat shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hasten her hands unto God (Psalms 68:24-31).

This treats in the spiritual sense of the coming of the Lord, of the glorification of His Human, of the subjugation of the hells, and the consequent salvation. Celebration of the Lord because of His coming is described in these words: "They have seen Thy goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the minstrels after, in the midst of the maidens playing on timbrels. Bless ye God in the assemblies, the Lord from the fountain of Israel." (What the particulars here signify see explained above, n. 340.) The innocence of the Lord, by which He wrought and accomplished all things, is signified by "there little Benjamin is set over them;" Divine truth from Divine good is signified by "the princes of Judah their company;" His glorification, or the uniting of the Divine and Human by His own power, is signified by "the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali;" that from this the Lord's Human has Divine power is signified by "thy God hath commanded thy strength; put on strength, O God; this Thou hast wrought for us out of Thy temple at Jerusalem," "temple" meaning here the Lord's Divine Human, and "Jerusalem" the church for which He did this. The subjugation of the hells is signified by "rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty, among the calves of the peoples; trampling upon the plates of silver, He hath scattered the peoples, they desire combats;" "the wild beast of the reed and the congregation of the mighty" mean the knowing faculty of the natural man perverting the truths and goods of the church; "the calves of the people" mean the goods of the church; "the plates of silver" mean the truths of the church; "He hath scattered the people, they desire combats," signifies to pervert truths and reason against them.

[6] The subjugation of the hells means the subjugation of the natural man; for evils from hell are in the natural man, for in it, too, are the delights of the love of self and of the world and the knowledges [scientifica] that confirm these delights; and when these delights are regarded as ends and become dominant they are against the goods and truths of the church. That when the natural man has been subjugated it supplies accordant knowledges [scientifica)], and also cognitions of truth and good, is signified by "those that are fat shall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall hasten her hands unto God." "Egypt" meaning the natural man in respect to knowledges [scientifica], and "Ethiopia" the natural man in respect to cognitions of good and truth. From these few instances the signification of "Naphtali" and his tribe in the Word can be seen, namely, that it signifies in the highest sense the Lord's own power, by which He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human, in the internal sense temptation and the states after temptation, and in the external sense resistance by the natural man; therefore "Naphtali" signifies also reformation and regeneration, because these are results of temptations.

  
/ 1232  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.