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Leviticus 18

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God.

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their customs.

4 Mine ordinances shall ye do and my statutes shall ye observe to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God.

5 And ye shall observe my statutes and my judgments, by which the man that doeth them shall live: I am Jehovah.

6 No one shall approach to any that is his near relation, to uncover his nakedness: I am Jehovah.

7 The nakedness of thy father, and the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother: thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, born at home, or born abroad -- their nakedness shalt thou not uncover.

10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter -- their nakedness shalt thou not uncover; for theirs is thy nakedness.

11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father: she is thy sister: thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12 The nakedness of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover: she is thy father's near relation.

13 The nakedness of thy mother's sister shalt thou not uncover; for she is thy mother's near relation.

14 The nakedness of thy father's brother shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not approach his wife: she is thine aunt.

15 The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law shalt thou not uncover: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

16 The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness.

17 The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, nor her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are her near relations: it is wickedness.

18 And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness beside her, during her life.

19 And thou shalt not approach a woman in the separation of her uncleanness to uncover her nakedness.

20 And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to become unclean with her.

21 And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

22 And thou shalt not lie with mankind as one lieth with a woman: it is an abomination.

23 And thou shalt lie with no beast to become unclean therewith; and a woman shall not stand before a beast to lie down with it: it is confusion.

24 Make not yourselves unclean in any of these things; for in all these have the nations which I am casting out before you made themselves unclean.

25 And the land hath become unclean; and I visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants.

26 But *ye* shall observe my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of all these abominations: the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you;

27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land hath been made unclean);

28 that the land vomit you not out, when ye make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

29 For whoever committeth any of these abominations, ... the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

30 And ye shall observe my charge, that ye commit not [any] of the abominable customs which were committed before you; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean therein: I am Jehovah your God.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 6348

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6348. 'because you went up to your father's bed' means because when separated from the good of charity faith is involved in a foul liaison. This is clear from the meaning of 'going up to his father's bed' as being involved in a foul liaison; that is to say, faith separated from charity is involved in it. For if faith in doctrine or the understanding, which 'Reuben' represents here, is not introduced to good and joined to it, it is either dissipated or ceases to be anything, or else it is introduced to evil and falsity and joined to them, which is the foul liaison that is meant. For then profanity comes about. The truth of this may be recognized from the fact that faith cannot have a dwelling-place anywhere else than within good; and if it does not have a dwelling-place there, then inevitably it ceases to be anything or is joined to evil. This is plainly evident from those people in the next life who have adhered to faith alone and not at all to charity. Their faith is dissipated in that life; or if it has been joined to evil, a lot among profaners awaits them.

[2] In the internal sense of the Word instances of adultery mean adulterations of good, while instances of whoredom mean falsifications of truth, 2466, 3399. But foul liaisons - which are called the forbidden degrees [of sexual relations], dealt with in Leviticus 18:6-24 - mean various kinds of profanation. Profanation is obviously meant here also since the words used are, 'You went up to your father's bed; at that time you profaned [it] - he went up to my couch'. Regarding the meaning of these words as the profanation of good by separated faith, see 4601, where that unspeakable deed performed by Reuben is dealt with.

[3] The nature of faith alone or faith separated from charity is such that if it is joined to evil - as happens when a person first believes the truth of faith, and especially when initially he leads a life in accordance with it but after that renounces it and leads a life contrary to it - profanity takes place. For the truth of faith and the good of charity first become rooted through doctrine and life in the person's interiors, after which they are called forth from there and are joined to evil. The lot that awaits the person in whom this happens is the worst of all in the next life; for with someone like that, good is incapable of being separated from evil, though they are nevertheless separated in the next life. Nor does someone like that have any remnants of good stored away in him interiorly because they have perished altogether in evil. Their hell is located on the left out in front, a considerable distance away; and those who are there look to the angels like skeletons, possessing scarcely any life. Therefore to avoid the occurrence of the profanation of goodness and truth, the person who - the Lord foresees - is the kind that will not allow himself to be regenerated is held back from faith and charity and is allowed to immerse himself in evil and consequently in falsity. For in this condition he cannot profane anything. See what has been stated and shown already about profanation in 301-303, 571, 582, 593, 1001, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 3898, 4289, 4601.

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