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Numbers 16

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1 And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, made bold, and [with him] Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben;

2 and they rose up against Moses, with two hundred and fifty men of the children of Israel, princes of the assembly, summoned to the council, men of renown;

3 and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, It is enough; for all the assembly, all of them are holy, and Jehovah is among them; and why do ye lift up yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?

4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.

5 And he spoke to Korah and to all his band, saying, Even to-morrow will Jehovah make known who is his, and who is holy; and he will cause him to come near to him; and him whom he has chosen, him will he cause to come near to him.

6 This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his band,

7 and put fire therein, and lay incense thereon before Jehovah to-morrow; and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah doth choose, he shall be holy. It is enough, ye sons of Levi!

8 And Moses said to Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi!

9 Is it too little for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the assembly of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the work of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the assembly to minister to them?

10 -- that he has brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee; and seek ye now the priesthood also?

11 For which cause thou and all thy band are banded together against Jehovah; and Aaron, who is he that ye murmur against him?

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, We will not come up!

13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that thou must make thyself altogether a ruler over us?

14 Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up!

15 Then Moses was very wroth, and said to Jehovah, Have no regard to their oblation: not one ass have I taken from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

16 And Moses said to Korah, Be thou and all thy band before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow.

17 And take each his censer, and put incense thereon, and present before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou, and Aaron, each his censer.

18 And they took each his censer, and put fire on them, and laid incense thereon, and stood before the entrance to the tent of meeting, as well as Moses and Aaron.

19 And Korah gathered the whole assembly against them to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the assembly.

20 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

21 Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment.

22 And they fell on their faces, and said, O ùGod, the God of the spirits of all flesh! shall *one* man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with the whole assembly?

23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

24 Speak unto the assembly, saying, Get you up from about the habitation of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

25 And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 And he spoke to the assembly, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye perish in all their sins.

27 And they got up from the habitation of Koran, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the entrance of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not out of my own heart:

29 if these men die as all men die, and are visited with the visitation of all men, Jehovah has not sent me;

30 but if Jehovah make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, and all that they have, and they go down alive into Sheol, then ye shall know that these men have despised Jehovah.

31 And it came to pass when he had ended speaking all these words, that the ground clave apart that was under them.

32 And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their property.

33 And they went down, they and all that they had, alive into Sheol, and the earth covered them; and they perished from among the congregation.

34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up!

35 And there came out a fire from Jehovah, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that had presented incense.

36 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

37 Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning; and scatter the fire afar; for they are hallowed,

38 the censers of these sinners who have forfeited their life; and they shall make them into broad plates for the covering of the altar; for they presented them before Jehovah, therefore they are hallowed; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

39 And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers, which they that were burnt had presented; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:

40 as a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron come near to burn incense before Jehovah, that he be not as Korah, and as his band, -- as Jehovah had said to him through Moses.

41 And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah.

42 And it came to pass, when the assembly was gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared.

43 And Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting.

44 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

45 Get you up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces.

46 And Moses said to Aaron, Take the censer, and put fire thereon from off the altar, and lay on incense, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah: the plague is begun.

47 And Aaron took as Moses had said, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people.

48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides them that had died because of the matter of Korah.

50 And Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the tent of meeting; and the plague was stayed.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 7268

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7268. 'See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh' means the law of God and the power it has over those steeped in falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'making you a god' as Divine Truth, or what amounts to the same thing, the Divine Law, and also the power it has, for in the Word when truth and also the power of truth are referred to the name 'God' appears, but when good is referred to the name 'Jehovah' does so, see 300, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3910, 3921 (end), 4287, 4295, 4402, 7010; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who are steeped in falsities and engage in molestation, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683. To pursue further the meaning of GOD, it should be recognized that in the highest sense 'God' is the Divine which is above the heavens, but that in the internal sense 'God' is the Divine which is within the heavens. The Divine which is above the heavens is Divine Good, whereas the Divine within the heavens is Divine Truth. For Divine Good is the source from which Divine Truth springs, and Divine Truth springing from Divine Good makes heaven and brings order into it. What is properly called heaven is nothing other than the Divine that has been given form there, for the angels in heaven are human forms receptive of the Divine, which together constitute an all-embracing form which is that of a Human Being.

[2] The use of 'God' in the Old Testament Word to mean Divine Truth within the heavens explains why the word for God in the original language is Elohim, a plural form. It also explains why the angels in heaven, being receivers of Divine Truth, are called 'gods', as in David,

Who in heaven will compare himself to Jehovah? Who will be likened to Jehovah among the sons of gods? Psalms 89:6-8.

In the same author,

Give to Jehovah, O sons of gods, give to Jehovah glory and strength. Psalms 29:1.

In the same author,

I said, You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. Psalms 82:6.

In John,

Jesus said, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods? If 1 He called them gods, with whom the Word of God came to be . . . John 10:34-35.

In addition there are those places in which the Lord is called 'God of gods' and 'Lord of lords', such as Genesis 46:2, 7; Deuteronomy 10:17; Numbers 16:22; Daniel 11:36; Psalms 136:2-3. From all this one may see in what sense Moses is called 'a god', here 'a god to Pharaoh' and in Exodus 4:16 'a god to Aaron' - that he was called such because Moses represented the Divine Law, which is Divine Truth and is called the Word. This also explains why here Aaron is called his 'prophet', and in a previous place his 'mouth', that is, one who declares in a way suitable for the understanding Divine Truth which comes forth directly from the Lord and surpasses all understanding And since a prophet is one who teaches and declares Divine Truth in a way suitable for the understanding, 'a prophet' also means the teachings of the Church, a subject dealt with in what follows next.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. Reading si (if) which accords with the Greek and which Swedenborg has in another place where he quotes this verse, for sic (thus).

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 4287

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4287. 'For as a prince you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed' means repeated victories in conflicts over truths and goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'contending as a prince' as overcoming in conflicts, in this case conflicts that accompany temptations since these are the subject at present; and from the meaning of 'with God and with men' as conflicts over truths and goods, to be dealt with below.

[2] The subject in the highest sense being the Lord, it is He who is meant in that sense by 'one contending as a prince with God and with men', for by His own power He suffered all temptations and through them overcame the hells. Indeed He allowed into Himself all the hells in their order, and even the angels, as will be explained later on. In so doing he brought into order everything in the heavens and in the hells, and at length glorified Himself, that is, made the Human within Him Divine.

[3] From this it is evident that in the highest sense the Lord is meant by Jacob and Israel, as shown immediately above in 4286. Not only has He Himself 'contended as a prince', that is, has suffered all the conflicts brought about by temptations and has overcome in them, but also He suffers them in every individual human being. But see what has been stated many times already on these matters in the following references,

The Lord suffered the severest temptations, greater than anybody else has done, 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2816.

Unlike any others the Lord fought out of Divine love, 1690, 1691 (end), 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.

The Lord fought against hereditary evil from the mother, so that at length He was not her son; even so, no evil of His own doing was attached to Him, 1444, 1573, 2025, 2574, 2649, 3318 (end).

Through the conflicts brought about by temptations and through repeated victories the Lord arranged all things into the form which heaven possesses, 1928.

And through repeated victories in conflicts brought about by temptations He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, 1616, 1737, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2500, 2523, 2632, 2776.

The Lord suffers the temptations that take place in man, subduing evil and the hells, 987, 1661, 1692 (end).

[4] The arcanum that 'contending with God and with men' means being tempted over truths and over goods is one that is not open to view in the letter. It is clear to anyone, and will also be evident from the explanation given below, that it was not God with whom Jacob contended, for it cannot be said of anyone that he contends with God and prevails. But the internal sense teaches what 'God' and 'men' mean here - that 'God' means truth, and 'men' good. The reason for this is that 'God' in the internal sense means truth, and therefore whenever truth is dealt with the name God is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, whereas the term 'man' is used to mean good. And 'man' means good because the Lord is the only Man and anyone else is called such by virtue of Him, 49, 288, 565, 1894. A further reason is that by virtue of Him heaven is man and is called the Grand Man, 684, 1276, 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And this also was why the Most Ancient Church which was governed by celestial good was referred to as Man, 478.

[5] Therefore whenever good is dealt with in the Word, 'man' (homo) means good, as in Isaiah,

I will make the male person (vir homo) more rare than gold, and man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Isaiah 13:12.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and few male persons (vir homo) left. Isaiah 24:6.

'Male persons' stands for spiritual good or the good of truth. 'Man' stands for good. In the same prophet, The highways have been laid waste, the wayfarer has ceased. He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he has no regard for the male person (vir homo). Isaiah 33:8.

In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, and behold, that which is void and empty, and towards the heavens, and they had no light I looked, and behold, there was no man; and all the birds of the air had flown away. Jeremiah 4:23, 25.

In the same prophet, behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:27.

In Ezekiel,

Your merchants [traded] in the souls of men and vessels of bronze, giving these for your merchandise. Ezekiel 27:13.

In the same prophet, You, O my flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men; I am your God. Ezekiel 34:31.

In the same prophet, They will be cities laid waste, filled with the flock of mankind. Ezekiel 36:38.

In these places 'man' (homo) stands for people who are governed by good, and so stands for good, since good is what causes anyone to be 'man'. Truth however which is grounded in good is referred to in the Word as 'a male person' (vir homo) and also as 'the son of man'.

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