Bible

 

Exodus 13

Studie

   

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are all mine.

3 And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no leavened bread.

4 This day you go forth in the month of new corn.

5 And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.

6 Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.

7 Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.

8 And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.

9 And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes: and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

10 Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days.

11 And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee:

12 Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord.

13 The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price.

14 And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

15 For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.

16 And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath brought us forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.

17 And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines which is near: thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt.

18 But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took Joseph's bones with him: because he had adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you, carry out my bones from hence with you.

20 And marching from Socoth they encamped in Etham in the utmost coasts of the wilderness.

21 And the Lord went before them to shew the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire: that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.

22 There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.

   

Komentář

 

Womb

  

'Womb,' as in Genesis 49:25, signifies the conjunction of good and truth. The term 'belly' is used where truths are being discussed, and the term 'womb' where good is discussed. 'An abortive womb' signifies falsities from evil in the place of truth from good.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4918, 6433, Genesis 25, 49)


Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 8080

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

8080. 'And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem, means that the truths of faith are not to be ascribed to the Lord, but forms of the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstborn' as faith, dealt with in 352, 2435, 6344, 7035, 8042; from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373; and from the meaning of 'redeeming' as giving something else instead, as above in 8078, 8079. The fact that those truths of faith are not to be ascribed follows from the full message that is implied by these words, And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall not make over, that is, you shall not sacrifice, but you shall redeem', 'not making over' being not ascribing, as above in 8074, 8078. From this it is evident that 'all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem' means that the truths of faith are not to be ascribed to the Lord, but something else instead. Proof that this something else is the good of faith is provided by the consideration that generally 'the firstborn' means the good of faith, as above in 8042, 8043. But since it speaks here about 'the firstborn of man among his sons', the truth of faith is meant; for there is the truth of faith and there is the good of faith.

[2] Further proof that the good of faith, which is charity, is this something else which is to be ascribed to the Lord instead of the truths of faith is provided by the fact that the firstborn of the children of Israel were not accepted but the Levites instead; and the reason for this was that 'Levi' represented the good of faith, or charity, 3875, 4497, 4502, 4503. With regard to the acceptance of the tribe of Levi instead of all the firstborn, see Numbers 3:12-13, 40-end; 8:16-18. Even more proof that the good of faith is the something else to be ascribed to the Lord is provided by the consideration that faith without charity is not faith, 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2231, 2343, 2349, 2429, 2839, 2982, 3146, 3325, 3849, 3865, 4368, 5351, 7039, 7082-7084, 7342 (end), 7950, and also by the consideration that the good of faith in actual fact occupies first place, while the truth of faith merely appears to do so, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273, so that charity is the firstborn, 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930.

[3] The reason why the truth of faith regarded in itself without the good of faith is not to be ascribed to the Lord, that is, not to be given to Him or acknowledged to come from Him, is that no truth of faith has any life within it until it becomes the good of faith; and the truth of faith becomes the good of faith through the willing and doing of it, 7835. When therefore it becomes the good of faith it is acknowledged by the Lord as being His, for the Lord imparts faith indirectly through the good of faith. Every truth of faith too that a member of the spiritual Church possesses becomes the good of faith when he is regenerated. Not till then does it become the Lord's.

[4] The law regarding the redemption of the firstborn of man was laid down to prevent them from sacrificing their sons, a practice that had come into use among gentiles with whom statutes of the Ancient Church - which was a representative Church - remained in force, but in a form that had been completely adulterated in the course of time. The consecration of the firstborn to God was one of those statutes of the Ancient Church; but by consecration they began to understand sacrifice. The descendants of Jacob leaned likewise towards the same practice, and therefore that law of redemption was marked out for them. And to prevent them from following that practice the Levites were adopted instead of the firstborn, as has been stated. The law was marked out in keeping with its corresponding meaning in the spiritual world, which is that the truths of faith are not holy, thus that these are not to be consecrated or ascribed to the Lord but forms of the good of faith. Later on that consecration to Him was taken to mean that they were to give or present the firstborn to Jehovah, and to offer a sacrifice for him, as the following stated in Luke shows,

When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it has been written in the Law of the Lord, that every male opening the womb should be called holy to the Lord) and to offer a sacrifice. Luke 2:22-24.

  
/ 10837  
  

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