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Exodus 20

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1 Toen sprak God al deze woorden, zeggende:

2 Ik ben de HEERE uw God, Die u uit Egypteland, uit het diensthuis, uitgeleid heb.

3 Gij zult geen andere goden voor Mijn aangezicht hebben.

4 Gij zult u geen gesneden beeld, noch enige gelijkenis maken, van hetgeen boven in den hemel is, noch van hetgeen onder op de aarde is, noch van hetgeen in de wateren onder de aarde is.

5 Gij zult u voor die niet buigen, noch hen dienen; want Ik, de HEERE uw God, ben een ijverig God, Die de misdaad der vaderen bezoek aan de kinderen, aan het derde, en aan het vierde lid dergenen, die Mij haten;

6 En doe barmhartigheid aan duizenden dergenen, die Mij liefhebben, en Mijn geboden onderhouden.

7 Gij zult den Naam des HEEREN uws Gods niet ijdellijk gebruiken; want de HEERE zal niet onschuldig houden, die Zijn Naam ijdellijk gebruikt.

8 Gedenkt den sabbatdag, dat gij dien heiligt.

9 Zes dagen zult gij arbeiden en al uw werk doen;

10 Maar de zevende dag is de sabbat des HEEREN uws Gods; dan zult gij geen werk doen, gij, noch uw zoon, noch uw dochter, noch uw dienstknecht, noch uw dienstmaagd, noch uw vee, noch uw vreemdeling, die in uw poorten is;

11 Want in zes dagen heeft de HEERE den hemel en de aarde gemaakt, de zee en al wat daarin is, en Hij rustte ten zevenden dage; daarom zegende de HEERE den sabbatdag, en heiligde denzelven.

12 Eert uw vader en uw moeder, opdat uw dagen verlengd worden in het land, dat u de HEERE uw God geeft.

13 Gij zult niet doodslaan.

14 Gij zult niet echtbreken.

15 Gij zult niet stelen.

16 Gij zult geen valse getuigenis spreken tegen uw naaste.

17 Gij zult niet begeren uws naasten huis; gij zult niet begeren uws naasten vrouw, noch zijn dienstknecht, noch zijn dienstmaagd, noch zijn os, noch zijn ezel, noch iets, dat uws naasten is.

18 En al het volk zag de donderen, en de bliksemen, en het geluid der bazuin, en den rokenden berg; toen het volk zulks zag, weken zij af, en stonden van verre.

19 En zij zeiden tot Mozes: Spreek gij met ons, en wij zullen horen; en dat God met ons niet spreke, opdat wij niet sterven!

20 En Mozes zeide tot het volk: Vreest niet, want God is gekomen, opdat Hij u verzocht, en opdat Zijn vreze voor uw aangezicht zou zijn, dat gij niet zondigdet.

21 En het volk stond van verre; maar Mozes naderde tot de donkerheid, alwaar God was.

22 Toen zeide de HEERE tot Mozes: Aldus zult gij tot de kinderen Israels zeggen: Gij hebt gezien, dat Ik met ulieden van den hemel gesproken heb.

23 Gij zult nevens Mij niet maken zilveren goden, en gouden goden zult gij u niet maken.

24 Maakt Mij een altaar van aarde, en offert daarop uw brandofferen, en uw dankofferen, uw schapen, en uw runderen; aan alle plaats, waar Ik Mijns Naams gedachtenis stichten zal, zal Ik tot u komen, en zal u zegenen.

25 Maar indien gij Mij een stenen altaar zult maken, zo zult gij dit niet bouwen van gehouwen steen; zo gij uw houwijzer daarover verheft, zo zult gij het ontheiligen.

26 Gij zult ook niet met trappen tot Mijn altaar opklimmen, opdat uw schaamte voor hetzelve niet ontdekt worde.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 8891

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8891. 'For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and the sea' means regenerating and vivifying the things in the internal man and in the external. This is clear from the meaning of 'six days' as states of conflict, dealt with just above in 8888, and - when used in reference to Jehovah, that is, the Lord - as His labour with a person before he is regenerated, 8510; from the meaning of 'heaven and earth' as the Church or Lord's kingdom in a person, 'heaven' being in his internal man and 'earth' in his external, dealt with in 82, 1411, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535, so that a person who has been regenerated is meant, that is, one who has acquired new life and accordingly been vivified; and from the meaning of 'the sea' as the sensory awareness adhering to the bodily level of a person's mind, dealt with in 8872.

[2] The present verse deals with the sanctifying of the seventh day or institution of the sabbath, describing it as follows,

In six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

When people's thinking does not extend beyond the sense of the letter they cannot do other than suppose that the creation described in the first and second chapters of Genesis is the creation of the universe, and that there were six days within which heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them were created, and at length the human being in God's likeness. Yet is there anyone pondering on the details who fails to see that the creation of the universe is not what is meant there? For there are things in those chapters which common sense tells anyone are not literally true, for example, that days existed before the sun and moon, that light and darkness did so, and that plants and trees sprang up, when in fact it is through those [great] lights that light is given, light and darkness are divided, and so days come into being.

[3] Further on after these details, others of a similar nature follow which scarcely anyone who thinks more deeply will consider to have been literally possible, such as these: The woman was built out of the man's rib; two trees were placed in paradise, the fruit of one of which they were forbidden to eat; a serpent spoke from one of them to the wife of man (homo), who had been the wisest of mortal beings; what it said - what came out of the serpent's mouth - deceived them both; and the whole human race, numbering so very many thousands of thousands, was therefore condemned to hell. As soon as they are contemplated these and similar details there inevitably seem nonsensical to those who entertain any doubt about the holiness of the Word; and they lead to a denial of the Divine there. However it should be realized that every detail there down to the smallest is Divine; they all contain arcana which are clearly visible to angels in heaven, as in broad daylight. The reason why this should be so is that angels do not see the literal meaning of the Word but what lies within it, that is, spiritual and celestial realities, and Divine ones within these. When the first chapter of Genesis is read they perceive no other creation than the new creation of a human being, which is called regeneration. This is what is described there, 'paradise' being the wisdom of a person created anew. 'The two trees in the middle of it' are the two mental powers of that person, which are a will desiring good, meant by 'the tree of life', and an understanding seeing truth, meant by 'the tree of knowledge'. And the reason why they were forbidden to eat from this tree was that a person who has been regenerated or created anew ought no longer to be led by an understanding that sees truth but by a will desiring good, or else his newness of life is destroyed. Regarding these matters, see 202, 337, 2454, 2715, 3246, 3652, 4448, 5895 (end), 5897 (end), 7877, 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8690, 8701, 8722. Consequently Adam or Man and Eve his wife there are used to mean a new Church, and 'eating from the tree of knowledge' to mean the decline of that Church from good into truth, consequently from love to the Lord and towards the neighbour into faith without such love. And this came about through reasoning arising from self-intelligence, that reasoning being meant by 'the serpent', see 195-197, 6398, 6399, 6949, 7293.

[4] From all this it is evident that the historical narratives regarding creation, and regarding the first human being and paradise, are the descriptions of fictitious historical events, containing heavenly and Divine realities within them. Making up such stories was in keeping with the accepted custom in the ancient Churches; and the custom also spread from them to many outside the Church, who in a similar way produced descriptions of fictitious historical events, wrapping up arcana within them, as is evident from writers belonging to most ancient times. For the ancient Churches were well acquainted with what such things as exist in the world meant in heaven. Nor were great exploits of sufficient importance for them to write about, only the things of heaven. Things of heaven occupied their minds because they thought on a more internal level than people do at the present day and so were in contact with angels; and for this reason they gained a delight out of putting together such stories. But they were led by the Lord to images which would be held sacred in Churches. Out of these they composed stories in which everything had a correspondence

[5] All this shows what 'heaven and earth' is used to mean in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis - the internal Church and the external Church. The fact that they are meant by 'heaven and earth' is also clear from places in the Prophets which speak of a new heaven and a new earth, by which a new Church is to be understood, see 82, 1411, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535.

From all this it is now evident that 'in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and the sea' means regenerating and vivifying the things in the internal man and in the external man.

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