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Genesis 14

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1 En het geschiedde in de dagen van Amrafel, de koning van Sinear, van Arioch, de koning van Ellasar, van Kedor-Laomer, de koning van Elam, en van Tideal, den koning der volken;

2 Dat zij krijg voerden met Bera, koning van Sodom, en met Birsa, koning van Gomorra, Sinab, koning van Adama, en Semeber, koning van Zeboim, en de koning van Bela, dat is Zoar.

3 Deze allen voegden zich samen in het dal Siddim, dat is de Zoutzee.

4 Twaalf jaren hadden zij Kedor-Laomer gediend; maar in het dertiende jaar vielen zij af.

5 Zo kwam Kedor-Laomer in het veertiende jaar, en de koningen, die met hem waren, en sloegen de Refaiten in Asteroth-Karnaim, en de Zuzieten in Ham, en de Emieten in Schave-Kiriathaim;

6 En de Horieten op hun gebergte Seir, tot aan het effen veld van Paran, hetwelk aan de woestijn is.

7 Daarna keerden zij wederom, en kwamen tot En-Mispat, dat is Kades, en sloegen al het land der Amalekieten, en ook den Amoriet, die te Hazezon-Thamar woonde.

8 Toen toog de koning van Sodom uit, en de koning van Gomorra, en de koning van Adama, en de koning van Zeboim, en de koning van Bela, dat is Zoar; en zij stelden tegen hen slagorden in het dal Siddim,

9 Tegen Kedor-Laomer, den koning van Elam, en Tideal, den koning der volken, en Amrafel, den koning van Sinear, en Arioch, den koning van Ellasar; vier koningen tegen vijf.

10 Het dal nu van Siddim was vol lijmputten; en de koningen van Sodom en Gomorra vluchtten, en vielen aldaar; en de overgeblevenen vluchtten naar het gebergte.

11 En zij namen al de have van Sodom en Gomorra, en al hun spijze, en trokken weg.

12 Ook namen zij Lot, den zoon van Abrams broeder, en zijn have, en trokken weg; want hij woonde in Sodom.

13 Toen kwam er een, die ontkomen was, en boodschapte het aan Abram, den Hebreer, die woonachtig was aan de eikenbossen van Mamre, den Amoriet, broeder van Eskol, en broeder van Aner, welke Abrams bondgenoten waren.

14 Als Abram hoorde, dat zijn broeder gevangen was, zo wapende hij zijn onderwezenen, de ingeborenen van zijn huis, driehonderd en achttien, en hij jaagde hen na tot Dan toe.

15 En hij verdeelde zich tegen hen des nachts, hij en zijn knechten, en sloeg ze; en hij jaagde hen na tot Hoba toe, hetwelk is ter linkerhand van Damaskus.

16 En hij bracht alle have weder, en ook Lot zijn broeder en deszelfs have bracht hij weder, als ook de vrouwen, en het volk.

17 En de koning van Sodom toog uit, hem tegemoet (nadat hij wedergekeerd was van het slaan van Kedor-Laomer, en van de koningen, die met hem waren), tot het dal Schave, dat is, het dal des konings.

18 En Melchizedek, koning van Salem, bracht voort brood en wijn; en hij was een priester des allerhoogsten Gods.

19 En hij zegende hem, en zeide: Gezegend zij Abram Gode, de Allerhoogste, Die hemel en aarde bezit!

20 En gezegend zij de allerhoogste God, Die uw vijanden in uw hand geleverd heeft! En hij gaf hem de tiende van alles.

21 En de koning van Sodom zeide tot Abram: Geef mij de zielen; maar neem de have voor u.

22 Doch Abram zeide tot den koning van Sodom: Ik heb mijn hand opgeheven tot den HEERE, den allerhoogste God, Die hemel en aarde bezit;

23 Zo ik van een draad aan tot een schoenriem toe, ja, zo ik van alles, dat het uwe is, iets neme! opdat gij niet zegt: Ik heb Abram rijk gemaakt!

24 Het zij buiten mij; alleen wat de jongelingen verteerd hebben, en het deel dezer mannen, die met mij getogen zijn, Aner, Eskol en Mamre, laat die hun deel nemen!

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 1675

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1675. That 'the Horites in their Mount Seir' means false persuasions deriving from self-love is clear from the meaning of 'the Horites' and from the meaning of 'Seir'. As for the Horites, they were the people who dwelt on Mount Seir, as is clear from Genesis 36:8, 20, and following verses, where Esau, who is called Edom, is the subject. Esau or Edom in the genuine sense means the Lord as regards His Human Essence. He is also represented by Esau or Edom, as becomes clear from many places in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, to be dealt with, in the Lord's Divine mercy, later on. Because 'the Horites' represented people who are under the influence of false persuasions, and because representatives at that time occurred within actual events, therefore the expulsion of the Horites from Mount Seir by the descendants of Esau had a similar representation.

[2] These are spoken of in Moses as follows,

This also is considered to be a land of Rephaim; Rephaim dwelt formerly in it, and the Ammonites called them Zamzummim; they were a people great and many and tall like the Anakim. And Jehovah destroyed them from before them; and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their place. He did the same for the sons of Esau who dwelt in Seir, in that He destroyed the Horites from before them, and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their place. Deuteronomy 2:20-22.

These things represent and mean the same as what the present verse says about Chedorlaomer, namely that 'Chedorlaomer and the kings with him smote the Horites in Mount Seir'. For, as has been stated, Chedorlaomer represents the Lord's Good and Truth during childhood, and so the Lord's Human Essence at that time as regards Good and Truth, by which He destroyed false persuasions, that is, the hells filled with so devilish a crew, which set out to destroy the world of spirits, and consequently the human race, with its false persuasions.

[3] And because Esau or Edom represented the Lord as regards the Human Essence, Mount Seir also, and Paran as well, represented those things that belonged to His Human Essence, namely the celestial things of love, as is clear from the blessing uttered by Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. From His right hand came a fiery law for them. He indeed loves the peoples. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

'Jehovah dawned from Mount Seir and shone from Mount Paran' means nothing else than the Lord's Human Essence. Anyone may see that 'dawning from Mount Seir and shining from Mount Paran' does not mean mountains and their inhabitants but Divine realities, thus the celestial things of the Lord's Human Essence, from which Jehovah is said to have dawned and to have shone.

[4] As for 'Seir', its meaning is clear from the Song of Deborah and Barak in the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water, the mountains flowed down, this Sinai before Jehovah God of Israel. Judges 5:4-5.

Here 'going forth from Seir and setting out from the field of Edom' has no other meaning.

[5] This is plainer still in Moses in the prophetic utterance of Balaam, who was one of the sons of the east, that is, he came from Syria where a residue of the Ancient Church existed,

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob, and a scepter will rise up out of Israel. And Edom will be an inheritance and Seir will be an inheritance of his enemies. Numbers 24:17-18.

Here 'seeing Him, but not now; beholding Him, but not near' is the Lord's Coming into the world - His Human Essence being called 'a star that would arise out of Jacob', and also 'Edom' and 'Seir'. That neither Edom nor Seir were to be the inheritance may become clear to anyone. 'Seir, the inheritance of his enemies' or 'The mountain of his enemies' has the same meaning as in many other places where it is said that enemies were to be driven out and possession was to be taken of their land.

[6] That Mount Paran, or El-paran, mentioned in this verse also has the same meaning is clear from Habakkuk as well,

God will come from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His fame has covered the heavens, and the earth has been filled with His praise. Habakkuk 3:3.

It should be realized however that mountains and lands have and take their meaning from their inhabitants, from the Horites when these dwelt there, and when they had been driven out, from those who drove them out, such as from Esau or Edom, or else from some others. Mount Paran is used therefore in both senses, the genuine and the contrary. In the genuine sense it stands for the Lord's Human Essence, in the contrary sense for self-love. The Lord's Human Essence is celestial love itself, while the contrary to celestial love is self-love. Thus 'the Horites' in this verse means false persuasions deriving from self-love.

[7] There are false persuasions that originate in self-love, and there are false persuasions that originate in love of the world. The former persuasions - those originating in self-love - are the most foul, whereas those originating in love of the world are not so foul. The former, or false persuasions originating in self-love, are the very opposite of the celestial things of love, whereas the latter, or false persuasions originating in love of the world, are the opposite of the spiritual things of love. Persuasions originating in self-love carry with them the desire to rule over all things, and insofar as the restraints placed upon them are loosened they hasten to fulfill that desire, even to the extent of desiring to rule over the entire universe, and, as has been shown, over Jehovah as well. Consequently persuasions of that kind are not tolerated at all in the next life. But persuasions originating in love of the world do not go so far. They do not go beyond the insanity of not being satisfied with their lot. They vainly strive after heavenly joy, and wish to acquire other people's goods, but are not so intent on ruling. But the differences among these persuasions are countless.

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