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Genesis 2

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1 Alzo zijn volbracht de hemel en de aarde, en al hun heir.

2 Als nu God op de zevende dag volbracht had Zijn werk, dat Hij gemaakt had, heeft Hij gerust op den zevende dag van al Zijn werk, dat Hij gemaakt had.

3 En God heeft den zevende dag gezegend, en die geheiligd; omdat Hij op denzelven gerust heeft van al Zijn werk, hetwelk God geschapen had, om te volmaken.

4 Dit zijn de geboorten des hemels en der aarde, als zij geschapen werden; ten dage als de HEERE God de aarde en den hemel maakte.

5 En allen struik des velds, eer hij in de aarde was, en al het kruid des velds, eer het uitsproot; want de HEERE God had niet doen regenen op de aarde, en er was geen mens geweest, om den aardbodem te bouwen.

6 Maar een damp was opgegaan uit de aarde, en bevochtigde den ganse aardbodem.

7 En de HEERE God had den mens geformeerd uit het stof der aarde, en in zijn neusgaten geblazen de adem des levens; alzo werd de mens tot een levende ziel.

8 Ook had de HEERE God een hof geplant in Eden, tegen het oosten, en Hij stelde aldaar den mens, die Hij geformeerd had.

9 En de HEERE God had alle geboomte uit het aardrijk doen spruiten, begeerlijk voor het gezicht, en goed tot spijze; en den boom des levens in het midden van den hof, en de boom der kennis des goeds en des kwaads.

10 En een rivier was voortgaande uit Eden, om deze hof te bewateren; en werd van daar verdeeld, en werd tot vier hoofden.

11 De naam der eerste rivier is Pison; deze is het, die het ganse land van Havila omloopt, waar het goud is.

12 En het goud van dit land is goed; daar is ook bedolah, en de steen sardonix.

13 En de naam der tweede rivier is Gihon; deze is het, die het ganse land Cusch omloopt.

14 En de naam der derde rivier is Hiddekel; deze is gaande naar het oosten van Assur. En de vierde rivier is Frath.

15 Zo nam de HEERE God den mens, en zette hem in den hof van Eden, om dien te bouwen, en dien te bewaren.

16 En de HEERE God gebood den mens, zeggende: Van allen boom dezes hofs zult gij vrijelijk eten;

17 Maar van den boom der kennis des goeds en des kwaads, daarvan zult gij niet eten; want ten dage, als gij daarvan eet, zult gij den dood sterven.

18 Ook had de HEERE God gesproken: Het is niet goed, dat de mens alleen zij; Ik zal hem een hulpe maken, die als tegen hem over zij.

19 Want als de HEERE God uit de aarde al het gedierte des velds, en al het gevogelte des hemels gemaakt had, zo bracht Hij die tot Adam, om te zien, hoe hij ze noemen zou; en zoals Adam alle levende ziel noemen zoude, dat zou haar naam zijn.

20 Zo had Adam genoemd de namen van al het vee, en van het gevogelte des hemels, en van al het gedierte des velds; maar voor de mens vond hij geen hulpe, die als tegen hem over ware.

21 Toen deed de HEERE God een diepen slaap op Adam vallen, en hij sliep; en Hij nam een van zijn ribben, en sloot derzelver plaats toe met vlees.

22 En de HEERE God bouwde de ribbe, die Hij van Adam genomen had, tot een vrouw, en Hij bracht haar tot Adam.

23 Toen zeide Adam: Deze is ditmaal been van mijn benen, en vlees van mijn vlees! Men zal haar Manninne heten, omdat zij uit den man genomen is.

24 Daarom zal de man zijn vader en zijn moeder verlaten, en zijn vrouw aankleven; en zij zullen tot een vlees zijn.

25 En zij waren beiden naakt, Adam en zijn vrouw; en zij schaamden zich niet.

   

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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.