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1 Mose 1

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1 Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde.

2 Und die Erde war wüst und leer, und es war finster auf der Tiefe; und der Geist Gottes schwebete auf dem Wasser.

3 Und Gott sprach: Es werde Licht! Und es ward Licht.

4 Und Gott sah, daß das Licht gut war. Da schied Gott das Licht von der Finsternis

5 und nannte das Licht Tag und die Finsternis Nacht. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der erste Tag.

6 Und Gott sprach: Es werde eine Feste zwischen den Wassern, und die sei ein Unterschied zwischen den Wassern.

7 Da machte Gott die Feste und schied das Wasser unter der Feste von dem Wasser über der Feste. Und es geschah also.

8 Und Gott nannte die Feste Himmel. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der andere Tag.

9 Und Gott sprach: Es sammle sich das Wasser unter dem Himmel an sondere Örter, daß man das Trockene sehe. Und es geschah also.

10 Und Gott nannte das Trockene Erde, und die Sammlung der Wasser nannte er Meer. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

11 Und Gott sprach: Es lasse die Erde aufgehen Gras und Kraut, das sich besame, und fruchtbare Bäume, da ein jeglicher nach seiner Art Frucht trage und habe seinen eigenen Samen bei ihm selbst auf Erden. Und es geschah also.

12 Und die Erde ließ aufgehen Gras und Kraut, das sich besamte, ein jegliches nach seiner Art, und Bäume, die da Frucht trugen und ihren eigenen Samen bei sich selbst hatten, ein jeglicher nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

13 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der dritte Tag.

14 Und Gott sprach: Es werden Lichter an der Feste des Himmels, die da scheiden Tag und Nacht und geben Zeichen, Zeiten, Tage und Jahre;

15 und seien Lichter an der Feste des Himmels, daß sie scheinen auf Erden. Und es geschah also.

16 Und Gott machte zwei große Lichter: ein groß Licht, das den Tag regiere, und ein klein Licht, das die Nacht regiere, dazu auch Sterne.

17 Und Gott setzte sie an die Feste des Himmels, daß sie schienen auf die Erde

18 und den Tag und die Nacht regierten und schieden Licht und Finsternis. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

19 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der vierte Tag.

20 Und Gott sprach: Es errege sich das Wasser mit webenden und lebendigen Tieren und mit Gevögel, das auf Erden unter der Feste des Himmels fliege.

21 Und Gott schuf große Walfische und allerlei Tier, das da lebet und webet und vom Wasser erreget ward, ein jegliches nach seiner Art; und allerlei gefiedertes Gevögel, ein jegliches nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

22 Und Gott segnete sie und sprach: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und erfüllet das Wasser im Meer; und das Gevögel mehre sich auf Erden.

23 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der fünfte Tag.

24 Und Gott sprach: Die Erde bringe hervor lebendige Tiere, ein jegliches nach seiner Art: Vieh, Gewürm und Tier auf Erden, ein jegliches nach seiner Art. Und es geschah also.

25 Und Gott machte die Tiere auf Erden, ein jegliches nach seiner Art, und das Vieh nach seiner Art und allerlei Gewürm auf Erden nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

26 Und Gott sprach: Laßt uns Menschen machen, ein Bild, das uns gleich sei, die da herrschen über die Fische im Meer und über die Vögel unter dem Himmel und über das Vieh und über die ganze Erde und über alles Gewürm, das auf Erden kreucht.

27 Und Gott schuf den Menschen ihm zum Bilde, zum Bilde Gottes schuf er ihn; und schuf sie ein Männlein und Fräulein.

28 Und Gott segnete sie und sprach zu ihnen: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und füllet die Erde und macht sie euch untertan, und herrschet über Fische im Meer und über Vögel unter dem Himmel und über alles Tier, das auf Erden kreucht.

29 Und Gott sprach: Sehet da, ich habe euch gegeben allerlei Kraut, das sich besamet, auf der ganzen Erde, und allerlei fruchtbare Bäume und Bäume, die sich besamen, zu eurer Speise,

30 und allem Tier auf Erden und allen Vögeln unter dem Himmel und allem Gewürme, das da Leben hat auf Erden, daß sie allerlei grün Kraut essen. Und es geschah also.

31 Und Gott sah an alles, was er gemacht hatte; und siehe da, es war sehr gut. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der sechste Tag.

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Two

  

The number "two" has two different meanings in the Bible. In most cases "two" indicates a joining together or unification. This is easy to see if we consider the conflicts we tend to have between our "hearts" and our "heads" -- between what we want and what we know. Our "hearts" tell us that we want pie with ice cream for dinner; our "heads" tell us we should have grilled chicken and salad. If we can bring those two together and actually want what's good for us, we'll be pretty happy. We're built that way -- with our emotions balanced against our intellect -- because the Lord is built that way. His essence is love itself, or Divine Love, the source of all caring, emotion and energy. It is expressed as Divine Wisdom, which gives form to that love and puts it to work, and is the source of all knowledge and reasoning. In His case the two aspects are always in conjunction, always in harmony. It's easy also to see how that duality is reflected throughout creation: plants and animals, food and drink, silver and gold. Most importantly, it's reflected in the two genders, with women representing love and men representing wisdom. That's the underlying reason why conjunction in marriage is such a holy thing. So when "two" is used in the Bible to indicate some sort of pairing or unity, it means a joining together. In rare cases, however, "two" is used more purely as a number. In these cases it stands for a profane or unholy state that comes before a holy one. This is because "three" represents a state of holiness and completion (Jesus, for instance, rose from the tomb on the third day), and "two" represents the state just before it.

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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.