Genesi 2:4
To many Protestant and Evangelical Italians, the Bibles translated by Giovanni Diodati are an important part of their history. Diodati’s first Italian Bible edition was printed in 1607, and his second in 1641. He died in 1649. Throughout the 1800s two editions of Diodati’s text were printed by the British Foreign Bible Society. This is the more recent 1894 edition, translated by Claudiana.
Arcana Coelestia # 9229
9229. And ye shall be men of holiness to Me. That this signifies the state of life then from good, is evident from the signification of “men of holiness,” as being those who are led by the Lord; for the Divine which proceeds from the Lord is holiness itself (see n. 6788, 7499, 8127, 8302, 8806), consequently those who receive it in faith and also in love are called “holy.” He who believes that a man is holy from any other source, and that anything else with him is holy than that which is from the Lord and is received, is very much mistaken. For that which is of man and is called his own, is evil. (That man’s own is nothing but evil, see n. 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480, 8944; and that insofar as a man can be withheld from his own, so far the Lord can he present, thus that so far the man has holiness, n. 1023, 1044, 1581, 2256, 2388, 2406, 2411, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014)
[2] That the Lord alone is holy, and that that alone is holy which proceeds from the Lord, thus that which man receives from the Lord, is plain from the Word throughout; as in John:
I sanctify Myself that they also may be sanctified in the truth (John 17:19);
“to sanctify Himself” denotes to make Himself Divine by His own power; and those are said to be “sanctified in the truth” who in faith and life receive the Divine truth proceeding from Him.
[3] Therefore also the Lord after His resurrection, speaking with the disciples, “breathed on them” and said unto them, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22); the breathing upon them was representative of making them alive by faith and love, as also in the second chapter of Genesis: “Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul” (verse 7); in like manner in other passages (Psalms 33:6; 104:29-30; Job 32:8; 33:4; John 3:8). From this also the Word is said to be inspired, because it is from the Lord, and they who wrote the Word are said to have been inspired. (That breathing, and thus inspiration, corresponds to the life of faith, see n. 97, 1119, 1120, 3883-3896.) From this it is that in the Word “spirit” is so called from “wind” or “breath,” and that what is holy from the Lord is called “the wind or breath of Jehovah” (n. 8286); also that the Holy Spirit is the holy proceeding from the the Lord, (n. 3704, 4673, 5307, 6788, 6982, 6993, 8127, 8302, 9199).
[4] So also it is said in John that the Lord “baptizeth with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33); and in Luke that “He baptizeth with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (John 3:16). In the internal sense “to baptize” signifies to regenerate (n. 4255, 5120, 9088); “to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” signifies to regenerate by the good of love. (That “fire” denotes the good of love, see n. 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324) In John:
Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy (Revelation 15:4).
In Luke it is said by the angel concerning the Lord: “The holy thing that shall be born of thee” (Luke 1:35); and in Daniel, “I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13). In these passages “the holy thing” and “the holy one” denote the Lord.
[5] As the Lord alone is holy, He is called in the Old Testament the “Holy One of Israel,” the “Redeemer,” the “Preserver,” the “Regenerator” (Isaiah 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11-12, 15; 31:1; 37:23 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 5 4:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jeremiah 50:29; 51:5; Ezekiel 39:7; Psalms 71:22; 78:41; 89:18). And therefore the Lord in heaven, and consequently heaven itself, is called “the habitation of holiness” (Jeremiah 31:23; Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 25:30); also a “sanctuary” (Ezekiel 11:16; 24:21); and “the mountain of holiness” (Psalms 48:1). For the same reason the middle of the tent, where was the ark containing the Law, was called the “Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:33-34); for by the Law in the ark in the middle of the tent was represented the Lord as to the Word, because “the Law” denotes the Word (n. 6752, 7463).
[6] All this shows why the angels are called “holy” (Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Psalms 149:1; Daniel 8:13); also the prophets (Luke 1:70); and likewise the apostles (Revelation 18:20); not that they are holy from themselves, but from the Lord, who alone is holy, and from whom alone proceeds what is holy; for by “angels” are signified truths, because they are receptions of truth from the the Lord, (n. 1925, 4085, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8192, 8301); by “prophets” is signified the doctrine of truth which comes through the Word from the the Lord, (n. 2534, 7269); and by “apostles” are signified in their complex all the truths and goods of faith which are from the the Lord, (n. 3488, 3858, 6397).
[7] The sanctifications among the Israelitish and Jewish people were for the purpose of representing the Lord who alone is holy, and the holiness which is from Him alone. This was the purpose of the sanctification of Aaron and his sons (Exodus 29:1, etc.; Leviticus 8:10-11, 13, 30); of the sanctification of their garments (Exodus 29:21, etc.); of the sanctification of the altar, that it might be a holy of holies (Exodus 29:37, etc.); of the sanctification of the tent of the assembly, of the ark of the testimony, of the table, of all the vessels, of the altar of incense, of the altar of burnt-offering, and of the vessels thereof, and of the laver and the base thereof (Exodus 30:26, etc.).
[8] That the Lord is the holiness itself that was represented, is also plain from His words in Matthew, as viewed in the internal sense:
Ye fools and blind! Whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? (Matthew 23:17, 19);
by the temple was represented the Lord Himself, and also by the altar; and by the “gold” was signified the good which is from the Lord; and by the “gift” or sacrifice, were signified the things that belong to faith and charity from the Lord. (That the Lord was represented by the temple, see n. 2777, 3720; also that He was represented by the altar, n. 2777, 2811, 4489, 8935, 8940 and that by “gold” was signified good from the Lord, n. 1551, 1552, 5658; and by a “sacrifice” worship from the faith and charity which are from the Lord, n. 922, 923, 2805, 2807, 2830, 6905, 8680, 8682, 8936)
[9] In view of all this it is evident why the sons of Israel were called a “holy people” (Deuteronomy 26:19, and elsewhere); and in the words before us “men of holiness;” namely, from the fact that in every detail of their worship were represented the Divine things of the Lord, and the celestial and spiritual things of His kingdom and church. They were therefore called “holy” in a representative sense. They themselves were not holy on this account, because the representatives had regard to the holy things that were represented, and not to the person who represented them (n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806).
[10] Hence also it is that Jerusalem was called “holy;” and Zion, “the mountain of holiness” (Zech. 8:3, and elsewhere). Also in Matthew:
And the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that were dead were raised; and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord’s resurrection, they entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52-53);
Jerusalem is here called “the holy city,” although it was rather profane than holy, for the Lord had then been crucified in it, and it is therefore called “Sodom and Egypt” in John:
Their bodies shall lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Revelation 11:8).
But it is called “holy” from the fact that it signifies the Lord’s kingdom and church (n. 402, 2117, 3654). The “saints that were dead” appearing there, which happened to some in vision, signified the salvation of those who were of the spiritual church, and the elevation into the Holy Jerusalem, which is heaven, of those who until that time had been detained in the lower earth (of which above, n. 6854, 6914, 7090, 7828, 7932, 8049, 8054, 8159, 8321).
Genesis 22
1
It happened after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" He said, "Here I am."
2
He said, "Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of."
3
Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him.
4
On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off.
5
Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go yonder. We will worship, and come back to you."
6
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He took in his hand the fire and the knife. They both went together.
7
Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, "My father?" He said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
8
Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they both went together.
9
They came to the place which God had told him of. Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on the wood.
10
Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to kill his son.
11
The angel of Yahweh called to him out of the sky, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He said, "Here I am."
12
He said, "Don't lay your hand on the boy, neither do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
13
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14
Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Will Provide. As it is said to this day, "On Yahweh's mountain, it will be provided."
15
The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of the sky,
16
and said, "I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17
that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your seed greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.
18
In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."
19
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba. Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20
It happened after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, "Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21
Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,
22
Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel."
23
Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
24
His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
