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Genesi 25

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1 Poi Abrahamo prese un’altra moglie, per nome Ketura.

2 E questa gli partorì Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Madian, Jishbak e Shuach.

3 Jokshan generò Sceba e Dedan. I figliuoli di Dedan furono gli Asshurim, Letushim ed i Leummim.

4 E i figliuoli di Madian furono Efa, Efer, Hanoch, Abida ed Eldaa. Tutti questi furono i figliuoli di Ketura.

5 E Abrahamo dette tutto quello che possedeva a Isacco;

6 ma ai figliuoli delle sue concubine fece dei doni, e, mentre era ancora in vita, li mandò lungi dal suo figliuolo Isacco, verso levante, nel paese d’oriente.

7 Or tutto il tempo della vita d’Abrahamo fu di centosettanta cinque anni.

8 Poi Abrahamo spirò in prospera vecchiezza, attempato e sazio di giorni, e fu riunito al suo popolo.

9 E Isacco e Ismaele, suoi figliuoli, io seppellirono nella spelonca di Macpela nel campo di Efron figliuolo di Tsoar lo Hitteo, ch’è dirimpetto a Mamre:

10 campo, che Abrahamo avea comprato dai figliuoli di Heth. Quivi furon sepolti Abrahamo e Sara sua moglie.

11 E dopo la morte d’Abrahamo, Iddio benedisse Isacco figliuolo di lui; e Isacco dimorò presso il pozzo di Lachai-Roi.

12 Or questi sono i discendenti d’Ismaele, figliuolo d’Abrahamo, che Agar, l’Egiziana, serva di Sara, avea partorito ad Abrahamo.

13 Questi sono i nomi de’ figliuoli d’Ismaele, secondo le loro generazioni: Nebaioth, il primogenito d’Ismaele; poi Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Duma, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jethur,

15 Nafish e Kedma.

16 Questi sono i figliuoli d’Ismaele, e questi i loro nomi, secondo i loro villaggi e i loro accampamenti. Furono i dodici capi dei loro popoli.

17 E gli anni della vita d’Ismaele furono centotrenta sette; poi spirò, morì, e fu riunito al suo popolo.

18 E i suoi figliuoli abitarono da Havila fino a Shur, ch’è dirimpetto all’Egitto, andando verso l’Assiria. Egli si stabilì di faccia a tutti i suoi fratelli.

19 E questi sono i discendenti d’Isacco, figliuolo d’Abrahamo.

20 Abrahamo generò Isacco; e Isacco era in età di quarant’anni quando prese per moglie Rebecca, figliuola di Bethuel, l’Arameo di Paddan-Aram, e sorella di Labano, l’Arameo.

21 Isacco pregò istantemente l’Eterno per sua moglie, perch’ella era sterile. l’Eterno l’esaudì, e Rebecca, sua moglie, concepì.

22 E i bambini si urtavano nel suo seno; ed ella disse: "Se così è, perché vivo?" E andò a consultare l’Eterno.

23 E l’Eterno le disse: "Due nazioni sono nel tuo seno, e Due popoli separati usciranno dalle tue viscere. Uno dei Due popoli sarà più forte dell’altro, e il maggiore servirà il minore".

24 E quando venne per lei il tempo di partorire, ecco ch’ella aveva due gemelli nel seno.

25 E il primo che uscì fuori era rosso, e tutto quanto come un mantello di pelo; e gli fu posto nome Esaù.

26 Dopo uscì il suo fratello, che con la mano teneva il calcagno di Esaù; e gli fu posto nome Giacobbe. Or Isacco era in età di sessant’anni quando Rebecca li partorì.

27 I due fanciulli crebbero, ed Esaù divenne un esperto cacciatore, un uomo di campagna, e Giacobbe un uomo tranquillo, che se ne stava nelle tende.

28 Or Isacco amava Esaù, perché la cacciagione era di suo gusto; e Rebecca amava Giacobbe.

29 Or come Giacobbe s’era fatto cuocere una minestra, Esaù giunse dai campi, tutto stanco.

30 Ed Esaù disse a Giacobbe: "Deh, dammi da mangiare un po’ di cotesta minestra rossa; perché sono stanco". Per questo fu chiamato Edom.

31 E Giacobbe gli rispose: "Vendimi prima di tutto la tua primogenitura".

32 Ed Esaù disse: "Ecco io sto per morire; che mi giova la primogenitura?"

33 E Giacobbe disse: "Prima, giuramelo". Ed Esaù glielo giurò, e vendé la sua primogenitura a Giacobbe.

34 E Giacobbe diede a Esaù del pane e della minestra di lenticchie. Ed egli mangiò e bevve; poi si levò, e se ne andò. Così Esaù sprezzò la primogenitura.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 3316

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3316. 'Jacob boiled pottage' means matters of doctrine when massed together. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' as the doctrine of natural truth, dealt with in 3305, and so as matters of doctrine within the natural man, and from the meaning of 'pottage' as a massing together of such matters of doctrine. Indeed 'boiling pottage' is massing together; for the verb in the original language is strictly speaking the noun for 'pottage' - as if you were to say 'he pottaged pottage', that is, he massed it together. It is the first state in the joining together of good and truth that is described in this verse and in those that follow to the end of the chapter. The first state of one who is being regenerated - that is, with whom truth is being joined to good - is a state in which first of all matters of doctrine regarding what is true are massed together, without any definite order, in his natural man, that is, in the storehouse there called the memory. The matters of doctrine present there at that time may be compared to the undigested particles of some ingredient, not compounded with anything else but massed together, and may be compared to a kind of chaos. But the chaos exists to the end that they may be brought into an ordered condition; for with anything that is brought into an ordered condition chaos exists at first. This is what is meant by the pottage that Jacob boiled, that is, massed together. Those matters of doctrine are not brought into an ordered condition by anything within themselves but by the good that must enter into them; and the amount of good entering into them, also the essential nature of that good, determine how far they become ordered and the nature of their then ordered condition. When good first craves and desires matters of doctrine, to the end that they may be joined to itself, it is seen in the form of an affection for truth. These are the considerations meant by 'Esau said to Jacob, Let me sip now from the red [pottage], this red [pottage]'.

[2] Such considerations do indeed appear to be quite remote from the sense of the letter, but nevertheless when man reads these words and understands them according to the sense of the letter, the angels who reside with him at the time do not have any [natural] idea at all of pottage, or of Jacob, or of Esau, or of red, or of sipping from red [pottage]. Instead they have a spiritual idea of them, which is altogether different and remote from that natural idea. The idea of those persons and objects is instantly converted into a spiritual idea. And so it is with everything else in the Word, such as, for example, when one reads of bread there the angels do not perceive bread but instead of bread instantly perceive celestial love and things that belong to celestial love, which is love to the Lord. And when one reads in the Word of wine they do not perceive wine but instead of wine spiritual love and the things that belong to that love, which is love towards the neighbour. Accordingly when one reads of pottage or soup they do not perceive pottage or soup but matters of doctrine that are not as yet joined to good, and thus a disordered massing together of them. This shows the essence and character of angels' thought and perception, and how remote these are from man's thought and perception. If a person when in a holy frame of mind were to think as they do - such as during the Holy Supper - and instead of bread were to perceive love to the Lord, and instead of wine love towards the neighbour, his thought and perception would then be similar to the angels' who in that case would draw nearer to him till at length it would be possible for them to share their thoughts with him, though only insofar as good was at the same time present in that person.

[3] That 'pottage' or soup means a massing together may be seen also from what is said about the sons of the prophets and Elisha in the Book of Kings,

Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, for they did not know [what they were]. And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, while they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it. And he said, Then bring flour. And he threw it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people. And they ate, and there was no harm in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.

In the internal sense these words have an altogether different meaning from what they do in the sense of the letter, that is to say, 'a famine in the land' means a dearth of cognitions of good and truth, 1460; 'the sons of the prophets' means those who teach, 2543; 'pottage' facts badly massed together; 'flour' truth which is obtained from good, or that which is spiritual obtained from that which is celestial, 2177. Thus the description of Elisha throwing the flour into the pot, at which point it ceased to contain anything harmful, means that those facts, massed together so, were put right by means of spiritual truth from the Lord's Word - for 'Elisha' represented the Lord as to the Word, 2762. Devoid of this spiritual sense the story about the pottage and the change effected by the flour would not have been worthy of mention in the most holy Word. As with the rest of the miracles in the Word, all of which conceal what is Divine within them, this miracle was performed for the sake of representing those things.

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