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Deuteronomy 33

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1 And this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.

2 And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them; He shone·​·forth from Mount Paran, and He came with a myriad of the holy ones; from His right·​·hand went a fire·​·of·​·law for them;

3 Yea, He loves the peoples. All His holy ones are in Thy hand, and they were prostrated at Thy feet; every one shall receive* of Thy words.*

4 Moses commanded us a law, even the possession of the assembly of Jacob.

5 And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

6 Let Reuben live, and not die; but his mortals will be few in number*.

7 And this is the blessing for Judah; and he said, Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be many for him; and be Thou a help to him from his adversaries.

8 And for Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thine Urim be with thy merciful* Man, whom thou didst tempt at Massah*, and with whom thou didst strive by the waters of Meribah*;

9 who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him*; neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his sons; for they have kept what· Thou ·sayest, and observed Thy covenant.

10 They shall instruct Jacob in Thy judgments, and Israel in Thy law; they shall set incense into Thy nose, and a whole·​·burnt·​·offering on Thine altar.

11 Jehovah, bless his force, and be·​·well·​·pleased with the work of his hands; strike the loins of those who rise·​·up against him and hate him, so that they rise· not ·up again.

12 For Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah shall abide securely in Him; He shall cover· him ·over all the day, and between His shoulders he shall abide.

13 And for Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land, for the precious·​·things of the heavens, for the dew, and for the abyss that coucheth beneath,

14 and for the precious·​·things of increase from the sun, and for the precious·​·things produced by the months,

15 and for the beginnings of the ancient mountains, and for the precious·​·things of the eternal hills,

16 and for the precious·​·things of the earth and her fullness, and for the good·​·pleasure of Him who inhabits the bramble; let it come to the head of Joseph, and to the top·​·of·​·the·​·head of the Nazarite* of his brothers.

17 The firstborn of his ox is honor for him, and horns of the unicorn are his horns; with them he shall charge·​·at the peoples as·​·one to the ends of the earth; and they are the myriads of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And for Zebulun he said, Be·​·glad, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.

19 They shall call the peoples into the mountain; there they shall sacrifice sacrifices of justice; for they shall nurse on the abundance of the seas, and on a cache concealed by the sand.

20 And for Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlarges Gad; he abides as an old·​·lion, and tears the arm, yea, the top·​·of·​·the·​·head.

21 And he saw the first·​·parts for himself, because there was a part of the hidden* lawgiver, and thus came the heads of the people; he did the justice of Jehovah, and His judgments with Israel.

22 And for Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp; he shall pounce from Bashan.

23 And for Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satiated with good·​·pleasure, and full with the blessing of Jehovah; possess thou the west and the south.

24 And for Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with sons; let him be well·​·pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Thy shoe shall be iron and bronze; and as thy days, so shall be thy renown.

26 There is none like to the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the heavens in thy help, and in His excellence on the higher·​·clouds.

27 The ancient God is thine abode, and beneath are the eternal arms; and He shall drive·​·out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Blot· them ·out.

28 And Israel shall securely inhabit alone; the fount of Jacob shall be upon a land of grain and must*; also his heavens shall drip dew.

29 Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like to thee, O people saved by Jehovah, the Shield of thy help, and He who is the Sword of thine excellence! and thine enemies to thee shall be denied, and thou shalt tread on their high·​·places.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 4240

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4240. 'To the land of Seir' means celestial-natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Seir' in the highest sense as the Lord's celestial-natural good. The reason why 'the land of Seir' has this meaning is that Mount Seir formed a boundary to the land of Canaan on one side, Joshua 11:16-17, and all boundaries such as rivers, mountains, and stretches of land represented the things that came last, 1585, 1866, 4116. Indeed these boundaries acquired their individual representations from the land of Canaan contained within them, which land represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, and in the highest sense His Divine Human, see 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705. Things that are last, existing as boundaries, are those which are called natural, for natural things are the boundaries holding spiritual and celestial realities within them. This is so in the heavens, for the inmost or third heaven is celestial because it is governed by love to the Lord; the intermediate or second heaven is spiritual because it is governed by love towards the neighbour; and the last or first heaven is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural because it is governed by simple good, which is the last degree of order there. And the same is true with the regenerate person who is a miniature heaven. From all this one may now see the origin of the meaning of 'the land of Seir' as celestial-natural good. 'Esau' too, who dwelt there, represents that good, as has been shown above, and therefore the land where he dwelt has the same meaning. For lands take on the particular representations of their inhabitants, 1675.

[2] From all this one may now see what is meant in the Word by 'Seir', as in Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

In 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.

In Balaam's prophecy,

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

Anyone can see that in these places 'Seir' means some aspect of the Lord, since it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir', that 'He went forth from Seir and set out from the field of Edom', and that 'Edom and Seir will be an inheritance'. But what aspect of the Lord is meant no one can know except from the internal sense of the Word. It is the Lord's Divine Human that is meant, and in particular the good of the Divine Natural within that Human, as may be seen from what has been mentioned above. 'Dawning from and going out of Seir' means that He made even the Natural Divine in order that this also might be a source of light, that is, of intelligence and wisdom, and in this way He might become Jehovah not only as regards the Human Rational but also as regards the Human Natural. This is why it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir' and 'Jehovah went out of Seir' - the Lord being Jehovah, see 1343, 1736, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035. Something similar is embodied in the prophetic utterance concerning Dumah,

One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night. Isaiah 21:11-12.

[3] In the relative sense 'the land of Seir' strictly speaking means the Lord's kingdom existing with those outside the Church, that is, with gentiles when the Church is being established among them, while the previous or old Church is simultaneously falling away from charity and faith. As is clear from many places in the Word, light comes at that time to those who are in darkness. And this is strictly speaking the meaning of 'dawning from Seir', and of 'going forth from Seir and setting out from the field of Edom'. It is also the meaning of 'Seir will be an inheritance', as well as of the words in Isaiah, 'One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night.' 'Morning comes' means the Lord's advent, 2405, 2780, and as a consequence enlightenment coming to people who are 'in the night', that is, who dwell in ignorance; but that enlightenment is from the Lord's Divine Natural, 4211. Since most things in the Word also have a contrary sense, so too does the name 'Seir', as in Ezekiel 25:8-9; 35:2-15, and in various places in the historical parts of the Word.

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