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Genesis 14

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1 And it was, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Nations,

2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboim, and with the king of Bela; this is Zoar.

3 All these came·​·together to the valley of Siddim—this is the Salt Sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they revolted.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kirjathaim;

6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, even·​·to El-paran which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat—this is Kadesh—and smote all the field of the Amalekites, and also the Amorite that dwelt in Ḥazezon-Tamar.

8 And there went·​·out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, this is Zoar; and they set· the battle ·in·​·array with them in the valley of Siddim;

9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the valley of Siddim had wells, wells of tar`; and the king of Sodom and of Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they who were·​·left fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the acquisition of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went.

12 And they took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his acquisition, and went; and he was dwelling in Sodom.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew*; and he was abiding in the oak·​·groves of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner; and they were masters* of the covenant of Abram.

14 And Abram heard that his brother was taken·​·captive; and he made·​·ready* his dedicated* men that were born of his house, eighteen and three hundred, and pursued them even·​·to Dan.

15 And he parted himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them even·​·to Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus.

16 And he returned all the acquisition, and also returned Lot his brother and his acquisition, and also the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went·​·out to meet him, after his return from smiting Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, to the valley of Shaveh, it is the valley of the king.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem* brought·​·out bread and wine, and he was priest to God Most·​·High.

19 And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram to God Most·​·High, Possessor of the heavens and the earth.

20 And blessed be God Most·​·High, who has delivered thine adversaries into thy hand. And he gave to him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give to me the soul, and take the acquisition to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted·​·high my hand to Jehovah God Most·​·high, Possessor of the heavens and the earth;

23 that from a thread and even·​·to the lace of a shoe, I will not take anything that is thine; lest thou shouldest say, I have enriched Abram.

24 Besides only that which the lads have eaten, and the part of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their part.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1667

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1667. That 'twelve years they served Chedorlaomer' means that evils and falsities did not reveal themselves in childhood but were subservient to apparent goods and truths is clear from the representation and meaning of Chedorlaomer, and also from the meaning of those who were subservient to him, as explained above at verses 1-2, and from the meaning of 'twelve' as well. Chedorlaomer together with those mentioned above in verse 1 mean apparent goods and truths present with the Lord - thus His External Man as regards those things. Here Chedorlaomer stands for all who are named in verse 1 taken together, as is clear in addition from what follows, and also from the fact that he was king of Elam, the meaning of which has been dealt with already, namely faith deriving from charity, and here therefore truth and good. For faith and things belonging to faith are nothing but truths, while charity and things belonging to charity are nothing but goods

[2] Here however they are the goods that belong to earliest childhood, which though they appear to be goods are not in fact goods as long as hereditary evil is befouling them, for they have ingrained in them and clinging to them that which derives from self-love and love of the world. Whatever belongs to self-love or love of the world appears at the time to be good, but it is not. Nevertheless it must still be called good during the time it resides in an infant or child who as yet does not know what is truly good. Their ignorance or lack of knowledge excuses it, and their innocence makes it appear as good. The situation is different however when a person has undergone instruction and knows what good and evil are. Such good and truth as exist with a child before instruction is meant by Chedorlaomer.

[3] Their being subservient for twelve years means the whole time that such good and truth remain, for in the internal sense 'twelve' means all things constituting the faith that belongs to charity, that is, faith springing from charity, as also with Elam in Genesis 10:22. And as long as such good and truth reside in a person, whether in childhood or in any other period of his life, evils and falsities can achieve nothing, that is, evil spirits do not dare to do anything or to initiate anything evil, as is quite evident in the case of infants, well-behaved children, and simple hearted people. With them, even though evil spirits, that is, the worst of the devil's crew, were present they could nevertheless achieve absolutely nothing but are held in subjection, which is the meaning here of their being subservient for twelve years to Chedorlaomer.

[4] The reason they are kept in subjection during that time and are subservient is that the individual has not yet acquired to himself a sphere of evil desires and of falsities. Indeed evil spirits and genii are not allowed to operate except into those things a person has acquired through his own actions, not into those he has by heredity. Consequently before a person acquires such spheres to himself, evil spirits are subservient; but as soon as he does acquire them, those evil spirits present with him stream in and try to gain dominion, for they are then situated within his own sphere, and there find a certain delight or their very life - 'where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together'. 1

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