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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 # 1712

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1712. That 'he divided himself against them by night' means the shade which the apparent goods and truths were in is clear from the meaning of 'night' as a state of shade. It is called a state of shade when a person does not know whether good and truth are apparent or genuine. While a person is limited to apparent good and truth he imagines that these are genuine good and truth. It is the evil and falsity present in apparent good and truth that produce the shade and cause them to be seen as genuine. What else can people who are in ignorance know than that the good they do is their own, and that the truth they think is their own? The same applies to people who ascribe the good deeds they do to themselves and place merit in them, unaware of the fact that in this case those deeds are not good though they appear to be so, and that the proprium and the self-merit they place in them are evils and falsities that cause obscurity and darkness. And the same applies in many other instances.

[2] What evil and falsity are like, and how much evil and falsity lie concealed in such deeds, cannot possibly be seen so clearly in the life of the body as in the next life, where these are presented to view altogether as in broad daylight. But it is different if a person acts out of ignorance that has not been confirmed, for in that case those evils and falsities are easily dispersed. But if people confirm themselves in the notion that they are able to do good and to withstand evil by their own powers, and that thus they merit salvation, such a notion remains attached, and causes the good to be evil, and the truth to be falsity. Yet for all this, order requires that a person should do good as though from himself, and ought not therefore to stay his hand and think to himself, 'If I am unable to do anything good at all from myself I must wait for immediate influx' and so remain inactive. This is also contrary to order. Man ought to do good as though from himself; but when he stops to reflect on the good he is doing or has done, let him think, acknowledge, and believe that the Lord present with him has accomplished it.

[3] If by thinking as described he gives up acting as of himself he is not a subject into whom the Lord can operate. The Lord cannot flow into anyone who deprives himself of everything into which power has to be introduced. He is like someone who is not willing to learn anything except through a revelation made to him; or like someone who is not willing to teach anything unless the words are put into his mouth; or like someone who is unwilling to attempt anything unless he is directed as one without a will. But if this were done he would be more indignant still at being like an inanimate object. In fact however that which is animated by the Lord in a person is the very thing which makes it seem as though it were from himself. That man does not live from himself is an eternal truth; yet if he did not appear to do so he could not possibly live at all.

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