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Genesis 21

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1 And Jehovah visited Sarah, as He had said; and Jehovah did to Sarah as He had spoken.

2 And Sarah conceived and gave·​·birth·​·to a son for Abraham for his old·​·age, at the appointed·​·time, of which God had spoken with him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, to whom Sarah gave·​·birth for him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised Isaac his son, a son of eight days, as God had commanded him.

5 And Abraham was a son of a hundred years when Isaac his son was·​·born to him.

6 And Sarah said, God has made laughter for me, everyone that hears will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who would have stated to Abraham, Sarah shall nurse sons? For I have given·​·birth to a son for his old·​·age.

8 And the child was growing·​·up, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast, on the day when Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking*.

10 And she said to Abraham, Drive·​·out this maidservant and her son; for the son of this maidservant shall not possess with my son, with Isaac.

11 And the word was· exceedingly ·evil in the eyes of Abraham, on account of his son.

12 And God said to Abraham, Let it not be·​·evil in thine eyes on·​·account·​·of the lad, and on·​·account·​·of thy maidservant; all that Sarah says to thee, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also the son of the maidservant I will set for a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose·​·early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave them to Hagar, and set them on her shoulder, and the child, and sent· her ·away; and she went and strayed in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water was·​·all·​·gone from the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went and sat by herself, withdrawing herself a distance of about a bowshot from his presence; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child; and she sat away from his presence; and she lifted up her voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out·​·of the heavens, and said to her, What ails thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad, where he is.

18 Arise, lift the lad, and make· thy hand ·firm with him, for I will set him for a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave· the lad ·drink.

20 And God was with the lad, and he was growing·​·up, and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became a shooter of the bow.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.

22 And it was at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the commander of his army said to Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou art doing.

23 And now promise to me here by God, that thou wilt not do·​·falsely to me, nor to my son, nor to my grandson; according·​·to the mercy that I have done with thee, thou shalt do with·​·me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.

24 And Abraham said, I will promise.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech, on account of the well of waters which Abimelech’s servants had taken·​·by·​·robbery.

26 And Abimelech said, I know not who has done this thing, and even thou didst not tell me, and even I did not hear of it, until today.

27 And Abraham took flock and herd, and gave to Abimelech, and the two of them cut a covenant.

28 And Abraham stood seven ewe-lambs of the flock by·​·themselves.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs, these which thou hast stood by themselves?

30 And he said, For these seven ewe-lambs thou shalt take from my hand, so·​·that it may be a testimony for me that I have dug this well.

31 Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba*, for there the two of them promised.

32 And they cut a covenant in Beer-sheba; and Abimelech arose, and Phichol the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 And he planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the God of eternity.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 2679

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2679. 'And she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba' means a state of wandering from one position to another in matters of doctrine regarding faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'going and wandering in the wilderness' as a state of wandering from one position to another, and from the meaning of 'Beersheba' as the doctrine of faith, dealt with at the end of this chapter, where it is said that Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant in Beersheba, verse 32, and Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, verse 33. The present verse describes the nature of the state to begin with of those who are being reformed, that is to say, it is a state when they are carried away into various errors. For they are given by the Lord to think much about eternal life, and so to think much about the truths of faith; but because they do so from the proprium, as has been stated, they cannot do other than wander into this position and then into that both in doctrine and in life. Thus they hold to that as being the truth which has been instilled into them since early childhood, or which is impressed on them by others, or which they think out for themselves, quite apart from the consideration that various affections of which they are not aware exist to mislead them. These people are like fruit as yet unripe, to which shape, beauty, and flavour cannot be given in an instant, or like tender blades of corn which are unable to flower or to grow ears in an instant. The ideas however which enter in at that time, even though they are for the most part erroneous, are nevertheless such as may serve to promote growth; and later on when those persons are being reformed, such erroneous ideas are partly separated, and partly are of use in imparting so to speak nourishment and juices to the life that follows. These in turn can be adapted partly to the implantation subsequently of goods and truths by the Lord, and partly to serving as the ultimate planes for spiritual things. Thus they serve continuously as means to reformation, which means follow consecutively in an unbroken chain and order. For every least thing with man is foreseen by the Lord and is provided by Him for his future state which continues for ever. This is done for his own good, to the extent that this is in any way possible and the person allows himself to be led by the Lord.

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