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Genesis 23

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1 And the lives* of Sarah were a hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the lives of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, it is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to wail for Sarah, and to weep for her.

3 And Abraham rose·​·up from upon the faces of his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

4 I am a sojourner and a lodger with you; give to me a possession of a sepulcher with you, and I will bury my dead from before me.

5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

6 Hear us, my lord, thou art a prince* of God in the midst of us; in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead; No man of us shall hold·​·back from thee his sepulcher, from burying thy dead.

7 And Abraham rose·​·up, and bowed· himself ·down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth.

8 And he spoke with them, saying, If it·​·is with your soul to bury my dead from before me, hear me, and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar.

9 That he may give to me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field; in full silver* let him give it to me, in the midst of you, for a possession of a sepulcher.

10 And Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, to all that came·​·into the gate of his city, saying,

11 No, my lord, hear me; the field I give to thee, and the cave that is in it, to thee I give it; before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to thee; bury thy dead.

12 And Abraham bowed· himself ·down before the people of the land.

13 And he spoke to Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, Surely, if thou would, hear me; I will give the silver* of the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

15 My lord, hear me; land of* four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and thee? And now bury thy dead.

16 And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver of which he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, such as passes at the trader.

17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and every tree which was in the field, which was in all its border all around, were secured

18 for Abraham for an acquisition* before the eyes of the sons of Heth, with all that came·​·into the gate of his city.

19 And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah, upon the faces of Mamre, it is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field and the cave that is in it were secured for Abraham for a possession of a sepulcher from the sons of Heth.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 2966

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2966. 'Four hundred shekels of silver' means the price of redemption, as has been shown above in 2959. But what the price of redemption is will now be stated. Redemption is attributable to the Lord alone, and so also is the price of redemption. Yet the latter may also be spoken of in reference to man's receptivity, though with him the price of redemption is determined by the measure of his receptivity. The price of redemption is the Lord's merit and righteousness acquired through the severest temptations by which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, and the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, doing so by His own power. And through that uniting of them He has saved the human race, especially those who belong to the spiritual Church.

For the Lord's becoming righteousness through the severest temptations, see 1813, 2025-2027.

For the Lord's uniting of the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, and the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 1813, 2083.

For His doing this by His own power, 1616, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, 2500, 2523, 2632.

And for His salvation of the human race, especially those who belong to the spiritual Church, through that uniting of both, 2661, 2716.

These are the factors meant by the price of redemption.

[2] As regards the consideration that this price may also be spoken of in reference to man's receptivity, though with him that price is determined by the measure of his receptivity, this may be seen from the truth that it is the Lord's Divine which constitutes the Church with man. For the Church does not hearken to anything except that which is the Lord's own. It is the good of love and charity, and the truth of faith, that constitute that which is called the Church. For it is well known that all good comes from the Lord and that all truth comes from the Lord. Good and truth that come from man are not good and truth. From this it is evident that the price of redemption is with man determined by the measure of his receptivity.

[3] Because among the Jews the Lord's redemption was rated so low as to be scarcely anything at all, it is therefore said in Zechariah,

I said to them, If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages; and if not, withhold them. And they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said to me, Throw it to the potter, the magnificent price I was valued at among them. Zechariah 11:12-13.

And in Matthew,

They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him whom they had bought from the children of Israel, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me. Matthew 27:9-10.

'Thirty' is that which is so little as to be scarcely anything, see 2276. Thus the meaning is that the Jews rated the Lord's merit and redemption as nothing, but among those who believed that all good and all truth came from the Lord, the price of redemption is meant by 'forty' and to a higher degree by 'four hundred'.

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