Bible

 

Genesis 27

Studie

   

1 And it was, that Isaac was·​·old, and his eyes were dimmed from seeing, and he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, My son; and he said to him, Behold me.

2 And he said, Behold, I pray, I am·​·old, I know not the day of my death.

3 And now carry, I pray, thy weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go·​·out to the field, and hunt for me a hunting.

4 And make for me savory meats, such as I have loved, and bring to me, and I will eat, so·​·that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son; and Esau went to the field to hunt for a hunting, to bring it.

6 And Rebekah said to Jacob her son, saying, Behold I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring to me a hunting, and make for me savory meats, and I will eat, and will bless thee before Jehovah before my death.

8 And now my son obey my voice, according·​·to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the she-goats, and I will make them savory meats for thy father, such as he loves.

10 And thou shalt bring to thy father, and he shall eat, in·​·order that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall be in his eyes as one who misleads; and I shall bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said to him, Upon me be thy curse my son; only obey my voice, and go, take for me.

14 And he went, and took, and brought to his mother; and his mother made savory meats, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took garments of desires of Esau her elder son that were with her in the house, and clothed Jacob her younger son.

16 And the skins of the kids of the she-goats she caused him to be clothed·​·with on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck.

17 And she gave the savory meats and the bread, which she had made, into the hand of Jacob her son.

18 And he came to his father and said, My father; and he said, Behold me, who art thou my son?

19 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done as thou didst speak to me; arise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my hunting, so·​·that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said to his son, How is this that thou made·​·haste to find it, my son? And he said, For Jehovah thy God made it happen before me.

21 And Isaac said to Jacob, Approach, I pray, and I will feel thee my son, whether thou be this my son Esau, or not.

22 And Jacob approached Isaac his father, and he felt him, and said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he recognized him not, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; and he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou this my son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Present it to me, and I will eat of my son’s hunting, so·​·that my soul may bless thee; and he presented it to him, and he ate, and he brought to him wine, and he drank.

26 And Isaac his father said to him, Approach, I pray, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he approached, and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah has blessed.

28 And God shall give to thee of the dew of the heavens, and of fat things* of the earth, and a multitude of grain and must.*

29 Peoples shall serve thee, and nations shall bow·​·down themselves to thee. Be thou a master to thy brothers, and let thy mother’s sons bow·​·down themselves to thee; cursed are they who curse thee, and blessed are they who bless thee.

30 And it was as Isaac completed blessing Jacob, and Jacob going·​·out was only just gone·​·out from the faces of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came·​·in from his hunting.

31 And he also made savory meats, and brought to his father, and he said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of the hunting of his son, so·​·that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau.

33 And Isaac shuddered with a shuddering, even very great, and said, Who then is he that has hunted a hunting, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.

34 As Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and even very bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me, even me, my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with deceit, and has taken thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is it not then his name called Jacob?* And he has supplanted me these two·​·times; he has taken my birthright, and behold now he has taken my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold I have set him a master to thee, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants; and with grain and must* I have supported him; and what then shall I do for thee, my son?

38 And Esau said to his father, Hast thou but this one blessing, my father? Bless me, me also, O my father. And Esau lifted·​·up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold of the fat things* of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above.

40 And upon thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother, and it shall be when thou shalt dominate, that thou shalt pull· his yoke ·off from upon thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob on·​·account·​·of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father come·​·near, and I will kill Jacob my brother.

42 And the words of Esau her elder son were·​·told to Rebekah; and she sent and called to Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold Esau thy brother comforts himself as·​·to thee to kill thee.

43 And now, my son, obey my voice, and arise, run·​·away to Laban my brother to Haran.

44 And dwell with him some days until thy brother’s fury turn·​·back,

45 until the anger of thy brother turn·​·back from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him, and I will send and take thee from thence. Why should I be bereaved even of the two of you in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I loathe my life on·​·account·​·of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob should take a woman of the daughters of Heth as these, of the daughters of the land, why have I lives?

   


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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 925

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

925. 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest' means that worship stemming from these was pleasing to the Lord, that is to say, worship stemming from charity and from faith deriving from charity, meant by 'a burnt offering', as stated in the previous verse. In various places in the Word it is said that 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest', especially that from burnt offerings, and wherever this occurs that which is pleasing or acceptable is meant. For references to His smelling an odour of rest from burnt offerings, see Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 23:12-13, 18; Numbers 28:6, 8, 13; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36; also from other sacrifices, Leviticus 2:2, 9; 6:15, 21; 8:21, 28; Numbers 15:3, 7, 13. They are also called 'that which has been made by fire as an odour of rest to Jehovah' which means that it stems from love and charity. In the Word when 'fire' or 'made by fire' is used in reference to the Lord and to worship of Him, it means love. And the same applies to 'bread', which also is why representative worship by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices is called 'bread offered by fire to Jehovah as an odour of rest', Leviticus 3:11, 16.

[2] The reason why 'an odour' means that which is pleasing and acceptable, and so why in the Jewish Church an odour was also representative of that which is pleasing and is ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord, is that good stemming from charity, and the truth of faith deriving from charity, correspond to sweet and pleasant odours. What the correspondence itself is and the character of it becomes clear from the spheres in heaven which surround spirits and angels. The spheres there are spheres of love and faith, and are clearly perceived. These spheres are such that when a good spirit or angel, that is, a community of good spirits or angels, approaches, the nature of the spirit or angel - that is, of the community - as regards love and faith is, as often as the Lord pleases, instantly perceived. It is perceived even when they are a long way off, more so still when they are closer at hand. This is unbelievable but nevertheless perfectly true. Such is the communication in the next life, and such the perception. Consequently, when the Lord pleases there is no necessity to make extensive enquiries to discover the character of a soul or spirit, for it is recognizable the moment he approaches. It is to these spheres that spheres belonging to odours in the world correspond. That they do correspond in this way becomes clear from the fact that when the Lord pleases the spheres of love and faith are readily converted in the world of spirits into spheres of sweet and pleasant odours, which are clearly perceived.

[3] From these considerations it is now clear from where and why 'an odour of rest' means that which is pleasing, why in the Jewish Church an odour became a representative, and why 'an odour of rest' is here ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord. 'An odour of rest' is descriptive of peace, that is, of the pleasantness of peace. Peace in one embrace takes in every single feature of the Lord's kingdom; for the state of the Lord's kingdom is a state of peace. It is within the state of peace that all the happy states occur which flow from love and faith in the Lord. All that has now been stated shows not only what representatives were essentially, but also why the Jewish Church had an altar for burning incense in front of the veil and the Mercy-seat, why offerings of frankincense accompanied sacrifices, and also why so many fragrant substances were used in incense, in frankincense, and in the anointing oil too. It shows therefore what 'an odour of rest', 'incense', and 'fragrances' mean in the Word, namely celestial things of love, and spiritual things of faith deriving from these, in general everything pleasing that derives from love and faith.

[4] As in Ezekiel,

On My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, there all the house of Israel, all of it in the land, will serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions, and the first fruits comprising your gifts in all your holy acts. Through the odour of rest I will accept you. Ezekiel 20:40-41.

Here 'an odour of rest' has reference to burnt offerings and gifts, that is, to worship stemming from charity and attendant faith, which worship is meant by burnt offerings and gifts, and is consequently acceptable, which is meant by 'the odour'. In Amos,

I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies 1 [as a pleasant odour], for though you offer Me your burnt offerings and gifts, they will not be accepted. Amos 5:21-22.

This clearly means that which is pleasing or acceptable. The passage which describes Isaac's blessing Jacob instead of Esau reads,

Jacob went near and Isaac kissed him. He smelled the odour of his clothes, and he blessed him and said, See, the odour of my son, like the odour of a field that Jehovah has blessed. Genesis 27:26-27.

'The odour of his clothes' means natural good and truth whose pleasantness stems from their harmony with celestial and spiritual good and truth. Their pleasantness is described by 'the odour of the field'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, cessations i.e. cessations from work

  
/ 10837  
  

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