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Genesis 29

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1 And Jacob lifted·​·up his feet, and went to the land of the sons of the east.

2 And he saw, and behold a well in the field, and behold there three droves of the flock lying·​·down by it; for out·​·of that well they watered the droves; and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth.

3 And all the droves were gathered thither; and they rolled the stone from upon the well’s mouth, and watered the flock, and they returned the stone to its place upon the well’s mouth.

4 And Jacob said to them, My brothers, whence are you? And they said, We are from Haran.

5 And he said to them, Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.

6 And he said to them, Has he peace? And they said, Peace; and behold Rachel his daughter comes with the flock.

7 And he said, Behold as·​·yet the day is great, it is not time for the livestock to be gathered; water ye the flock, and go and pasture them.

8 And they said, We cannot until all the droves are gathered, and they roll the stone from upon the well’s mouth; then shall we water the flock.

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with the flock which was her father’s, for she was pasturing them.

10 And it was, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the flock of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob approached, and rolled the stone from on the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted·​·up his voice and wept.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.

13 And it was, as Laban heard the rumor of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he recounted to Laban all these things.

14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he dwelt with him a month of days.

15 And Laban said to Jacob, For thou art my brother, and shouldest thou serve me for·​·nothing? Tell me, what shall be thy wages?

16 And Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 And the eyes of Leah were weak*, and Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance.

18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

19 And Laban said, It is better that I should give her to thee than give her to another man; dwell with·​·me.

20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his eyes as only days, in his love for her.

21 And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my woman, for my days are·​·fulfilled, and I will come to her.

22 And Laban gathered all the men of the place, and made a feast.

23 And it was, in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him, and he came to her.

24 And Laban gave to her Zilpah his handmaid, to Leah his daughter for a handmaid.

25 And it was, in the morning, that behold it was Leah; and he said to Laban, What is this that thou hast done to me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? And why hast thou deceived me?

26 And Laban said, It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 Fulfill this week, and we will give to thee her* also, for the service which thou shalt serve with·​·me yet seven other years.

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled this week, and he gave to him Rachel his daughter to him for a woman.

29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be to her for a handmaid.

30 And he came also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more·​·than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

31 And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb, and Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, For Jehovah has seen my affliction, for now my man will love me.

33 And she conceived yet·​·again, and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and said, Because Jehovah has heard that I was hated, and has given to me this one also; and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she conceived yet·​·again, and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and said, Now this time will my man join to me, for I have given·​·birth·​·to three sons for him; therefore she called his name Levi.

35 And she conceived yet·​·again, and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she said, This time I will confess Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah; and she stood still from giving·​·birth.

   


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

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Apocalypse Revealed # 489

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489. "And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months." This symbolically means that the church has dispelled every truth of the Word to the point that none remains.

The holy city means the Holy Jerusalem, and the Holy Jerusalem means the New Church which possesses doctrinal truths, as holiness is predicated of Divine truth (no. 173). A city, moreover, symbolizes doctrine (no. 194). Consequently to tread that city underfoot means, symbolically, to dispel its doctrinal truths. Forty-two months mean, symbolically, to the end when nothing remains.

Doctrinal truths mean truths from the Word, because that is the source of the church's doctrine and every particular of it.

People concerned with the internal elements of the church today have thus dispelled the Word's truths and the church's doctrine from it. All of this is described in the present chapter by the beast ascending from the bottomless pit, which killed the two witnesses (verse 7); and it may also be seen from the accounts from the spiritual world appended to each chapter.

[2] Forty-two months mean, symbolically, to the end when nothing of the church's truth and goodness remains, because the number forty-two has the same symbolic meaning as six weeks, inasmuch as forty-two is the product of six multiplied by seven, and six weeks symbolizes a period complete to the end. For that is the symbolic meaning of the number six, and a week symbolizes a state, and the seventh week a holy state, which is the new state of the church when the Lord begins His reign.

The number forty-two has the same symbolic meaning in the following verse:

(The beast rising up out of the sea) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given the power to do this for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5, no. 583)

The number six symbolizes a period complete to the end because that is the symbolic meaning of the number three, six being that number doubled; and doubled or not, in the case of numbers the symbolism is the same.

Furthermore, this number has the same symbolic meaning as the number three and a half, because forty-two months is equivalent to three and a half years.

The period is expressed in terms of months because a month symbolizes a complete state, as in Isaiah 66:23, Revelation 22:1-2, Genesis 29:14, Numbers 11:18-20, Deuteronomy 21:11, 13.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.