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Genesis 32

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1 2 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God came·​·upon him.

2 3 And Jacob said when he saw them, This is the camp of God; and he called the name of that place Mahanaim*.

3 4 And Jacob sent messengers before him, to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.

4 5 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall you say to my lord Esau, Thus says thy servant Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and have delayed until now.

5 6 And I had ox and donkey, flock and manservant and handmaid; and I send to tell my lord, to find grace in thine eyes.

6 7 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother, to Esau, and he even walks to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

7 8 And Jacob feared exceedingly, and was·​·distressed; and he halved the people that was with him, and the flock, and the herd, and the camels, into two camps.

8 9 And he said, If Esau come to the one camp and smite it, then there will be a camp left to escape.

9 10 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who says to me, Return to thy land, and to thy birth place, and I will do·​·well with thee;

10 11 I am·​·smaller than all the mercies and all the truth which Thou hast done with Thy servant; for with my stick I crossed·​·over this Jordan, and now I am in two camps.

11 12 Rescue me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother above the sons*.

12 13 And Thou saidst, Doing·​·well I will do·​·well with thee, and I will make* thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered for multitude.

13 14 And in that night he passed·​·the·​·night there, and he took of that which came into his hand a gift for Esau his brother:

14 15 two·​·hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two·​·hundred ewes and twenty rams;

15 16 the nursing camels and their young were thirty; forty she·​·calves and ten bullocks, twenty she·​·donkeys and ten colts.

16 17 And he gave into the hand of his servants each drove alone, and said to his servants, Pass·​·on before me, and put a space between drove and drove.

17 18 And he commanded the first, saying, When Esau my brother encounters thee, and asks thee, saying, Whose art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee?

18 19 Then thou shalt say, Thy servant Jacob’s; this is a gift sent to my lord Esau, and behold, he also is behind us.

19 20 And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all that went after the droves, saying, According·​·to this word shall you speak to Esau, when you find him.

20 21 And you shall also say, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will make·​·atonement to his faces with a gift·​·offering that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his faces; perhaps he will accept my faces.

21 22 And the gift·​·offering passed·​·on before him, and in that night he lodged in the camp.

22 23 And he rose·​·up in the night, and took his two women, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and crossed·​·over the fords of Jabbok.

23 24 And he took them, and caused them to cross·​·over the brook, and caused to pass what he had.

24 25 And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the dawn came·​·up.

25 26 And he saw that he prevailed not over him, and he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of the thigh of Jacob was disjointed in his wrestling with him.

26 27 And he said, Let· me ·go, for the dawn comes·​·up. And he said, I will not let· thee ·go, unless thou bless me.

27 28 And he said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 29 And he said, Thy name shall no more be said to be Jacob, but Israel; for as·​·a·​·prince thou hast contended with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 30 And Jacob asked and said, Tell, I pray, thy name. And he said, Why is this that thou dost ask as·​·to my name? And he blessed him there.

30 31 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for I have seen God faces to faces, and my soul is rescued.

31 32 And the sun rose to him as he crossed·​·over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh.

32 33 Therefore the sons of Israel eat not the sinew of that which was displaced, which is on the hollow of the thigh, even·​·to this day, for he touched in the hollow of Jacob’s thigh the sinew of that which was displaced.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 4240

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4240. 'To the land of Seir' means celestial-natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Seir' in the highest sense as the Lord's celestial-natural good. The reason why 'the land of Seir' has this meaning is that Mount Seir formed a boundary to the land of Canaan on one side, Joshua 11:16-17, and all boundaries such as rivers, mountains, and stretches of land represented the things that came last, 1585, 1866, 4116. Indeed these boundaries acquired their individual representations from the land of Canaan contained within them, which land represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, and in the highest sense His Divine Human, see 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705. Things that are last, existing as boundaries, are those which are called natural, for natural things are the boundaries holding spiritual and celestial realities within them. This is so in the heavens, for the inmost or third heaven is celestial because it is governed by love to the Lord; the intermediate or second heaven is spiritual because it is governed by love towards the neighbour; and the last or first heaven is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural because it is governed by simple good, which is the last degree of order there. And the same is true with the regenerate person who is a miniature heaven. From all this one may now see the origin of the meaning of 'the land of Seir' as celestial-natural good. 'Esau' too, who dwelt there, represents that good, as has been shown above, and therefore the land where he dwelt has the same meaning. For lands take on the particular representations of their inhabitants, 1675.

[2] From all this one may now see what is meant in the Word by 'Seir', as in Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

In the Song of Deborah and Barak in the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water, the mountains flowed down, this Sinai before Jehovah God of Israel. Judges 5:4-5.

In Balaam's prophecy,

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob, and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel. And Edom will be an inheritance and Seir will be an inheritance of his enemies; and Israel is gaining strength. Numbers 24:17-18.

Anyone can see that in these places 'Seir' means some aspect of the Lord, since it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir', that 'He went forth from Seir and set out from the field of Edom', and that 'Edom and Seir will be an inheritance'. But what aspect of the Lord is meant no one can know except from the internal sense of the Word. It is the Lord's Divine Human that is meant, and in particular the good of the Divine Natural within that Human, as may be seen from what has been mentioned above. 'Dawning from and going out of Seir' means that He made even the Natural Divine in order that this also might be a source of light, that is, of intelligence and wisdom, and in this way He might become Jehovah not only as regards the Human Rational but also as regards the Human Natural. This is why it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir' and 'Jehovah went out of Seir' - the Lord being Jehovah, see 1343, 1736, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035. Something similar is embodied in the prophetic utterance concerning Dumah,

One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night. Isaiah 21:11-12.

[3] In the relative sense 'the land of Seir' strictly speaking means the Lord's kingdom existing with those outside the Church, that is, with gentiles when the Church is being established among them, while the previous or old Church is simultaneously falling away from charity and faith. As is clear from many places in the Word, light comes at that time to those who are in darkness. And this is strictly speaking the meaning of 'dawning from Seir', and of 'going forth from Seir and setting out from the field of Edom'. It is also the meaning of 'Seir will be an inheritance', as well as of the words in Isaiah, 'One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night.' 'Morning comes' means the Lord's advent, 2405, 2780, and as a consequence enlightenment coming to people who are 'in the night', that is, who dwell in ignorance; but that enlightenment is from the Lord's Divine Natural, 4211. Since most things in the Word also have a contrary sense, so too does the name 'Seir', as in Ezekiel 25:8-9; 35:2-15, and in various places in the historical parts of the Word.

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