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Genesis 37

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1 And Jacob dwelt in the land of the sojournings of his father, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the births of Jacob. Joseph, a son of seventeen years, was pasturing the flock with his brothers; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah his father’s women; and Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.

3 And Israel loved Joseph more·​·than all his sons, for he was a son of old·​·age to him; and he made him a tunic of various colors.

4 And his brothers saw that their father loved him more·​·than all his brothers; and they hated him, and were· not ·able to speak to him for peace.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they added yet to hate him.

6 And he said to them, Hear, I pray, this dream which I have dreamed;

7 and behold, we were sheaving sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose, and also stood·​·up, and behold, your sheaves came·​·around, and bowed· themselves ·down to my sheaf.

8 And his brothers said to him, Reigning shalt thou reign over us? Or ruling shalt thou rule over us? And they added to hate him still more on·​·account·​·of his dreams and on·​·account·​·of his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and recounted it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed· themselves ·down to me.

10 And he recounted it to his father, and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Coming shall I and thy mother and thy brothers come to bow·​·down to thee to the earth?

11 And his brothers were·​·envious of him, but his father kept the word.

12 And his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brothers pasture the flock in Shechem? Go, and I will send thee to them. And he said to him, Behold, me.

14 And he said to him, Go, I pray, see the peace of thy brothers, and the peace of the flock, and return with word. And he sent him out·​·of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I am seeking my brothers; tell me, I pray, where they are pasturing the flock.

17 And the man said, They have journeyed from this place, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

18 And they saw him from far·​·off, and before he came·​·near to them, they plotted against him to put· him ·to·​·death.

19 And they said, a man to his brother, Behold, yonder· comes ·this master of dreams.

20 And now, go and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil wild·​·animal has devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams will be.

21 And Reuben heard, and rescued him from their hand, and said, Let us not smite him, the soul.

22 And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but put·​·forth no hand upon him; so·​·that he might rescue him out·​·of their hand, to return him to his father.

23 And it was, when Joseph was come to his brothers, and they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of various colors that was on him;

24 and they took him, and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat·​·down to eat bread, and they lifted·​·up their eyes and saw, and behold, a traveling·​·band of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, and their camels bearing aromas and balm and stacte, going to bring· them ·down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said to his brothers, What gain is it if we kill our brother, and cover his blood?

27 Go and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers hearkened to him.

28 And there passed·​·by Midianite men trading, and they* drew and brought· Joseph ·up from the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold Joseph was not in the pit, and he rent his garments.

30 And he returned to his brothers, and said, The child is not; and I, whither do I come?

31 And they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood;

32 and they sent the tunic of various colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have· we ·found; recognize, we pray thee, whether it be thy son’s tunic or not.

33 And he recognized it, and said, It is the tunic of my son; a bad wild·​·animal has devoured him; Joseph being·​·torn is·​·torn.

34 And Jacob rent his raiment, and set sackcloth on his loins, and mourned over his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to comfort himself, and he said, For I shall go·​·down to my son, mourning, to the underworld*. And his father wept for him.

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt* to Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, prince of the guards.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1463

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1463. That 'sojourning' means receiving instruction becomes clear from the meaning in the Word of 'sojourning' as receiving instruction, and it has this meaning because sojourning and passing on, or moving from one place to another, is in heaven nothing else than a change of state, as shown already in 1376, 1379. Therefore every time travelling, sojourning, or transferring from one place to another occurs in the Word nothing else suggests itself to angels than a change of state such as takes place with them. There are changes of state both of thoughts and of affections. Changes of the state of thoughts are cognitions, which in the world of spirits are represented by means of forms of instruction. This also explains why members of the Most Ancient Church, having communication with the angelic heaven, did not perceive anything else by 'sojourning'. Thus the statement here that 'Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn' does not mean anything other than the Lord's being instructed.

[2] Something similar is meant by Jacob and his sons going down into Egypt, as in Isaiah,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, My people went down to Egypt at first to sojourn there, and Asshur oppressed them without cause. Isaiah 52:4.

Here 'Asshur' stands for reasonings. This is also why in the Jewish Church people who were receiving instruction were called 'sojourners, sojourning in their midst' who, it was commanded, were to receive the same treatment as the native-born, Exodus 12:48-49; Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:13-16, 26, 29; 19:10. Regarding sojourners it is said in Ezekiel,

You shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. You shall divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves and for sojourners, sojourning in your midst. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel, they shall cast lots with you for an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. In the tribe with which the sojourner has sojourned, there shall you give him his inheritance. Ezekiel 47:21-23.

This refers to the new Jerusalem, or the Lord's kingdom. 'Sojourners sojourning' is used to mean people who allow themselves to receive instruction, consequently the gentiles. That 'sojourners' stands for people who are receiving instruction is clear from the fact that it is said 'in the tribe with which he has sojourned, there shall an inheritance be given him'. 'Tribes' stands for the things that constitute faith.

[3] 'Sojourning' is also similar in meaning to travelling and dwelling. 'Travelling' means the established patterns and order of life, while 'dwelling' means living, both dealt with already in 1293. For the same reasons the land of Canaan is also called 'the land of the sojournings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', in Genesis 28:4; 36:7; 37:1; Exodus 6:4. And Jacob said to Pharaoh,

The days of the years of my sojournings; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings. Genesis 47:9.

Here 'sojourning' stands for life and for forms of instruction.

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