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Genesis 38

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1 And it was at this time that Judah went·​·down from his brothers, and went·​·aside, even·​·to a man, an Adullamite, and his name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a man, a Canaanite, and his name was Shua; and he took her, and came to her.

3 And she conceived and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and he called his name Er.

4 And she conceived yet·​·again and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she called his name Onan.

5 And she added yet·​·again and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she called his name Shelah; and he was in Chezib when she gave·​·birth·​·to him.

6 And Judah took a woman for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah put· him ·to·​·death.

8 And Judah said to Onan, Come to the wife of thy brother, and perform the duty of a husband’s·​·brother for her, and raise·​·up seed for thy brother.

9 And Onan knew that the seed would not be for himself; and it was, when he came to the wife of his brother, that he destroyed it to the earth, so·​·that he might not give seed to his brother.

10 And what he did was·​·evil in the eyes of Jehovah; and He caused· him also ·to·​·die.

11 And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Dwell· a widow ·in thy father’s house, until Shelah my son be grown·​·up; for he said, Lest he also die, like his brothers. And Tamar went and dwelt·​·in her father’s house.

12 And the days were·​·multiplied, and the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went·​·up to the shearers of his flock, he and his companion Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnath.

13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law is going·​·up towards Timnath to shear his flock.

14 And she removed from upon herself the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entrance of the founts which are upon the way toward Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown·​·up, and she was not given to him for a woman.

15 And Judah saw her, and thought her to be a harlot, because she had covered her face.

16 And he went·​·aside to her to the way, and said, Give, I pray, that I may come to thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou Give me, that thou mayest come to me?

17 And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, If thou wilt give a surety, until thou send it?

18 And he said, What surety shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy kerchief*, and thy rod that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came to her; and she conceived to him.

19 And she arose, and went, and removed her veil from upon her, and clothed· herself ·with the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his companion the Adullamite, to take the surety from the woman’s hand; and he found her not.

21 And he asked the men of the place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at the founts on the way? And they said, There was not a prostitute there.

22 And he returned to Judah and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There was not a prostitute there.

23 And Judah said, Let her take it to herself, lest perhaps we be despised; behold I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

24 And it was, about three months after, and it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law has committed·​·harlotry; and also, behold, she has conceived by harlotries. And Judah said, Bring· her ·out, and she shall be burnt·​·up.

25 She was brought·​·out, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, To the man whose these are, to him I have conceived; and she said, Recognize, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet and the kerchief and the rod.

26 And Judah recognized them, and said, She is· more ·just than I; because as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he added not to know her any·​·more.

27 And it was, in the time of her giving·​·birth, and behold twins were in her belly.

28 And it was, when she gave·​·birth, and one put out a hand; and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread twice-dyed upon his hand, saying, This came·​·out first.

29 And it was, as he brought·​·back his hand, that behold, his brother came·​·out; and she said, How hast thou broken·​·off from upon thee a breaking·​·off*? And he called his name Perez*.

30 And afterwards came·​·out his brother, that had the scarlet thread twice-dyed upon his hand; and he called his name Zerah*.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 4926

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4926. 'And she said, Why have you made a breach upon yourself?' means this truth's apparent separation from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a breach' as an infringement upon and perversion of truth through its separation from good, dealt with below. Here 'making a breach' plainly means pulling away the twice-dyed thread from the hand and so separating good; for good is meant by 'twice-dyed', 4922. As regards this separation being an apparent one, this follows from the fact that it appeared to the midwife that a separation had taken place; but in reality it was not the twin with the twice-dyed thread who came out but his brother, who represents truth. On these matters, see what has been shown immediately above in 4925, where it is shown that good is in actual fact the firstborn but that truth appears to be such. This can be illustrated further still from the functions and members within the human body. The appearance is that the members and organs are first and that the functions these perform are subsequent; for the organs and members present themselves to the eye and are also known before their functions are seen or known. But in spite of this appearance the functions are prior to the members and organs since these derive their existence from the functions they serve and so receive their own forms to accord with these functions. Indeed the function itself gives them these forms and accommodates them to itself. If this were not so, all the individual parts of the human body could not possibly act together in so harmonious a way that they make a single whole. The same may be said about good and truth. The appearance is that truth is first, but in reality good is, in that good gives truths the forms they take and accommodates them to itself. Therefore regarded essentially truths are nothing else than goods which have been given form, that is, they are the forms good takes. In relation to good, truths are also like the internal organs and the fibres of the body in relation to the functions these perform. Also, regarded essentially good is nothing else than the function.

[2] The meaning of 'a breach' as an infringement upon truth and a perversion of it through its separation from good is also clear from other places in the Word, as in David,

Our storehouses are full, yielding food and still more food; our flocks are thousands, and ten thousands in our streets, our oxen are laden; there is no breach. Psalms 144:13-14.

This refers to the Ancient Church as it was in its youth. 'The food' with which 'the storehouses are full' stands for spiritual food, that is, for truth and good. 'Flocks' and 'oxen' stand for forms of good, internal and external. 'There is no breach' stands for the fact that truth has not suffered any infringement upon it or perversion of it through separation from good.

[3] In Amos,

I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will close up their breaches, and I will restore its destroyed places; and I will build it as in the days of old. Amos 9:11.

This refers to a Church where good is present. 'The tent of David that is fallen down' means the good of love and charity received from the Lord. For 'a tent' meaning that good, see 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391, 4599, and 'David' the Lord, 1888. 'Closing up the breaches' stands for correcting falsities which have entered in through the separation of truth from good. 'Building it as in the days of old' stands for as the state of the Church was in ancient times. In the Word that state at that time is called 'the days of eternity', 'the days of old', and also 'of generation upon generation'.

[4] In Isaiah,

He that is of you is building the waste places of old; raise up the foundations of generation upon generation, and may you be called the one repairing the breach, the one restoring paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12.

This refers to a Church where charity and life are the essential thing. 'Repairing the breach' again stands for correcting falsities which have crept in through the separation of good from truth, the origin of all falsity. 'Restoring paths to dwell in' stands for truths which are linked to good, for 'paths' or ways are truths, 627, 2333, and 'dwelling in' is used in reference to good, 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613.

[5] In the same prophet,

You saw that the breaches of the city of David were very many, and you collected the waters of the lower pool. Isaiah 22:9.

'The breaches of the city of David' stands for falsities of doctrine. 'The waters of the lower pool' stands for traditions by which they introduced blemishes into the truths contained in the Word, Matthew 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-13. In Ezekiel,

You have not gone up into the breaches and made a hedge for the house of Israel, so that you might stand in war on the day of Jehovah. Ezekiel 13:5.

In the same prophet,

I sought from among them a man making a hedge and standing in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30.

'Standing in the breach' stands for defending and guarding against the intrusion of falsities. In David,

Jehovah said He would destroy the people, unless Moses His chosen had stood in the breach before Him. Psalms 106:23.

'Standing in the breach' again means guarding against the intrusion of falsities; 'Moses' here meaning the Word - see Preface to Chapter 18 of Genesis, and 4859 (end).

[6] In Amos,

They will drag out the last of you with fish-hooks; you will go out through the breaches, every one from her own region; and you will cast down the palace. Amos 4:2-3.

'Going out through the breaches' stands for doing so through falsities resulting from reasonings. 'The palace' means the Word and consequently the truth of doctrine that is grounded in good. And because 'breaches' means falsity which arises through the separation of good from truth, the same is also meant in the representative sense by 'strengthening and repairing the breaches of the house of Jehovah', 2 Kings 12:5, 7-8, 12; 22:5. In the second Book of Samuel,

It grieved David that Jehovah had made a breach into Uzzah; therefore he called that place Perez Uzzah. 2 Samuel 6:8.

This refers to Uzzah, who died because he touched the ark. 'The ark' represented heaven, or in the highest sense the Lord, and therefore Divine Good. But 'Uzzah' represented that which ministers, and so represents truth since truth ministers to good. This separation is meant by 'a breach into Uzzah'.

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