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Genesis 7

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1 And Jehovah said to Noaḥ, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for I have seen thee, that thou art just before Me in this generation.

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take for thee seven by seven, a man and his wife*; and of the beast that is not clean, this by twos, a man and his wife.

3 Of the fowl of the heavens also seven by seven, male and female, to cause seed to live on the faces of all the earth.

4 For in yet seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and every being* that I have made will I wipe·​·away from on the faces of the ground.

5 And Noaḥ did according·​·to all that Jehovah commanded him.

6 And Noaḥ was a son of six hundred years, and the flood of waters was on the earth.

7 And Noaḥ came·​·in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, from before the waters of the flood.

8 Of the clean beast, and of the beast that is not clean, and of the fowl, and of all that creeps on the ground,

9 there came·​·in two and two to Noaḥ into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noaḥ.

10 And it was, after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were on the earth.

11 In the year six hundred of the years of the life of Noaḥ, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in this day all the fountains of the great abyss were split·​·open, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

12 And the shower was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 In this same day came Noaḥ, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noaḥ, and the wife of Noaḥ, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark.

14 They, and every wild·​·animal according·​·to its kind, and every beast according·​·to its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the land according·​·to its kind; and every fowl according·​·to its kind, every bird*, every winged thing.

15 And they came·​·in to Noaḥ into the ark, two and two of all flesh in which is the spirit of lives

16 And they who came·​·in, came·​·in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him. And Jehovah shut behind him.

17 And the flood was forty days on the earth, and the waters multiplied, and bore·​·up the ark, and it was lifted·​·high from on the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were multiplied exceedingly on the earth; and the ark went on the faces of the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed very exceedingly on the earth, and all the lofty mountains were covered that were under all the heavens.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and covered the mountains.

21 And all flesh expired that creeps on the land, as·​·to the fowl, and as·​·to the beast, and as·​·to the wild·​·animal, and as·​·to every crawling thing that crawls on the land; and all man.

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of lives, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23 And He wiped·​·away every being that was on the faces of the ground, from man even·​·to beast, even·​·to creeping thing, and even·​·to the fowl of the heavens; and they were wiped·​·away from the land; and Noaḥ only was·​·left, and that which was with him in the ark.

24 And the waters prevailed on the earth fifty and a hundred days.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 776

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776. '[Every] bird according to its kind' means all spiritual truth, 'flying things' means natural truth, and 'winged thing' sensory truth. This is clear from what has been stated and shown already about birds, as in 40. The most ancient people likened man's thoughts to birds, for in relation to things of the will, thoughts are like birds. Since bird, flying thing, and winged thing are mentioned here, and come consecutively in the way that intellectual concepts, rational concepts, and sensory impressions do in man, and to prevent anyone doubting that this is what they mean, let other places from the Word of a confirmatory nature be quoted, from which as well it will be evident that 'beasts' means such things as have been stated.

[2] In David,

You have given Him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet, flocks and all cattle, and also the beasts of the fields, the flying things of the air, 1 and the fish of the sea. Psalms 8:6-8.

This refers to the Lord, whose dominion over man and over what belongs to man is described in this fashion. If this were not so, what would 'dominion over beasts and birds' really be? In the same author,

Fruit tree and all cedars, wild animal and every beast, creeping thing and flying thing - they shall glorify the name of Jehovah. Psalms 148:9-10, 13.

'Fruit tree' is the celestial man, 'cedar' the spiritual man, 'wild animal and beast and creeping thing' the goods of these kinds of man, as in the present context. 'Flying thing' is their truths from which they are able to glorify the name of Jehovah. This a wild animal, a beast, a creeping thing, or a flying thing can never do. In secular literature such statements can be used as hyperbole, but in the Word of the Lord they are never just hyperbole but meaningful signs and representatives.

[3] In Ezekiel,

They start to tremble before Me - the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, 2 and the wild animals of the field, and every creeping thing creeping over the ground, and every man that is on the face 3 of the ground. Ezekiel 38:20.

The fact that 'beasts' and 'birds' here have such meanings is quite clear, for what would Jehovah's glory be if fish, birds, and beasts were to start to tremble? Could anyone think that such utterances are holy if they did not embody holy things within them? In Jeremiah,

I looked, and behold, there was no man; all the birds of the air 2 had fled. Jeremiah 4:15.

This stands for all good and truth. Here 'man' stands as well for good that stems from love. In the same prophet,

They have been laid waste so that no man passes through, neither do men hear the voice of the herd. From the birds of the air 2 down to beasts, they have scattered, they have gone away. Jeremiah 9:10.

This in a similar way stands for the departure of all truth and good.

[4] In the same prophet,

How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and the birds have perished, for men said, He will not see our latter end. Jeremiah 11:4.

Here 'beasts' stands for goods, and 'birds' for truths, which perished. In Zephaniah,

I will consume man and beast, I will consume the birds of the air 2 and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off mankind from the face 4 of the ground. Zephaniah 1:3.

Here 'man and beast' stands for the things which belong to love and good deriving from love, 'the birds of the air 2 and the fish of the sea' for those which belong to the understanding and so to truth. These are called 'stumbling-blocks' because for wicked people it is goods and truths, not beasts and birds, that are stumbling-blocks. These are also plainly referred to as man's. In David,

The trees of Jehovah are watered abundantly, and the cedars of Lebanon which He planted. In them flying things build their nests. Psalms 104:16-17.

'The trees of Jehovah and the cedars of Lebanon' stands for spiritual man, 'flying things' for his rational or natural truths which are like 'nests'. What is more, 'the birds build nests in the branches' was a common saying by which people meant truths, as in Ezekiel,

[5] On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bring forth a branch, and bear fruit, and it will become a noble cedar, and under it will dwell every flying thing of every sort, 5 in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezekiel 17:23.

This stands for the Church among gentiles which was spiritual and which is 'a noble cedar'. 'Birds of every sort' 5 stands for truths of every kind. In the same prophet,

In its branches all the birds of the air 2 made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field gave birth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezekiel 31:6.

This refers to Asshur, which is the spiritual Church and is called 'a cedar'. 'Birds of the air' 2 stands for its truths, 'beasts' for its goods.

[6] In Daniel,

Its branch was fair, and its fruit much, and food for all was on it. The beast of the field had shade under it, and in its branches dwelt the flying things of the air' 1 Daniel 4:12, 11.

Here 'beast' stands for goods, and 'flying thing of the air' 1 for truths. This may become clear to anyone, for what else would bird and beast dwelling there really be? The same applies to what the Lord said, The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a big tree so that the birds of the air 1 dwelt in its branches. Luke 13:19; Matthew 13:32; Mark 4:32.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, flying thing of the heavens (or the skies)

2. literally, bird of the heavens (or the skies)

3. literally, over the faces

4. literally, the faces

5. literally, of every wing

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