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Genesis 39

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1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.

16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.

17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:

18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 4874

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4874. 'And she said, Your seal' means a token of consent. This is clear from the meaning of 'a seal' as a token of consent. The reason 'a seal' means a token of consent is that in ancient times decrees were authenticated by means of one, and therefore 'a seal' strictly speaking means authentication itself, and so a witness to the truth of the matter. Tamar's demand for his seal, cord, and rod as a pledge that the kid of the she-goats (which subsequently she did not accept) would be sent holds an arcanum which cannot in any way be known without the internal sense. The arcanum is this: 'A kid of the she-goats' meant that which belonged to genuine marriage, and consequently meant everything internal, for everything genuine is at the same time something internal. But nothing like this existed on Judah's side, and therefore, as is evident from what follows, Tamar did not accept the kid of the she-goats, but instead took something external with which the internal aspect of the Church, meant by 'Tamar', could be joined. The external aspect of the Church is meant by the seal, cord, and rod - actual consent by 'the seal', external truth by 'the cord', and the power of that truth by 'the rod'. These are also pledges assuring a joining to the external or natural man.

[2] The joining of internal truth to something external, that is, to the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation, is represented by Tamar's being joined to Judah as a daughter-in-law joined to her father-in-law under the pretext that the duty of a near kinsman was being performed. But the joining of the semblance of religion existing among the Jewish nation to the internal aspect of the Church is represented by Judah's being joined to Tamar as to a prostitute. This is exactly what these joinings together are like, but it is not so easy to give an intelligible explanation of the essential nature of them. Their essential nature is laid quite bare before the eyes of angels and good spirits, for it is set before them in the light of heaven. In this light the arcana of the Word are laid bare in broad daylight so to speak, quite unlike their appearance in the light of the world which man sees by. Let just a brief word be said about this. The representatives which had been established among the descendants of Jacob were not exactly the same as those which existed in the Ancient Church. For the most part they were like those in the Church established by Eber, which was called the Hebrew Church. Within this Church many new forms of worship existed, such as burnt offerings and sacrifices, which had been unknown in the Ancient Church, and other forms besides these. To these representatives the internal aspect of the Church was not linked in the way it had been to the representatives of the Ancient Church. But in what way the internal aspect of the Church was linked to the representatives among the Jewish nation, and these representatives to that internal aspect, is described in the internal sense by Tamar's being joined to Judah as a daughter-in-law to her father-in-law under the pretext that the duty of a near kinsman was being performed, and by Judah's being joined to Tamar as to a prostitute. Regarding the Hebrew Church, see 1238, 1241, 1327, 1343, 3031, 4516, 4517; and for information about the sacrifices offered in this Church not being a feature of the Ancient Church, 923, 1128, 1343, 2180, 2818.

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