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Genesis 6

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1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 588

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588. The Lord is referred to as repenting and grieving in heart however because all human mercy seems to involve those feelings. Consequently as is the case many times elsewhere in the Word, the manner of speaking here is in accordance with the outward appearance. Nobody can know what the Lord's mercy is, for it infinitely transcends all human understanding. But one does know what human mercy is; it is repenting and grieving. And unless a person grasps the idea of mercy from some different feeling whose nature he knows, he can have no possible conception of it and so cannot learn anything about it. This is the reason why human characteristics are frequently attributed to Jehovah, or the Lord - for example, that Jehovah or the Lord punishes, leads into temptation, destroys, and burns with anger, when in fact He never punishes anybody, never leads anybody into temptation, never destroys anybody, and never burns with anger. Now seeing that such things are attributed to the Lord, repentance and grief may be attributed as well, for the attribution of the one follows on from that of the other, as is quite clear from the following places in the Word:

[2] In Ezekiel,

My anger will be accomplished, I will make My wrath die down again, and I will repent. Ezekiel 5:13.

Here, because 'anger' and 'wrath' are attributed to Him, 'repenting' is attributed as well. In Zechariah,

As I thought to do Evil when your fathers provoked Me to anger, said Jehovah Zebaoth, and I did not repent, so again I will think in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Zechariah 8:14-15.

Here it is said that Jehovah 'thought to do evil', when in fact He never thinks to do evil to anyone, but good to every single human being. And when Moses sought to placate the face 1 of Jehovah, Turn from the heat of Your anger, and repent over the evil of Your people. And Jehovah repented over the evil which He said He would do to His people. Exodus 32:12, 14.

Here also the heat of anger, and consequently repentance, is ascribed to Jehovah. In Jonah,

The king of Ninevah [said], Who knows, God may turn and repent, and turn from the heat of His anger, and we shall not perish! Jonah 3:9.

Here similarly 'repentance' is attributed to Him because 'anger' is also.

[3] In Hosea,

My heart has turned within Me, and at the same time My repentings have been kindled; I will not execute the heat of My anger. Hosea 11:8-9.

Here 'repentings having been kindled', said of the heart, is similar in meaning to 'He was grieved in heart'. 'Repentings' clearly stands for abundant mercy. Similarly in Joel,

Return to Jehovah your God, for He is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, abounding in mercy, and repenting of evil. Joel 2:13.

Here again 'repenting' quite clearly means mercy. In Jeremiah,

It may be they will listen and every man turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil. Jeremiah 26:3.

'Repent' stands for having mercy. In the same prophet,

If that nation turns from its evil, I will repent of the evil. Jeremiah 18:8.

Here also 'repenting' stands for having mercy on them if only they would turn back, for it is man who turns the Lord's mercy away from himself. It is never the Lord who turns it away from man.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, the faces

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