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1 Mosebok 16

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1 Sarai, Abrams hustru, fødte ham ikke barn; men hun hadde en egyptisk trælkvinne, som hette Hagar.

2 Og Sarai sa til Abram: Se, Herren har nektet mig barn; gå derfor inn til min trælkvinne! Kanskje jeg kunde få et barn ved henne. Og Abram lød Sarais råd.

3 Så tok Sarai, Abrams hustru, og lot Abram, sin mann, få egypterkvinnen Hagar, som var hennes trælkvinne, til hustru; da var det ti år siden Abram hadde bosatt sig i Kana'ans land.

4 Og han gikk inn til Hagar, og hun blev fruktsommelig; men da hun så at hun var blitt fruktsommelig, ringeaktet hun sin frue.

5 Da sa Sarai til Abram: Den urett jeg lider, er du skyld i; jeg har selv gitt min trælkvinne i din favn; men nu, da hun ser at hun er fruktsommelig, ringeakter hun mig; Herren skal dømme mellem mig og dig.

6 Da sa Abram til Sarai: Se, din trælkvinne råder du selv over; gjør med henne som du synes. Og Sarai var hård mot henne, og hun rømte fra henne.

7 Men Herrens engel fant henne ved vannkilden i ørkenen, ved kilden på veien til Sur.

8 Og han sa: Hagar, Sarais trælkvinne, hvor kommer du fra, og hvor akter du dig hen? Hun svarte: Jeg har flyktet fra min frue Sarai.

9 Da sa Herrens engel til henne: Gå tilbake til din frue, og bøi dig under henne!

10 Og Herrens engel sa til henne: Jeg vil gjøre din ætt så tallrik at den ikke skal kunne telles for mengde.

11 Og Herrens engel sa videre til henne: Se, du er fruktsommelig og skal føde en sønn, og du skal kalle ham Ismael*; for Herren har hørt din nød. / {* Gud hører.}

12 Og han skal bli et vill-asen av et menneske; hans hånd skal være mot alle, og alles hånd mot ham; og han skal bo østenfor alle sine brødre.

13 Og hun gav Herren, som hadde talt med henne, navnet "Du er Gud, den som ser". For hun sa: Har jeg virkelig fått se ham som ser mig?

14 Derfor kaller de brønnen Lakai o'is brønn*; den ligger mellem Kades og Bered. / {* d.e. den levendes brønn som ser mig.}

15 Og Hagar fødte Abram en sønn; og Abram kalte den sønn som Hagar hadde født ham, Ismael.

16 Abram var seks og åtti år gammel da Hagar fødte ham Ismael.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 1936

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1936. 'Return to your mistress' means that the reply indicated the first rational ought not to place trust in itself but in interior truth and the affection for it. This is clear from the meaning of 'mistress' as the affection for interior truth. As for the specific meanings of 'Sarai', 'wife Sarai', and 'mistress Sarai', these cannot be described as no ideas exist to make them intelligible. They are things that lie, as stated already, beyond the understanding even of angels. Here a mere intimation is given of the manner in which the Lord thought regarding the appearances which held the attention of His first rational - namely that no trust ought to be placed in such appearances but in Divine truths themselves, no matter how hard to believe these truths might appear to be to that rational. This is so with all Divine truths; that is, if the rational is consulted regarding those truths they cannot possibly be believed, for they transcend its whole range of understanding. Take for example the truth that no man, spirit, or angel, only the Lord, lives of himself, and that the life a man, spirit, or angel has is but an outward appearance of life with him. To the rational, which judges from illusions, this is repugnant; nevertheless it ought to be believed because it is the truth.

[2] It is a Divine truth that in the Word every expression, which to man seems to be utterly simple and unwrought, possesses an incalculable number of facets, more in fact than the whole of heaven. And the arcana contained there can be displayed by the Lord to angels in unending variety continuing for ever. To the rational this is so hard to believe that it is never willing to give any credence to it. Nevertheless it is the truth.

[3] It is a Divine truth that nobody is ever rewarded in the next life for good deeds if he has set merit by them, and if he has done them for the sake of his own gain, position, and reputation. Nor is anyone ever punished for bad deeds if he has acted with a truly good end in view; for in the next life it is the ends that are regarded, and deeds in the light of those ends. This too the rational is not able to believe, but because this which it does not believe is the truth, no trust should be placed in a rational which does not base its conclusions on internal things but on external.

[4] It is a Divine truth that the one who seeks the least joy in the next life receives the greatest from the Lord, and the one who seeks the greatest has the least; also that within heavenly joy there is never any element of being pre-eminent over another, for insofar as such pre-eminence occurs hell is present; also that within heavenly glory there is not the least trace of worldly glory. These considerations too are repugnant to the rational; but they ought nevertheless to be believed because they are true.

[5] It is also a Divine truth that the more someone believes that none of his wisdom originates in himself the wiser he is, and the more he believes it does originate there, and so attributes sound judgement to himself, the more stupid he is. This too the rational denies, for it supposes that what does not originate in itself is nothing. Countless Divine truths exist such as these few given as examples, which show that no trust should be placed in the rational, since the rational is immersed in illusions and appearances. It therefore rejects truths when these are stripped of illusions and appearances, all the more rejecting them the more that self-love and its desires are present, as well as reasonings, and false assumptions regarding faith. See also the examples presented above in 1911.

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