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Josvas 6

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1 Jeriko holdt sine porter stengt og var fast tillukket for Israels barns skyld; ingen gikk ut, og ingen kom inn.

2 Da sa Herren til Josva: Se, jeg har gitt Jeriko med kongen og de djerve stridsmenn i din hånd.

3 La nu alle krigsmennene gå omkring byen, rundt om den én gang! Således skal du gjøre i seks dager;

4 og syv prester skal bære syv larmbasuner foran arken; men den syvende dag skal I gå syv ganger omkring byen, og prestene skal støte i basunene.

5 Og når de blåser i larmhornet med lange toner, og I hører basunklangen, skal hele folket sette i et stort skrik; da skal byens mur falle ned der hvor den står, så folket kan stige inn over den, enhver rett frem for sig.

6 Da kalte Josva, Nuns sønn, prestene til sig og sa til dem: I skal bære paktens ark, og syv prester skal bære syv larmbasuner foran Herrens ark.

7 Og til folket sa han: Dra frem og gå omkring byen, og de væbnede menn skal dra frem foran Herrens ark.

8 Da Josva hadde sagt dette til folket, gikk de frem de syv prester som bar de syv larmbasuner for Herrens åsyn; de støtte i basunene, og Herrens pakts-ark fulgte efter dem.

9 Og de væbnede menn gikk foran prestene som støtte i basunene, og de som endte toget, gikk efter arken, mens der ustanselig støttes i basunene.

10 Og Josva bød folket og sa: I skal ikke opløfte hærrop og ikke la eders røst høre; det skal ikke gå et ord ut av eders munn før den dag jeg sier til eder: op nu! Da skal I rope.

11 Så gikk Herrens ark omkring byen, rundt om den, én gang; derefter drog de inn i leiren og blev der natten over.

12 Morgenen efter stod Josva tidlig op, og prestene bar Herrens ark.

13 Og de syv prester som bar de syv larmbasuner foran Herrens ark, gikk og støtte ustanselig i basunene, og de væbnede menn gikk foran dem, og de som endte toget, gikk efter Herrens ark, mens der ustanselig støttes i basunene.

14 Således gikk de den annen dag én gang omkring byen og vendte så tilbake til leiren; dette gjorde de i seks dager.

15 Den syvende dag stod de tidlig op, med det samme det tok til å dages, og gikk syv ganger omkring byen; de bar sig at på samme vis som før, bare at de denne dag gikk syv ganger omkring byen.

16 Og da prestene den syvende gang støtte i basunene, da sa Josva til folket: op nu! For Herren har gitt eder byen.

17 Og byen med alt det som i den er, skal være vidd til Herren og bannlyst, bare skjøgen ahab skal få leve, med alle som er i huset hos henne, fordi hun skjulte de menn vi hadde utsendt.

18 Men ta eder vel i vare for det som er bannlyst, at I ikke først slår med bann og så tar av det som er bannlyst, og således legger Israels leir under bann og fører den i ulykke.

19 Men alt sølv og gull og alle ting som er av kobber og jern, skal være helliget til Herren og komme i Herrens skattkammer.

20 ropte folket, og de støtte i basunene; og det skjedde da folket hørte basunklangen, og de satte i et stort skrik, da falt muren helt sammen, og folket steg bent inn i byen og inntok den.

21 Og de slo alt det som var i byen, med bann; både menn og kvinner, både unge og gamle, storfe og småfe og asener slo de med sverdets egg.

22 Men til de to menn som hadde utspeidet landet, sa Josva: Gå inn i skjøgens hus og før kvinnen og alle dem som hører henne til, ut derfra, således som I har tilsvoret henne.

23 De unge menn som hadde vært speidere, gikk da inn og førte ahab ut av huset og likeså hennes far og mor og brødre og alle som hørte henne til; hele hennes slekt førte de ut og lot dem få opholde sig et sted utenfor Israels leir.

24 Men byen med alt det som i den var, brente de op med ild; bare sølvet og gullet og alle ting som var av kobber og jern, la de ned i skattkammeret i Herrens hus.

25 Men skjøgen ahab og hennes fars slekt og alle dem som hørte henne til, lot Josva leve; hun blev boende blandt Israels folk inntil denne dag, fordi hun skjulte de menn som Josva hadde sendt for å utspeide Jeriko.

26 Dengang lot Josva folket sverge denne ed: Forbannet for Herrens åsyn være den mann som tar sig fore å bygge op igjen denne by Jeriko! Når han legger dens grunnvoll, skal det koste ham hans førstefødte sønn, og når han setter op dens porter, skal det koste ham hans yngste.

27 Og Herren var med Josva, og ryktet om ham kom ut over hele landet.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 55

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55. And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. That this signifies clear perception of Divine truth to be revealed from heaven, is evident from the signification of hearing, as denoting to perceive and obey (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 2542, 3869, 4653, 5017, 7216, 8361, 8990, 9311, 9397); from the signification of "behind me," as denoting clearly, concerning which more will be said in what follows; from the signification of a voice, when heard from heaven, as denoting Divine truth (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 219, 220, 3563, 6971, 8813, 8914), and from the signification of a trumpet, as denoting what was to be revealed from heaven, concerning which we shall also speak presently. The reason why "behind me" signifies clearly is, because those things that flow from heaven into the affection of man, flow into the back part of the head, and thus enter clearly into his perception; for the things which enter into the affection are perceived clearly, all the life of perception being from that source; but the things that flow from heaven immediately into the thought, flow into the part above the forehead. (Concerning this influx see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell 251.) It is therefore evident what is signified by John's hearing behind him, and by his afterwards turning to see the voice which spake with him. The reason why a trumpet, or horn, signifies Divine truth to be revealed from heaven, is, because Divine truth is sometimes so heard when it flows down from the Lord through the heavens to man; for it becomes louder in its descent and thus flows in. But it is heard in this way only in the beginning, by those to whom Divine truth is to be revealed in the ultimate sense, which is representative of interior things; afterwards it is heard as a human voice.

[2] From these considerations it is evident why it is that the voice of a trumpet, or horn, signifies Divine truth that must be revealed from heaven. He who knows that a horn or trumpet signifies Divine truth from heaven, will be able to understand several passages in the Word in which they are mentioned; as in Matthew:

"He shall send angels with a great voice of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the elect from the four winds" (24:31).

In Isaiah:

"All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, when the sign of the mountains is lifted up, behold; and when the trumpet is sounded, hear" (18:3).

In Jeremiah:

"Proclaim with the trumpet in the land. Set up the standard towards Zion. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is stupid: they are foolish sons, and have no understanding" (4:5, 6, 21, 22).

In the same prophet:

"I have set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the voice of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear ye nations" (6:17, 18).

In Ezekiel:

"He heard the voice of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his soul" (33:5).

And in Hosea:

"Set the trumpet to thy mouth, because they have transgressed my covenant, and have trespassed against my law" (8:1).

And in Zechariah:

"The Lord Jehovih shall sound with the trumpet, and shall go forth in whirlwinds of the south" (9:14).

And in David:

"God goeth up with a shout, and Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet" (Psalm 47:5).

And also in Apoc. 4:1; 8:2, 7, 8, 13; 9:1, 13, 14; 10:7; 18:22. Because a trumpet signified Divine truth, therefore when Divine truth had first to be revealed before the people of Israel, the voices of a trumpet were heard from Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16). Hence, therefore, to sound with a trumpet became a representative with them, when they were convoked, when they journeyed, and also in their solemnities, in the beginnings of months, at burnt offerings and peace offerings (Numbers 10:1-10). They also sounded with trumpets when they went to battle against the Midianites (Numbers 31:6); and when they took the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:4-20); for those wars and battles signified spiritual combats, which are combats of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 6971

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6971. 'And do not hear the voice of the former sign' means that if they did not obey what was declared by the Word, then instead of being spiritual and rational they would become people who were not spiritual or rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing' as obeying, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 5017; from the meaning of 'the voice' as what is declared by the Word, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the former sign' as an indication that instead of being spiritual and rational they would become people who were not spiritual or rational. The truth of this may be seen from the meaning of 'the serpent' that was made out of Moses' rod when it was thrown onto the earth - the event to which 'the first sign' refers here - as a person who thinks on a sensory and bodily level, 6949, and so is not spiritual or rational. For a person who is sensory- and bodily-minded is not rational, and so is not spiritual either, because he thinks things that are false and desires those that are evil. One who behaves like this is not rational, still less spiritual, for an acceptance of and belief in what is true, together with a life of goodness, since these two come from the Divine, constitute true spirituality within rationality, whereas an acceptance of and belief in what is false, together with a life of evil, are the opposite. For the fact that wholly sensory- and bodily-minded people are like this, see 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949.

[2] Those people become wholly sensory- and bodily-minded who have first had a knowledge of things that belong to the spiritual world but after that have rejected them, and then have adopted fundamental ideas of falsity that are contrary to truths and focused their lives solely on worldly, bodily, and earthly values. They have consequently come to believe that life is meant to be filled with pleasures of every kind, saying, 'What more does a person have while he is alive? When we die, we die; as for the possibility of life after death, has anyone ever come back to talk about it? We have no knowledge of anything that will go on living when the life goes out of a person.' If anyone using rational arguments induces those people to give any thought to eternal life, they think that nothing worse will happen to them than to anyone else, and they immediately go back to living in the way they had done previously. With such people the passageway for the light of heaven to flow in is closed, and at the natural level of their minds the light of heaven is turned into thick darkness, while the light of the world there becomes brightness, 6907, a brightness that shines ever more brilliantly, the more that the light of heaven is darkened. This is why such people do not see the evil in their lives as anything other than goodness, or consequently the false ideas as anything other than true. Here then is the reason why a person becomes sensory- and bodily-minded. In short, once the way is opened for the light of heaven to flow in and then closed, a person is impelled to look downwards, and not upwards. This is done in keeping with Divine order so as to prevent truths once accepted and remaining in a person's inner self from being contaminated by falsities and thereby rendered profane.

[3] The same applies to gentiles who fall away from their religion, though their lot is better than that of people within the Church since what they possess are not truths from the Word, not genuine truths therefore but truths coupled with many misconceptions, which cannot be profaned in the way genuine ones can.

As regards the meaning of 'the voice' as that which is declared by the Word, it should be recognized that frequent use is made of the expression 'the voice'. It is also linked to other things that have nothing to do with a voice, such as the linking of it here to 'the sign' - 'If they do not hear the voice of the former sign they will believe the voice of the latter sign' - and also elsewhere, for example in Nahum,

The voice of the whip and the voice of the sound of the wheel. Nahum 3:2.

And in David,

The rivers have lifted up their voice, more than the voices of many mighty waters. Psalms 93:3-4.

[4] The fact that 'the voice' means a declaration, in the good sense a declaration by the Word, when it is called 'the voice of Jehovah', is clear in David,

The voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is glorious; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah flashes forth flames of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve, and strips the forests bare. Psalms 29:3-5; Psalms 7-9.

And elsewhere in the same author,

. . . to Him who rides above the heavens of heavens of old. Behold, He will put forth His voice, a mighty voice. Psalms 68:33.

Here 'voice' stands for Divine Truth, and so for the Word and a declaration made by it. For what more is meant by 'voice', see 219; and for its use in reference to truth, 3563.

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