Bible

 

Josué 18

Studie

   

1 Y TODA la congregación de los hijos de Israel se juntó en Silo, y asentaron allí el tabernáculo del testimonio, después que la tierra les fué sujeta.

2 Mas habían quedado en los hijos de Israel siete tribus, á las cuales aun no habían repartido su posesión.

3 Y Josué dijo á los hijos de Israel: ¿Hasta cuando seréis negligentes para venir á poseer la tierra que os ha dado Jehová el Dios de vuestros padres?

4 Señalad tres varones de cada tribu, para que yo los envíe, y que ellos se levanten, y recorran la tierra, y la describan conforme á sus heredades, y se tornen á mí.

5 Y la dividirán en siete partes: y Judá estará en su término al mediodía, y los de la casa de José estarán en el suyo al norte.

6 Vosotros, pues, delinearéis la tierra en siete partes, y me traeréis la descripción aquí, y yo os echaré las suertes aquí delante de Jehová nuestro Dios.

7 Empero los Levitas ninguna parte tienen entre vosotros; porque el sacerdocio de Jehová es la heredad de ellos: Gad también y Rubén, y la media tribu de Manasés, ya han recibido su heredad de la otra parte del Jordán al oriente, la cual les dió Moisés sier

8 Levantándose pues aquellos varones, fueron: y mandó Josué á los que iban para delinear la tierra, diciéndoles: Id, recorred la tierra, y delineadla, y tornad á mí, para que yo os eche las suertes aquí delante de Jehová en Silo.

9 Fueron pues aquellos varones y pasearon la tierra, delineándola por ciudades en siete partes en un libro, y tornaron á Josué al campo en Silo.

10 Y Josué les echó las suertes delante de Jehová en Silo; y allí repartió Josué la tierra á los hijos de Israel por sus porciones.

11 Y sacóse la suerte de la tribu de los hijos de Benjamín por sus familias: y salió el término de su suerte entre los hijos de Judá y los hijos de José.

12 Y fué el término de ellos al lado del norte desde el Jordán: y sube aquel término al lado de Jericó al norte; sube después al monte hacia el occidente, y viene á salir al desierto de Beth-aven:

13 Y de allí pasa aquel término á Luz, por el lado de Luz (esta es Beth-el) hacia el mediodía. Y desciende este término de Ataroth-addar al monte que está al mediodía de Beth-oron la de abajo.

14 Y torna este término, y da vuelta al lado de la mar, al mediodía hasta el monte que está delante de Beth-oron al mediodía; y viene á salir á Chîriath-baal, que es Chîriath-jearim, ciudad de los hijos de Judá. Este es el lado del occidente.

15 Y el lado del mediodía es desde el cabo de Chîriath-jearim, y sale el término al occidente, y sale á la fuente de las aguas de Nephtoa:

16 Y desciende aqueste término al cabo del monte que está delante del valle del hijo de Hinnom, que está en la campiña de los gigantes hacia el norte: desciende luego al valle de Hinnom, al lado del Jebuseo al mediodía, y de allí desciende á la fuente de Rog

17 Y del norte torna y sale á Ensemes, y de allí sale á Geliloth, que está delante de la subida de Adummim, y descendía á la piedra de Bohan, hijo de Rubén:

18 Y pasa al lado que está delante de la campiña del norte, y desciende á los llanos:

19 Y torna á pasar este término por el lado de Beth-hogla hacia el norte, y viene á salir el término á la lengua del mar Salado al norte, al cabo del Jordán al mediodía. Este es el término de hacia el mediodía.

20 Y el Jordán acaba aqueste término al lado del oriente. Esta es la heredad de los hijos de Benjamín por sus términos alrededor, conforme á sus familias.

21 Las ciudades de la tribu de los hijos de Benjamín, por sus familias, fueron Jericó, Beth-hogla, y el valle de Casis,

22 Beth-araba, Samaraim, y Beth-el;

23 Y Avim, y Para, y Ophra,

24 Y Cephar-hammonai, Ophni, y Gaba; doce ciudades con sus aldeas:

25 Gabaón, Rama, Beeroth,

26 Y Mizpa, Chephira, y Moza,

27 Recom, Irpeel y Tarala,

28 Y Sela, Eleph, Jebus, que es Jerusalem, Gibeath, y Chîriath; catorce ciudades con sus aldeas. Esta es la heredad de los hijos de Benjamín, conforme á sus familias.

   

Komentář

 

Exploring the Meaning of Joshua 18

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Joshua 18: The rest of the land is divided up among the 7 remaining tribes, and the tribe of Benjamin receives its lot.

After several chapters covering the allocation of the land for Reuben, Gad, Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh, there were still seven tribes to be provided for. Before this was done, Joshua gathered these seven tribes together and told them to choose three men from each tribe. These men went and surveyed the region, divided up all the land and cities into seven parts, and recorded everything in a book. Then they came back to Joshua, who cast lots to decide where the seven remaining tribes would live.

The first of the seven allocations was for the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the youngest of the sons of Jacob, and he was a full brother to Joseph. Their mother, Rachel, whom Jacob had loved so much, died giving birth to Benjamin.

The city of Jerusalem was first allocated to Benjamin, but in time became more associated with Judah. In fact, these were the two tribes which later made up the kingdom of Judah, as opposed to the ten northern tribes forming the kingdom of Israel. Benjamin’s territory included the cities of Jericho, Ai and Gibeon, all of which had been significant soon after Israel crossed the River Jordan. Saul, the first king of Israel, was a Benjamite.

This story about surveying the land represents our need to know things as they truly are. This could mean many things: for example, exploring the idea of heaven, or hell, or life in this world, or a spiritual teaching such as providence. It might be to learn about justice and compassion, or true freedom. It may be our need to look honestly within ourselves and recognize some of our self-centred ways (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 1612).

The Israelite’s findings about the land were recorded in a book, which really would have been a scroll. This is like our ‘book of life’, in which everything about us down to the least detail is preserved so that in eternity, we shall know who we are (see Swedenborg’s Apocalypse Explained 199). Joshua drew lots so the Lord’s will would be clear to the people of Israel.

The spiritual meaning of Benjamin needs some careful explanation. Technically, it means ’the spiritual of the celestial’, and this is our ability to understand the reason for the most loving experiences we can have. It is heightened thinking joining with heightened feeling. Benjamin was the youngest son, the special brother of Joseph, who stands for the Lord (Arcana Caelestia 4585).

With this in mind, it is useful to know that Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, lay in the territory of Benjamin. Bethlehem’s name means ‘house of bread’ giving us the idea of nourishment for our physical and our spiritual lives. God came into the world to bring us the food of heaven and nourishment from the Word, so that we may fight our evils and choose what is good (Arcana Caelestia 6247, 4594).

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 4594

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

4594. 'That is, Bethlehem' means a new spiritual of the celestial raised up in place of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'Bethlehem' as the spiritual of the celestial within the new state, for 'Ephrath' is the spiritual of the celestial within the initial state, 4585, while her burial there means the raising up of a new state, 4593. The fact that Bethlehem was the place where Rachel gave birth to her second son, Benjamin, and died in giving birth to him, also the place where David was born and where he was anointed king, and finally the place where the Lord was born, involves an arcanum which has not yet been revealed. Nor could it have been revealed to anyone who did not know what was meant by 'Ephrath' and by 'Bethlehem', and what was represented by 'Benjamin' and also by 'David'. Least of all could it have been revealed to anyone who did not know what the spiritual of the celestial was; for this is what was meant spiritually by those places and what was represented by those personages.

[2] The reason the Lord was born there and nowhere else was that He alone has been born a spiritual-celestial man. Everyone else has been born a natural man with the ability or capacity to become, through regeneration by the Lord, either celestial or spiritual. The Lord was born a spiritual-celestial man to the end that He might make His Human Divine, doing so according to order from the lowest degree to the highest, and so would bring order to everything in the heavens and everything in the hells. For the spiritual of the celestial is an intermediate part between the natural or external man and the rational or internal man, see above in 4585, 4592, so that below it there was the natural or external, and above it the rational or internal.

[3] Until he can grasp these things no one will ever come to understand in the light of any revelation at all why the Lord was born in Bethlehem. From most ancient times 'Ephrath' meant the spiritual of the celestial, as therefore did 'Bethlehem' subsequently. This now explains why the following words occur in David,

He swore to Jehovah, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob, If I enter the tent of my house, if I go up onto the couch of my bed, if I give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for Jehovah, dwelling-places for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrath, we found Him in the fields of the forest; we will enter His dwelling-places, and bow down at His footstool. Psalms 132:2-7.

It is quite evident that these words are used to refer to the Lord. In the original language the pronoun 'Him' in 'we have heard of Him' and in 'we have found Him' is expressed by a letter added to the end of the verb - by the letter H, taken from the name Jehovah.

[4] And in Micah,

You, Bethlehem Ephrath, it is little that you are among the thousands of Judah; from you will come forth for Me one who will be ruler in Israel; and His origins are from of old, from the days of eternity Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6.

From these prophecies it was well known to the Jewish people that the Messiah or Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, as is clear in Matthew,

Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people Herod inquired of them where the Christ (the Messiah) was to be born. They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea. Matthew 2:4-5.

And in John,

The Jews said, Does not the Scripture say that the Christ (the Messiah) is going to come from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the city where David was? John 7:42.

His birth did in fact take place there, see Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7. For this reason also, and because He was descended from David, the Lord is called 'a shoot from the stem of Jesse', and 'the root of Jesse', Isaiah 11:1, 10. For Jesse, David's father, was a Bethlehemite, and David was born there and also anointed king there, 1 Samuel 16:1-14; 17:12, for which reason Bethlehem was called the city of David, Luke 2:4, 11; John 7:42. David in particular represents the Lord's kingship or Divine Truth, 1888.

  
/ 10837  
  

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