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1 Y aconteció después de la muerte de Josué, que los hijos de Israel consultaron al SEÑOR, diciendo: ¿Quién subirá por nosotros el primero a pelear contra los cananeos?

2 Y el SEÑOR respondió: Judá subirá; he aquí que yo he entregado la tierra en sus manos.

3 Y Judá dijo a Simeón su hermano: Sube conmigo a mi suerte, y peleemos contra el cananeo, y yo también iré contigo a tu suerte. Y Simeón fue con él.

4 Y subió Judá, y el SEÑOR entregó en sus manos al cananeo y al ferezeo; y de ellos hirieron en Bezec a diez mil hombres.

5 Y hallaron a Adoni-bezec en Bezec, y pelearon contra él; e hirieron al cananeo y al ferezeo.

6 Mas Adoni-bezec huyó; y le siguieron, y le prendieron, y le cortaron los pulgares de las manos y de los pies.

7 Entonces dijo Adoni-bezec: Setenta reyes, cortados los pulgares de sus manos y de sus pies, cogían las migajas debajo de mi mesa; como yo hice, así me ha pagado Dios. Y le metieron en Jerusalén, donde murió.

8 Ya habían combatido los hijos de Judá a Jerusalén, y la habían tomado, y metido a cuchillo, y puesto a fuego la ciudad.

9 Después los hijos de Judá descendieron para pelear contra el cananeo que habitaba en las montañas, y al mediodía, y en los llanos.

10 Y partió Judá contra el cananeo que habitaba en Hebrón, la cual se llamaba antes Quiriat-arba; e hirieron a Sesai, a Ahiman, y a Talmai.

11 Y de allí fue a los que habitaban en Debir, que antes se llamaba Quiriat-sefer.

12 Y dijo Caleb: El que hiriere a Quiriat-sefer, y la tomare, yo le daré a Acsa mi hija por mujer.

13 Y la tomó Otoniel hijo de Cenaz, hermano menor de Caleb; y él le dio a Acsa su hija por mujer.

14 Y cuando la llevaban, la persuadió que pidiese a su padre tierras para labrar. Y ella se bajó del asno, y Caleb le dijo: ¿Qué tienes?

15 Ella entonces le respondió: Dame una bendición; que pues me has dado tierra de secadal, me des también fuentes de aguas. Entonces Caleb le dio las fuentes de arriba y las fuentes de abajo.

16 Y los hijos del cineo, suegro de Moisés, subieron de la ciudad de las palmas con los hijos de Judá al desierto de Judá, que está al mediodía de Arad; y fueron y habitaron con el pueblo.

17 Y fue Judá a su hermano Simeón, e hirieron al cananeo que habitaba en Sefat, y la asolaron; y pusieron por nombre a la ciudad, Horma.

18 Tomó también Judá a Gaza con su término, y a Ascalón con su término, y a Ecrón con su término.

19 Y el SEÑOR estaba con Judá, quien echó a los de las montañas; mas no pudo echar a los que habitaban en los llanos, los cuales tenían carros herrados.

20 Y dieron Hebrón a Caleb, como Moisés había dicho; y él echó de allí tres hijos de Anac.

21 Mas al jebuseo que habitaba en Jerusalén, no lo echaron los hijos de Benjamín, y así el jebuseo habitó con los hijos de Benjamín en Jerusalén hasta hoy.

22 También los de la casa de José subieron a Bet-el; y el SEÑOR estaba con ellos.

23 Y los de la casa de José pusieron espías en Bet-el. (La ciudad antes se llamaba Luz.)

24 Y los que espiaban vieron un hombre que salía de la ciudad, y le dijeron: Muéstranos ahora la entrada de la ciudad, y haremos contigo misericordia.

25 Y él les mostró la entrada a la ciudad, y la hirieron a filo de espada; mas dejaron a aquel hombre con toda su familia.

26 Y el hombre se fue a la tierra de los heteos, y edificó una ciudad, a la cual llamó Luz; y éste es su nombre hasta hoy.

27 Tampoco Manasés echó a los de Bet-seán, ni a los de sus aldeas, ni a los de Taanac y sus aldeas, ni a los que habitaban en Dor y en sus aldeas, ni a los que habitaban en Ibleam y en sus aldeas, ni a los que habitaban en Meguido y en sus aldeas; mas el cananeo quiso habitar en esta tierra.

28 Pero cuando Israel tomó fuerzas hizo al cananeo tributario, mas no lo echó.

29 Tampoco Efraín echó al cananeo que habitaba en Gezer; antes habitó el cananeo en medio de él en Gezer.

30 Tampoco Zabulón echó a los que habitaban en Quitrón y a los que habitaban en Naalal; mas el cananeo habitó en medio de él, y le fueron tributarios.

31 Tampoco Aser echó a los que habitaban en Aco, y a los que habitaban en Sidón, y en Ahlab, y en Aczib, y en Helba, y en Afec, y en Rehob;

32 antes moró Aser entre los cananeos que habitaban en la tierra; pues no los echó.

33 Tampoco Neftalí echó a los que habitaban en Bet-semes, y a los que habitaban en Bet-anat, sino que moró entre los cananeos que habitaban en la tierra; mas le fueron tributarios los moradores de Bet-semes, y los moradores de Bet-anat.

34 Los amorreos apretaron a los hijos de Dan hasta el monte; que no los dejaron descender a la campiña.

35 Y quiso el amorreo habitar en el monte de Heres, en Ajalón y en Saalbim; mas cuando la mano de la casa de José tomó fuerzas, los hicieron tributarios.

36 Y el término del amorreo fue desde la subida de Acrabim, desde la piedra, y arriba.

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Exploring the Meaning of Judges 1

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

Judges 1: The continuing conquest of Canaan.

The book of Judges follows on almost seamlessly from Joshua. It is called ‘Judges’ because a number of regional leaders arose and made judgments for the people, often actively defending Israel from outside oppression. A pattern emerges in Judges: Israel disobeys the Lord – an enemy oppresses Israel – the Lord raises a leader – the leader is victorious against the enemy – there is peace for a time – Israel disobeys the Lord again.

There were twelve judges in all, about whom we either hear very much or next to nothing. The number twelve (as with the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve disciples, and other examples in the Word), stands for all the various aspects of spirituality that we need to understand, develop, and put to use. A clue is often found in the meaning of their names, because biblical names are nearly always linked to spiritual qualities, such as ‘courage’, or ‘one who walks with God’ (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 10216).

The theme of this first chapter is the further conquest of the land. The Israelites asked the Lord, “Who shall go up and fight for us?” And the Lord said that the tribe of Judah would go, because the Lord had delivered the land into their hand. Judah then called on the tribe of Simeon to join them, and they won many battles against the Canaanites still in the land.

One Canaanite king, Adoni-bezek, fled and was captured by the Israelites, who then cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adoni-bezek said that God had dealt justice by punishing him, as he had previously cut off seventy kings’ thumbs and big toes, and they had to gather scraps of food under his table.

Then Caleb, a leader of Israel during the journey through the wilderness, said that the man who took Kirjath-sepher (Caleb’s inheritance city) from the Canaanites would marry his daughter, Achsah. Caleb’s nephew, Othniel, took the city and Achsah was given to him. Achsah asked her father for the blessing of springs of water, and Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Next, spies were sent to Bethel. They met a man there, and said that if he directed them the entrance to the city, they would show him mercy. He helped them, and they took the city but showed mercy on the man and all his family. After all of this, the man built a new city called Luz in the land of the Hittites.

The chapter ends by listing the twelve tribes, as well as the Canaanite peoples who remained unsubdued in each of their territories.

*****

The overarching spiritual theme of Judges is the process of our regeneration. As the opening of Judges reminds us, there were still parts of the land and various tribes that Israel needed to conquer. In fact, the Israelites never finished driving enemies out of their land. In the same way, we need to control our inherited human nature, but it is never completely wiped out (see Swedenborg’s work, Divine Love and Wisdom 238).

During regeneration, we will discover deeper and subtler self-centered states in ourselves, which need to be mitigated. Each judge raised by the Lord stands for our determination to deal with these states, using the Word as a guide. This brings us a period of peace, followed by the start of another personal discovery.

When the Israelites chose which tribes would fight for them, it was no coincidence that they selected Judah and Simeon. Judah (who was a prominent tribe of Israel) and Simeon (who usually acts with another tribe) stand for the highest things in our spiritual life: our love for the Lord, and our obedience to the Lord’s Word. Choosing Judah and Simeon as our strength will always bring victory in our regeneration (see Arcana Caelestia 3654 and Apocalypse Explained 443).

The spiritual meaning in the story of Adoni-bezek is about taking away the power of our self-love, as cutting off thumbs and big toes makes hands and feet virtually useless. When we work on our lower nature, we are to minimize its control over us. It is the same with any influences from hell; their power must end. Adoni-bezek’s comment about doing the same to seventy kings vividly describes how self-love can only lead to our downfall (Arcana Caelestia 10062[4]).

The delightful story of Caleb, Achsah and Othniel illustrates that after battle, there is rest and reward. In the same way, we strengthen the ‘marriage’ of good and truth in us after overcoming spiritual struggles (see Swedenborg’s work, Divine Love and Wisdom 409). The springs of water given to Achsah stand for the truths which flow into our mind, both about the ‘upper’ things of the Lord and heaven, and those ‘lower’ ones about spiritual life and responsibility.

The episode about the man from Bethel means that when we open up our life to the Lord to allow Him to guide us, we become blessed (Arcana Caelestia 3928). Then our life can be re-built in very practical and good ways, represented by the Hittites.

The final mention of the Canaanites still in the land points to the continuing presence of our unregenerate qualities. Although we may progress through the work of regeneration, we are still human, and we will always have flaws left to improve on.

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Arcana Coelestia # 3928

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3928. 'And she called his name Naphtali' means the essential nature of it, that is to say, of the temptation in which one overcomes and also of the resistance offered by the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature is that which is meant by 'Naphtali', for the name Naphtali is derived from the word 'wrestlings'. And for the same reason 'Naphtali' represents this second general truth of the Church. Temptation is the means by which the internal man is joined to the external, for they are at variance with each other but are made to agree and to correspond by means of temptations. The external man is indeed such that of itself it does not desire anything except bodily and worldly things; these are the delights of the natural man's life. But the internal man - when opened towards heaven and desiring the things of heaven, as is the case with those who are able to be regenerated - takes delight in heavenly things. And when a person undergoes temptations these two types of delight conflict with each other. The person is not directly aware of the conflict, because he is not aware of what heavenly delight is and of what hellish delight is, let alone that they are so utterly contrary to each other. But celestial angels cannot be present at all with a person in his bodily and worldly delight until this has been made subservient, that is to say, until bodily and worldly delight is no longer regarded as an end in itself but something which is meant to be subservient to heavenly delight, as shown above in 3913. Once this has been achieved the angels are able to reside with that person in both; but in this case his delight becomes blessedness, and at length happiness in the next life.

[2] Anyone who believes that the delight of the natural man prior to regeneration is not hell-like, and that devilish spirits are not in possession there, is much mistaken. He is unaware of what the situation is with man - that prior to regeneration genii and spirits from hell have possession of his natural man, no matter how much he seems to himself to be like any other person, and also that he is able to participate with everybody else in what is holy and to reason about the truths and goods of faith, indeed is able to believe that he has become strong in these. If this person does not feel within himself some measure of affection for what is right and fair in his daily work, and for what is good and true in society and in life, let him recognize that his kind of delight in things is the kind that exists with those in hell, for his delight entails no other love than self-love and love of the world. And when these constitute his delight no charity or any faith is present within it. The only means that will weaken and dispel this delight once it has become predominant is the affirmation and acknowledgement of the holiness of faith and of the good of life, which is the first means meant, as shown above, by Dan, and after this by temptation, which is the second means and is meant by Naphtali; for this second means follows the other. Indeed people who do not affirm and acknowledge the goodness and the truth which constitute faith and charity are unable to enter any conflict brought about by temptation as there is nothing within to oppose the evil and falsity towards which natural delight gravitates.

[3] In other places in the Word where Naphtali is mentioned he means a person's state following temptations, as in the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel,

Naphtali is a hind let loose, giving beautiful words. Genesis 49:21.

'A hind let loose' stands for the affection for natural truth in a state that is free, which arises following temptation. This state is also what is at stake within temptations, which are meant by 'Naphtali', for the battle fought in temptations is a struggle for freedom. Likewise in Moses' prophecy,

To Naphtali he said, Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of Jehovah, will possess the west and the south. Deuteronomy 33:23.

For the representations of Jacob's sons, and of the tribes, depend on the order in which they are mentioned, 3862. And in the prophecy of Deborah and Barak,

Zebulun is a people that consigned its soul to die, as did Naphtali, on the heights of the field. Judges 5:18.

This too refers in the internal sense to the conflicts brought about by temptations, and to a person's presence among those who do not fear anything evil because they are rooted in forms of truth and good, meant by 'being on the heights of the field'.

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