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Genesis 20

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1 And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister: And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, on account of the woman whom thou hast taken: for she is a man's wife.

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou also slay a righteous nation?

5 Said he not to me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself Said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart, and innocence of my hands have I done this.

6 And God said to him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore I suffered thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou shalt not restore her, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were greatly afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, What has thou done to us? and in what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds to me that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show to me; At every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16 And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, to all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

17 So Abraham prayed to God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants, and they bore children.

18 For the LORD had made barren all the females of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2586

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2586. For closing Jehovah had therefore closed every womb of the house of Abimelech. That this signifies barrenness, namely, of doctrine, is evident from the signification of “closing to close up the womb,” as being to prevent conception itself; and from the signification of “the house of Abimelech,” as being the good of the doctrine of faith, which shows that barrenness is signified. That up to this point in this chapter “God” is mentioned, but here for the first time “Jehovah,” is because “God” is mentioned where the subject is truth, but “Jehovah” where the subject is good. All the conception of doctrine is from good as a father, but its birth is by means of truth as a mother, as occasionally stated before. Here the conception of doctrine is treated of, and as this is from good, “Jehovah” is mentioned; whereas above its birth is treated of, and as this takes place by means of truth, “God” is mentioned, as in the verse preceding: “God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants, and they brought forth.”

[2] The case is the same elsewhere in the Word where conception is treated of, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah hath called me from the womb. Thus saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb; then shall I be precious to Jehovah; and my God shall be my strength (Isaiah 49:1, 5);

“strength” is predicated of truth, and therefore “God” is mentioned. In the same:

Thus saith Jehovah thy Maker, and thy Former from the womb (Isaiah 44:2, 24, and elsewhere).

For the same reason it is said “the house of Abimelech,” by which is signified the good of the doctrine of faith (that a “house” denotes good may be seen above, n. 2048, 2233, 2234; and that “Abimelech” denotes the doctrine of faith, n. 2509, 2510). That there is a Divine arcanum in the fact that they brought forth, and that the wombs of the house of Abimelech were shut on account of Sarah, is manifest; and this arcanum cannot possibly be disclosed except by the internal sense.

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