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Genesis 24

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1 And Abraham was old and far advanced in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell:

4 But thou shalt go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said to him, It may be the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I needs bring thy son again to the land from whence thou camest?

6 And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To thy seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.

8 And if the woman shall not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only bring not my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; (for all the goods of his master were in his hands:) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, the time when women go out to draw water:

12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, prosper me this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and by that shall I know that thou hast shown kindness to my master.

15 And it came to pass before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water from thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord. And she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him Drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, till they have done drinking.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous, or not.

22 And it came to pass as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.

25 She said moreover to him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man bowed his head, and worshipped the LORD.

27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left my master destitute of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

28 And the damsel ran, and told these things to her mother's house.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out to the man, to the well.

30 And it came to pass when he saw the ear-ring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me; that he came to the man; and behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; why standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

33 And there was set food before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he said, Speak on.

34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.

35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.

36 And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old: and to him hath he given all that he hath.

37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go to my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.

39 And I said to my master, It may be the woman will not follow me.

40 And he said to me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house.

41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day to the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou dost prosper my way which I go:

43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

44 And she saith to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath pointed out for my master's son.

45 And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well, and drew water: and I said to her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels Drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels Drink also.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him: and I put the ear-ring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 And I bowed my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.

49 And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak to thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

56 And he said to them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at evening: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel.

65 For she had said to the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2943

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2943. 'To all entering into the gate of his city, saying' means matters of doctrine through which one comes to faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'a gate' as a place of entry and so as that which, in the same way as a door, leads in, dealt with in 2145, 2152, 2356, 2385, and from the meaning of 'a city' as truth, which constitutes faith, dealt with in 402, 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712. In the Ancient Church a city was not like the city of later or of modern times. That is to say, a city did not consist of a collection or gathering together of individuals but of separate families living side by side. A family descended from the same forefather constituted a city. The city of Nahor, for example, to which Abraham's servant went to betroth Rebekah to Isaac, Genesis 24:10, consisted of the family of Nahor which was there. And Shalem, the city of Shechem, to which Jacob came after his departure from Paddan Aram, Genesis 33:18 and the whole of Chapter 34, consisted of the family of Hamor and Shechem which was there. And the same was so with all other cities in those times.

[2] And as it had come down to them from the most ancient people that nations and families represented heavenly communities, and so the things of love and charity, 685, 1159, therefore when a city is mentioned instead of a family, and a people instead of a nation, truth that constitutes faith is meant. It is also why in the genuine sense the city of God and the holy city mean faith in the Lord. And as 'a city' meant faith, 'the gate of the city' means matters of doctrine through which one comes to faith. The same was also meant in the Jewish representative Church by the judges and elders sitting in the gate of the city and giving judgement there, as is evident from historical sections of the Word, and also in Zechariah,

These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth, everyone to his companion; judge in your gates the truth and the judgement of peace. Zechariah 8:16.

And in Amos,

Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgement in the gate. Amos 5:15.

'A gate' also means the place of entry into the rational mind, and the rational mind is compared to a city, see 2851.

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 402

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402. 'A city that was built' means all doctrinal or heretical teaching founded on that heresy. This is clear from the Word wherever the name of any city occurs. In the Word 'city' never means a city but something doctrinal or else something heretical. For angels are totally ignorant of what a city is or what the name of any city is. They never do nor can have any city in mind, for their ideas are of spiritual and celestial things, as shown already. Their perception is solely of what is meant spiritually by cities, and the names of them. For example, by the Holy City, which is also called the Holy Jerusalem, they understand nothing other than the Lord's kingdom in general, or as it exists with each individual who has the Lord's kingdom within him. And the city of Zion or Mount Zion they understand in a similar way, the latter being the celestial degree of faith, the former the spiritual.

[2] And the celestial and spiritual itself is also described by cities, palaces, houses, walls, the foundations of walls, ramparts, gates, bars, and by the temple at the centre, as in Ezekiel 48, and in Revelation 21:15-end. In Revelation 21:2, 10, it is called 'the Holy Jerusalem'; in Jeremiah 31:38 ['the city for Jehovah']; in David, Psalms 46:4, 'the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High'; and in Ezekiel 48:35, it is called 'the city, Jehovah is there'. And in Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls. They will bend down to the soles of your feet, all who disapprove of you, and they will call you the City of Jehovah, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:10, 14.

In Zechariah,

Jerusalem [will be called] the city of truth, and Mount Zion the mountain of holiness. Zechariah 8:3

Here 'city of truth', which is Jerusalem, means the spiritual things of faith, and 'the holy mountain', which is Zion, the celestial things of faith. And whereas the celestial and spiritual things of faith were represented by a city, so all matters of doctrine were meant by the cities of Judah and Israel, each one, when mentioned by name, meaning some specific point of doctrine, though exactly which nobody can know except from the internal sense.

[3] As cities meant matters of doctrine, cities also meant heretical ideas, each one when mentioned by name meaning some specific heretical idea. But at this point solely the consideration that in general a city means doctrinal teaching or else heretical may be established from the following places:

[4] In Isaiah,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. One of these will be called the city Heres. Isaiah 19:18.

This refers to man's knowledge of spiritual and celestial things at the time of the Lord's Coming. In the same prophet,

Full of tumults, a tumultuous city, an exultant city. Isaiah 22:1, 2.

This refers to 'the valley of vision', which is delusion. In Jeremiah,

The cities of the south are shut up, with none opening them. Jeremiah 13:10.

This refers to people who are in 'the south', that is, who dwell in the light of truth, but blot it out. In the same prophet,

Jehovah thought to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He causes rampart and wall to mourn; they have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:8-9.

Here anyone may see that nothing else is meant by 'wall, rampart, gates and bars' than matters of doctrine.

[5] Similarly in Isaiah,

This song will be sung in the land of Judah, Ours is a strong city, salvation will establish walls and a rampart. Open the gates that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Isaiah 26:1-2.

In the same prophet,

I will exalt You, I will confess Your name. You have made the city into a heap, the fortified city into a ruin; let not a palace of aliens be built of the city for ever. Therefore a strong people will honour You, the city of terrifying nations will fear You. Isaiah 25:1-3.

Nor does this refer to any actual city. In Balaam's prophecy,

Edom will be an inheritance, and out of Jacob one will have dominion, and he will accomplish the destruction of the remnant of the city. Numbers 24:18-19.

Here anyone may see that 'the city' does not mean an actual city. In Isaiah,

The city of hollowness has been broken down, every house has been shut up so that none may enter in. There is an outcry in the streets over the wine. Isaiah 24:10-11.

Here 'city of hollowness' stands for hollowness of doctrine. In this and other places 'streets' means the things that constitute a city, namely falsities or truths. In John,

When the seventh angel poured out his bowl the great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. Revelation 16:17, 19.

That 'a great city' means something heretical, as do 'the cities of the nations', may be clear to anyone. The explanation is also given in Revelation 17:18 that the great city means the woman whom John saw, 'the woman', as shown already, being a Church of that nature.

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