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Genesis 39

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1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt: and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down thither.

2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake: and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he ate; and Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored.

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph: and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand:

9 There is none greater in his house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not to her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11 And it came to pass, about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and went out.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled forth,

14 That she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us: he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I raised my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and went out.

16 And she laid up his garment by her until his lord came home.

17 And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought to us, came in to me to mock me.

18 And it came to pass, as I raised my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled.

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever they did there, was done by him.

23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him: and that which he did the LORD made it to prosper.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 4997

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4997. 'How then shall I do this great evil, and sin against God?' means that, this being so, they exist set apart and not joined together. This is clear from the meaning of 'evil' and likewise of 'sin' as a state when things are set apart and not joined together. That is to say, it describes what happens if spiritual natural good is joined to unspiritual natural truth; being unlike and incompatible the two pull away from each other. The expressions 'doing evil' and 'sinning against God' are used because regarded in itself evil, and sin too, is nothing else than being parted from good. Also, evil exists essentially in disunion, as is evident from what good is. Essentially good is a joining together because all good stems from love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. The good of love to the Lord joins a person to the Lord and consequently to all good that goes forth from the Lord; and the good of love towards the neighbour joins him to heaven and the communities there, so that by means of this love as well he is joined to the Lord. For properly speaking, heaven is the Lord since He is the All in all there.

[2] But with evil the opposite applies. Evil stems from self-love and love of the world. Evil stemming from self-love sets a person apart not only from the Lord but also from heaven, for he loves no one but himself and others only insofar as he sees them as part of his self-interest, or as they identify themselves with him. Consequently he turns everyone's attention towards himself and entirely away from others, most of all away from the Lord. When a large number act like this within a single community it follows that all are set apart from one another; inwardly each sees another as his enemy. If anyone acts contrary to his self-interest he hates that person and takes delight in his destruction. The evil of the love of the world is not dissimilar, for this consists in a longing for other people's wealth and goods, and in a longing to gain possession of everything owned by others; and these longings too lead to all kinds of enmity and hatred, though in a lesser degree. For anyone to come to know what evil is, and so what sin is, let him merely try to see what self-love and love of the world are; and to come to know what good is, let him merely try to see what love to God and love towards the neighbour are. By trying to do this he will come to see what evil is, and as a consequence what falsity is; and from this he will come to see what good is, and as a consequence what truth is.

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