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Genesis 13

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1 And Abram goeth up from Egypt (he and his wife, and all that he hath, and Lot with him) towards the south;

2 and Abram [is] exceedingly wealthy in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he goeth on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai --

4 unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there doth Abram preach in the name of Jehovah.

5 And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there hath been sheep and oxen and tents;

6 and the land hath not suffered them to dwell together, for their substance hath been much, and they have not been able to dwell together;

7 and there is a strife between those feeding Abram's cattle and those feeding Lot's cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite [are] then dwelling in the land.

8 And Abram saith unto Lot, `Let there not, I pray thee, be strife between me and thee, and between my shepherds and thy shepherds, for we [are] men -- brethren.

9 Is not all the land before thee? be parted, I pray thee, from me; if to the left, then I to the right; and if to the right, then I to the left.'

10 And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it [is] all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,

11 and Lot chooseth for himself the whole circuit of the Jordan; and Lot journeyeth from the east, and they are parted -- a man from his companion;

12 Abram hath dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot hath dwelt in the cities of the circuit, and tenteth unto Sodom;

13 and the men of Sodom [are] evil, and sinners before Jehovah exceedingly.

14 And Jehovah said unto Abram, after Lot's being parted from him, `Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and look from the place where thou [art], northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward;

15 for the whole of the land which thou are seeing, to thee I give it, and to thy seed -- to the age.

16 And I have set thy seed as dust of the earth, so that, if one is able to number the dust of the earth, even thy seed is numbered;

17 rise, go up and down through the land, to its length, and to its breadth, for to thee I give it.'

18 And Abram tenteth, and cometh, and dwelleth among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2909

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2909.

In Kiriath-arba, the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. That this signifies in the church, is evident from the signification of “Kiriath-arba,” as being the church as to truth; and from the signification of “Hebron in the land of Canaan,” as being the church as to good. In the Word, and especially in the prophetical parts, where truth is treated of, good is treated of also, because of the heavenly marriage in everything of the Word (see n. 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712); therefore here, when Kiriath-arba is mentioned, it is also said, “the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.” (That the “land of Canaan” denotes the Lord’s kingdom, may be seen above, n. 1413, 1437, 1607; also that the places in that land were variously representative, n. 1585, 1866.)

[2] In regard to Kiriath-arba which is Hebron, it was the region where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt. That Abraham dwelt there, appears from what was said in a preceding chapter: “Abraham came and dwelt in Mamre, which is in Hebron” (Genesis 13:18). That Isaac dwelt there, appears from what is said in a later chapter: “Jacob came unto Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba, the same is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned” (Genesis 35:27). That Jacob dwelt there is evident from Joseph being sent to his brethren by Jacob his father, from the valley of Hebron (Genesis 37:14). From the representation of the three, as spoken of above, it is plain that Kiriath-arba which is Hebron represented the church before Jerusalem did.

[3] That every church in process of time decreases, until it has nothing left of faith and charity, and then is destroyed, was also represented by Kiriath-arba which is Hebron, in its being possessed by the Anakim, by whom were signified dire persuasions of falsity (n. 581, 1673). That it was possessed by the Anakim, may be seen in several places (Numbers 13:21-22; Josh. 11:21 14:15; 15:13-14; Judges 1:10); and that it came to its end or consummation and was destroyed, was represented by all things therein being given by Joshua to the curse (Josh. 10:36-37; 11:21); and the Anakim being smitten by Judah and Caleb (Judges 1:10; Josh. 14:13-15; 15:13-14). And that there was again a new church, was represented by Hebron being assigned to Caleb for an inheritance, as to field and villages (Josh. 21:12); but the city itself was made a city of refuge (Josh. 20:7; 21:13); and a priestly city for the sons of Aaron (Josh. 21:10-11); in the inheritance of Judah (Josh. 15:54).

[4] Hence it is evident that Hebron represented the Lord’s spiritual church in the land of Canaan. And likewise on this account David was required by the command of Jehovah to go to Hebron, and was there anointed to be king over the house of Judah; and after he had reigned there seven years and six months, he went to Jerusalem and took possession of Zion (see 2 Samuel 2:1-11; 5:5; 1 Kings 2:11); and then for the first time the spiritual church of the Lord began to be represented by Jerusalem, and the celestial church by Zion.

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