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Genesis 39

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1 And Joseph hath been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners, an Egyptian man, buyeth him out of the hands of the Ishmaelites who have brought him thither.

2 And Jehovah is with Joseph, and he is a prosperous man, and he is in the house of his lord the Egyptian,

3 and his lord seeth that Jehovah is with him, and all that he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper in his hand,

4 and Joseph findeth grace in his eyes and serveth him, and he appointeth him over his house, and all that he hath he hath given into his hand.

5 And it cometh to pass from the time that he hath appointed him over his house, and over all that he hath, that Jehovah blesseth the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of Jehovah is on all that he hath, in the house, and in the field;

6 and he leaveth all that he hath in the hand of Joseph, and he hath not known anything that he hath, except the bread which he is eating. And Joseph is of a fair form, and of a fair appearance.

7 And it cometh to pass after these things, that his lord's wife lifteth up her eyes unto Joseph, and saith, `Lie with me;'

8 and he refuseth, and saith unto his lord's wife, `Lo, my lord hath not known what [is] with me in the house, and all that he hath he hath given into my hand;

9 none is greater in this house than I, and he hath not withheld from me anything, except thee, because thou [art] his wife; and how shall I do this great evil? -- then have I sinned against God.'

10 And it cometh to pass at her speaking unto Joseph day [by] day, that he hath not hearkened unto her, to lie near her, to be with her;

11 and it cometh to pass about this day, that he goeth into the house to do his work, and there is none of the men of the house there in the house,

12 and she catcheth him by his garment, saying, `Lie with me;' and he leaveth his garment in her hand, and fleeth, and goeth without.

13 And it cometh to pass when she seeth that he hath left his garment in her hand, and fleeth without,

14 that she calleth for the men of her house, and speaketh to them, saying, `See, he hath brought in to us a man, a Hebrew, to play with us; he hath come in unto me, to lie with me, and I call with a loud voice,

15 and it cometh to pass, when he heareth that I have lifted up my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth, and goeth without.'

16 And she placeth his garment near her, until the coming in of his lord unto his house.

17 And she speaketh unto him according to these words, saying, `The Hebrew servant whom thou hast brought unto us, hath come in unto me to play with me;

18 and it cometh to pass, when I lift my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth without.'

19 And it cometh to pass when his lord heareth the words of his wife, which she hath spoken unto him, saying, `According to these things hath thy servant done to me,' that his anger burneth;

20 and Joseph's lord taketh him, and putteth him unto the round-house, a place where the king's prisoners [are] bound; and he is there in the round-house.

21 And Jehovah is with Joseph, and stretcheth out kindness unto him, and putteth his grace in the eyes of the chief of the round-house;

22 and the chief of the round-house giveth into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who [are] in the round-house, and of all that they are doing there, he hath been doer;

23 the chief of the round-house seeth not anything under his hand, because Jehovah [is] with him, and that which he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 4978

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4978. 'And whatever he had he gave into his hand' means that all that belonged to that good was seemingly subject to the power and control of its associated truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'whatever he had' as all that belonged to it, and from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878, 3091, 3787, 3563, 4931-4937. 'Giving into his hand' accordingly means placing under its power and control. Yet because this is only the appearance of what happens, the phrase 'seemingly subject to its power and control' is used. As regards its being what is apparently or seemingly the situation, see immediately above in 4977.

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

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Wife

  

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])