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Numbers 16

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1 And Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, taketh both Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,

2 and they rise up before Moses, with men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty, princes of the company, called of the convention, men of name,

3 and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, `Enough of you! for all the company -- all of them [are] holy, and in their midst [is] Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?'

4 And Moses heareth, and falleth on his face,

5 and he speaketh unto Korah, and unto all his company, saying, `Morning! -- and Jehovah is knowing those who are his, and him who is holy, and hath brought near unto Him; even him whom He doth fix on He bringeth near unto Him.

6 This do: take to yourselves censers, Korah, and all his company,

7 and put in them fire, and put on them perfume, before Jehovah to-morrow, and it hath been, the man whom Jehovah chooseth, he [is] the holy one; -- enough of you, sons of Levi.'

8 And Moses saith unto Korah, `Hear ye, I pray you, sons of Levi;

9 is it little to you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the company of Israel to bring you near unto Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the company to serve them? --

10 yea, He doth bring thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee -- and ye have sought also the priesthood!

11 Therefore, thou and all thy company who are met [are] against Jehovah; and Aaron, what [is] he, that ye murmur against him?'

12 And Moses sendeth to call for Dathan and for Abiram sons of Eliab, and they say, `We do not come up;

13 is it little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in a wilderness that thou also certainly makest thyself prince over us?

14 Yea, unto a land flowing with milk and honey thou hast not brought us in, nor dost thou give to us an inheritance of field and vineyard; the eyes of these men dost thou pick out? we do not come up.'

15 And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, `Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.'

16 And Moses saith unto Korah, `Thou and all thy company, be ye before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow;

17 and take ye each his censer, and ye have put on them perfume, and brought near before Jehovah, each his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.'

18 And they take each his censer, and put on them fire, and lay on them perfume, and they stand at the opening of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.

19 And Korah assembleth against them all the company unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by all the company.

20 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

21 `Be ye separated from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;'

22 and they fall on their faces, and say, `God, God of the spirits of all flesh -- the one man sinneth, and against all the company Thou art wroth!'

23 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

24 `Speak unto the company, saying, Go ye up from round about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'

25 And Moses riseth, and goeth unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel go after him,

26 and he speaketh unto the company, saying, `Turn aside, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and come not against anything that they have, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.'

27 And they go up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, from round about, and Dathan, and Abiram have come out, standing at the opening of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their infants.

28 And Moses saith, `By this ye do know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works, that [they are] not from my own heart;

29 if according to the death of all men these die -- or the charge of all men is charged upon them -- Jehovah hath not sent me;

30 and if a strange thing Jehovah do, and the ground hath opened her mouth and swallowed them, and all that they have, and they have gone down alive to Sheol -- then ye have known that these men have despised Jehovah.'

31 And it cometh to pass at his finishing speaking all these words, that the ground which [is] under them cleaveth,

32 and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth them, and their houses, and all the men who [are] for Korah, and all the goods,

33 and they go down, they, and all that they have, alive to Sheol, and the earth closeth over them, and they perish from the midst of the assembly;

34 and all Israel who [are] round about them have fled at their voice, for they said, `Lest the earth swallow us;'

35 and fire hath come out from Jehovah, and consumeth the two hundred and fifty men bringing near the perfume.

36 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

37 `Say unto Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, and he lifteth up the censers from the midst of the burning, and the fire scatter thou yonder, for they have been hallowed,

38 [even] the censers of these sinners against their own souls; and they have made them spread-out plates, a covering for the altar, for they have brought them near before Jehovah, and they are hallowed; and they are become a sign to the sons of Israel.'

39 And Eleazar the priest taketh the brazen censers which they who are burnt had brought near, and they spread them out, a covering for the altar --

40 a memorial to the sons of Israel, so that a stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron doth not draw near to make a perfume before Jehovah, and is not as Korah, and as his company, -- as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses to him.

41 And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur, on the morrow, against Moses and against Aaron, saying, `Ye -- ye have put to death the people of Jehovah.'

42 And it cometh to pass, in the company being assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they turn towards the tent of meeting, and lo, the cloud hath covered it, and the honour of Jehovah is seen;

43 and Moses cometh -- Aaron also -- unto the front of the tent of meeting.

44 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

45 `Get you up from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;' and they fall on their faces,

46 and Moses saith unto Aaron, `Take the censer, and put on it fire from off the altar, and place perfume, and go, hasten unto the company, and make atonement for them, for the wrath hath gone out from the presence of Jehovah -- the plague hath begun.'

47 And Aaron taketh as Moses hath spoken, and runneth unto the midst of the assembly, and lo, the plague hath begun among the people; and he giveth the perfume, and maketh atonement for the people,

48 and standeth between the dead and the living, and the plague is restrained;

49 and those who die by the plague are fourteen thousand and seven hundred, apart from those who die for the matter of Korah;

50 and Aaron turneth back unto Moses, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the plague hath been restrained.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9223

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9223. '[And] you shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine' means that since all the good and the truth of faith come from the Lord they are to be ascribed to Him, not to self. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstfruits' as those things which must occupy first place, thus which are the chief of them all, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'grain' as the good of the truth of faith, dealt with in 5295, 5410, 5959, and from the meaning of 'wine' as the truth of good, thus the truth of the good of faith, dealt with in 1798, 6377; and from the meaning of 'not being slow', when it has reference to the good and truth of faith, as ascribing from affection, since that which is done not slowly but swiftly is done from love and affection, 7695, 7866. The reason why ascribing to the Lord is meant is that the firstfruits, like the firstborn also, were given to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed, 'Jehovah' being used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. Consequently since the firstfruits of grain and wine are forms of the good and the truths of faith, the meaning is that they are to be ascribed to the Lord since they come from Him. For the truth that everything composing a person's thought and will flows in, and the truth that all goodness and truth come from the Lord, see 2886-2888, 3142, 3147, 4151, 4249, 5119, 5147, 5150, 5259, 5482, 5649, 5779, 5854, 5893, 6027, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 8823, 8864, 9110, 9111; and the same truths from experience, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626.

[2] The firstfruits that were to be offered to the Lord were the firstfruits of the harvest and the firstfruits of vintage, 1 also the firstfruits of shearing, and the firstfruits of fruit too. The firstfruits of the harvest were parched and fresh ears of grain, also a sheaf that was to be waved, and afterwards products of the threshing-floor, which were cakes, while the firstfruits of vintage were the firstfruits of wine, must, and oil. In addition to these there were the firstfruits of shearing the flock, and also the firstfruits of fruit, which were offered in a basket. In addition also all the firstborn were offered to the Lord, though the firstborn of human beings were redeemed, as also were the firstborn of animals that were not offered in sacrifices, such as those of asses, mules, horses, and the like. Firstfruits and firstborn were offered to Jehovah and were given by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed because Aaron and his sons, who served in the office of high priest, represented the Lord. In the present verse 'the firstfruits of grain and of wine' is used to mean all the firstfruits of harvest and vintage that have been referred to immediately above. For the words used in the original language are 'the fullness of grain' and 'the tear of wine', 'fullness' being the harvest when it has ripened and also been gathered in, and 'tears' drops of fluid that trickle down.

[3] What was represented specifically by firstfruits - for all the religious laws and practices which the Lord commanded the children of Israel represented internal aspects of the Church - becomes clear when the particular products whose firstfruits were offered are considered in the internal sense. 'Grain' means the good of faith and 'wine' the truth of faith, as may be seen in the places referred to above. Giving firstfruits to Jehovah was a sign that the ascription of every good and truth of faith to the Lord and not to self was the first thing of the Church. Ascribing them to the Lord consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing that they spring from the Lord and in no way at all from self; for as shown above, faith comes entirely from the Lord. The reason why 'the firstfruits' have this meaning is that firstfruits were offerings and gifts which were thanksgivings for the fruits of the earth. They were the acknowledgement of blessings from Jehovah, that is, from the Lord, and therefore the acknowledgement that all things came from Him. In the internal sense they are the acknowledgement [that He is the Source] of every good and truth of faith, which are meant by harvest, grain, oil, must, wine, wool, and fruit, whose firstfruits were given. Regarding these 'firstfruits', see Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:10-11, 20; Numbers 15:19-21; 18:12-13; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1-11; and 'firstfruits' have a similar meaning in Ezekiel 20:40 and Micah 7:1-2.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. the time or season when grapes and other fruits such as olives are harvested

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 8717

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8717. 'And it shall be, every great matter let them bring to you' means that everything exists from the truth going forth directly from God. This is clear from the representation of Moses as the truth going forth directly from God, dealt with in 7010, 7382, the existence of everything from that truth being meant by 'let them bring every great matter' to him. From the sense of the letter it seems as though everything was to be brought to Divine Truth; but since everything comes from the Lord through the truth going forth from Him, for life derives wholly from Him, the meaning in the internal sense is not to that truth but from it. This is like what has been shown with regard to influx, in 3721, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322. There it has been shown that the direction in which influx goes is not from outward things to inward ones, but from inward to outward. The reason for this is that outward things are all formed to serve inward ones, just as instrumental causes serve their principal causes, without which the instrumental are dead causes. It should be recognized that in the internal sense things are presented according to their true nature, not according to the nature of them as seen in the sense of the letter.

[2] The true nature of the matter here is that the Lord governs all things, even the most specific, through the truth that goes forth from Himself, not in the way a king governs in the world, but in the way God does so in heaven and over all creation. A king in the world takes only overall care of a country, while his chief ministers and officials take care of matters in particular. It is otherwise with God. God sees all things, knows all things from eternity, provides all things into eternity, and from Himself maintains all things in their order; from which it is clear that the Lord takes not only overall care but also particular and individual care of all things, unlike a king in the world. His regulation of things is achieved directly by means of God's truth that is going forth from Himself and also indirectly by means of heaven. Yet the indirect regulation by means of heaven is also tantamount to direct regulation by Him; for what comes from heaven comes by way of heaven from Him. This the angels in heaven not merely know to be so; they also perceive it within themselves. Regarding the Lord's Divine regulation of things or His providence, that it operates in all things generally and specifically, indeed in the most specific of all, however different from this it may seem to a person to be, see 4329, 5122 (end), 5904 (end), 6058, 6481-6487, 6490, 6491.

[3] But it is difficult for this subject to find a place in any person's way of thinking, least of all in that of those who trust in their own prudence; for they attribute to themselves all things that turn out beneficially for themselves, and ascribe everything else to luck or chance. Few ascribe them to God's providence. Accordingly they attribute things which happen to dead causes, not to a living cause. When things go well they do, it is true, say that this has been done by God, also that there is nothing which is not done by Him; but few, scarcely any, believe it in their hearts. Much the same is done by those who suppose that complete happiness lies in worldly and bodily acquisitions, that is to say, in important positions and wealth; they believe that these alone are Divine blessings. When therefore they see that very many of those who are bad possess these things in abundance, and not so the good, they cast away from their hearts and deny the existence of God's providence in anything specific. They are not prepared to think that being blessed by God means being made happy into eternity, and that the Lord regards what is by nature transient - which worldly things are, relatively - only as a means to what is eternal. Therefore also the Lord provides the good, who accept His mercy during their time in the world, with such things as contribute to the happiness of their eternal life. He confers wealth and important positions on those to whom they can do no harm, and withholds wealth and important positions from those to whom they can do harm. To the latter nevertheless, during their time in the world, He imparts the ability to be glad with a few things instead of important positions and wealth, and to be more content than those who have wealth and important positions.

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