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Genesis 21

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1 And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

2 And Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh. Every one that heareth will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? For I have borne him a son in his old age.

8 And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, mocking.

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son. For the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son.

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy handmaid. In all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice. For in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and [gave her] the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot. For she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand. For I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad, and he grew. And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest.

23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son. But according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing. Neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech. And they two made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba. Because there they sware both of them.

32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba. And Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And [Abraham] planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

   

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #2658

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2658. 'For the son of this servant-girl shall not inherit together with my son, with Isaac' means that the merely human rational could not possess the same life as the Divine Rational itself, neither as to truth nor as to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'inheriting' as possessing the life of another, to be dealt with immediately below; from the meaning of 'the son of a servant-girl' as the merely human rational as to truth and as to good, dealt with in 2657; and from the meaning of 'my son, Isaac' as the Divine Rational as to truth, meant by 'my son', and as to good, meant by 'Isaac', dealt with in 2623, 2630. That 'Isaac' is the Divine Rational as to good is clear from verses 6-7 (in 2640, 2641, 2643) - from the meaning of 'laughter', from which he was named, as the affection for truth, or good that flows from truth. From this it is evident that 'the son of this servant-girl shall not inherit together with my son, with Isaac' means that the merely human rational cannot possess the same life as the Divine Rational, neither as to truth nor as to good. Its inability to possess the same life is clear from the single consideration that the Divine is life itself, and this being so possesses life within Itself, whereas the merely human is only an organ for life and that being so does not possess life in itself.

[2] Once it had become Divine the Lord's Human was no longer an organ or recipient of life; it was now Life itself, the same as that of Jehovah Himself. It had this life at the start from its very conception from Jehovah, as is plainly evident from the Lord's own words in John,

As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. John 5:26.

The Divine Human is what is called 'the Son', 1729, 2159, 2628. In the same gospel,

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, will live. John 11:25.

In the same gospel,

The bread of God is that which 1 comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33.

Man however is not life but an organ or recipient of it, see 2021, and in various places elsewhere. From this it may be evident that when the Lord was made Jehovah even as to the Human, that which was not life in itself, that is, the merely human, was banished. This is the meaning of the statement that the son of a servant-girl could not inherit together with the son Isaac.

[3] When 'inheriting' in the internal sense has reference to the Lord it means possessing the Father's life, and so possessing life within Himself; and when it has reference to men it means possessing the Lord's life, that is, receiving life from the Lord. This is clear from many places in the Word. Possessing life in Himself is the very Being (Esse) of life, which is Jehovah, whereas possessing the Lord's life, or receiving life from the Lord, is accepting the Lord in love and faith. And because such persons abide in the Lord and are the Lord's they are called His heirs and sons.

[4] In the Old Testament Word 'inheritance' is used to refer both to what is celestial, or good, and to what is spiritual, or truth, though what is celestial is expressed by one word, what is spiritual by another. The first word may be rendered as 'possessing by inheritance', but the second as 'inheriting'. In the original language the first word also implies possession, but the second a derivation from such possession, in the way that celestial and spiritual are related to each other, or good and truth are related. In the present verse, where 'Isaac' represents the Lord's Divine Rational or Divine Human, the word describing possession by right of inheritance is used, for the Lord's Divine Human is sole heir and possessor, as He also teaches in the parable recorded in Matthew 21:33, 37-38; Mark 12:7; Luke 20:14; and in various places declares that all that is the Father's is His.

[5] When 'possessing by inheritance' and 'inheriting' in the Word have reference to men, they mean receiving life from the Lord, and therefore receiving eternal life or heaven, for only those who receive the Lord's life receive heaven. This is clear in John,

He who overcomes will receive all things by inheritance, and I will be his God and he will be My Son. Revelation 21:7.

In Matthew,

Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters for My name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matthew 19:29; 25:43; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18.

Here heaven is called 'eternal life', elsewhere simply 'life', as in Matthew 18:8-9; 19:17; John 3:36; 5:24, 29, the reason being that the Lord is life itself, and anyone who receives His life is in heaven.

[6] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it by inheritance; and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Psalms 69:35-36.

Here 'possessing by inheritance' has reference to those in whom celestial love exists, 'inheriting' to those in whom spiritual love exists. In Isaiah,

He who trusts in Me will inherit the land, and will possess by inheritance My holy mountain. Isaiah 57:13.

Here the meaning is similar.

[7] In Moses,

I will bring you to the land over which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a hereditary possession. Exodus 6:8.

In the sense of the letter these words mean that the land of Canaan was to be granted to them as a hereditary possession, which did in fact happen. But in the internal sense they mean that heaven was to be granted to those in whom love to and faith in the Lord were present, for as the Lord is represented by 'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' so are love itself and faith itself meant by them, and consequently people in whom love and faith are present, and who accordingly abide in the Lord. These are also meant by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with whom many will recline at table in the kingdom of heaven, in Matthew 8:11; for those who are in heaven are completely unaware of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, and know only of what is represented and meant by them. And the same goes for 'reclining at table (or eating) with them'. For all names mentioned in the Word mean real things, see 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888, and the land of Canaan means the heavenly Canaan or heaven, 1585, 1607, 1866, which is also referred to simply as 'the land', 1413, 1607, 1733, 2571. So too in Matthew,

Blessed are the meek, for they will receive the inheritance of the land. Matthew 5:5.

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1. or He who

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