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Genesis 4

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1 And the man had connection with Eve his wife, and she became with child and gave birth to Cain, and said, I have got a man from the Lord.

2 Then again she became with child and gave birth to Abel, his brother. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a farmer.

3 And after a time, Cain gave to the Lord an offering of the fruits of the earth.

4 And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering;

5 But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad.

6 And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and Why is your face sad?

7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master.

8 And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.

9 And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the earth.

11 And now you are cursed from the earth, whose mouth is open to take your brother's blood from your hand;

12 No longer will the earth give you her fruit as the reward of your work; you will be a wanderer in flight over the earth.

13 And Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength.

14 You have sent me out this day from the face of the earth and from before your face; I will be a wanderer in flight over the earth, and whoever sees me will put me to death.

15 And the Lord said, Truly, if Cain is put to death, seven lives will be taken for his. And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one might put him to death.

16 And Cain went away from before the face of the Lord, and made his living-place in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain had connection with his wife and she became with child and gave birth to Enoch: and he made a town, and gave the town the name of Enoch after his son.

18 And Enoch had a son Irad: and Irad became the father of Mehujael: and Mehujael became the father of Methushael: and Methushael became the father of Lamech.

19 And Lamech had two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal: he was the father of such as are living in tents and keep cattle.

21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all players on instruments of music.

22 And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, who is the father of every maker of cutting instruments of brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, give ear to my voice; you wives of Lamech, give attention to my words, for I would put a man to death for a wound, and a young man for a blow;

24 If seven lives are to be taken as punishment for Cain's death, seventy-seven will be taken for Lamech's.

25 And Adam had connection with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name of Seth: for she said, God has given me another seed in place of Abel, whom Cain put to death.

26 And Seth had a son, and he gave him the name of Enosh: at this time men first made use of the name of the Lord in worship.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #519

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519. At that time there were people who formulated doctrine out of what had been matters of perception in the Most Ancient Church and in the Churches that came after it, and this doctrine was to serve as a yardstick by which people could recognize what good and truth were. Such people were called 'Enoch', and this is meant by these words, 'and Enoch walked with God'. They also applied this name to that doctrine of theirs, for this indeed was meant by the name Enoch, which is 'instructing'. The matter is also clear from the meaning of the expression walking' and from the fact that he is said to have walked, not with Jehovah, but 'with God'. 'Walking with God' is teaching and living according to the doctrine of faith, whereas 'walking with Jehovah' is leading a life of love. 'Walking' is a customary expression to mean living, as in the phrases walking in the law, walking in statutes, walking in the truth. Strictly speaking, walking has regard to the path of truth, and therefore of faith or the doctrine of faith. From the places that are quoted below it becomes to some extent clear what 'walking' means in the Word.

[2] In Micah,

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement and the love of mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:8.

Here too 'walking with God' means living according to the requirements set out here. But although the expression 'with God' is used here the preposition employed is different from the one used in reference to Enoch, which really means 'from with God', and so is a phrase which is ambiguous. 1 In David,

You have delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalms 56:13.

Here 'walking before God' is walking in the truth of faith, which is 'the light of the living'. Similarly in Isaiah,

The people walking in darkness see a great light. Isaiah 9:2.

In Moses the Lord says,

I will walk in your midst and be your God, and you will be My people. Leviticus 26:11.

This stood for the requirement that they should live according to the teaching of the law.

In Jeremiah,

They will spread them 2 before the sun and the moon and all the hosts of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have walked after, and which they have sought. Jeremiah 8:2

A clear distinction is made here between the things that belong to love and those that belong to faith. Those that belong to love are referred to by 'loving and serving', those that belong to faith by 'walking and seeking after'. For in the Prophets careful attention is paid to the use of words; one word is nowhere used in place of another In the Word 'walking with Jehovah' or 'before Jehovah' means leading a life of love.

Fußnoten:

1. i.e. the Hebrew preposition 'im is used in Micah 6:8 but 'eth in Genesis 5:22.

2. i.e. the bones of those mentioned in Jeremiah 8:1.

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