Die Bibel

 

創世記 28

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1 以撒雅各來,給他祝福,並囑咐他:你不要娶迦南的女子為妻。

2 你起身往巴旦亞蘭去,到你外祖彼土利家裡,在你母舅拉班的女兒中娶一女為妻。

3 全能的神賜福給你,使你生養眾多,成為多族,

4 將應許亞伯拉罕的福賜你和你的後裔,使你承受你所寄居的為業,就是亞伯拉罕的

5 以撒打發雅各走了,他就往巴旦亞蘭去,到亞蘭人彼土利的兒子拉班那裡。拉班雅各以掃的母舅。

6 以掃以撒已經給雅各祝福,而且打發他往巴旦亞蘭去,在那裡娶妻,並見祝福的時候囑咐他說:不要娶迦南的女子為妻,

7 又見雅各聽從父母的話往巴旦亞蘭去了,

8 以掃就曉得他父親以撒不中迦南的女子,

9 便往以實瑪利那裡去,在他二妻之外又娶了瑪哈拉為妻。他是亞伯拉罕兒子以實瑪利的女兒,尼拜約的妹子。

10 雅各出了別是巴,向哈蘭走去;

11 到了一個地方,因為太陽落了,就在那裡住宿,便拾起那地方的一塊石頭枕在頭,在那裡躺臥睡了,

12 夢見一個梯子立在上,梯子的頂著,有的使者在梯子上,上去來。

13 耶和華站在梯子以上(或作站在他旁邊),:我是耶和華─你祖亞伯拉罕的,也是以撒的;我要將你現在所躺臥之你和你的後裔。

14 你的後裔必像上的塵沙那樣多,必向東西開展;上萬族必因你和你的後裔得福。

15 我也與你同在。你無論往那裡去,我必保佑你,領你歸回這地,總不離棄你,直到我成全了向你所應許的。

16 雅各睡醒了,耶和華真在這裡,我竟不知道

17 就懼:這地方何等可畏!這不是別的,乃是的殿,也是

18 雅各起來,把所枕的石頭立作柱子,澆在上面。

19 他就給那地方起名伯特利(就是神殿的意思);但那地方起先名路斯。

20 雅各許願若與我同在,在我所行的上保佑我,又我食物衣服穿,

21 使我平平安安地回到我父親的家,我就必以耶和華為我的

22 我所立為柱子的石頭也必作的殿,凡你所賜我的,我必將十分之一獻你。

   

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #3688

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3688. 'The sister of Nebaioth, as a wife in addition to the wives he had' means an affection for celestial truth more internally. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sister' as intellectual or rational truth, dealt with in 1495, 2508, 2524, 2556, 3386; from the representation of 'Nebaioth' as the good that constitutes the spiritual Church, dealt with in 3268 - therefore 'the sister of Nebaioth' means the affection for celestial truth, or what amounts to the same, the affection for spiritual good; from the meaning of 'wives' or the daughters of Heth as affections for truth from a non-genuine source, dealt with in 3470, 3620-3622, 3686, and from the meaning of 'taking a wife' as being brought into association or joined together. From all these meanings it is evident that these words, together with those that come immediately before them, mean the joining together of the good represented by 'Esau' with truth from a Divine source, thus with the affection for celestial truth more internally.

[2] The actuality of these matters is indeed as stated already, yet they are of such a nature that they can hardly be understood at all as long as the most general features of the subject remain unknown. Furthermore they are the kind of things in which the world of today does not have any interest, for it is earthly things, not heavenly ones, in which it is interested, for the reason, as people even say, that they see and know earthly things, but they do not see or know the heavenly. Now because what is contained in the internal sense of the Word has to be not merely disclosed but also explained, let an example be taken to show what the expressions the truth of good, which 'Esau' represents, and the good of truth, which 'Jacob' represents, are used to mean. At the same time the example will clarify the point that until a person has been regenerated the good of truth in relation to the truth of good exists inversely, but after he has been regenerated they are joined together. This example will accordingly illustrate the matters stated so far.

[3] Take as our example the kind of person who can be regenerated; for the Lord foresees that he can be, and because He foresees it He also makes provision for it. At the outset while a young child he does not yet know what the works of charity towards the neighbour are, for he does not yet know what charity is or what the neighbour is. Consequently because he knows from the Word that one ought to give to the poor and that anyone who does so has his reward in heaven he helps beggars more than all others for he believes that these are the poor who are meant in the Word. He does not take into account the fact that the kind of people who beg on the streets for the most part lead godless and even criminal lives, despise everything associated with Divine worship, and surrender themselves completely to laziness and inactivity. Nonetheless a person in the first stages of regeneration helps those people with all his heart. These good actions are examples of the good which springs from external truth and with which his regeneration begins. The truth of good, which is more internal, flows accordingly into those actions, fashioning these as directed by the cognitions which the child knows?

[4] At a later stage however, when more enlightened, he is willing to do good to all he believes to be poor and needy, but he still makes scarcely any distinction between the godly poor and needy and the ungodly poor and needy. He believes that all are to be regarded and rated equally as the neighbour. But when he becomes more enlightened in these matters he does make a distinction and provides help only to the good and upright. He knows that providing help to the evil does harm to many, for by the aid and support these get he gives them the opportunity to harm others. At length when he is being regenerated he does not do good to any but the good and the godly, for at this point he is not stirred by an affection simply for the person he does good to but by the good itself residing with that person. And since the Lord is present within all good and godliness he accordingly bears witness also, through his affection towards what is good, to his love to the Lord. When he is at heart moved by charity such as this he can become regenerate.

[5] From this it is evident that in relation to this state his previous state was an inverse one, that is to say, he believed that to be good which was not in fact good. Nevertheless at the beginning of regeneration he still had to put into practice that which, though not in fact good, he believed to be so since what he knew went no further and since more interior good that flows from charity was not able to enter into any truth apart from that of which he actually knew. It is also evident that more interior good was always present and fashioning it, and this good could not have manifested itself previously until by means of cognitions he had been gradually enlightened about the nature of goods and truths. From this it is evident to some extent what is meant by the good of truth, which 'Jacob' represents here, what is meant by the truth of good, which 'Esau' represents, and that at first these exist inversely but subsequently are joined together.

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