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Genesis 21

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

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

3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

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

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

6 And Sarah said, God has made me laugh: all that hear will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, Sarah will suckle children? 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 to Abraham, mocking.

10 And she said to Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son -- with Isaac.

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

12 And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad and because of thy handmaid: [in] all that Sarah hath said to thee hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee.

13 But also 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 flask of water, and gave [it] to Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder -- and the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water was exhausted from the flask; and she cast the child under one of the shrubs,

16 and she went and sat down over against [him], a bow-shot off; for she said, Let me not behold 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 from the heavens, and said to her, What [aileth] thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad there, where he is.

18 Arise, take the lad, and hold him in thy hand; for I will make of him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the flask 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 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 Phichol the captain of his host, spoke to Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest.

23 And now swear to me here by God that thou wilt not deal deceitfully with me, nor with my son, nor with my grandson. According to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land in which thou sojournest.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water that Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this, neither hast thou told me [of it], neither have I heard [of it] but to-day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

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

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What [mean] these seven ewe-lambs, these which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, That thou take the seven ewe-lambs of my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well.

31 Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there they had sworn, both of them.

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

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

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

   

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Arcana Coelestia #2679

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2679. 'And she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba' means a state of wandering from one position to another in matters of doctrine regarding faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'going and wandering in the wilderness' as a state of wandering from one position to another, and from the meaning of 'Beersheba' as the doctrine of faith, dealt with at the end of this chapter, where it is said that Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant in Beersheba, verse 32, and Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, verse 33. The present verse describes the nature of the state to begin with of those who are being reformed, that is to say, it is a state when they are carried away into various errors. For they are given by the Lord to think much about eternal life, and so to think much about the truths of faith; but because they do so from the proprium, as has been stated, they cannot do other than wander into this position and then into that both in doctrine and in life. Thus they hold to that as being the truth which has been instilled into them since early childhood, or which is impressed on them by others, or which they think out for themselves, quite apart from the consideration that various affections of which they are not aware exist to mislead them. These people are like fruit as yet unripe, to which shape, beauty, and flavour cannot be given in an instant, or like tender blades of corn which are unable to flower or to grow ears in an instant. The ideas however which enter in at that time, even though they are for the most part erroneous, are nevertheless such as may serve to promote growth; and later on when those persons are being reformed, such erroneous ideas are partly separated, and partly are of use in imparting so to speak nourishment and juices to the life that follows. These in turn can be adapted partly to the implantation subsequently of goods and truths by the Lord, and partly to serving as the ultimate planes for spiritual things. Thus they serve continuously as means to reformation, which means follow consecutively in an unbroken chain and order. For every least thing with man is foreseen by the Lord and is provided by Him for his future state which continues for ever. This is done for his own good, to the extent that this is in any way possible and the person allows himself to be led by the Lord.

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