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2 Mose 16

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1 Und sie brachen auf von Elim, und die ganze Gemeinde der Kinder Israel kam in die Wüste Sin, die zwischen Elim und Sinai ist, am fünfzehnten Tage des zweiten Monats nach ihrem Auszuge aus dem Lande Ägypten.

2 Und die ganze Gemeinde der Kinder Israel murrte wieder Mose und wider Aaron in der Wüste.

3 Und die Kinder Israel sprachen zu ihnen: Wären wir doch im Lande Ägypten durch die Hand Jehovas gestorben, als wir bei den Fleischtöpfen saßen, als wir Brot aßen bis zur Sättigung! Denn ihr habt uns in diese Wüste herausgeführt, um diese ganze Versammlung Hungers sterben zu lassen.

4 Da sprach Jehova zu Mose: Siehe, ich werde euch Brot vom Himmel regnen lassen; und das Volk soll hinausgehen und den täglichen Bedarf an seinem Tage sammeln, damit ich es versuche, ob es wandeln wird in meinem Gesetz oder nicht.

5 Und es soll geschehen, am sechsten Tage, da sollen sie zubereiten, was sie einbringen, und es wird das Doppelte von dem sein, was sie tagtäglich sammeln werden.

6 Und Mose und Aaron sprachen zu allen Kindern Israel: Am Abend, da werdet ihr erkennen, daß Jehova euch aus dem Lande Ägypten herausgeführt hat;

7 und am Morgen, da werdet ihr die Herrlichkeit Jehovas sehen, indem er euer Murren wider Jehova gehört hat; denn was sind wir, daß ihr wider uns murret!

8 Und Mose sprach: Dadurch werdet ihr's erkennen, daß Jehova euch am Abend Fleisch zu essen geben wird und am Morgen Brot bis zur Sättigung, indem Jehova euer Murren gehört hat, womit ihr wider ihn murret. Denn was sind wir? Nicht wider uns ist euer Murren, sondern wider Jehova.

9 Und Mose sprach zu Aaron: Sprich zu der ganzen Gemeinde der Kinder Israel: Nahet herzu vor Jehova, denn er hat euer Murren gehört.

10 Und es geschah, als Aaron zu der ganzen Gemeinde der Kinder Israel redete, da wandten sie sich gegen die Wüste; und siehe, die Herrlichkeit Jehovas erschien in der Wolke.

11 Und Jehova redete zu Mose und sprach:

12 Ich habe das Murren der Kinder Israel gehört; rede zu ihnen und sprich: Zwischen den zwei Abenden werdet ihr Fleisch essen, und am Morgen werdet ihr von Brot satt werden; und ihr werdet erkennen, daß ich Jehova bin, euer Gott.

13 Und es geschah am Abend, da kamen Wachteln herauf und bedeckten das Lager; und am Morgen war eine Tauschicht rings um das Lager.

14 Und die Tauschicht stieg auf, und siehe, da lag's auf der Fläche der Wüste fein, körnig, fein, wie der Reif auf der Erde.

15 Und die Kinder Israel sahen es und sprachen einer zum anderen: Was ist das? Denn sie wußten nicht, was es war. Und Mose sprach zu ihnen: Dies ist das Brot, das Jehova euch zur Nahrung gegeben hat.

16 Dies ist das Wort, das Jehova geboten hat: Sammelt davon, ein jeder nach dem Maße seines Essens; einen Ghomer für den Kopf, nach der Zahl eurer Seelen, sollt ihr nehmen, ein jeder für die, welche in seinem Zelte sind.

17 Und die Kinder Israel taten also und sammelten, der viel und der wenig.

18 Und sie maßen mit dem Ghomer: da hatte, wer viel gesammelt hatte, nicht übrig, und wer wenig gesammelt hatte, dem mangelte nicht; sie hatten gesammelt, ein jeder nach dem Maße seines Essens.

19 Und Mose sprach zu ihnen: Niemand lasse davon übrig bis an den Morgen.

20 Aber sie hörten nicht auf Mose, und etliche ließen davon übrig bis an den Morgen; da wuchsen Würmer darin, und es ward stinkend. Und Mose wurde zornig über sie.

21 Und sie sammelten es Morgen für Morgen, ein jeder nach dem Maße seines Essens; und wenn die Sonne heiß wurde, so zerschmolz es.

22 Und es geschah am sechsten Tage, da sammelten sie das Doppelte an Brot, zwei Ghomer für einen; und alle Fürsten der Gemeinde kamen und berichteten es Mose.

23 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Dies ist es, was Jehova geredet hat: Morgen ist Ruhe, ein heiliger Sabbath dem Jehova; was ihr backen wollt, backet, und was ihr kochen wollt, kochet. Alles aber, was übrigbleibt, leget euch hin zur Aufbewahrung bis an den Morgen.

24 Und sie legten es hin bis an den Morgen, so wie Mose geboten hatte; und es stank nicht, und es war kein Wurm darin.

25 Da sprach Mose: Esset es heute, denn heute ist Sabbath dem Jehova; ihr werdet es heute auf dem Felde nicht finden.

26 Sechs Tage sollt ihr es sammeln; aber am siebten Tage ist Sabbath, an dem wird es nicht sein.

27 Und es geschah am siebten Tage, daß etliche von dem Volke hinausgingen, um zu sammeln, und sie fanden nichts.

28 Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Bis wann weigert ihr euch, meine Gebote und meine Gesetze zu beobachten?

29 Sehet, weil Jehova euch den Sabbath gegeben hat, darum gibt er euch am sechsten Tage Brot für zwei Tage; bleibet ein jeder an seiner Stelle, niemand gehe am siebten Tage von seinem Orte heraus.

30 Und das Volk ruhte am siebten Tage.

31 Und das Haus Israel gab ihm den Namen Man; und es war wie Koriandersamen, weiß, und sein Geschmack wie Kuchen mit Honig.

32 Und Mose sprach: Dies ist das Wort, das Jehova geboten hat: Ein Ghomer voll davon sei zur Aufbewahrung für eure Geschlechter, damit sie das Brot sehen, womit ich euch in der Wüste gespeist habe, als ich euch aus dem Lande Ägypten herausführte.

33 Und Mose sprach zu Aaron: Nimm einen Krug und tue Man darein, einen Ghomer voll, und lege es vor Jehova nieder zur Aufbewahrung für eure Geschlechter.

34 So wie Jehova Mose geboten hatte, legte Aaron es vor das Zeugnis nieder, zur Aufbewahrung. -

35 Und die Kinder Israel aßen das Man vierzig Jahre, bis sie in ein bewohntes Land kamen; sie aßen das Man, bis sie an die Grenze des Landes Kanaan kamen.

36 Der Ghomer aber ist ein Zehntel vom Epha.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #8409

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8409. As regards 'flesh' and its meaning the proprium in both the genuine and contrary senses, in the highest sense it is the Lord's Divine proprium, which is His Divine Human, and so is the good of His love towards the entire human race. From this in the sense that relates to man 'flesh' means a proprium made alive by the Lord's Proprium; that is, it is the Lord's Proprium present with the person, and so is the good of love to Him. Regarding the meaning of 'flesh' in this sense, see 3813, 7850. But in the contrary sense 'flesh' is the proprium that is man's own, thus the evil of self-love, and consequently the desires of that love, which are cravings, 999, 3813. The proprium that is man's own is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812 (end), 5660, 5786. The fact that 'flesh' means the proprium that is man's own, thus evil of every kind, is in addition clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

I will feed your oppressors with their flesh, and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isaiah 49:26.

'Feeding with flesh' stands for filling with their own evil.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Cursed is the man (vir) who trusts in man (homo), and makes flesh his arm, but his heart departs from Jehovah. Jeremiah 17:5.

'Making flesh his arm' stands for trusting in power that is one's own; therefore eating the flesh of one's arm stands for trusting in self, Isaiah 9:20. In Isaiah,

Egypt is man (homo) and not God, and his horses are flesh and not spirit. Isaiah 31:3.

'Horses of Egypt' stands for factual knowledge belonging to a perverted understanding, 6125; 'flesh' stands for what is dead, and 'spirit' for what is living. This is why the Egyptians 1 are called great in flesh, Ezekiel 16:26. The expression 'what is dead' is applied to evil, since evil leads to spiritual death, and 'what is living' is applied to good, since good leads to spiritual life.

[3] This explains why 'flesh' and 'spirit' are set in contrast to each other in the Word, as in John,

That which has been born of flesh is flesh, and that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:6.

In the same gospel,

It is the Spirit who bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

In the Book of Genesis,

Jehovah said, My spirit will not reprove man forever, in that he is flesh. Genesis 6:3.

'Flesh' here stands for the proprium that is man's own. Similarly in Matthew,

Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:17.

And in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, 2 nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:12-13.

'The will of the flesh' stands for the proprium, the will part, 'the will of man' for the proprium, the understanding part; and 'sons of God' stands for those who have been regenerated. And those undergoing regeneration all receive life from the Lord's Proprium, which is the Lord's Flesh and body and is Divine Goodness itself.

[4] Since 'flesh' in the contrary sense means the proprium that is man's own, and so means evil, it also means craving, for the life of the flesh, which belongs properly to the body, consists of nothing else than the desires of the senses, the delights of the bodily appetites, and cravings. The fact that 'flesh' means craving is clear from the following verses in Moses,

The rabble who were in the midst of the people had a strong craving, and so the children of Israel wept repeatedly and said, Who will feed us with flesh? But now our soul is dry; there is nothing at all except the man[na] for our eyes [to look] at. And Jehovah said to Moses, You shall say to the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, in order that you may eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who will feed us with flesh, for it was better for us in Egypt? Jehovah will give you flesh to eat - for a whole month, 3 until it comes out of your nose and is loathsome to you. The flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed when Jehovah's anger flared up against the people, and Jehovah struck the people with an extremely great plague. So he called the name of that place The Craves of Craving, because there they buried the people having the craving. Numbers 11:4, 6, 16, 18, 20, 33-34.

From all this one may now see what 'sitting by a pot of flesh in the land of Egypt' means, namely a life according to their own pleasure and such as they craved for, which is the life of the proprium.

Fußnoten:

1. literally, the children (or sons) of Egypt

2. literally, bloods

3. literally, month of days

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

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Arcana Coelestia #3813

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3813. As regards 'flesh', this means in the highest sense the Proprium of the Lord's Divine Human, which is Divine Good, and in the relative sense means the will side of the human proprium when made alive by the Proprium of the Lord's Divine Human, that is, by His Divine Good. This proprium is the one called the heavenly proprium which, in itself the Lord's alone, is appropriated to those who are governed by good and consequently by truth. Such a proprium exists with angels in heaven, and also with men whose interiors, that is, their spirits, are in the Lord's kingdom. But in the contrary sense 'flesh' means the will side of the human proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, and not having been made alive by the Lord is called dead; and the individual himself is for that reason called dead.

[2] That 'flesh' in the highest sense means the Proprium of the Lord's Divine Human, and so His Divine Good, is clear from the Lord's words in John,

Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever. The bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews disputed with one another, saying, How can this man give his flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day; for My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven. John 6:51-58.

Here it is quite evident that 'flesh' means the Proprium of the Lord's Divine Human, and so the Divine Good - His flesh in the Holy Supper being called 'the body'. His body or flesh in the Holy Supper is the Divine Good, and His blood the Divine Truth, see 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735. And since bread and wine have the same meaning as flesh and blood - that is to say, 'bread' is the Lord's Divine Good, and 'wine' His Divine Truth - bread and wine were commanded in place of flesh and blood. This is why the Lord says, 'I am the living bread; the bread which I will give is My flesh; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him; this is the bread which came down from heaven'. 'Eating' means being communicated, being joined to, and being made one's own, see 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596.

[3] The same was represented in the Jewish Church by the law that the flesh of sacrifices was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons, by those persons who brought the sacrifice, and by others who were clean; and that this flesh was holy, see Exodus 12:7-9; 29:30-34; Leviticus 7:15-21; 8:31; Deuteronomy 12:27; 16:4. That being so, if any unclean person ate some of that flesh he was to be cut off from his people, Leviticus 7:21. The fact that these sacrifices were called 'bread', see 2165, and that that sacrificial flesh was called 'holy flesh', Jeremiah 11:15; Haggai 2:12. And in Ezekiel 40:43 where the new Temple is the subject, it is called 'the flesh of the offering which is on the tables in the Lord's kingdom', by which clearly worship of the Lord in His kingdom is meant.

[4] That 'flesh' in the relative sense means the will side of man's proprium when made alive by the Lord is Divine Good is clear also from the following places: In Ezekiel,

I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in your midst; and I will remove the heart of stone out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26.

'The heart of stone out of their flesh' stands for a will and proprium when not made alive, 'a heart of flesh' for a will and proprium when made alive; for 'the heart' is a representative of good in the will, see 2930, 3313, 3635. In David,

O God, You are my God; in the morning I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh in a dry land longs for You, and I am weary without water. Psalms 63:1.

In the same author,

My soul longs for the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh shout for joy to the living God. Psalms 84:2.

[5] In Job,

I have come to know my Redeemer; He is alive; and at the last He will rise above the dust; and afterwards these things will be encompassed by my skin, and out of my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself; and my eyes will behold, and no other. Job 19:25-27.

'Being encompassed by skin' stands for the natural, such as a person possesses after death, dealt with in 3539. 'Out of his flesh seeing God' stands for the proprium when made alive, which is why Job says, 'Whom I shall see for myself; and my eyes will behold, and no other'. Since it was well known in the ancient Churches that 'flesh' meant the proprium, and since the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church, 3540 (end), he accordingly followed the custom of the day and drew on meaningful signs to speak of these, as of many other matters. Those therefore who conclude from what Job said that their dead body is going to be reassembled from the four winds and is going to rise again do not know the internal sense of the Word. Those who are conversant with that sense know that they will enter the next life in a body, but in a purer one. In that life people have purer bodies, for they behold one another, talk to one another, and are endowed with each of the senses, which though like those in the physical body are now keener. The body which a person carries around on earth is designed for activities on earth and therefore consists of flesh and bones, whereas the body that a spirit carries around in the next life is designed for activities in that life and does not consist of flesh and bones but of such things as correspond to these, see 3726.

[6] That 'flesh' in the contrary sense means the will side of the human proprium which in itself is nothing but evil is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Every man will eat the flesh of his own arm. Isaiah 9:20.

In the same prophet,

I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isaiah 49:26.

In Jeremiah,

I will feed them with the flesh of their sons and with the flesh of their daughters, and every man will eat the flesh of his companion. Jeremiah 19:9.

In Zechariah,

Those that are left will eat, every one the flesh of another. Zechariah 11:9.

In Moses,

I will chastise you seven times for your sins, and you will eat the flesh of your sons: and the flesh of your daughters will you eat. Leviticus 26:28-29.

The will side of the human proprium, or man's own natural inclinations, is described in this way because it is nothing but evil and consequent falsity, and so hatred against every form of truth or good, that are meant by 'eating the flesh of their own arm', 'the flesh of sons and daughters', and 'the flesh of another'.

[7] In John,

I saw an angel standing in the sun, who called out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, Come and gather yourselves to the supper of the great God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all free men and slaves, both small and great. Revelation 19:17-18; Ezekiel 39:17-20.

Anyone may see that the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and those seated on them, free men and slaves, is not meant by such expressions. 'Flesh' accordingly has another meaning which has not been known up to now. The fact that evils resulting from falsities, and evils producing falsities, are meant - which evils originate on the will side of the human proprium - is evident from each expression used here.

[8] Since falsity which springs from the understanding side of man's proprium is meant by 'blood' in the internal sense, and evil which springs from the will side of his proprium by 'flesh', the Lord speaks of the person who is to be regenerated as follows,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13.

For this reason 'flesh' is used to mean in general all mankind, see 574, 1050 (end). For whether you speak of man or of man's proprium it amounts to the same.

[9] That 'flesh' in the highest sense means the Lord's Divine Human is evident from the verses quoted above, as well as from the following in John,

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:14.

It is by virtue of this flesh that all other flesh is made alive, that is, by virtue of the Lord's Divine Human, every human being is made alive, through making His love his own, which is meant by 'eating the flesh of the Son of Man', John 6:51-58, and by eating the bread in the Holy Supper - for the bread is His body or flesh, Matthew 26:26-27.

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