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1 Mose 22

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1 Nach diesen Geschichten versuchte Gott Abraham und sprach zu ihm: Abraham! Und er antwortete: Hier bin ich.

2 Und er sprach: Nimm Isaak, deinen einigen Sohn, den du lieb hast, und gehe hin in das Land Morija und opfere ihn daselbst zum Brandopfer auf einem Berge, den ich dir sagen werde.

3 Da stund Abraham des Morgens frühe auf und gürtete seinen Esel und nahm mit sich zween Knaben und seinen Sohn Isaak und spaltete Holz zum Brandopfer, machte sich auf und ging hin an den Ort, davon ihm Gott gesagt, hatte.

4 Am dritten Tage hub Abraham seine Augen auf und sah die Stätte von ferne.

5 Und sprach zu seinen Knaben: Bleibet ihr hie mit dem Esel; ich und der Knabe wollen dorthin gehen; und wenn wir angebetet haben, wollen wir wieder zu euch kommen.

6 Und Abraham nahm das Holz zum Brandopfer und legte es auf seinen Sohn Isaak; er aber nahm das Feuer und Messer in seine Hand, und gingen die beiden miteinander.

7 Da sprach Isaak zu seinem Vater Abraham: Mein Väter! Abraham antwortete: Hie bin ich, mein Sohn. Und er sprach: Siehe, hie ist Feuer und Holz; wo ist aber das Schaf zum Brandopfer?

8 Abraham antwortete: Mein Sohn, Gott wird ihm ersehen ein Schaf zum Brandopfer. Und gingen die beiden miteinander.

9 Und als sie kamen an die Stätte, die ihm Gott sagte, bauete Abraham daselbst einen Altar und legte das Holz drauf und band seinen Sohn Isaak, legte ihn auf den Altar oben auf das Holz

10 und reckte seine Hand aus und fassete das Messer, daß er seinen Sohn schlachtete.

11 Da rief ihm der Engel des HERRN vom Himmel und sprach: Abraham, Abraham! Er antwortete: Hie bin ich.

12 Er sprach: Lege deine Hand nicht an den Knaben und tu ihm nichts! Denn nun weiß ich, daß du Gott fürchtest und hast deines einigen Sohnes nicht verschonet um meinetwillen.

13 Da hub Abraham seine Augen auf und sah einen Widder hinter ihm in der Hecke mit seinen Hörnern hangen; und ging hin und nahm den Widder und opferte ihn zum Brandopfer an seines Sohnes Statt.

14 Und Abraham hieß die Stätte: Der HERR siehet. Daher man noch heutigestages saget: Auf dem Berge, da der HERR siehet.

15 Und der Engel des HERRN rief Abraham abermal vom Himmel

16 und sprach: Ich habe bei mir selbst geschworen, spricht der HERR, dieweil du solches getan hast und hast deines einigen Sohnes nicht verschonet,

17 daß ich deinen Samen segnen und mehren will wie die Sterne am Himmel und wie den Sand am Ufer des Meeres; und dein Same soll besitzen die Tore seiner Feinde.

18 Und durch deinen Samen sollen alle Völker auf Erden gesegnet werden, darum daß du meiner Stimme gehorchet hast.

19 Also kehrete Abraham wieder zu seinen Knaben; und machten sich auf und zogen miteinander gen Bersaba und wohnete daselbst.

20 Nach diesen Geschichten begab sich's, daß Abraham angesagt ward: Siehe, Milka hat auch Kinder geboren deinem Bruder Nahor,

21 nämlich Uz, den Erstgeborenen, und Bus, seinen Bruder, und Kemuel, von dem die Syrer kommen,

22 und Chesed und Haso und Pildas und Jedlaph und Bethuel.

23 Bethuel aber zeugete Rebekka. Diese acht gebar Milka dem Nahor, Abrahams Bruder.

24 Und sein Kebsweib, mit Namen Rehuma, gebar auch, nämlich den Theba, Gaham, Thahas und Maacha.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #921

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921. 'Noah built an altar to Jehovah' means a representative of the Lord. This is clear from what has been stated just above. All the religious observances of the Ancient Church were representative of the Lord, as also were those of the Jewish Church. But the chief representative in later times was the altar, and also the burnt offering, which, because it was made from clean beasts and clean birds, represented the same as that of which it was the meaningful sign. Clean beasts represented goods that stem from charity, and clean birds the truths of faith. And when offering these, members of the Ancient Church meant that they were offering gifts of those goods or truths to the Lord. Nothing else can be offered up to the Lord that will please Him. But their descendants, like the gentiles, and also the Jews, corrupted these offerings, for they did not even know that these had such a meaning. They confined worship solely to things of an external nature.

[2] That the altar was the chief representative of the Lord becomes clear also from the consideration that there were altars even among gentiles before all the other religious observances were established, before the Ark [of the Covenant] was made, and before the Temple was built. This is clear from Abram's going on to the mountain east of Bethel, erecting an altar, and calling on the name of Jehovah, Genesis 12:8; from his being commanded to offer Isaac as a burnt offering on an altar, Genesis 22:2, 9, from Jacob's building an altar in Luz, which was Bethel, Genesis 35:6-7; and from Moses' building an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai and offering sacrifice, Exodus 24:4-6. Each of these events took place before the establishment of the sacrificial system and before the construction of the Ark, the place where worship was at a later time celebrated in the wilderness. The fact that gentiles too had altars is clear from what is said about Balaam telling Balak to build seven altars and to prepare seven young bulls and seven rams, Numbers 23:1-7, 15-18, 29-30, and also from the command to destroy the altars of the nations, as in Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2. Consequently Divine worship involving the use of altars and sacrifices was not something new when it was established among the Jews. Indeed men were building altars, especially those for commemorative purposes, before they ever knew of immolating young bulls and other animals on them.

[3] That 'altars' means a representative of the Lord, and 'burnt offerings' consequent worship of Him, is quite clear from the Prophets and also in Moses where Levi to whom the priesthood was entrusted is the subject,

They will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nostrils, and whole (burnt offering) upon Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

This stands for the whole of worship. 'Teaching Jacob His judgements, and Israel His law' stands for internal worship, while 'putting incense in His nostrils, and whole [burnt offering] on the altar' stands for corresponding external worship, and so for the whole of worship. In Isaiah,

On that day a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. Isaiah 17:7-8.

Here 'looking to the altars' clearly means representative worship in general, which was to be abolished. In the same prophet,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah. Isaiah 19:19.

Here too 'altar' stands for external worship.

[4] In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abhorred His sanctuary. Lamentations 2:7.

'Altar' stands for representative worship which had become idolatrous. In Hosea,

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have been to him altars for sinning. Hosea 8:11.

'Altars' here stands for all representative worship separated from internal, and so stands for what is idolatrous. In the same prophet,

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

Here too 'altars' stands for idolatrous worship. In Amos,

On the day I visit Israel for his transgressions, I will visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut off. Amos 3:14.

Here also 'altars' stands for representative worship that had become idolatrous.

[5] In David,

They will bring me to Your holy mountain, and to Your dwellings! Then I will go in to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. Psalms 43:3-4.

Here 'altar' clearly stands for the Lord. So the making of an altar in the Ancient and the Jewish Churches stood for a representative of the Lord. Because worship of the Lord was carried out principally by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and these principally meant representative worship, it is clear that the altar itself means representative worship itself.

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