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1 Mose 25

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1 Abraham nahm wieder ein Weib, die hieß Ketura.

2 Die gebar ihm Simran und Joksan, Medan und Midian, Jesbak und Suah.

3 Joksan aber zeugte Saba und Dedan. Die Kinder aber von Dedan waren: die Assuriter, die Letusiter und die Leumiter.

4 Die Kinder Midians waren: Epha, Epher, Henoch, Abida und Eldaa. Diese alle sind Kinder der Ketura.

5 Und Abraham gab all sein Gut Isaak.

6 Aber den Kindern, die er von den Kebsweibern hatte, gab er Geschenke und ließ sie von seinen Sohn Isaak ziehen, dieweil er noch lebte, gegen Aufgang in das Morgenland.

7 Das aber ist Abrahams Alter, das er gelebt hat: hundertfünfundsiebzig Jahre.

8 Und er nahm ab und starb in einem ruhigen Alter, da er alt und lebenssatt war, und ward zu seinem Volk gesammelt.

9 Und es begruben ihn die Söhne Isaak und Ismael in der zwiefachen Höhle auf dem Acker Ephrons, des Sohnes Zohars, des Hethiters, die da liegt Mamre gegenüber,

10 in dem Felde, das Abraham von den Kindern Heth gekauft hatte. Da ist Abraham begraben mit Sara, seinem Weibe.

11 Und nach dem Tode Abrahams segnete Gott Isaak, seinen Sohn. Und er wohnte bei dem Brunnen des Lebendigen und Sehenden.

12 Dies ist das Geschlecht Ismaels, des Sohnes Abrahams, den ihm Hagar gebar, die Magd Saras aus Ägypten;

13 und das sind die Namen der Kinder Ismaels, davon ihre Geschlechter genannt sind: der erstgeborene Sohn Ismaels, Nebajoth, -Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam,

14 Misma, Duma, Massa,

15 Hadar, Thema, Jetur, Naphis und Kedma.

16 Dies sind die Kinder Ismaels mit ihren Namen in ihren Höfen und Zeltdörfern, zwölf Fürsten über ihre Leute.

17 Und das ist das Alter Ismaels: hundert und siebenunddreißig Jahre. Und er nahm ab und starb und ward gesammelt zu seinem Volk.

18 Und sie wohnten von Hevila an bis gen Sur vor Ägypten und bis wo man nach Assyrien geht. Er ließ sich aber nieder gegen alle seine Brüder.

19 Dies ist das Geschlecht Isaaks, des Sohnes Abrahams: Abraham zeugte Isaak.

20 Isaak aber war vierzig Jahre alt, da er Rebekka zum Weibe nahm, die Tochter Bethuels, des Syrers, von Mesopotamien, Labans, des Syrers Schwester.

21 Isaak aber bat den HERRN für sein Weib, denn sie war unfruchtbar. Und der HERR ließ sich erbitten, und Rebekka, sein Weib, ward schwanger.

22 Und die Kinder stießen sich miteinander in ihrem Leibe. Da sprach sie: Da mir's also sollte gehen, warum bin ich schwanger geworden? und sie ging hin, den HERRN zu fragen.

23 Und der HERR sprach zu ihr: Zwei Völker sind in deinem Leibe, und zweierlei Leute werden sich scheiden aus deinem Leibe; und ein Volk wird dem andern Überlegen sein, und der Ältere wird dem Jüngeren dienen.

24 Da nun die Zeit kam, daß sie gebären sollte, siehe, da waren Zwillinge in ihrem Leibe.

25 Der erste, der herauskam, war rötlich, ganz rauh wie ein Fell; und sie nannten ihn Esau.

26 Darnach kam heraus sein Bruder, der hielt mit seiner Hand die Ferse des Esau; und sie hießen ihn Jakob. Sechzig Jahre alt war Isaak, da sie geboren wurden.

27 Und da nun die Knaben groß wurden, ward Esau ein Jäger und streifte auf dem Felde, Jakob aber ein sanfter Mann und blieb in seinen Hütten.

28 Und Isaak hatte Esau lieb und aß gern von seinem Weidwerk; Rebekka aber hatte Jakob lieb.

29 Und Jakob kochte ein Gericht. Da kam Esau vom Felde und war müde

30 und sprach zu Jakob: Laß mich kosten das rote Gericht; denn ich bin müde. Daher heißt er Edom.

31 Aber Jakob sprach: Verkaufe mir heute deine Erstgeburt.

32 Esau antwortete: Siehe, ich muß doch sterben; was soll mir denn die Erstgeburt?

33 Jakob sprach: So schwöre mir heute. Und er schwur ihm und verkaufte also Jakob seine Erstgeburt.

34 Da gab ihm Jakob Brot und das Linsengericht, und er und trank und stand auf und ging davon. Also verachtete Esau seine Erstgeburt.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #3527

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3527. 'And I am a smooth man' means the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. This is clear from the representation of Jacob, to whom 'I' refers here, as the natural as regards truth, dealt with in 3305, and from the meaning of 'a smooth man' as the nature of it, which is dealt with below. Before anyone can know what these words mean he needs to know what 'hairy' means and what 'smooth' means. The inner things present in a person manifest themselves outwardly in some visible form, especially in his face and facial expressions. The things that are inmost within him are not seen there at the present day, only to some extent things less interior than those inmost ones. But not even these are seen, if he has learned since early childhood to employ presence, for in that case he adopts so to speak a different disposition of mind (animus) and as a consequence produces a different facial expression - it being the disposition of mind (animus) that shows in the face. Hypocrites more than all others have become steeped in such presence from actually behaving, and so becoming accustomed to behave in such ways; and the more deceitful they are the more thoroughly are they steeped in it. With people who are not hypocrites rational good is seen in the face as the manifestation of a certain fire of life, and rational truth as the manifestation of the light of that fire. These matters a person is aware of from a certain innate knowledge without having to learn them, for it is the life of his spirit as regards good and as regards truth that manifests itself in this way. And because man is a spirit clothed with a body he knows about such a thing as this from a perception of it in his spirit, and so is aware of it from within himself. This is why a person is on occasions stirred with affection by another's facial expression, though it is not the facial expression that stirs him but the disposition of mind shining through it. The natural degree of the mind however reveals itself in the face as a more obscure fire of life and more obscure light of life, while the bodily degree scarcely does so as more than a warm and bright complexion, and as the change of their states in accordance with affections.

[2] Because the inner things present in a person manifest themselves thus in a visible form, especially in the face, the most ancient people - who were celestial and had no knowledge at all of what it was to employ presence, let alone of what hypocrisy or what deceit was - were able to see the mind of another plainly revealed in his face. For this reason the face also meant things of the will and those of the understanding, that is, interior rational things as regards good and truth, 358, 1999, 2434. Indeed those interior things as regards good were meant by the blood and its redness, and as regards truths by the form resulting from it, and its pure whiteness. But interior natural things were meant by things growing out of these, such as hairs and scales are; that is to say, things stemming from the natural as regards good were meant by 'hairs' and those stemming from the natural as regards truth by 'scales'. Consequently people governed by natural good were called 'hairy men' whereas those governed by natural truth were called 'smooth men'. These considerations show what these words 'Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man' mean in the internal sense, namely the nature of natural good compared with natural truth, and the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. From this it is also evident what Esau represents, that is to say, the good of the natural; for he was called Esau because of his hairiness, Genesis 25:25, and Edom because of his ruddiness, Genesis 25:30. And Mount Seir where he dwelt also has a similar meaning, namely, shaggy. This being so, the mountain that led up to Seir was called the bald or smooth mountain, mentioned in Joshua 11:17; 12:7, which was also the representative of truth leading upwards to good.

[3] 'Hairy' has reference to good and from this to truth, and also in the contrary sense to evil and from this to falsity, as has been shown in 3301. But 'smooth' has reference to truth and in the contrary sense to falsity, as is also evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every green tree, among the smooth [stones] of the valley is your portion. Isaiah 57:5-6.

Here 'inflaming' has reference to evil, 'smooth [stones] of the valley' to falsity. In the same prophet,

The craftsman encourages the smith, the one rubbing smooth the hammer by his striking the anvil, and says of the soldering. It is good. Isaiah 41:7.

Here 'the craftsman encourages the smith' has reference to evil, 'the one rubbing smooth the hammer' to falsity. In David,

Butter makes his 1 mouth smooth; when his heart draws near, his words are softer than oil. Psalms 55:21.

Here 'a smooth mouth' or flattery refers to falsity, 'heart' and consequent soft words to evil. In the same author,

Their throat is an open sepulchre, they speak smooth things with their tongue. Psalms 5:9.

'Throat is an open sepulchre' refers to evil, 'tongue speaking smooth things' to falsity. In Luke,

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked places will be made straight, and the rough places into level ways. Luke 3:5.

'Valley' stands for what is lowly, 1723, 3417, 'mountain and hill' for what is exalted, 1691. 'The crooked made straight' stands for turning into good that evil which is due to ignorance, for 'length' and things to do with length have reference to good, 1613; 'rough places into level ways' stands for turning into truths those falsities which are due to ignorance - 'way' having reference to truth, 627, 2333.

Fußnoten:

1. The Latin means your but the Hebrew means his.

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