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Numbers 32

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1 And multitude of livestock for the sons of Reuben and for the sons of Gad was very numerous; and they saw the land of Jaazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock,

2 the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the chiefs of the congregation, saying,

3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

4 the land which Jehovah smote before the congregation of Israel, it is a land for livestock, and thy servants have livestock;

5 and they said, If we have·​·found grace in thine eyes, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession; bring· us not ·across the Jordan.

6 And Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, Shall your brothers go·​·in to battle, and you shall sit here?

7 And why do you discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from going·​·across into the land which Jehovah has given to them?

8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land,

9 and they went·​·up to the brook of Eshcol, and saw the land; they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel, that they should not go·​·in to the land which Jehovah had given them.

10 And Jehovah’s anger was·​·fierce in that day, and He promised, saying,

11 Shall the men who went·​·up out·​·of Egypt, from a son of twenty years and upward, see the ground which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob? for they have not fully followed after Me;

12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have fully followed after Jehovah.

13 And the anger of Jehovah was·​·fierce against Israel, and He made them meander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation who had done the evil in the eyes of Jehovah was entirely consumed.

14 And, behold, you have risen·​·up in your fathers’ stead, a multiplying of men, sinners, to add yet·​·again onto the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel.

15 If you turn·​·back from following after Him, then He will yet again place them in the wilderness; and you shall destroy all this people.

16 And they approached him, and said, We will build fences of the flock for our livestock here, and cities for our infants;

17 but we ourselves will hurry armed before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our infants shall dwell in the fortified cities on·​·account·​·of those dwelling·​·in the land.

18 We will not return to our houses, until the sons of Israel have inherited each·​·man his inheritance.

19 For we will not inherit with them from the crossing of the Jordan and beyond; for our inheritance has come to us from the crossing of the Jordan toward the sunrise.

20 And Moses said to them, If you will do this thing, if you will go armed before Jehovah to war,

21 and will cross· all of you armed ·over the Jordan before Jehovah, until He has dispossessed His enemies from before Him,

22 and the land be subdued before Jehovah; then after this you shall return, and be innocent before Jehovah, and before Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before Jehovah.

23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Jehovah; and know that your sin will find you.

24 Build for yourselves cities for your infants, and fences for your flock; and you shall do that which has gone·​·out from your mouth.

25 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben said to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commands.

26 Our infants, our wives, our livestock, and all our beasts, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;

27 but thy servants will cross·​·over, every man armed for the army, before Jehovah for the battle, as my lord speaks.

28 And as·​·to them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel;

29 and Moses said to them, If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross· with you ·over the Jordan, every man armed for the battle, before Jehovah, and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;

30 but if they will not cross·​·over with you armed, then they shall have·​·possession in your midst in the land of Canaan.

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, What Jehovah has spoken to thy servants, so we will do.

32 We will cross·​·over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance across the Jordan may be with us.

33 And Moses gave to them, even to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, and to the half tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with her cities in the borders, the cities of the land all around.

34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

35 and Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

36 and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified cities; and fences for the flock.

37 And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,

38 and Nebo, and Baalmeon, their names being changed*, and Sibmah; and they called by names the names of the cities which they built.

39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.

40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt in her.

41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took her hamlets, and called them Havoth-jair*.

42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath, and her villages*, and called her Nobah, after his own name.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Reuben

  

'Reuben,' in the highest sense, signifies omniscience. In a spiritual sense, he signifies wisdom, intelligence, science, and faith. In a natural sense, he signifies sight. In Revelation 7:5, 'Reuben' signifies wisdom because he comes after Judah, who signifies celestial love, and celestial love produces wisdom because no love exists without its consort, which is science, intelligence, and wisdom. The consort of natural love is science, the consort of spiritual love is intelligence, and the consort of celestial love is wisdom. 'Reuben' signifies these things because he was named for 'seeing' or 'sight,' and spiritual-natural sight is science, spiritual sight is intelligence, and celestial sight is wisdom. Also, 'Reuben' was the firstborn of Jacob, and was therefore called his 'might, the beginning of [his] strength, excelling in eminence, and excelling in worth.' This is the nature of wisdom originating in celestial love. Because 'Reuben' was the firstborn, he represents and signifies the wisdom of the people of the church. This is why he urged his brothers not to kill Joseph, and grieved when Joseph was not found in the pit in Genesis 37:21, 22. This is also why his tribe camped in the south, and was called 'the camp of Reuben.' The south also signifies wisdom originating in love, which is people in this wisdom in heaven dwell to the south. 'The tribe of Reuben' in an opposite sense symbolizes wisdom divorced from love, and faith divorced from charity. This is why his father Israel cursed him in Genesis 49:3, 4. He was also deprived of his birthright in 1 Chronicles 5:1. For the same reason the tribe was given an inheritance across the Jordan and not in the land of Canaan. Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, were also acknowledged in place of Reuben and Simeon in Genesis 48:5. Nevertheless, he still retains the positive representation and symbolism of wisdom.

(Verweise: Apocalypse Revealed 351; Numbers 2:10-16)

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Apocalypse Revealed #351

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351. Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed. This symbolizes wisdom springing from celestial love in those people who will be in the New Heaven and in the Lord's New Church.

In the highest sense Reuben symbolizes omniscience; in the spiritual sense, wisdom, intelligence and knowledge, also faith; and in the natural sense, sight. Here, however, Reuben symbolizes wisdom, because he comes after Judah, who symbolizes celestial love, and celestial love produces wisdom. For there is no love without its partner, which is knowledge, intelligence, or wisdom. The partner of natural love is knowledge; that of spiritual love is intelligence; and that of celestial love is wisdom.

[2] Reuben symbolizes these three because his name was derived from a word meaning to look or see, and natural sight spiritually is knowledge, spiritual sight is intelligence, and celestial sight is wisdom.

Reuben was also Jacob's firstborn, and therefore Israel called him "my might, the beginning of my strength, excellent in eminence and excellent in valor" (Genesis 49:3). Of such a character also is wisdom springing from celestial love.

Moreover, because by virtue of his primogeniture Reuben represented and so symbolized the wisdom possessed by people of the church, therefore he urged his brothers not to kill Joseph, and he grieved when he found Joseph not in the pit (Genesis 37:21-22, 29-30).

For the same reason his tribe camped on the south side of the Tabernacle, and the tribes camped on that side were called the Camp of Reuben (Numbers 2:10-16). The south, too, symbolizes wisdom springing from love. Consequently people in heaven who have that wisdom dwell toward the south (see the book Heaven and Hell, 148-150nos. ).

This wisdom is symbolized by Reuben in the prophetic utterance of Deborah and Barak:

Among the divisions of Reuben were great resolves of heart... Why do you sit among the packs, (Issachar,) to hear the rustling of the flocks? To listen to the divisions of Reuben (where there are) great searchings of heart? (Judges 5:15-16)

The divisions of Reuben are concepts of every kind, which have to do with wisdom.

[3] Because the tribes all symbolize their opposites as well, so too does the tribe of Reuben; and in an opposite sense he symbolizes wisdom divorced from love, and thus also faith divorced from charity. Therefore his father Israel cursed him (Genesis 49:3-4). And therefore he was deprived of his primogeniture (1 Chronicles 5:1; see no. 17 above). For the same reason, too, the tribe was given an inheritance in the Trans-Jordan and not in the land of Canaan. And Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, were acknowledged in the place of Reuben and Simeon (Genesis 48:5).

Nevertheless, he still retained the representation and consequent symbolism of wisdom.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.