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1 Mosebok 31

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1 Så fikk han høre at Labans sønner hadde sagt: Jakob har tatt alt det som vår far eide, og av det som vår far eide, har han lagt sig til all denne rikdom.

2 Og Jakob så på Labans ansikt at han ikke var den samme mot ham som før.

3 Og Herren sa til Jakob: Vend tilbake til dine fedres land og ditt eget folk, og jeg vil være med dig.

4 Da sendte Jakob bud efter akel og Lea og bad dem komme ut på marken, hvor han var med sin buskap.

5 Og han sa til dem: Jeg ser på eders fars ansikt at han ikke er den samme mot mig som før; men min fars Gud har vært med mig.

6 Og I vet selv at jeg av all min evne har tjent eders far.

7 Men eders far har sveket mig og forandret min lønn ti ganger; men Gud lot ham ikke få gjøre mig noget ondt.

8 Når han sa: Det flekkete skal være din lønn, da fikk alt småfeet flekkete unger, og når han sa: Det stripete skal være din lønn, da fikk alt småfeet stripete unger.

9 Således tok Gud eders fars fe fra ham og gav mig det.

10 Og ved den tid småfeet parret sig, så jeg frem for mig i drømme og fikk se at bukkene som parret sig med småfeet, var stripete, flekkete og prikkete.

11 Og Guds engel sa til mig i drømmen: Jakob! Og jeg sa: Ja, her er jeg.

12 Da sa han: Se nu frem for dig, så skal du få Se at alle bukkene som parrer sig med småfeet, er stripete, flekkete og prikkete; for jeg har sett alt det Laban gjør mot dig.

13 Jeg er den Gud som du så i Betel, der hvor du salvet en minnesten, og hvor du gjorde mig et løfte; gjør dig nu rede og dra bort fra dette land, og vend tilbake til ditt fødeland.

14 Da svarte akel og Lea og sa til ham: Har vi vel ennu nogen lodd og arv i vår fars hus?

15 Har han ikke aktet oss som fremmede? Han har jo solgt oss og selv fortært det han fikk for oss.

16 All den rikdom Gud har tatt fra vår far, den hører oss og våre barn til; gjør nu bare du alt det Gud har sagt til dig!

17 Så gjorde Jakob sig ferdig og satte sine barn og hustruer på kamelene,

18 og han tok med sig hele sin buskap og alt det gods som han hadde samlet sig, det fe han eide, og som han hadde lagt sig til i Mesopotamia, og vilde dra til Isak, sin far, i Kana'ans land.

19 Men Laban hadde draget bort for å klippe sine får; da stjal akel sin fars husguder.

20 Og Jakob stjal sig bort fra arameeren Laban; han sa ikke noget til ham om at han vilde flykte.

21 flyktet han med alt det han hadde; han gjorde sig ferdig og satte over elven* og tok veien til Gileadfjellet. / {* Eufrat.}

22 Den tredje dag efter fikk Laban vite at Jakob var flyktet.

23 Da tok han med sig sine frender og satte efter ham syv dagsreiser, og nådde ham igjen på Gilead-fjellet.

24 Men Gud kom til arameeren Laban i en drøm om natten og sa til ham: Vokt dig og si ikke noget til Jakob, hverken godt eller ondt!

25 Da Laban nådde Jakob igjen, hadde Jakob slått op sitt telt på fjellet, og Laban med sine frender slo også op sitt telt på Gilead-fjellet.

26 Da sa Laban til Jakob: Hvad er det du har gjort? Du har stjålet dig bort fra mig og ført mine døtre avsted som om de var tatt i krig.

27 Hvorfor flyktet du hemmelig og stjal dig bort fra mig og sa ikke noget om det til mig, så jeg kunde ha fulgt dig på veien med gledesrop og sanger, med trommer og harper?

28 Du lot mig ikke engang få kysse mine sønner og døtre; det var uforstandig gjort av dig.

29 Jeg har det i min makt å gjøre ondt mot eder; men eders fars Gud sa til mig inatt: Vokt dig og si ikke noget til Jakob, hverken godt eller ondt!

30 Men når du nu har draget bort, fordi du lengtes så såre efter din fars hus, hvorfor stjal du da mine guder?

31 Da svarte Jakob og sa til Laban: Jeg var redd; jeg tenkte at du kunde ta dine døtre fra mig med makt.

32 Men den som du finner dine guder hos, han skal ikke leve. Se nu efter i våre frenders nærvær, om du kjennes ved noget av det jeg har med mig, og ta det så! Men Jakob visste ikke at akel hadde stjålet dem.

33 Da gikk Laban inn i Jakobs telt og i Leas telt og i begge trælkvinnenes telt, men fant ikke noget. Så gikk han ut av Leas telt og inn i akels telt.

34 Men akel hadde tatt husgudene og lagt dem i kamelsalen og satt sig på dem; og Laban gjennemsøkte hele teltet, men fant ikke noget.

35 Og hun sa til sin far: Min herre må ikke bli vred fordi jeg ikke kan reise mig for dig; for det går mig på kvinners vis. Så lette han efter husgudene, men fant dem ikke.

36 Da blev Jakob vred og gikk i rette med Laban. Og Jakob tok til orde og sa til Laban: Hvad er min brøde, hvad er min synd, siden du forfølger mig så?

37 Du har nu gjennemsøkt alt det jeg har; hvad fant du da som hører ditt hus til? Legg det frem her for mine og dine frender, så de kan dømme mellem oss to!

38 Nu har jeg vært hos dig i tyve år; dine får og dine gjeter har ikke født i utide, og værene av ditt småfe har jeg ikke ett op;

39 det som var sønderrevet, kom jeg ikke hjem til dig med; jeg godtgjorde selv skaden; av mig krevde du det, enten det var stjålet om dagen, eller det var stjålet om natten.

40 Slik hadde jeg det: Om dagen fortærtes jeg av hete og av kulde om natten, og søvnen flydde fra mine øine.

41 I tyve år har jeg nu vært i ditt hus, jeg har tjent dig fjorten år for dine to døtre og seks år for ditt småfe; men du forandret min lønn ti ganger.

42 Hadde ikke min fars Gud vært med mig, han som var Abrahams Gud, og som også Isak frykter, sannelig, du hadde nu latt mig fare med tomme hender. Men Gud har sett min møie og alt mitt strev, og han har dømt inatt.

43 Da svarte Laban og sa til Jakob: Døtrene er mine døtre, og barna er mine barn, og buskapen er min buskap, og alt det du ser, er mitt; hvad skulde jeg da nu kunne gjøre mot disse mine døtre eller mot deres barn, som de har født?

44 Så kom nu og la oss gjøre en pakt, jeg og du, og den skal være et vidne mellem mig og dig.

45 Da tok Jakob en sten og reiste den op som en minnesten.

46 Og Jakob sa til sine frender: Sank sammen stener! Og de tok stener og laget en røs; og de holdt måltid der ved stenrøsen.

47 Og Laban kalte den Jegar-Sahaduta, men Jakob kalte den Gal-Ed*. / {* vidnesbyrdets stenrøs.}

48 Da sa Laban: Denne røs skal være et vidne mellem mig og dig idag. Derfor kalte de den Gal-Ed,

49 og tillike Mispa*, fordi han sa: Herren holde vakt mellem mig og dig, når vi kommer hverandre av syne; / {* d.e. et sted hvorfra en skuer vidt omkring.}

50 dersom du farer ille med mine døtre eller tar dig andre hustruer foruten mine døtre, da er det vel intet menneske hos oss, men se, Gud er vidne mellem mig og dig.

51 sa Laban til Jakob: Se, denne røs og denne minnesten som jeg har reist mellem mig og dig -

52 vidner skal de være, både røsen og minnestenen, at ikke skal jeg dra til dig forbi denne røs, og at heller ikke skal du dra til mig forbi denne røs og denne minnesten med ondt i sinne.

53 Abrahams Gud og Nakors Gud skal dømme mellem oss, han som var deres fars Gud. Så svor Jakob ved ham som hans far Isak fryktet.

54 Og Jakob ofret et slaktoffer på fjellet og innbød sine frender til måltid. Og de holdt måltid og blev natten over på fjellet.

55 Morgenen efter stod Laban tidlig op, og han kysset sine sønner og sine døtre og velsignet dem. Så drog Laban hjem igjen.

   

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #4210

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4210. 'Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain' means worship founded on good that stems from love. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sacrifice' as worship, dealt with in 922, 923, 2180, and from the meaning of 'the mountain' as good that stems from love, 795, 796, 1430. 'A sacrifice' means worship because sacrifices and burnt offerings were the major features of all worship in the later representative Church, which was the Hebrew Church. They also used to sacrifice on mountains, as is clear from various places in the Word, because 'mountains' on account of their height meant the things which were high, such as those are which belong to heaven and are called heavenly; and having this meaning they also meant, in the highest sense, the Lord, whom they called the Most High. It was the outward appearance that led them to think in this way, for the things that are interior give the appearance of being higher, as heaven does with man. Heaven is interiorly within him, and yet he supposes it to be on high. This is the reason why, when the expression 'high' is used in the Word, that which is interior is meant in the internal sense.

[2] In the world people inevitably take heaven to be on high. One reason why they do so is that the word 'heaven' is used for the visible expanse which encircles them on high and another is that man is a dweller within time and space and so thinks from ideas derived from these. And a further reason is that few are aware of what anything interior may be, and fewer still are aware that neither place nor time exist there. This is why the mode of expression employed in the Word is one that accords with the ideas present in man's thought. If it had not accorded with those ideas but with angelic ideas man would have perceived nothing at all, but everyone would have stood wondering what it was and whether it was anything at all, and so would have rejected it as being devoid of anything intelligible.

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

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Arcana Coelestia #2180

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2180. 'And took a young bull, tender and good' means a celestial-natural which the rational took to itself in order that it might join itself to perception from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' in the Word as natural good. And because the subject is the Lord's Rational, it is called 'tender' from the celestial-spiritual, which is truth grounded in good, and 'good' from the celestial itself, which is good itself. Within the genuine rational there is both the affection for truth and the affection for good, but that which is first and foremost there is the affection for truth, as shown already in 2072. This explains why 'tender' is mentioned before 'good'; but even so, as is quite usual in the Word, both are mentioned on account of the marriage of truth and good which is referred to above in 2173.

[2] That 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' means the celestial-natural, or what amounts to the same, natural good, becomes especially clear from the sacrifices, which were the principal representatives in the worship of the Hebrew Church and after this of the Jewish Church. Their sacrifices were made either from the herd or from the flock, thus from animals of various kinds that were clean, such as oxen, young bulls, he-goats, sheep, rams, she-goats, kids, and lambs, besides doves and fledgling pigeons. All of these creatures meant the internal features of worship, that is, celestial and spiritual things, 2165, 2177, those from the herd meaning celestial-natural, those from the flock celestial-rational. Because both of these - natural things and rational things - are more and more interior and are various, so many genera and so many species of these creatures were therefore employed in sacrifices. This fact becomes clear also from its being laid down as to which creatures were to be offered in burnt offerings and also which in every kind of sacrifice - the daily sacrifices; those offered on sabbaths and at festivals; those made as free-will, eucharistic, or votive offerings; and those offered in purifications, cleansings, and also in inaugurations. Which creatures were to be used, and how many, in each kind of sacrifice is mentioned explicitly. This would never have been done unless each one had had some specific meaning, as is quite evident from those places where the sacrifices are the subject, as in Chapter 29 of Exodus; Chapters 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, and 23 of Leviticus; and Chapters 7, 8, 15, and 29 of Numbers. But this is not the place to explain what each one meant. The situation is similar in the Prophets where those animals are mentioned, from which it may become clear that young bulls meant celestial-natural things.

[3] That none but heavenly things were meant becomes clear also from the cherubim seen by Ezekiel and from the living creatures before the throne which were seen by John. Regarding the cherubim the prophet says,

The likeness of their faces was the face of a man (homo); and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; and they four had the face of an eagle. Ezekiel 1:10.

Regarding the four living creatures before the throne John says,

Around the throne were four living creatures - the first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a young bull, the third living creature had a face like a man (homo), the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle - saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. Revelation 4:7-8.

Anyone may see that holy things were represented by the cherubim and these living creatures, thus also by the oxen and young bulls in the sacrifices. The same applies in the prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph,

Let it come upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite among his brothers. The firstborn of his ox has honour, and his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with these he will thrust the peoples together, to the ends of the earth. Deuteronomy 33:16-17.

These words are not intelligible to anyone unless he knows what ox, unicorn, horns, and many other things mean in the internal sense.

[4] As for sacrifices in general they were indeed commanded to the Israelites through Moses. But the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood never knew anything at all about sacrifices, nor did it ever enter their minds to worship the Lord by the slaughtering of animals. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood knew nothing about it either. Representatives did indeed exist there, but not sacrifices. These were first introduced in the subsequent Church called the Hebrew Church, and from there they spread to the gentile nations, and even to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so to Jacob's descendants. The fact that the gentile nations had sacrificial worship has been shown in 1343, and the fact that Jacob's descendants also had such worship before they left Egypt, thus before sacrifices were commanded through Moses on Mount Sinai, becomes clear from Exodus 5:3; 10:25, 27; 18:12; 24:4-5.

[5] This is especially clear from their idolatrous worship in front of the golden calf, regarding which the following is said in Moses,

Aaron built an altar in front of the calf, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early the next morning and presented burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Exodus 32:5-6.

This happened while Moses was on Mount Sinai, and so before the command came to them regarding the altar and the sacrifices. That command came to them for the reason that sacrificial worship among them had been turned, as it had among the gentiles, into idolatrous worship, from which they could not be drawn away because they looked upon it as-the chief holy thing. Once something has been implanted in people from their earliest years as being holy, the more so if received from their fathers, and thus is inrooted, the Lord in no way breaks it - provided it is not contrary to order itself - but bends it. This was the reason for its being laid down that the sacrificial system should be established, such as one reads in the books of Moses.

[6] The fact that sacrifices were by no means acceptable to Jehovah, and so were merely permitted and tolerated for the reason just stated, is quite evident in the Prophets. Concerning them the following is said in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, Add your burnt offerings on to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. I did not speak with your fathers and I did not command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt on the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But this matter I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God. Jeremiah 7:21-23.

In David,

O Jehovah, sacrifice and offering You have not desired; burnt offering and sin-sacrifices You have not sought. I have delighted to do Your will, O my God. Psalms 40:6, 8.

In the same author,

You do not delight in sacrifice that I should give it; burnt offering You do not accept. The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit. Psalms 51:16-17.

In the same author,

I will not take any young bull from your house, nor he-goats from your folds. Sacrifice to God confession. Psalms 50:9, 14; 107:21-22; 116:17; Deuteronomy 23:18.

In Hosea,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

Samuel said to Saul,

Has Jehovah great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to be submissive is better than sacrifice, to be obedient than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22.

In Micah,

With what shall I come before Jehovah and bow myself to God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement, and to love mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:6-8.

[7] From these quotations it is now evident that sacrifices were not commanded but permitted, and also that in sacrifices nothing else was regarded except that which was internal, and that it was that which was internal that was pleasing, not that which was external. For this reason also the Lord abolished them, as was also foretold through Daniel in the following words when he was speaking about the Lord's Coming,

In the middle of the week He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. Daniel 9:27.

See what has been stated about sacrifices in Volume One, in 922, 923, 1128, 1823. As for 'the young bull' which Abraham made ready or prepared for the three men, the meaning is similar to that of the same animals when used in sacrifices. That it had a similar meaning becomes clear also from the fact that he told Sarah to take three measures of fine flour. Regarding the fine flour that went with the offering of a young bull the following is said in Moses - referring to when they were to come into the land,

When you make ready a young bull for a burnt offering or a sacrifice in the declaring of a vow, or for peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall bring with the young bull a minchah of three tenths of fine flour mixed with oil. Numbers 15:8-9.

Here similarly the number 'three' appears, though three 'tenths' here but three 'measures' in Abraham's instruction to Sarah. But only two tenths went with the offering of a ram, one tenth with that of a lamb, Numbers 15:4-6.

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