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Genesis 20

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1 And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister: And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, on account of the woman whom thou hast taken: for she is a man's wife.

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou also slay a righteous nation?

5 Said he not to me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself Said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart, and innocence of my hands have I done this.

6 And God said to him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore I suffered thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou shalt not restore her, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were greatly afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, What has thou done to us? and in what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds to me that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show to me; At every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16 And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, to all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

17 So Abraham prayed to God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants, and they bore children.

18 For the LORD had made barren all the females of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #2526

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2526. 'And in the blamelessness of my hands have I done this' means the product of the affection for truth and thus of all that enables one so to think. This is clear from the meaning of 'blamelessness' and also of 'hands'. The original language expresses 'blamelessness' by means of a word which also means cleanliness and purity. 'Hands' has reference to truth and means power, and thus means an ability so to think, 878. The reason why 'in the uprightness of my heart and in the blamelessness of my hands have I done this' therefore means that such thinking had been the product of innocence and simple good, and of the affection for truth, and thus of an entire ability so to think, is that it is innocence which causes good to be good, and good which causes truth to be truth. And when these are present in their proper order an entire ability so to think is present too. It is evident that these things are embodied in these words, for an upright or whole or perfect heart, which means good, does not exist unless innocence lies within the good, as stated, thereby making it simple good. And blameless or clean or pure hands, which has reference to truths, do not exist unless good is contained within the truths, as has also been stated, that is, unless the affection for truth exists. When thinking is a product of these it is also a product of an entire ability or power so to think, which is likewise meant by the hands, 878.

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