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Genesis 10

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1 And these [are] births of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and born to them are sons after the deluge.

2 `Sons of Japheth [are] Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And sons of Gomer [are] Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And sons of Javan [are] Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these have the isles of the nations been parted in their lands, each by his tongue, by their families, in their nations.

6 And sons of Ham [are] Cush, and Mitzraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And sons of Cush [are] Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah; and sons of Raamah [are] Sheba and Dedan.

8 And Cush hath begotten Nimrod;

9 he hath begun to be a hero in the land; he hath been a hero in hunting before Jehovah; therefore it is said, `As Nimrod the hero [in] hunting before Jehovah.'

10 And the first part of his kingdom is Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar;

11 from that land he hath gone out to Asshur, and buildeth Nineveh, even the broad places of the city, and Calah,

12 and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah; it [is] the great city.

13 And Mitzraim hath begotten the Ludim, and the Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the Naphtuhim,

14 and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim, (whence have come out Philistim,) and the Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan hath begotten Sidon his first-born, and Heth,

16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

17 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterwards have the families of the Canaanite been scattered.

19 And the border of the Canaanite is from Sidon, [in] thy coming towards Gerar, unto Gaza; [in] thy coming towards Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, unto Lasha.

20 These [are] sons of Ham, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

21 As to Shem, father of all sons of Eber, brother of Japheth the elder, he hath also begotten:

22 Sons of Shem [are] Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And sons of Aram [are] Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad hath begotten Salah, and Salah hath begotten Eber.

25 And to Eber have two sons been born; the name of the one [is] Peleg (for in his days hath the earth been divided,) and his brother's name [is] Joktan.

26 And Joktan hath begotten Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab; all these [are] sons of Joktan;

30 and their dwelling is from Mesha, [in] thy coming towards Sephar, a mount of the east.

31 These [are] sons of Shem, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, by their nations.

32 These [are] families of the sons of Noah, by their births, in their nations, and by these have the nations been parted in the earth after the deluge.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1258

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1258. That 'from these the nations on the earth were spread abroad' means that in these all the forms of that Church's worship took rise, all forms that entailed goods and those that entailed evils, and that these goods or evils are meant by 'the nations', is clear from the meaning of 'nations'. As stated already, nation is used to mean a number of families grouped together, for a number of families that recognized the same father made up one nation in the Most Ancient and Ancient Churches. But with regard to 'nations' in the internal sense meaning forms of the Church's worship, and in particular as to the goods or the evils entering into that worship, the situation is that when angels contemplate families and nations they never envisage a nation, but only the worship existing with it. For they contemplate all from the point of view of essential character, that is, what kind of people they are. The essential character or quality of a person from which heaven contemplates him is charity and faith. This any person may easily grasp if he considers that when he contemplates any individual, or any family, or any nation, he is thinking mainly of their character, each person doing so from that which rules in him at the time. A mental image of their character instantly comes to mind, and it is from this image that he considers them. This applies even more to the Lord, and from Him to the angels, who are incapable of contemplating a person, family, or nation except from the point of view of their character as regards charity and faith. This is why in the internal sense 'nations' means nothing other than the Church's worship, and indeed as regards the essential character of that worship, which is good stemming from charity and the truth of faith from this. When the expression 'nations' occurs in the Word, angels never dwell on the idea of a nation in accordance with the historical sense of the letter, but on the idea of the good and truth present with the nation that is mentioned.

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