Arcana Coelestia #1200
1200. That 'Canaan' means external worship that has nothing internal within it has been shown already where Canaan was the subject. The type of external worship which is called 'Canaan' is similar to that of the Jews before the Lord's Coming, and after it as well. They had an external worship, which they also celebrated meticulously, yet they were unaware of what is internal, indeed so unaware of it as to imagine that they lived solely with a body. Of the soul, or faith, or the Lord, or spiritual and celestial life, or life after death, they were totally ignorant. Consequently very many in the Lord's time said that there was no resurrection, as is clear in Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40. When a person is such that he does not believe he will live after death, he also does not believe in the existence of anything internal which is spiritual and celestial. This applies also to people whose lives are sunk in wholly evil desires because they lead merely bodily and worldly lives, especially those who are steeped in filthy avarice. They nevertheless have worship, some going to synagogue, or to church, and taking part in the services, some most meticulously. But because they do not believe in a life after death their worship is inevitably external worship having nothing internal within it, like a shell without a nut, and like a tree on which there is no fruit or even leaves. Such external worship is meant by 'Canaan'. All other types of external worship dealt with above were forms of worship that had internal things within them.
Genesis 23
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And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
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And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
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And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
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I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
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And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
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Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
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And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
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And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
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That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
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And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
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Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
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And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
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And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
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And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
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My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
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And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
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And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure
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Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
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And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
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And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
