9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.
Genesis 18
1
And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2
And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
4
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5
And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
6
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7
And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8
And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
9
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13
And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14
Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17
And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20
And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22
And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26
And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29
And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
30
And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31
And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
32
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
33
And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Arcana Coelestia #1343
1343. That “Eber” was a nation called, from Eber as its father, the Hebrew nation, and that thereby is signified the worship in general of the Second Ancient Church, is evident from those historical parts of the Word wherein it is spoken of. From that nation, because the new worship commenced there, all were called Hebrews who had a similar worship. Their worship was of the kind that was afterwards restored among the descendants of Jacob; and its chief characteristic consisted in their calling their God “Jehovah,” and in their having sacrifices. The Most Ancient Church with unanimity acknowledged the Lord, and called Him Jehovah, as is evident from the first chapters of Genesis, and elsewhere in the Word. The Ancient Church, that is, the church after the flood, also acknowledged the Lord, and called Him Jehovah, especially those who had internal worship, and were called “sons of Shem.” The others, who were in external worship, also acknowledged Jehovah, and worshiped Him. But when internal worship became external, and still more when it became idolatrous, and when each nation began to have its own god whom it worshiped, the Hebrew nation retained the name Jehovah, and called their God Jehovah; and hereby were distinguished from the other nations.
[2] Together with their external worship, the descendants of Jacob in Egypt lost this also-that they called their God Jehovah; nay, Moses himself did so; and therefore they were instructed first of all that Jehovah was the God of the Hebrews, and the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; as may be seen from these words in Moses:
Jehovah said unto Moses, Thou shalt come in, thou and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews hath met with us; and now let us go, we pray thee, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to Jehovah our God (Exodus 3:18). Again:
Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray thee, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to Jehovah our God (Exodus 5:2-3).
[3] That together with the worship the descendants of Jacob in Egypt lost also the name of Jehovah, may be seen from these words in Moses:
Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the sons of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name to eternity (Exodus 3:13-15).
[4] From these words it is evident that even Moses did not know Jehovah; and that they were distinguished from others by the name of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. Hence in other places also Jehovah is called the God of the Hebrews:
Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee (Exodus 7:16).
Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews (Exodus 9:1, 13).
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews (Exodus 10:3).
And in Jonah:
I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah the God of the heavens (Jonah 1:9).
And also in Samuel:
The Philistines heard the voice of the shouting, and said, What meaneth the voice of this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews? And they knew that the ark of Jehovah was come into the camp. And the Philistines said, Woe unto us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these august gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness. Be like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews (1 Samuel 4:6, 8-9).
Here also it is evident that the nations were distinguished by the gods on whose name they called, and the Hebrew nation by Jehovah.
[5] That the second essential of the worship of the Hebrew nation consisted in sacrifices, is also evident from passages cited above (Exodus 3:18; 5:2-3); as well as from the fact that the Egyptians abominated the Hebrew nation on account of this worship, as is evident from these words in Moses:
Moses said, It is not right so to do, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? (Exodus 8:26).
For this reason the Egyptians so abominated the Hebrew nation that they would not eat bread with them (Genesis 43:32). It is also evident from all this that the posterity of Jacob was not the only Hebrew nation, but all who had such worship; and therefore in Joseph’s time the land of Canaan was called the land of the Hebrews:
Joseph said, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews (Genesis 40:15).
[6] That there were sacrifices among the idolaters in the land of Canaan, may be seen from many passages, for they sacrificed to their gods-to the Baals and others; and moreover Balaam, who was from Syria where Eber dwelt and whence the Hebrew nation came, not only offered sacrifices before the descendants of Jacob came into the land of Canaan, but also called Jehovah his God. That Balaam was from Syria, whence came the Hebrew nation, see Numbers 23:7; that he offered sacrifices, Numbers 22:39-40; 23:1-3, 14, 29; that he called Jehovah his God, Numbers 22:18, and throughout the chapter. What is said of Noah (Genesis 8:20), that he offered burnt-offerings to Jehovah, is not true history, but is history so made up, because by burnt-offerings there is signified the holy of worship, as may there be seen. From all this it is now evident what is signified by “Ber,” or by the Hebrew nation.
