La Bibbia

 

Genesis 17

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1 Da Abram var ni og halvfemsindstyve År gammel, åbenbarede HE EN sig for ham og sagde til ham: "Jeg er Gud den Almægtige; vandre for mit Åsyn og vær ustraffelig,

2 så vil jeg oprette min Pagt mellem mig og dig og give dig et overvættes stort Afkom!"

3 Da faldt Abram på sit Ansigt, og Gud sagde til ham:

4 "Fra min Side er min Pagt med dig, at du skal blive Fader til en Mængde Folk;

5 derfor skal dit Navn ikke mere være Abram, men du skal hedde Abraham, thi jeg gør dig til Fader til en Mængde Folk.

6 Jeg vil gøre dig overvættes frugtbar og lade dig blive til Folk, og Konger skal nedstamme fra dig.

7 Jeg opretter min Pagt mellem mig og dig og dit Afkom efter dig fra Slægt til Slægt, og det skal være en evig Pagt, at jeg vil være din Gud og efter dig dit Afkoms Gud;

8 og jeg giver dig og dit Afkom efter dig din Udlændigheds Land, hele Kana'ans Land, til evigt Eje, og jeg vil være deres Gud!"

9 Derpå sagde Gud til Abraham: "Men du på din Side skal holde min Pagt, du og dit Afkom efter dig fra Slægt til Slægt;

10 og dette er min Pagt, som I skal holde, Pagten mellem mig og eder, at alt af Mandkøn hos eder skal omskæres.

11 I skal omskæres på eders Forhud, det skal være et Pagtstegn mellem mig og eder;

12 otte Dage gamle skal alle af Mandkøn omskæres hos eder i alle kommende Slægter, både de hjemmefødte Trælle og de, som er købt, alle fremmede, som ikke hører til dit Afkom;

13 omskæres skal både dine hjemmefødte og dine købte. Min Pagt på eders Legeme skal være en evig Pagt!

14 Men de uomskårne, det af Mandkøn, der ikke Ottendedagen omskæres på Forhuden, de skal udryddes af deres Folk; de har brudt min Pagt!"

15 Endvidere sagde Gud til Abraham: "Din Hustru Saraj skal du ikke mere kalde Saraj, hendes Navn skal være Sara;

16 jeg vil velsigne hende og give dig en Søn også ved hende; jeg vil velsigne hende, og hun skal blive til Folk, og Folkeslags Konger skal nedstamme fra hende!"

17 Da faldt Abraham på sit Ansigt og lo, idet han tænkte: "Kan en hundredårig få Børn, og kan Sara med sine halvfemsindstyve År føde en Søn?"

18 Abraham sagde derfor til Gud: "Måtte dog Ismael leve for dit Åsyn!"

19 Men Gud sagde: "Nej, din Ægtehustru Sara skal føde dig en Søn, som du skal kalde Isak; med ham vil jeg oprette min Pagt, og det skal være en evig Pagt, der skal gælde hans Afkom efter ham!

20 Men hvad Ismael angår, har jeg bønhørt dig: jeg vil velsigne ham og gøre ham frugtbar og give ham et overvættes talrigt Afkom; tolv Stammehøvdinger skal han avle, og jeg vil gøre ham til et stort Folk.

21 Men min Pagt opretter jeg med Isak, som Sara skal føde dig om et År ved denne Tid."

22 Så hørte han op at tale med ham; og Gud steg op fra Abraham.

23 Da tog Abraham sin Søn Ismael og alle sine hjemmefødte og de købte, alt af Mandkøn i Abrahams Hus, og omskar selvsamme Dag deres Forhud, således som Gud havde pålagt ham.

24 Abraham var ni og halvfemsindstyve År, da han blev omskåret på sin Forhud;

25 og hans Søn Ismael var tretten År, da han blev omskåret på sin Forhud.

26 Selvsamme Dag blev Abraham og hans Søn Ismael omskåret;

27 og alle Mænd i hans Hus, både de hjemmefødte og de, der var købt, de fremmede, blev omskåret tillige med ham.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

Dalle opere di Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1988

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1988. 'Abram was a son of ninety-nine years' means the period of time before the Lord fully joined the Internal Man to the Rational Man. This is clear from the meaning of 'nine' when thought of as one less than ten, or what amounts to the same, of 'ninety-nine' when thought of as one less than a hundred; for when Isaac was born to him Abram was a hundred years old. The nature of the internal sense of the Word is made especially clear by the numbers that are used, as it is by the names. Any numbers whatever, as also any names, that are mentioned in the Word mean real things; for nothing ever exists in the Word that does not have that which is Divine within it, that is, which does not have an internal sense within it. How remote this sense is from the sense of the letter is especially evident from the names and numbers, for in heaven they pay no attention whatever to names and numbers but to things meant by the names or numbers. For example, whenever the number seven occurs, holiness instantly suggests itself to angels instead of the number seven, for 'seven' means holiness from the fact that the celestial man is the seventh day or the sabbath, and so the Lord's rest, 84-87, 395, 433, 716, 881. The same applies to all other numbers, for example, to the number twelve. Whenever twelve occurs the idea of everything belonging to faith suggests itself to angels, for the reason that the twelve tribes of Israel meant everything belonging to faith, 577. That numbers mean real things in the Word has been shown in Volume One; see 482, 487, 488, 493, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 893.

[2] It is similar with the number 'ninety-nine'. That this number means the period of time before the Lord fully joined the Internal Man to the Rational Man is clear from the meaning of 'a hundred years', Abram's age when Isaac was born to him, for Isaac represents and means the Lord's Rational Man which was joined to His Internal, that is, to the Divine. In the Word 'a hundred' has the same meaning as ten, for that number is the product of ten multiplied by ten, and 'ten' means remnants, as shown in Volume One, in 576. For what remnants residing with man are, see 468, 530, 561, 660, 1050, and for what remnants residing with the Lord were, 1906. These arcana cannot be explained any further, but anyone can find out for himself once he has acquainted himself with what remnants are - for nowadays what they are is not known - provided it is realized that by remnants residing with the Lord are meant the Divine Goods which He acquired to Himself by His own power, and by which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence.

[3] These considerations show what is meant by 'ninety-nine'. Being one less than a hundred, that number means the period of time before the Lord fully joined the Internal Man to the Rational Man. 'Ishmael' represented the first rational with the Lord, the nature of which has been shown adequately enough above in the previous chapter. But 'Isaac' represents the Lord's Divine Rational, as will be clear later on. Anyone may see that an arcanum is embodied within the following circumstance: Abram having remained such a long time in the land of Canaan - twenty-four years now, ten before Ishmael's birth, and thirteen after - and not as yet having had a son by Sarai his wife, he then first received the promise of a son, when he had now reached ninety-nine and would be a hundred when this son was born. The arcanum is that by means of these experiences he might represent the union of the Lord's Divine Essence with His Human Essence, and in fact of His Internal Man, which was Jehovah, with His Rational.

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

Dalle opere di Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #648

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648. As for numbers and measurements in the Word meaning celestial and spiritual things, this becomes quite clear from the measuring of the New Jerusalem and of the Temple in John and Ezekiel. It may become clear to anyone that the 'New Jerusalem' and the 'New Temple' mean the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, and that the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth is not subject to earthly measurements, even though the size of it - its length, breadth, and height - is specified numerically. From this anyone may conclude that numbers and measurements mean things that are holy, as in John,

I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and the angel stood and said to me, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. Revelation 11:1.

And concerning the New Jerusalem,

The wall of the heavenly Jerusalem was great and high, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and names written which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the apostles of the Lamb. He who talked to me had a golden measuring-rod to measure the city, and its gates, and its wall. The city lies four-square, and its length is the same as its breadth. He therefore measured the city with the measuring rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and breadth and height were equal. He measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:12-17.

[2] Here the number twelve occurs repeatedly. It is a very holy number since it means the holy things of faith, as has been stated above at verse 3 of this chapter, and in the Lord's Divine mercy will be shown at Genesis 29, 30. Hence also the comment added at the end of the quotation set out above about this measure being 'the measure of a man, that is, of an angel'. The same applies with the New Temple and the New Jerusalem in Ezekiel, which are also described according to their measurements, Chapter 40:3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13-14, 22, 25, 30, 36, 42, 47; Ezekiel 41:1-end; 42:5-15; Zechariah 2:1-2. There also, regarded in themselves the numbers mean nothing but celestial and spiritual holiness independent of actual numbers. The same applies to all the numbers giving the dimensions of the Ark, Exodus 25:10, and similarly of the mercy seat, the golden table, the Tabernacle, the altar, Exodus 25:17, 23; Exodus 26; 27:1; and to all the numbers and dimensions of the Temple, 1 Kings 6:2-3, and many other examples.

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