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Genesis 24

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1 Now Abraham was old; and advanced in age: and the Lord had blessed him in all things.

2 And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

3 That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.

5 The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place, from whence thou camest out?

6 And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither.

7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

8 But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath; only bring not my son back thither again.

9 The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swore to him upon this word.

10 And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forth and went on to Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.

11 And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a well of water in Evening, at the time when women were wont to come out to draw water, he said:

12 O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me to day, I beseech thee, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

13 Behold I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water.

14 Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this I shall understand, that thou hast shown kindness to my master.

15 he had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

16 An exceedingly comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher and was coming back.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

18 And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him Drink.

19 And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

20 And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water: and having drawn she gave to all the camels.

21 But he musing beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles: and as many bracelets of ten sicles weight.

23 And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?

24 And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

25 And she said moreover to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

26 The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

27 Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother.

28 Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house, all that she had heard.

29 And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.

30 And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister's hands, and had heard all that she related, saying: Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,

31 And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.

32 And he brought him in into his lodging: and he unharnessed the camels and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.

33 And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.

34 And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:

35 And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, menservants and womenservants, camels and asses.

36 And Sara my master's wife hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.

37 And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son:

39 But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?

40 The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house.

41 But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.

42 And I came to day to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,

43 Behold I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:

44 And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master's son.

45 And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.

46 And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.

47 And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.

48 And falling down I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

49 Wherefore if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.

50 And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord, we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.

51 Behold Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 WHich when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the ground he adored the Lord.

53 And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.

54 And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.

55 And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay at least ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.

56 Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

57 And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.

58 And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.

59 So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his company,

60 Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.

61 So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.

62 At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.

64 Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,

65 And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

67 Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #3318

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3318. And he was weary. That this signifies a state of combat, is evident from the signification of “weary,” or “weariness,” as being the state after combat; here, a state of combat, because the subject is the conjunction of good with truth in the natural man. That “weary” here signifies a state of combat, cannot appear except from the series of things in the internal sense, and especially from the consideration that good cannot be conjoined with truth in the natural man without combats, or what is the same, without temptations. That it may be known how the case herein is in respect to man, it shall be briefly told.

[2] Man is nothing but an organ, or vessel, which receives life from the Lord; for man does not live from himself (n. 290, 1954, 2021, 2536, 2706, 2886-3001). The life which inflows with man from the Lord is from His Divine love. This love, or the life thence derived, inflows and applies itself to the vessels which are in man’s rational, and to those which are in his natural. In consequence of the hereditary evil into which man is born, and of the actual evil which he acquires, these vessels are in a contrary position within him relatively to the inflowing life, yet insofar as the life which flows in can dispose the vessels to receive it, it does so dispose them. These vessels in the rational man, and in the natural, are what are called truths, but in themselves they are merely perceptions of the variations of form of these vessels, and of the changes of state according to which in divers ways these variations come forth, being effected in the most subtle substances, by methods inexpressible (n. 2487). Good itself, which has life from the Lord, or which is life, is that which flows in and disposes.

[3] When therefore these vessels, which are to be varied as to forms, are as before said in a contrary position and direction in respect to the life, it is evident that they must be reduced to a position in accordance with the life, or into compliance with it. This cannot possibly be effected so long as the man is in that state into which he is born, and to which he has reduced himself; for the vessels are not obedient, being obstinately resistant, and hardening themselves against the heavenly order according to which the life acts; for the good which moves them, and with which they comply, is of the love of self and of the world; which good, from the gross heat that is in it, causes them to be of such a quality; and therefore before they can be rendered compliant and fit to receive anything of the life of the Lord’s love, they must be softened. This softening is effected by no other means than temptations; for temptations remove all that is of the love of self and of contempt for others in comparison with self, consequently all that is of self-glory, and also of hatred and revenge on this account. When therefore the vessels have been somewhat tempered and subdued by temptations, they begin to become yielding to, and compliant with, the life of the Lord’s love, which continually flows in with man.

[4] Hence then it is that good begins to be conjoined with truths; first in the rational man, and afterwards in the natural; for as before said truths are nothing else than perceptions of the variations of form according to states that are continually being changed; and these perceptions are from the life which flows in. This is the reason why man is regenerated, that is, made new, by temptations; or what is the same, by spiritual combats; and that he is afterwards gifted with another nature; being made mild, humble, simple, and contrite in heart. From these considerations it may now be seen what use temptations promote, namely, that good from the Lord may not only flow in, but may also dispose the vessels to obedience, and thus conjoin itself with them. That truths are vessels receptive of good, may be seen above (n. 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269). Here therefore, because the subject is the conjunction of good and truth in the natural man, and the first of conjunction takes place by means of combats, which are those of temptations, it is evident that by “he was weary” is signified a state of combat.

[5] But as regards the Lord, who in the supreme sense is here treated of, He by the most grievous temptation combats reduced all things in Himself into Divine order, insomuch that there remained nothing at all of the human which He had derived from the mother (n. 1444, 1573, 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036), so that He was not made new as are other men, but altogether Divine. For the man who is made new by regeneration still retains in himself an inclination to evil, and even evil itself; but is withheld from evil by an influx of the life of the Lord’s love, and this with a force exceedingly great; whereas the Lord utterly cast out all the evil that was hereditary to Him from the mother, and made Himself Divine, even as to the vessels, that is, as to truths. This is that which in the Word is called “glorification.”

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

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Arcana Coelestia #2269

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2269. And He said, I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five. That this signifies that man should not perish if good and truth could be conjoined together, is evident from the signification of the number forty-five, as being conjunction. It has been already shown that the simple numbers retain their signification even when they are multiplied; and that consequently the greater numbers have a signification similar to that of the less; and such is the case with forty-five, which number is compounded by the multiplication of five into nine; and as it has been compounded by the multiplication of five into nine, it has the same signification as have “five” and “nine.” That “five” signifies a little, was shown above (n. 649), and that “nine” signifies conjunction, or what is conjoined (n. 2075); and thus the signification here is: If goods have in some measure been conjoined with truths. That in the Word numbers signify actual things, or states, is evident from what was said about fifty (n. 2252); also from what has been shown before concerning numbers (n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988).

[2] It is because “five” signifies a little, and “forty-five” conjunction, that the very setting forth of these numbers in this verse is of such a nature, for it is said, “Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous;” and by this is signified, If there should be somewhat less; and then it is said, “Wilt Thou destroy all the city for five?” by which is signified, Shall they perish for the little which is wanting? For as “five” signifies a little, this number is not employed again, but it is said, “I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five;” by which is signified that they would not perish if good and truth could be conjoined together. The reason also of its being said here “forty and five,” and not “if there lack five of fifty,” is because “five” not only signifies a little (as was shown, n. 649), but also signifies disjunction (as was likewise shown in volume 1, n. 1686); and therefore in order that not disjunction, but conjunction, might be signified, this number forty-five is named; for “forty-five” denotes some conjunction, as stated above; and thus in the internal sense all things follow on in a beautiful sequence Of their own.

[3] As regards the conjunction of good with truth, it is an arcanum which cannot be described so that it can be grasped by the ordinary comprehension. It must be told in a few words. The more genuine and pure the truth, the better can the good which is from the Lord be adapted into it as its recipient vessel; but the less genuine and pure the truth, the less can the good which is from the Lord be adapted into it; for they must correspond to each other, and the conjunction of the two is effected according to the correspondence. Goods cannot possibly be insinuated into falsities, nor evils into truths, as their recipient vessels; for they are of a contrary character and nature, the one casting out the other as its enemy; nay, should they attempt to conjoin themselves together, the one would spew out the other, that is to say, good would spew out evil as if it were poison, and evil would spew out good as if it were an emetic. Such enmity between good and evil has been provided by the Lord in order to prevent the possibility of their being commingled, for if they were commingled, the man would perish. In the deceitful and in hypocrites they are not far from being conjoined together, but still precautions are taken by the Lord in order to prevent their being so conjoined. This is the reason why in the other life those who are deceitful and those who are hypocrites suffer things more direful than those which are suffered by any others.

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