Bibliorum

 

Genesis 34

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1 Da Dina, den Datter, Jakob havde med Lea, engang gik ud for at besøge Landets Døtre,

2 Sikem, en Søn af Egnens Høvding, Hivviten Hamor, hende og greb hende og lå hos hende; og han krænkede hende;

3 men hans Hjerte hang ved Jakobs Datter Dina, og han elskede Pigen og talte godt for hende;

4 og Sikem sagde til sin Fader Hamor: "Skaf mig den Pige til Hustru!"

5 Jakob hørte, at han havde skændet hans Datter Dina; men da hans Sønner dengang var med hans Kvæg på Marken, tav han, til de kom hjem.

6 Sikems Fader Hamor gik nu til Jakob for at tale med ham.

7 Men da Jakobs Sønner hørte det, kom de hjem fra Marken; og Mændene græmmede sig og var såre opbragte, fordi han havde øvet Skændselsdåd i Israel ved at ligge hos Jakobs Datter; thi sligt bør ikke ske.

8 Og Hamor talte med dem og sagde: "Min Søn Sikems Hjerte hænger ved eders Datter; giv ham hende til Hustru

9 og indgå Svogerskab med os; giv os eders Døtre og gift eder med vore Døtre;

10 tag Ophold hos os, og Landet skal stå eder åbent; slå eder ned og drag frit omkring og saml eder Ejendom der!"

11 Og Sikem sagde til hendes Fader og Brødre: "Måtte jeg finde Nåde for eders Øjne! Alt, hvad I kræver, vil jeg give

12 forlang så høj en Brudesum og Gave, I vil; jeg giver, hvad I kræver, når I blot vil give mig Pigen til Hustru!"

13 Da gav Jakobs Sønner Sikem og hans Fader Hamor et listigt Svar, fordi. han havde skændet deres Søster Dina,

14 og sagde til dem: "Vi er ikke i Stand til at give vor Søster til en uomskåren Mand, thi det holder vi for en Skændsel.

15 Kun på det Vilkår vil vi føje eder, at I bliver som vi og lader alle af Mandkøn iblandt eder omskære;

16 i så Fald vil vi give eder vore Døtre og ægte eders Døtre og bosætte os iblandt eder, så vi bliver eet Folk;

17 men hvis I ikke vil høre os og lade eder omskære, så tager vi vor Datter og drager bort"

18 Deres Tale tyktes Hamor og Sikem, Hamors Søn, god;

19 og den unge Mand tøvede ikke med at gøre således, thi han var indtaget i Jakobs Datter, og han var den, der havde mest at sige i sin Faders Hus

20 og Harnor og hans Søn Siken gik til deres Bys Port og sagde til, Mændene i deres By:

21 "Disse Mænd er os velsindede; lad dem bosætte sig og drage frit om her i Landet, der er jo Plads nok til dem i Landet; deres Døtre vil vi tage til Hustruer og give dem vore Døtre til Hustruer!

22 Men kun på det Vilkår vil Mændene føje os og bosætte sig hos os, så vi kan blive eet Folk, at alle af Mandkøn hos os lader sig omskære, således som de er omskårne.

23 Deres Hjorde og deres Gods og alt deres Kvæg bliver jo dog vort; lad os derfor føje dem, så de kan blive boende hos os!"

24 Så adlød de Hamor og hans Søn Sikem, så mange som færdedes i hans Bys Port, og alle af Mandkøn, alle, som færdedes i hans Bys Port, lod sig omskære.

25 Men Tredjedagen, da de havde Sårfeber, tog Jakobs to Sønner Simeon og Levi, Dinas Brødre, hver sit Sværd, trængte ind i Byen, uden at nogen anede Uråd, og slog alle Mændene ihjel

26 og dræbte Hamor og hans Søn Sikem med Sværdet, tog Dina ud af Sikems Hus og drog bort.

27 Så kastede Jakobs Sønner sig over de faldne og plyndrede Byen, fordi de havde skændet deres Søster;

28 deres Småkvæg, Hornkvæg og Æsler, både hvad der var i Byen og på Markerne, tog de med sig,

29 og al deres Ejendom og alle deres Børn og Kvinder førte de bort som Bytte, og de udplyndrede Byen for alt, hvad der var der.

30 Men Jakob sagde til Simeon og Levi: "I styrter mig i Ulykke ved at lægge mig for Had hos Landets Indbyggere, Kana'anæerne og Perizziterne; thi jeg råder kun over få Folk; samler de sig mod mig og slår mig, så er det ude med mig og mit Hus!"

31 Men de svarede: "Skal han behandle vor Søster som en Skøge!"

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1298

Studere hoc loco

  
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1298. 'They had brick for stone' means that they had falsity in place of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'brick' as falsity, dealt with just above, and also from the meaning of 'stone' in the broad sense as truth, dealt with already in 643. The reason 'stones' meant truth was that the most ancient people used to mark out boundaries by means of stones and raise up stones to testify that something was so, that is, was the truth. This is clear from the stone which Jacob set up as a pillar, Genesis 28:22; 35:14; from the pillar of stones placed between Laban and Jacob, Genesis 31:46-47, 52; and from the altar which the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh erected beside the Jordan as an altar of witness, Joshua 22:10, 28, 34. Consequently 'stones' in the Word means truths, so much so that not only the stones of the altar but also the precious stones in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement meant the holy truths of love.

[2] Regarding the altar, when sacrificial worship on altars was introduced, an altar in that case meant representative worship of the Lord in general. 'The stones' themselves however meant the holy truths belonging to that worship. This was why it was commanded that the altar had to be built of whole and not of hewn stones, and why it was forbidden to use any iron tool on them, Deuteronomy 27:5-7; Joshua 8:31. The reason was that hewn stones, and those on which an iron tool had been used, meant artificialities and thus fabrications in worship. That is to say, they meant things that derive from the proprium, or from the inventions of man's own thought and heart, which was to profane worship, as is clearly stated in Exodus 20:25. For the same reason no tool of iron was used on the stones of the Temple, 1 Kings 6:7.

[3] That the precious stones set in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement in a similar way meant holy truths has been shown already in 114. This is clear also in Isaiah,

Behold, I will set your stones in carbuncle and lay your foundations in sapphires; and I will make your suns (windows) of ruby, and your gates into precious stones, and all your border into pleasant stones And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah, and great will be the peace of your sons. Isaiah 54:11-13

The stones mentioned here stand for holy truths, and this is why it is said that 'all your sons will be taught by Jehovah'. It is also the reason why it is said in John that the foundations of the wall of the city, holy Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone, which are each mentioned by name, Revelation 21:19-20. 'The holy Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, the foundations of which kingdom are holy truths. Holy truths were similarly meant by the tables of stone on which the commandments of the Law, or Ten Commandments, were written. This was why they were made of stone or had a stone base, concerning which see Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deuteronomy 5:22; 10:1; for the commandments themselves are nothing else than truths of faith.

[4] Now because stones in ancient times meant truths, and because later on when worship on pillars, on altars, and in the Temple began, pillars, altars, and the Temple meant holy truths, the Lord also is therefore called 'a Stone': In Moses,

The Mighty One of Jacob - from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Genesis 49:24.

In Isaiah,

The Lord Jehovih said, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Corner-Stone, precious, of sure foundation. Isaiah 28:16.

In David,

The Stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner Psalms 118:22.

The same is meant in Daniel 2:34-35, 45, by the stone cut out of the rock which smashed Nebuchadnezzar's statue to pieces.

[5] That 'stones' means truths is clear in Isaiah,

By this the iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit to remove his sin, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isaiah 27:9.

'The stones of the altar' stands for truths in worship that have been dissipated. In the same prophet,

Make level the way of the people; level out, level out the highway; gather out the stones. Isaiah 62:10.

'The way' and 'the stones' stand for truths. In Jeremiah,

I am against you, O destroying mountain. I will roll you down from the rocks and I will make you into a mountain of burning. And they will not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. Jeremiah 51:25-26.

This refers to Babel. 'A mountain of burning' is self-love. 'Taking no stone from it' means that there is no truth from this source.

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