Bibliorum

 

Ezekiel 29:2

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2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against the whole of Egypt;

Commentarius

 

Road

  

These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them. A "path" is something different, suitable only for walking or maybe bicycles, and a "way" has more to do with giving directions than any physical reality. When we get "lost" it usually means we're in a car on an unfamiliar road -- a far cry from being in the middle of a trackless wilderness with no idea which direction to go. The ancient world was very different, with isolated towns and endless square miles of trackless wilderness. Then a "way" was a set of landmarks to follow to get from one place to another through the wilderness. A "path" was a way used enough to leave a visible trace on the ground, and a "road" was a heavily used path, easily followed and walkable. So it makes sense that when used in the Bible, all three terms represent guiding truth, ideas that lead us where we want to go. This is pictured in the modern use of "way" -- when we talk about the "way" to do something or the "way" to get somewhere. We're talking about the correct, best, most efficient method of doing something or getting somewhere. And it's good information -- truth -- that helps us find that best way.

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1310

Studere hoc loco

  
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1310. Verse 5 And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of man were building.

'Jehovah came down' means judgement on them 'To see the city and the tower' means on account of the fact that they had perverted doctrine and profaned worship. 'Which the sons of man were building' means which they fabricated for themselves.

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