Bibliorum

 

Numeri 25

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1 En Israel verbleef te Sittim, en het volk begon te hoereren met de dochteren der Moabieten.

2 En zij nodigden het volk tot de slachtofferen harer goden; en het volk at, en boog zich voor haar goden.

3 Als nu Israel zich koppelde aan Baal-Peor, ontstak de toorn des HEEREN tegen Israel.

4 En de HEERE zeide tot Mozes: Neem alle hoofden des volks, en hang ze den HEERE tegen de zon, zo zal de hittigheid van des HEEREN toorn gekeerd worden van Israel.

5 Toen zeide Mozes tot de rechters van Israel: Een iedere dode zijn mannen, die zich aan Baal-Peor gekoppeld hebben!

6 En ziet, een man uit de kinderen Israels kwam, en bracht een Midianietin tot zijn broederen voor de ogen van Mozes, en voor de ogen van de ganse vergadering der kinderen Israels, toen zij weenden voor de deur van de tent der samenkomst.

7 Toen Pinehas, de zoon van Eleazar, den zoon van Aaron, den priester, dat zag, zo stond hij op uit het midden der vergadering, en nam een spies in zijn hand;

8 En hij ging den Israelietischen man na in de hoerenwinkel, en doorstak hen beiden, den Israelietischen man en de vrouw, door hun buik. Toen werd de plaag van over de kinderen Israels opgehouden.

9 Degenen nu, die aan de plaag stierven, waren vier en twintig duizend.

10 Toen sprak de HEERE tot Mozes, zeggende:

11 Pinehas, de zoon van Eleazar, den zoon van Aaron, den priester, heeft Mijn grimmigheid van over de kinderen Israels afgewend, dewijl hij Mijn ijver geijverd heeft in het midden derzelve, zodat Ik de kinderen Israels in Mijn ijver niet vernield heb.

12 Daarom spreek: Zie, Ik geef hem Mijn verbond des vredes.

13 En hij zal hebben, en zijn zaad na hem, het verbond des eeuwigen priesterdoms, daarom dat hij voor zijn God geijverd, en verzoening gedaan heeft voor de kinderen Israels.

14 De naam nu des verslagenen Israelietischen mans, die verslagen was met de Midianietin, was Zimri, de zoon van Salu, een overste van een vaderlijk huis der Simeonieten.

15 En de naam der verslagene Midianietische vrouw was Kozbi, een dochter van Zur, die een hoofd was der volken van een vaderlijk huis onder de Midianieten.

16 Verder sprak de HEERE tot Mozes, zeggende:

17 Handel vijandelijk met de Midianieten, en versla hen;

18 Want zij hebben vijandelijk tegen ulieden gehandeld door hun listen, die zij listig tegen u bedacht hebben in de zaak van Peor, en in de zaak van Kozbi, de dochter van den overste der Midianieten, hun zuster, die verslagen is, ten dage der plaag, om de zaak van Peor.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Apocalypse Explained #144

Studere hoc loco

  
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144. Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. That this signifies, if not, when visitation comes, that they shall be dispersed, is evident from the signification of, I will come to thee quickly, when said of the Lord, as being visitation, concerning which more will be said in what follows, and from the signification of the sword of my mouth, as being truth combating against falsity, and then dispersion of falsities (concerning which see above, n. 73, 131). Here, however, it signifies the dispersion of those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, that is, of those who have the understanding enlightened and teach truths, and yet love to destroy by guile those who belong to the church; also those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith (concerning whom see above, n. 140 and 142). The reason why coming quickly denotes visitation is, that the coming of the Lord in the Word signifies visitation (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 6895). Visitation is the exploration of man after death as to his quality, before he is judged.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #5741

Studere hoc loco

  
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5741. 'And the men were sent away, they and their asses' means the external natural man was to some extent removed, together with its truths and factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of Jacob's ten sons, to whom 'the men' refers here, as truths known to the Church which are present in the natural, dealt with in 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512, and therefore the external natural man, 5680; from the meaning of 'asses' as factual knowledge, dealt with in 5492; and from the meaning of 'sent away and 'not far distant' as the fact that it - the external natural man - was to some extent removed. From all this it is evident that 'the men were sent away, they and their asses, not far distant' means that the external man was to some extent removed, together with its truths and factual knowledge - removed from the internal celestial, which is represented by 'Joseph'.

[2] As to the meaning of 'asses', it should be realized that something different is meant by them when they served as animals that were ridden on; for judges, kings, and their sons used to ride on asses, she-asses, and also mules. At such times 'asses' were a sign of rational truth and good, and also of natural truth and good, see 2781. This explains why, when as judge and king the Lord entered Jerusalem, He rode on a she-ass with her colt, this being a sign indicating His offices of judge and king. But 'asses' had another meaning when they served as beasts of burden, as they did here. In this case they were a sign of factual knowledge. Factual knowledge is just like such a beast of burden. Anyone who, when he thinks about what constitutes a person interiorly, looks no further than factual knowledge contained in a person's memory, presumes that there is no more to a human being than such knowledge. He does not know that factual knowledge constitutes the lowest level of the human personality and is such that most of it becomes hidden from view when the body dies, 2475-2477, 2479, 2480. But What the knowledge contains within itself remains, namely truth and goodness, together with affections for them, or in the case of evil people, falsity and evil, together with affections for these. Factual knowledge is so to speak the body for those things. As long as a person is living in the world, these things - truth and goodness, or else falsity and evil - are held within his factual knowledge since it is their container. And because factual knowledge contains and thus so to speak carries interior things with it, that is therefore meant by asses that serve to carry burdens.

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