Bibliorum

 

Genesis 31

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1 Aga ta kuulis Laabani poegade kõnelusi, kes ütlesid: 'Jaakob on ära võtnud kõik, mis oli meie isa päralt. Sellest, mis oli meie isa päralt, on ta enesele soetanud kõik selle rikkuse.'

2 Ja Jaakob nägi Laabani palet, ja vaata, see ei olnud enam ta vastu nagu enne.

3 Siis Issand ütles Jaakobile: 'Mine tagasi oma isade maale ja oma sugulaste seltsi. Mina olen sinuga!'

4 Ja Jaakob läkitas sõna ning käskis kutsuda oma karja juurde väljale Raaheli ja Lea

5 ning ütles neile: 'Ma näen teie isa palgest, et ta ei ole enam mu vastu nagu enne. Aga mu isa Jumal oli mu juures.

6 Te ju teate, et ma olen teeninud teie isa kõigest väest.

7 Kuid teie isa narritas mind ja muutis mu palka kümme korda. Jumal aga ei ole lubanud teda mulle kurja teha.

8 Kui ta ütles nõnda: Tähnilised saagu sinule palgaks, siis kõik lambad ja kitsed poegisid tähnilisi. Ja kui ta ütles nõnda: Vöödilised saagu sinule palgaks, siis kõik loomad poegisid vöödilisi.

9 Nõnda võttis Jumal teie isa karja ja andis mulle.

10 Lammaste ja kitsede innaajal tõstsin ma oma silmad üles ja nägin unes, vaata, et isased, kes kargasid emaseid, olid vöödilised, tähnilised ja laigulised.

11 Ja Jumala ingel ütles mulle unes: Jaakob! Ja ma vastasin: Siin ma olen!

12 Siis ta ütles: Tõsta ometi oma silmad üles ja vaata: kõik isased, kes kargavad emaseid, on vöödilised, tähnilised ja laigulised, sest ma olen näinud kõike, mis Laaban sulle teeb!

13 Mina olen Peeteli Jumal, kus sa võidsid samba, kus sa andsid mulle tõotuse. Võta nüüd kätte, lahku siit maalt ja mine tagasi oma sünnimaale!'

14 Siis Raahel ja Lea vastasid ning ütlesid temale: 'Kas meil ongi enam osa või omandit meie isakojas?

15 Eks ta ole pidanud meid võõraks, kuna ta meid müüs ja ise muidugi ka meie hinna ära sõi!

16 Jah, kõik see rikkus, mille Jumal meie isalt ära võttis, on meie ja meie laste oma. Ja nüüd tee kõik, mis Jumal sulle on öelnud!'

17 Ja Jaakob võttis kätte, tõstis oma lapsed ja naised kaamelite selga

18 ja saatis teele kogu oma karja ja kõik oma varanduse, mis ta oli kogunud, oma karjavaranduse, mis ta Mesopotaamias oli soetanud, et minna oma isa Iisaki juurde Kaananimaale.

19 Aga Laaban oli läinud lambaid niitma. Ja Raahel varastas oma isa teeravikujud.

20 Jaakob kasutas süürlase Laabani teadmatust ega andnud temale märku, et ta põgeneb.

21 Nõnda ta siis põgenes koos kõigega, mis tal oli, võttis kätte ja läks üle jõe ning siirdus Gileadi mäestiku poole.

22 Aga kolmandal päeval anti Laabanile teada, et Jaakob oli põgenenud.

23 Tema võttis siis enesega kaasa oma suguvennad ja ajas teda taga seitse päevateekonda ning jõudis Gileadi mäestikus temale järele.

24 Kuid Jumal tuli süürlase Laabani juurde öösel unes ja ütles temale: 'Hoia, et sa Jaakobile ei ütle head ega halba!'

25 Kui Laaban Jaakobile järele jõudis, oli Jaakob mäestikus telgi üles löönud, ja Laabangi suguvendadega lõi telgi üles Gileadi mäestikku.

26 Ja Laaban ütles Jaakobile: 'Mis sa oled teinud? Sa kasutasid mu teadmatust ja viisid ära mu tütred, nagu oleksid nad olnud mõõga abil vangistatud.

27 Miks sa põgenesid salaja ja vargsel viisil ega teatanud mulle, et oleksin saanud sind rõõmsasti ära saata laulude, trummi ja kandlega?

28 Sa ei lasknud mind suudelda oma poegi ja tütreid! Sa oled nüüd talitanud mõistmatult.

29 Mul oleks meelevald teha teile kurja. Aga teie isa Jumal rääkis minuga eile öösel, öeldes: Hoia, et sa Jaakobile ei ütle head ega halba!

30 Nüüd oled sa küll läinud oma teed, sellepärast et sa igatsesid nii väga oma isakoja järele. Aga mispärast sa varastasid mu jumalad?'

31 Ja Jaakob vastas ning ütles Laabanile: 'Sellepärast et ma kartsin. Sest ma mõtlesin, et sa röövid minult oma tütred.

32 See, kelle juurest sa leiad oma jumalad, ärgu jäägu elama! Meie suguvendade ees otsi läbi, mis mul kaasas on, ja võta ära, mis on sinu!' Aga Jaakob ei teadnud, et Raahel oli need varastanud.

33 Ja Laaban läks Jaakobi telki ja Lea telki ja mõlema teenija telki, aga ei leidnud midagi; ja Lea telgist välja tulnud, läks ta Raaheli telki.

34 Kuid Raahel oli võtnud teeravid ja oli pannud need kaameli sadula tasku ning istus ise nende peal. Ja Laaban kompas läbi kogu telgi, aga ei leidnud midagi.

35 Ja Raahel ütles oma isale: 'Ärgu süttigu viha mu isanda silmis, et ma ei saa su ees üles tõusta, sest mul on naiste asjad!' Nõnda ta otsis läbi, aga teeraveid ta ei leidnud.

36 Siis Jaakob vihastus ja riidles Laabaniga. Ja Jaakob kostis ning ütles Laabanile: 'Milles seisneb mu üleastumine? Mis on mu patt, et oled mind nii tulisi jalu taga ajanud?

37 Kuna sa oled läbi otsinud kogu mu kraami, siis missuguse oma koja riista oled sa leidnud? Pane siia minu suguvendade ja oma suguvendade ette, et nad võiksid õigust mõista meie mõlema vahel!

38 Ma olin sinu juures kakskümmend aastat. Su lambad ja kitsed ei heitnud loodet ja jäärasid su karjast ma ei söönud.

39 Murtut ma sulle ei toonud, ma pidin selle hüvitama. Sa nõudsid minult niihästi päeval kui öösel varastatut.

40 Päeval piinas mind palavus ja öösel külm, ja uni põgenes mu silmist.

41 Nüüd ma olen olnud su kojas kakskümmend aastat. Neliteist aastat ma teenisin sind su kahe tütre pärast ja kuus aastat lammaste ja kitsede pärast, ja sa muutsid mu palka kümme korda.

42 Kui minuga ei oleks olnud mu isa Jumal, Aabrahami Jumal, Iisaki Kartus, siis oleksid sa mind nüüd tühje käsi ära saatnud. Jumal on näinud mu häda ja mu kätevaeva ja on eile öösel teinud otsuse.'

43 Siis Laaban kostis ja ütles Jaakobile: 'Tütred on minu Tütred ja pojad on minu pojad ja kari on minu kari, ja kõik, mis sa näed, on minu! Aga mida ma saaksin praegu teha oma tütarde heaks või nende poegade heaks, keda nad on ilmale toonud?

44 Aga tule nüüd, tehkem leping, mina ja sina, ja see olgu tunnistajaks minu ja sinu vahel!'

45 Siis Jaakob võttis ühe kivi ja pani sambaks püsti.

46 Ja Jaakob ütles oma suguvendadele: 'Korjake kive!' Ja need võtsid kive ning kuhjasid kivikangru; ja nad sõid seal kivikangru peal.

47 Ja Laaban pani sellele nimeks Jegar-Sahaduuta; Jaakob aga nimetas selle Galeediks.

48 Ja Laaban ütles: 'See kivikangur olgu täna tunnistajaks minu ja sinu vahel!' Seepärast ta pani sellele nimeks Galeed

49 ja Mispa, sest ta ütles: 'Issand valvab minu ja sinu vahel, kui me teineteist enam ei näe.

50 Kui sa kohtled mu tütreid halvasti või võtad mu tütarde kõrvale teisi naisi, ilma et ükski inimene oleks meie juures, vaata, siis on Jumal ometi tunnistajaks minu ja sinu vahel.'

51 Siis ütles Laaban Jaakobile: 'Vaata, see kivikangur, ja vaata, see sammas, mille ma püstitasin enese ja sinu vahele, -

52 see kivikangur olgu tunnistajaks, samuti olgu see sammas tunnistajaks, et mina ei tohi tulla sellest kivikangrust mööda sinu juurde ja et sina ei tohi tulla sellest kivikangrust ja sambast mööda minu juurde kurja tegema!

53 Aabrahami Jumal ja Naahori Jumal, nende vanemate Jumal, see mõistku kohut meie vahel!' Ja Jaakob vandus oma isa Iisaki Kartuse juures.

54 Ja Jaakob ohverdas mäe peal tapaohvri ning kutsus oma suguvennad leiba võtma. Ja nad võtsid leiba ning jäid ööseks mäele.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #3941

Studere hoc loco

  
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3941. 'Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest' means faith in regard to its state of love and charity. This is clear from the representation of 'Reuben' as faith, which is the first stage of regeneration, dealt with in 3862, 3866; from the meaning of 'days' as states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785; and from the meaning of 'wheat' as love and charity, dealt with below - 'wheat harvest' therefore meaning a developing state of love and charity. Jacob's four sons by the servant-girls have portrayed the various means by which the external man is joined to the internal man. Now his remaining four sons portray the actual joining together of good and truth, on account of which reference is made first of all to 'dudaim', by which that joining together or conjugial relationship is meant. The reason why 'wheat harvest' means a developing state of love and charity is that 'the field' means the Church and so the things that constitute the Church, while the seeds sown in it mean the germs of good and truth. And what springs up from those seeds, such as wheat, barley, and many other crops, are the fruits of love and charity, and also of faith. The states of the Church so far as those things are concerned are therefore compared to seedtime and harvest, and are also actually called seedtime and harvest, as in Genesis 8:22 - see 932.

[2] That 'wheat' means the things which constitute love and charity may also be seen from the following places: In Moses,

Jehovah causes him to ride over the heights of the land and He feeds [him] with the produce of the fields, causes him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the stony rock - butter from the cattle, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and rams, the breed 1 of Bashan, and of goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you drink unmixed wine. Deuteronomy 32:13-14.

This refers in the internal sense to the Ancient Church and its state when it was established, every aspect of love and charity, and every aspect of faith there, being described by means of things that have spiritual meanings. 'The kidney-fat of wheat' means the celestial side of love and charity. And because 'fat' or 'fatness' means that which is celestial, 353, and 'wheat' means love, the two words are therefore linked together in various places in the Word, as also in David,

O that My people were obedient to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! He would feed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I will satisfy you. Psalms 81:13, 16.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah is the one who makes peace your border; with the fat of wheat He satisfies you. Psalms 147:14.

[3] That 'wheat' means love and charity is evident in Jeremiah,

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled down the portion of My field, they have rendered the portion of My field into a lonely wilderness. On all the hills in the wilderness those who cause devastation have come, for the sword of Jehovah is devouring from one end of the land even to the other end of the land. There is no peace for any flesh. They have sown wheat and reaped thorns. Jeremiah 12:10, 12-13.

'Vineyard' and 'the field' stand for the Church, 'a lonely wilderness' for the vastation of it, 'a devouring sword' for the vastation of truth, 'no peace' for the absence of good stirring the affections, 'sowing wheat' for forms of good which are the product of love and charity, 'sowing thorns' for evils and falsities which are the result of self-love and love of the world. For 'vineyard' means the spiritual Church, 1069; 'the field' the Church as regards good, 2971; 'wilderness' vastation, 1927, 2708; 'a devouring sword' vastation of truth, 2799; 'peace' good that stirs the affections, 3780.

[4] In Joel,

The field has been laid waste, the ground has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Farmers have been put to shame, vinedressers have wailed over the wheat and over the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. Gird yourselves and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Joel 1:10-11, 13.

It is evident to anyone that here the state of the Church when it has been vastated is what is described, and this being so, that 'the field' and 'the ground' mean the Church, 'the grain' its good, and 'the new wine' its truth, 3580, while 'wheat' means celestial love, 'barley' spiritual love. And since the state of the Church is the subject, the call to 'gird yourselves and lament, O priests, and wail, O ministers of the altar' is used.

[5] In Ezekiel,

The Spirit of Jehovah addressing the prophet, Take for yourself wheat and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them into a single vessel, and make them for yourself into bread. With human excrement you shall make a cake before their eyes. Thus shall the children of Israel eat their unclean bread. Ezekiel 4:9, 12-13.

This refers to the defilement of good and truth. 'Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, spelt' stands for different kinds of good and of truth derived from good. 'Bread' or a cake made from these together with human excrement stands for the defilement of them all.

[6] In John,

I saw, and behold, a black horse, and the one seated on it held a balance in his hand I heard a voice from the midst of the four living creatures saying, A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenices of barley for a denarius; but do no harm to oil and wine. Revelation 6:5-6.

This too refers to the vastation of good and truth. 'A choenix of wheat for a denarius' stands for a scarcity of love, 'three choenices of wheat for a denarius' for a scarcity of charity.

[7] In Ezekiel,

Judah and the land of Israel, they were your merchants. Wheat of minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, they exchanged for your tracings. Ezekiel 27:17.

This refers to Tyre, which means the cognitions of good and truth. The goods of love and charity, and the happiness they bring, are meant by 'wheat of minnith and pannag, and honey, oil, and balm'. 'Judah' means the celestial Church, 'the land of Israel' the spiritual, which are the source of those goods. 'Tracings' means acquisitions.

[8] In Moses,

A land of wheat and barley, and of the vine and of the fig and of the pomegranate, a land of olive oil and honey. Deuteronomy 8:8.

This is a description of the land of Canaan, which in the internal sense means the Lord's kingdom, 1413, 1437, 1585, 1607, 3038, 3705. Forms of good which are the product of love and charity in that kingdom are meant by 'wheat and barley', forms of good which are the product of faith by 'the vine and the fig'.

[9] In Matthew,

Whose fan is in His hand, and He will purge His threshing-floor and gather His wheat into the granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17.

John the Baptist referred in this way to the Lord. 'Wheat' stands for the goods of love and charity, 'chaff' for those things which do not have any good at all within them. In the same gospel,

Let both grow together until the harvest; and at the time of harvest I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:30.

'Weeds' stands for evils and falsities, 'wheat' for goods. These are comparisons, but all comparisons in the Word are made through the use of things that carry a spiritual meaning.

V:

1. literally, sons

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #487

Studere hoc loco

  
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487. 'Days means periods of time and states in general. This has been shown in Chapter 1, where the 'days of creation' have no other meaning. In the Word it is very common for a whole period of time to be called 'a day', as it clearly is in the present verse and in verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 27, 31, below; and therefore the states that belong to periods of time in general are meant by 'days' as well. And when 'years' is attached, then periods of years mean the natures of those states, and so the states in particular.

[2] The most ancient people had their own particular numbers which they would use to mean different aspects of the Church - for instance, the numbers three, seven, ten, twelve, and many which they obtained from these and other numbers - and in so doing incorporated states of the Church. These numbers therefore contain arcana that would require considerable effort to unravel. Really a number was an evaluation of the states of the Church. The same feature occurs throughout the Word, especially in the prophetical. And the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church also entail numbers specifying periods of time as well as quantities; for example, in connection with sacrifices, minchahs, oblations, and other practices, which in every case have special reference to holy things. Consequently eight hundred in this verse, nine hundred and thirty in the next, and the numbers of years mentioned in the verses that follow after that, embody in particular more matters than can possibly be retold; matters, that is to say, which have to do with changes in the state of their Church in relationship to their own general state. Later on, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the meaning of the simple numbers up to twelve will be given, for without knowing these first of all no one can grasp what compound numbers mean.

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