Bibliorum

 

Genesis 12

Study

   

1 And Jehovah said to Abram, Go from thy land, and from thy birth, and from the house of thy father, to the land that I will cause thee to see.

2 And I will make thee into a great nation; and I will bless thee, and will make· thy name ·great; and be thou a blessing.

3 And I will bless those who bless thee, and will curse him who reviles thee; and in thee shall all the families of the ground be blessed.

4 And Abram went as Jehovah had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was a son of five years and seventy years, when he went·​·out from Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and their every acquisition that they had acquired, and the soul that they had made* in Haran; and they went·​·out to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan.

6 And Abram passed·​·through into the land, even·​·to the place Shechem, even·​·to the oak·​·grove of Moreh; and the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, To thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah, who appeared to him.

8 And he moved·​·away from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and stretched·​·out his tent; with Bethel toward the sea, and Ai on the east. And he built there an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah.

9 And Abram journeyed, going and journeying, toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went·​·down toward Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was heavy in the land.

11 And it was, as he came·​·near to come unto Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold, I pray, I know that thou art a woman beautiful in appearance;

12 and it shall be, that the Egyptians shall see thee, and they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and will make· thee ·to·​·live.

13 Say, I pray, thou art my sister; so·​·that it may be·​·well with me on account·​·of thee, and that my soul may live because·​·of thee.

14 And it was, as Abram came to Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.

15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.

16 And he did·​·well to Abram on account·​·of her; and he had flock and herd, and donkeys and menservants, and handmaids and she·​·donkeys, and camels.

17 And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh with great plagues, and his house, on·​·account·​·of the matter* of Sarai, the wife of Abram.

18 And Pharaoh called to Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? why didst thou not tell me that she is thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? and I might have taken her to me for a woman. And now, behold thy wife; take her, and go.

20 And Pharaoh commanded the men concerning him; and they sent· him ·away, and his wife, and all that he had.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

Commentarius

 

Bear (a baby, or a burden)

  
Photo by Jenny Stein

Child-bearing being what it is, the spiritual meaning of "bearing" in that context seems to be particularly important, and sheds some light on other uses. Children represent new spiritual ideas or new affections for spiritual things; the Writings say "bearing" a child means "acknowledging" that idea or affection "in action as well as in faith." So it's not just thinking about a new idea or feeling good about something, it's actually going out and doing something about it, to make it real.In a general sense, other uses of "bear" also indicate an active and supportive approach to spiritual things, with actual works being done in pursuit of spiritual issues of various sorts.Like many verbs, the spiritual meaning of "bearing" something depends greatly on context – what it is that's being borne, and why. It is further complicated by the fact that "bearing" in the literal sense can mean anything from putting up with an annoyance to the miracle of pregnancy and birth.