Bibliorum

 

Leviticus 18

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1 Yahweh said to Moses,

2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'I am Yahweh your God.

3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; neither shall you walk in their statutes.

4 You shall do my ordinances, and you shall keep my statutes, and walk in them: I am Yahweh your God.

5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances; which if a man does, he shall live in them: I am Yahweh.

6 "'None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh.

7 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

8 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife: it is your father's nakedness.

9 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or born abroad.

10 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter, or of your daughter's daughter, even their nakedness: for theirs is your own nakedness.

11 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.

12 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister: she is your father's near kinswoman.

13 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister: for she is your mother's near kinswoman.

14 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, you shall not approach his wife: she is your aunt.

15 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son's wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

16 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness.

17 "'You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

18 "'You shall not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet alive.

19 "'You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

20 "'You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, and defile yourself with her.

21 "'You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am Yahweh.

22 "'You shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is detestable.

23 "'You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.

24 "'Don't defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.

25 The land was defiled: therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.

26 You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you;

27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land became defiled);

28 that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

29 "'For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.

30 Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs, which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them: I am Yahweh your God.'"

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9398

Studere hoc loco

  
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9398. 'And they said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear' means receiving the truth that emanates from the Lord's Divine Human, and obeying it with heart and soul. This is clear from the meaning of 'all that Jehovah has spoken' as truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'doing' as obeying with the will, thus with the heart, dealt with in 9311, 9385; and from the meaning of 'hearing' as obeying with the understanding, thus with the soul, dealt with in 7216, 8361, 9311. Obeying with the heart describes obeying with the will, thus with affection and love, and obeying with the soul describes obeying with the understanding, thus in belief; for 'the heart' means will and love, 3883-3896, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9300, and 'the soul' means understanding and belief, 2930, 9050, 9281. All this explains why the words 'we will do and hear' are used. The reason why 'all that Jehovah has spoken' means truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human is that all truth emanates from there. The fact that Divine Truth emanates not from the Divine Himself but from the Divine Human is made perfectly clear in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

This is the reason why the Lord is called 'the Word', John 1:1-3, which is Divine Truth, and why it is said that 'the Word was made flesh', that is, was made Man, John 1:14, to the end that the Divine Himself in human form might in actuality teach God's truth. Regarding the Lord, that He is the Divine Himself in human form, see 9315. From all this it is evident that 'all that Jehovah has spoken' means truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human.

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #4696

Studere hoc loco

  
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4696. 'And behold, the sun and the moon' means natural good and natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sun' as celestial good, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060; and from the meaning of 'the moon' as spiritual good, which is truth, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2495. In the highest sense 'the sun' means the Lord because He is seen as the sun by those in heaven who are governed by celestial love, and in the highest sense 'the moon' too means the Lord because He is seen as the moon by those in heaven who are governed by spiritual love. Also He is the source of every ray of light in heaven. Consequently the light received from the sun there is the celestial form of love, which is good, and the light received from the moon there is the spiritual form of love, which is truth. Here therefore 'the sun' means natural good and 'the moon' natural truth, since these two sources of light are used to refer to Jacob and Leah (as is evident from verse 10, where Jacob says, 'Shall we indeed come - I and your mother, and your brothers - to bow down to you to the earth?') and 'Jacob' represents natural good and 'Leah' natural truth, as shown already in various places. The Divine which comes from the Lord is in the highest sense the Divine within Him, but in the relative sense is the Divine going forth from Him. The Divine good received from Him is that which is called celestial, and the Divine truth received from Him is that which is referred to as spiritual. When the rational receives these it is in this case the good and truth of the rational that are meant; but when the natural receives them it is the good and truth of the natural that are meant. Here the good and truth of the natural are meant because the words used refer to Jacob and Leah.

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