Bibliorum

 

Genesis 5

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1 This [is] an account of the births of Adam: In the day of God's preparing man, in the likeness of God He hath made him;

2 a male and a female He hath prepared them, and He blesseth them, and calleth their name Man, in the day of their being prepared.

3 And Adam liveth an hundred and thirty years, and begetteth [a son] in his likeness, according to his image, and calleth his name Seth.

4 And the days of Adam after his begetting Seth are eight hundred years, and he begetteth sons and daughters.

5 And all the days of Adam which he lived are nine hundred and thirty years, and he dieth.

6 And Seth liveth an hundred and five years, and begetteth Enos.

7 And Seth liveth after his begetting Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

8 And all the days of Seth are nine hundred and twelve years, and he dieth.

9 And Enos liveth ninety years, and begetteth Cainan.

10 And Enos liveth after his begetting Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

11 And all the days of Enos are nine hundred and five years, and he dieth.

12 And Cainan liveth seventy years, and begetteth Mahalaleel.

13 And Cainan liveth after his begetting Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

14 And all the days of Cainan are nine hundred and ten years, and he dieth.

15 And Mahalaleel liveth five and sixty years, and begetteth Jared.

16 And Mahalaleel liveth after his begetting Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

17 And all the days of Mahalaleel are eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he dieth.

18 And Jared liveth an hundred and sixty and two years, and begetteth Enoch.

19 And Jared liveth after his begetting Enoch eight hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

20 And all the days of Jared are nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he dieth.

21 And Enoch liveth five and sixty years, and begetteth Methuselah.

22 And Enoch walketh habitually with God after his begetting Methuselah three hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

23 And all the days of Enoch are three hundred and sixty and five years.

24 And Enoch walketh habitually with God, and he is not, for God hath taken him.

25 And Methuselah liveth an hundred and eighty and seven years, and begetteth Lamech.

26 And Methuselah liveth after his begetting Lamech seven hundred and eighty and two years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

27 And all the days of Methuselah are nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he dieth.

28 And Lamech liveth an hundred and eighty and two years, and begetteth a son,

29 and calleth his name Noah, saying, `This [one] doth comfort us concerning our work, and concerning the labour of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed.'

30 And Lamech liveth after his begetting Noah five hundred and ninety and five years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

31 And all the days of Lamech are seven hundred and seventy and seven years, and he dieth.

32 And Noah is a son of five hundred years, and Noah begetteth Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #382

Studere hoc loco

  
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382. That to be a “fugitive and a wanderer in the earth” signifies not to know what is good and true, is evident from the signification of “wandering” and “fleeing away” in the Word. As in Jeremiah:

The prophets and priests wander blind in the streets, they have been polluted in blood; the things they cannot do they touch with garments (Lamentations 4:13-14),

where “prophets” are those who teach, and “priests” those who live accordingly; to “wander blind in the streets” is not to know what is true and good.

[2] In Amos:

A part of the field was rained upon, and the part of the field whereupon it rained not withered; so two or three cities shall wander unto one city to drink waters, and shall not be satisfied (Amos 4:7-8), where by the “part of the field on which it rained” is signified the doctrine of faith from charity; and by the “part” or “piece” “of the field on which it did not rain” the doctrine of faith without charity. To “wander to drink the waters” likewise denotes to seek after truth.

[3] In Hosea:

Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; my God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations (Hosea 9:16-17).

“Ephraim” here denotes the understanding of truth, or faith, because he was the firstborn of Joseph; the “root which was dried up” denotes charity that cannot bear fruit; “wanderers among the nations” are those who do not know what is true and good.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Go ye up against Arabia, and devastate the sons of the east. Flee, wander ye exceedingly; the inhabitants of Hazor have let themselves down into the deep for a habitation (Jeremiah 49:28, 30). “Arabia” and the “sons of the east” signify the possession of celestial riches, or of the things that are of love, which, when vastated, are said to “flee” and “wander” that is, to be “fugitives and wanderers” when they do nought of what is good. Of the “inhabitants of Hazor” or those who possess spiritual riches, which are those of faith, it is said that they “let themselves down into the deep” that is, they perish.

[5] In Isaiah:

All thy foremost ones wander together, they are bound before the bow, they have fled from far (Isaiah 22:3),

speaking of the “valley of vision” or the phantasy that faith is possible without charity. Hence appears the reason why it is said, in a subsequent verse (Isaiah 22:14), that he who professes faith that is apart from charity is a “fugitive and a wanderer” that is, knows nothing of good and truth.

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