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Genesis 22:16

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16 and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son,

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Arcana Coelestia #2832

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2832. By his horns. That this signifies with all power in regard to the truths of faith, is evident from the signification of “horns.” “Horns” are mentioned in many places in the Word; and there signify the power of truth from good; and in the opposite sense the power of falsity from evil; here the meaning is that the spiritual who are signified by the “ram” are entangled in natural memory-knowledge with all their might in regard to truth, and hence that they are deprived of the power of perceiving truths. For the more anyone consults natural memory-knowledges, and sticks fast in them in his animus and mind in regard to the things which are truths of faith, the more does he lose the light of truth, and with the light, the life of truth. Everyone may know this from experience, if he attends and reflects, from those who say that they can believe nothing unless they comprehend that it is so by means of the things of sense, or of memory-knowledge. If you explore their quality, you will find that they believe nothing; and moreover that nothing seems to them more wise than to ascribe everything to nature. There are many also who say that they believe although they do not comprehend; when nevertheless, in secret with themselves, they reason equally as others do from the things of sense and memory-knowledge concerning the truths of faith, as to whether a thing is so. These either have a kind of persuasion breathed in from the love of self and the world, or they do not believe at all. Their quality is manifest from their life. Both classes are indeed in the Lord’s spiritual church, but they are not of the church. They who are of the church are in a life of good, and have faith in truths; but the spiritual have faith in other truths besides those which have been impressed on them from infancy, and which they have afterwards confirmed to themselves from doctrine or from some other source. Such is the state of the spiritual, which state is here described by the “ram caught in the thicket by his horns” (see just above, n. 2831).

[2] That a “horn” signifies the power of truth from good, is evident from the following passages.

In David:

Thou art the glory of their strength, and in Thy good pleasure wilt Thou exalt our horn; for our shield belongeth unto Jehovah, and our king to the Holy One of Israel. My truth and My mercy shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be exalted; I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers (Psalms 89:17-18, 24-25 (Psalm 89:26)

where “our horn” and “his horn” manifestly denote the power of truth. The Lord’s spiritual kingdom is there treated of; “our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel” denotes that Divine truth belongs to the Lord. (That a “king” is truth, and that the Lord’s royalty is the Divine Truth, may be seen above, n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069); to “put his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers” denotes that strength is in the memory-knowledges and the knowledges of truth. (That the “hand” and the “right hand” denote strength, see above, n. 878; and also that the “sea” and the “rivers” denote memory-knowledges and knowledges, n. 28, 2702.) In the same:

I will love Thee, O Jehovah, my strength; Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strong rock in whom I trust, my shield, and the horn of my salvation (Psalms 18:1-2; 2 Samuel 22:2-3).

The “horn of salvation” denotes truth as to power; in this passage “strength,” “rock,” “fortress,” “God,” “strong rock,” and “shield,” are all significative of the power of truth.

[3] In the same:

In Zion will I make a horn to bud unto David, I will prepare a lamp for Mine anointed; His enemies will I clothe with shame (Psalms 132:17-18); where the Lord is treated of, who is “David” (n. 1888); a “horn” denotes the power of truth; a “lamp,” the light of truth.

In Samuel:

My heart hath exulted in Jehovah, my horn is exalted in Jehovah, my mouth is enlarged against mine enemies, because I have been glad in Thy salvation. Jehovah will give strength unto His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed (1 Samuel 2:1 (2:1), 10);

this is the prophecy of Hannah; the “horn” denotes the power of truth.

[4] In Moses:

The firstling of his ox, honor is his, and his horns are the horns of the unicorn; with them shall he push the peoples all of them, to the ends of the earth (Deuteronomy 33:17);

this is the prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph, where the “horns of the unicorn” denote the great power of truth, as is manifest also from its being said that he shall “push the peoples with them to the ends of the earth.” So too in David:

My horn shalt Thou exalt like the unicorn’s (Psalms 92:10).

And in the same:

O Jehovah, save me from the mouth of the lion, and answer me from the horns of the unicorn (Psalms 22:21);

Divine truths, from their height, are called the “horns of unicorns;” hence the “horn” is so often said to be “exalted,” for exaltation signifies power from the interior. (That what is internal is represented by what is high, may be seen above, n. 1735, 2148)

[5] In Jeremiah:

The Lord hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel, He hath drawn back His right hand from before the enemy (Lam. 2:3);

to “cut off all the horn of Israel” denotes to deprive of truth which has power, which is also to “draw back the right hand from before the enemy.”

In Ezekiel:

In that day will I make a horn to grow for the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them (Ezekiel 29:21);

to “make the horn to grow for the house of Israel,” denotes to multiply the truths of the spiritual church, which is “Israel;” the “opening of the mouth” denotes the confession of them.

[6] In Habakkuk:

God will come from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran; His honor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise and His brightness shall be as the light; He had horns out of His hand, and there was the hiding of His strength (Hab. 3:3-4); where the Lord is treated of; that “He had horns out of His hand, and there was the hiding of His strength,” plainly denotes the power of truth; that “Mount Paran” is the Divine Spiritual or the Divine Truth of the Lord’s Human, may be seen above (n. 2714), which also is the “brightness” and the “light.”

[7] The Divine Truth of the Lord’s Human is thus described in John:

I saw and behold in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, a Lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth (Revelation 5:6).

The “seven horns” denote holy or Divine truths. (That “seven” means holy, may be seen above, n. 716, 881.) The “seven spirits sent forth into all the earth,” are the holy preachings of the same truths.

[8] The “horns of the altars” signified nothing else than truth in which is power. Of these it is said in Moses:

Thou shalt make horns upon the four corners of the altar; out of it shall its horns be (Exodus 27:2; 38:2).

So too upon the altar of incense, out of which were to be horns (Exodus 30:2; 37:25). (That the altar was a principal representative of the Lord and of His worship, may be seen above, n. 921.) The altar was a representative of His Divine Good; the horns were the representatives of His Divine Truth; that truth was from good was represented by the horns being out of it, or out of the altar. (That there is no other truth than that which is from good, may be seen above, n. 654, 1162, 1176, 1608, 2063, 2261, 2429.) It is manifest from this that “horns” in the genuine sense signify the power of truth which is from good.

[9] That Aaron and his sons, when initiated in the ministry, took of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with the finger (Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 8:15); and that Aaron made expiation upon the horns of the altar once in the year (Exodus 30:10); and that when a priest sinned, he offered a bullock, and put of the blood upon the horns of the altar of incense (Leviticus 4:3, 7); also that when a prince sinned, he offered a burnt-offering, and the blood was sprinkled upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering (Leviticus 4:22, 25); and that it was the same when a soul sinned (verses 27, 30, 34, of the same chapter); as also when the altar was expiated (Leviticus 16:18-19)—all these things signified truths from good; for all sanctifications, inaugurations, and expiations were made by truths, because truths introduce to good (n. 2830). That the “horns of the altar” signified truths which are from good, may also be seen in John:

The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God (Revelation 9:13).

The “horns of the golden altar” manifestly denote truths from good, for thence came the voice (that “gold” is good may be seen above, n. 113, 1551, 1552; and still more the “golden altar”).

[10] In Amos:

In the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will visit upon the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground (Amos 3:14).

That the “horns of the altar were to be cut off,” was because truth from good was no longer represented there; “Bethel” is the Divine Good, and is therefore called the “king’s sanctuary,” and the “house of the kingdom” (Amos 7:13). The kings being “anointed with oil from a horn” (1 Samuel 16:1 (1 Samuel 16:1), 13; 1 Kings 1:39) represented in like manner truth from good. (The “oil” was good, n. 886; but the “horn,” truth; the “royalty” itself in the internal sense is such truth, n. 1728, 2015, in which is power.)

[11] That a “horn” in the opposite sense signifies the power of falsity which is from evil, is evident from the following passages.

In Amos:

Ye who rejoice in a thing of naught, who say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? (Amos 6:13);

“horns” here denote the power of falsity.

In Zechariah:

I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold four horns; and I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And Jehovah showed me four smiths; and I said, What come these to do? And He said, saying, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man doth lift up his head; and these are come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah, to scatter it (Zech. 1:18-21).

The “horns” denote the power of falsity, which vastates the church.

In Ezekiel:

Ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad (Ezekiel 34:21);

here the shepherds who seduce by falsities are treated of; the “horns” denote the power of falsity; the “shoulder,” all power (n. 1085).

In Jeremiah:

Jehovah hath destroyed, and hath not pitied, and He hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; He hath exalted the horn of thine adversaries (Lam. 2:17).

In the same:

The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken (Jeremiah 48:25);

“horn” here denotes powerful falsity.

[12] In David:

I said to them that were glorying, Glory ye not, and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn; lift not up your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck. All the horns of the wicked will I cut off, the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up (Psalms 75:4-5, 10).

The “horns of the wicked” denote the power of falsity from evil; the “horns of the righteous,” the power of truth from good.

[13] In Daniel:

A fourth beast was seen, terrible and powerful and strong exceedingly, and it had iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn came up among them, and three of the first horns were rooted up before it; and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. I held then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I desired certitude concerning the fourth beast, and concerning the ten horns that were on his head, and concerning the other which came up, and three fell before it; and concerning the same horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; I held, and the same horn made war with the saints. And he said, As for the fourth beast, it shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise, and another shall arise after them, and he shall be diverse from the former ones, and he shall humble three kings; he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints; afterwards the judgment shall sit (Daniel 7:7-8, 11, (Daniel 7:11)19-26).

Here in the internal sense the perverted state of the church is treated of. The things which were here seen by Daniel, as the beast, the teeth of iron, the horn in which were eyes, and the horns that spoke, and those which made war with the saints, and that which spoke against the Most High, signify the state of falsity and of heresies within the church. That “horns” signify falsity powerful and prevailing, is evident from the mere fact that eyes are attributed to them, that is, understanding (n. 2701); and that they spoke, even against the Most High. By the “kingdoms” and “kings” are not signified kingdoms and kings, but doctrinal things of falsity; as may be seen from their signification in the Word as being doctrinal things of truth, and in the opposite sense of falsity (see n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 2547).

[14] Again in Daniel:

A ram was seen by him standing before the river, which had two horns; and the horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing with his horn westward, and northward, and southward, so that no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. As I was considering, behold a he-goat of the goats came from the west over the face of the whole earth; this he-goat had a horn between his two eyes; he came to the ram the lord of the horns, and ran upon him in the fury of his power, and smote him, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him. Afterwards the he-goat of the goats magnified himself exceedingly and when he was strong, his great horn was broken, and there came up four horns in place of it. Soon out of one of them went forth a little horn, and grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward beauty; and it grew even to the army of the heavens, and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them. The ram with the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia; the he-goat is the king of Greece; the four horns in place of one are four kingdoms out of the nation (Daniel 8:1-27).

Here in the spiritual sense the state of the spiritual church is treated of, which is the “ram” (n. 2830); and the state of that church is described, how it gradually declines and is perverted. The “he-goat of the goats” denotes those who are in faith separate from charity, or in truth separate from good, who begin to uplift themselves against good, and at length against the Lord. The “horns of the ram” are the truths of the spiritual church both internal and external; the “horns of the he-goat of the goats” are truths which have gradually degenerated into falsities; and by the “kingdoms” and “kings” here mentioned are not signified kingdoms and kings, but truths and falsities, as already said; for the Lord’s Word in its essence does not treat of worldly and earthly, but of spiritual and heavenly things.

[15] In John:

And there was seen another sign in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems; his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth (Revelation 12:3-4).

And again:

I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb (Revelation 13:1-2, 7, 11).

Again in the same:

I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy; having seven heads and ten horns; it was the great Babylon. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth; and they are seven kings; the ten horns are ten kings (Revelation 17:3, 5, 7, 9, 12-13).

That by the “horns” here in like manner as in Daniel are signified the powers of falsity, is evident.

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

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Arcana Coelestia #2009

ഈ ഭാഗം പഠിക്കുക

  
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2009. Thy name shall no more be called Abram, and thy name shall be Abraham. That “thy name shall no more be called Abram,” signifies that He will put off the human; and that “thy name shall be Abraham,” signifies that He will put on the Divine, is evident from the signification of “name;” also from the signification of “Abram;” and, afterwards, of “Abraham.” The expression “this shall be thy name,” when used in the Word, signifies the quality, that is, that the person will be of such a quality, as is evident from what has been adduced in Part First (n. 144, 145, 1754). And as the “name” signifies the quality, the name comprehends in one complex whatever is in the man. For in heaven no attention is paid to anyone’s name; but when anyone is named, or when the word name is spoken, there is presented the idea of the person’s quality, that is, of all things that are his, that are connected with him, and that are in him; hence in the Word “name” signifies quality. That this may be evident to the understanding we may adduce from the Word a number of additional confirmatory passages. As in the Benediction in Moses:

Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make His faces to shine upon thee and have compassion on thee; Jehovah lift up His faces upon thee and give thee peace. So shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel (Numbers 6:24-27).

From this it is evident what is denoted by “name,” and by “putting the name” of Jehovah upon the sons of Israel, namely, that Jehovah blesses, guards, enlightens, is pitiful, gives peace; and thus that Jehovah or the Lord is such.

[2] In the Decalogue:

Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who taketh His name in vain (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11); where to “take the name of God in vain” does not signify the name, but all things in general and particular that are from Him, and therefore all things in general and particular that belong to the worship of Him, none of which are to be despised, still less blasphemed and contaminated with what is filthy. In the Lord’s Prayer:

Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven so also in the earth (Luke 11:2); where also by “name” is not meant the name, but all things of love and faith; for these are God’s or the Lord’s, and are from Him; and as these are holy, the Lord’s kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in the heavens when they are held to be so.

[3] That “name” signifies such things is evident from all the passages in the Word of the Old and of the New Testament where “name” is mentioned. As in Isaiah:

In that day shall ye say, Confess to Jehovah, call upon His name, make known His works among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted (Isaiah 12:4); where to “call upon the name of Jehovah,” and to “make mention that His name is exalted,” does not at all mean to place worship in the name, or to believe that Jehovah is invoked by using His name, but by knowing His quality, and thus by means of all things in general and particular that are from Him. In the same:

Therefore honor ye Jehovah in the Urim; the name of Jehovah the God of Israel in the isles of the sea (Isaiah 24:15); where to “honor Jehovah in the Urim,” is to honor Him from the holy things of love; and to “honor the name of Jehovah the God of Israel in the isles of the sea,” is to honor Him from the holy things of faith.

[4] In the same:

O Jehovah our God, only in Thee will we make mention of Thy name (Isaiah 26:13). I will raise up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun, he shall call upon My name (Isaiah 41:25); where to “make mention of the name of Jehovah,” and to “call upon His name,” means to worship from the goods of love and the truths of faith. They who are from the north are they who are outside the church and ignorant of the name of Jehovah, who nevertheless “call upon His name” when they live in mutual charity and adore as the Deity the Creator of the universe; for the “calling upon Jehovah” consists in worship and the quality of it, and not in the name. (That the Lord is present with the Gentiles also may be seen above, n. 932, 1032, 1059.)

[5] In the same:

The nations shall see 1 thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah shall name (Isaiah 62:2); where “thou shalt be called by a new name,” denotes to become another person, that is, to be created anew or regenerated, and thus to be such.

In Micah:

All the peoples will walk everyone in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and to eternity (Micah 4:5);

to “walk in the name of his god,” plainly denotes profane worship; and to “walk in the name of Jehovah,” true worship.

In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun and even to its going down, My name shall be great among the nations; and in every place incense is offered unto My name, and a clean offering for My name shall be great among the nations (Malachi 1:11); where by “name” is not signified the name, but the worship; which is the quality of Jehovah or the Lord, by reason of which He wills to be adored.

[6] In Moses:

The place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all the tribes to put His name there, and to cause His name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14; 16:2, 6, 11); where also by “putting His name,” and “making His name dwell there,” is not signified the name, but the worship, and thus the quality of Jehovah or the Lord by reason of which He is to be worshiped. His quality is the good of love and the truth of faith; and “the name of Jehovah dwells” with those who are in these.

In Jeremiah:

Go ye unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I caused My name to dwell in the beginning (Jeremiah 7:12); where in like manner “name” denotes worship, and thereby the doctrine of true faith. Everyone can see that Jehovah does not dwell with him who merely knows and speaks His name, for the name alone, without any idea, knowledge, or faith concerning His quality is a mere word. Hence it is evident that the “name” is the quality, and the knowledge of the quality.

[7] In Moses:

At that time Jehovah separated the tribe of Levi, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name (Deuteronomy 10:8); where to “bless in the name” of Jehovah is not to do so through the name, but by means of the things which appertain to the name of Jehovah, spoken of above.

In Jeremiah:

This is His name whereby they shall call Him, Jehovah our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6); where the “name” denotes righteousness, which is the quality of the Lord, of whom these words are said.

In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath called Me from the womb, from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of 2 My name (Isaiah 49:1);

also said of the Lord; to “make mention of His name,” is to instruct in respect to His quality.

[8] That “name” signifies quality, is still more clearly evident in John, in Revelation:

Thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before My Father and before the angels. He that overcometh, I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God, and My new name (Revelation 3:4-5, 12); where that the “name” is not the name, but the quality, is plainly evident; the “name in the book of life” is nothing else; and the quality is also meant by “confessing his name before the Father,” and by “writing upon him the name of God, and of the city, and the new name;” and the same is true of the names which are said elsewhere to be written in the book of life, and in heaven (Revelation 13:8, 17:8; Luke 10:20).

[9] In heaven it is solely by the quality that anyone is known from another; and in the sense of the letter this is expressed by the name, as everyone can see from the consideration that on earth whoever is named is presented in the listener’s idea in accordance with his quality, and it is by this idea that he is known and distinguished from others. In the other life the ideas remain, but the names perish; and this is still more the case among the angels. Hence it is that in the internal sense the “name” is the quality, or to know the quality. Again:

Upon the head of Him who sat upon the white horse were many diadems; and He hath a name written which no one knoweth but He Himself. He was clothed in a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:12-13); where that the “name” is the Word of God, and thus is the quality of Him who sat upon the white horse, is said in plain words.

[10] That the “name of Jehovah” is to know His quality, namely, that He is all the good of love and all the truth of faith, is clearly evident from these words of the Lord:

O righteous Father I have known Thee, and these also have known that Thou hast sent Me; for I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:25-26).

[11] And that the “name of God” or of the Lord is all the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, which is signified by “believing in His name,” is evident from these words in the same gospel:

As many as received Him, to them gave He the power [potestas] to be sons of God, to them that believe in His name (John 1:12).

If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:13-15).

Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He giveth you. These things I command you, that ye love one another (John 15:16-17).

In Matthew:

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

By those who are “gathered together in the name of the Lord,” are here signified those who are in the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, and thus who are in love and charity. Again Ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake (Matthew 10:22, 24:9-10; Mark 13:10); where “for My names sake” plainly means for the sake of His doctrine.

[12] That the name itself effects nothing, but that everything is effected by that which the name involves, namely, everything of charity and faith, is clearly evident from these words in Matthew:

Have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? But then will I profess unto them, I never dew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23);

from which it is evident that they who place worship in a name, as did the Jews in the name of Jehovah, and as do Christians in the name of the Lord, are not on that account the more worthy, because the name avails nothing; but that which does avail is that they be of such a character as the Lord has commanded; for this is to “believe in His name;” and further, that its being said that there is no salvation in any other name than the Lord’s, means that there is none in any other doctrine, that is, in no other than mutual love, which is the true doctrine of faith, and thus in no other than the Lord, because all love and the derivative faith are from Him alone.

അടിക്കുറിപ്പുകൾ:

1. Viderunt; probably a misprint for videbunt, as we find it read in the True Christian Religion782. [Rotch ed.]

2. Et memorare fecit Nomen meum; but elsewhere, meminit Nominis mei; as n. 3305.

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