The Bible

 

Genesis 12

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1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee:

2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;

3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

12 and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16 And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.

17 And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

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

19 why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1480

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1480. 'That the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful' means that the knowledge which is comprised of cognitions is to itself highly pleasing. This is clear from what has been stated above at verse 11, to the effect that in childhood knowledge is of such a nature. Within knowledge an inclination so to speak exists - for that inclination is innate in man - which disposes it first of all to take pleasure in knowing just for the sake of knowing, and with no other end in view. This is so with everyone: his spirit takes great delight in knowing, so that it scarcely desires anything better, knowledge being its food by which it is sustained and renewed, as the external man is by earthly food. And this which nourishes his spirit is communicated to the external man to the end that the external man may be adapted so as to serve the internal. These foods exist consecutively, in the following order: Celestial food consists in every good of love and charity received from the Lord, while spiritual food consists in every truth of faith; these are the kinds of food by which angels live. From these comes the food - also celestial and spiritual, but of a lower angelic degree - by which angelic spirits live. And from this again comes celestial and spiritual food of a still lower degree, which is that of reason and from this of knowledge, by which good spirits live. Last of all comes bodily food, which is proper to man while he lives in the body. All these foods correspond to one another in a remarkable manner. From this it is also evident why and how knowledge is to itself most pleasing, for that pleasure is as appetite and taste; therefore also eating with man corresponds in the world of spirits to facts, and appetite and taste themselves to the intense desire for facts, as is clear from experience which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be presented further on.

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