The Bible

 

Genesis 15

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1 After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?

3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4 And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; But he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.

7 And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

8 And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9 And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not.

11 And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces.

18 In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1778

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1778. Genesis 15

1. After these events 1 the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you, your exceedingly great reward.

2. And Abram said, O Lord Jehovih, what will You give me, seeing that I go childless, 2 and the steward of my house is this Damascene, Eliezer?

3. And Abram said, See, to me you have not given seed, and behold, a son of my house is my heir.

4. And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir, but he who comes out of your own loins will be your heir.

5. And He brought him outside and said, Look, now, towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him, So will your seed be.

6. And he believed in Jehovah, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7. And He said to him, I am Jehovah, who brought you forth out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit.

8. And he said, O Lord Jehovih, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9. And He said to him, Take for Me 3 a three year old heifer, and a three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram, a turtle dove and a fledgling.

10. And he took for himself all these, and parted each of them down the middle and laid each part opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut apart.

11. And birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12. And as the sun was going down a deep sleep came over Abram, and, behold, a dread of a great darkness was coming over him.

13. And He said to Abram, Know for sure that your seed will be strangers in a land not theirs. And they will serve them, 4 and these will afflict them for four hundred years.

14. And also the nation which they are going to serve will I judge; and afterwards they will go out with great acquisitions.

15. And you will come to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.

16. And in the fourth generation they will return from here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to a close.

17. And the sun went down and there was thick darkness; and behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces.

18. On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt even to the great river, the river Phrath. 5

19. The Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

20. And the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

21. And the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.

CONTENTS

Continued here in the internal sense are matters concerning the Lord after He had undergone in childhood the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations - conflicts directed against the love He cherished towards the entire human race, and in particular towards the Church. As He was therefore anxious about the future state of these, a promise was made to Him. But at the same time He was shown what the state of the Church was to become in its final days, when it was beginning to breathe its last, but nevertheless that a new Church would gather strength to take the place of the previous one; and the heavenly kingdom would be vastly increased.

Footnotes:

1. literally, words

2. literally, and I am walking childless

3. The Latin means for you, but the Hebrew means for Me.

4. i.e. as slaves

5. i.e. the Euphrates

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