The Bible

 

تكوين 2

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1 فأكملت السموات والارض وكل جندها.

2 وفرغ الله في اليوم السابع من عمله الذي عمل. فاستراح في اليوم السابع من جميع عمله الذي عمل.

3 وبارك الله اليوم السابع وقدسه. لانه فيه استراح من جميع عمله الذي عمل الله خالقا

4 هذه مبادئ السموات والارض حين خلقت. يوم عمل الرب الاله الارض والسموات

5 كل شجر البرية لم يكن بعد في الارض وكل عشب البرية لم ينبت بعد. لان الرب الاله لم يكن قد امطر على الارض. ولا كان انسان ليعمل الارض.

6 ثم كان ضباب يطلع من الارض ويسقي كل وجه الارض.

7 وجبل الرب الاله آدم ترابا من الارض. ونفخ في انفه نسمة حياة. فصار آدم نفسا حيّة.

8 وغرس الرب الاله جنّة في عدن شرقا. ووضع هناك آدم الذي جبله.

9 وأنبت الرب الاله من الارض كل شجرة شهية للنظر وجيدة للأكل. وشجرة الحياة في وسط الجنة وشجرة معرفة الخير والشر.

10 وكان نهر يخرج من عدن ليسقي الجنة. ومن هناك ينقسم فيصير اربعة رؤوس.

11 اسم الواحد فيشون. وهو المحيط بجميع ارض الحويلة حيث الذهب.

12 وذهب تلك الارض جيد. هناك المقل وحجر الجزع.

13 واسم النهر الثاني جيحون. وهو المحيط بجميع ارض كوش.

14 واسم النهر الثالث حدّاقل. وهو الجاري شرقي اشور. والنهر الرابع الفرات

15 وأخذ الرب الاله آدم ووضعه في جنة عدن ليعملها ويحفظها.

16 واوصى الرب الاله آدم قائلا من جميع شجر الجنة تأكل اكلا.

17 واما شجرة معرفة الخير والشر فلا تأكل منها. لانك يوم تأكل منها موتا تموت.

18 وقال الرب الاله ليس جيدا ان يكون آدم وحده. فاصنع له معينا نظيره.

19 وجبل الرب الاله من الارض كل حيوانات البرية وكل طيور السماء. فاحضرها الى آدم ليرى ماذا يدعوها. وكل ما دعا به آدم ذات نفس حية فهو اسمها.

20 فدعا آدم باسماء جميع البهائم وطيور السماء وجميع حيوانات البرية. واما لنفسه فلم يجد معينا نظيره.

21 فاوقع الرب الاله سباتا على آدم فنام. فأخذ واحدة من اضلاعه وملأ مكانها لحما.

22 وبنى الرب الاله الضلع التي اخذها من آدم امرأة واحضرها الى آدم.

23 فقال آدم هذه الآن عظم من عظامي ولحم من لحمي. هذه تدعى امرأة لانها من امرء اخذت.

24 لذلك يترك الرجل اباه وامه ويلتصق بامرأته ويكونان جسدا واحدا.

25 وكانا كلاهما عريانين آدم وامرأته وهما لا يخجلان

   

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Conjugial Love #135

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135. After this they took the piece of paper and read the third topic for discussion, namely, what the tree of life symbolizes, what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes, and what eating from them means. And they all asked the people on the east to explain this mystery, because it required a deeper understanding, and people who come from the east have a flaming light, that is to say, a wisdom that comes of love, which is the wisdom meant by the garden in Eden in which the two trees were placed.

The people on the east, then, replied, "We will speak. But because no one acquires anything from himself but from the Lord, we will speak from Him, though it will still seem to come from us as though it originated with us."

Then they said, "A tree symbolizes a person; and its fruit, goodness of life. The tree of life therefore symbolizes a person living from God, or God living in the person. And because love and wisdom and charity and faith or good and truth constitute the life of God in a person, the tree of life symbolizes these qualities, from which a person has eternal life. The tree of life which people will be given to eat from, in the book of Revelation, has a similar symbolism (Revelation 2:7, 22:2,14).

[2] "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes a person believing that he lives on his own and not from God, thus that the love and wisdom, charity and faith, or good and truth in the person are his and not God's - believing this because he thinks and wills, and speaks and acts, in all likeness and appearance as if on his own. Because a person with this belief comes into the persuasion that God has introduced Himself or infused His Divinity into him, therefore the serpent said:

...God knows that in the day you eat (of the fruit of the tree) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)

[3] "Eating from the two trees symbolizes acquisition and assimilation. Eating from the tree of life symbolizes acquisition of eternal life, and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes acquisition of damnation. Therefore Adam and his wife were both cursed along with the serpent. The serpent means the devil in respect to self-love and pride in its own intelligence. This love takes possession of the tree, and people who are caught up in pride as a result of that love are the trees it possesses.

"People fall into an enormous error, therefore, who believe that Adam was wise and did good from his own nature, and that this was his state of integrity, when Adam himself was cursed for precisely that belief. For this is what is symbolized by his eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was why he then fell from his state of integrity, which he had had as a result of his believing that he was wise and did good from God and not from himself, for that is what is meant by his eating from the tree of life.

"The Lord alone, when He was in the world, was wise of Himself and did good of Himself, because the Divine itself was in Him and was His from birth. Consequently He also became Redeemer and Savior by His own power."

[4] On the basis of these remarks and explanations, the people formed the following conclusion:

"The tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and eating from them," they said, "symbolize that the source of life for man is to have God in him, and that he then gains heaven and eternal life. On the other hand, the source of death for man is the persuasion and belief that the source of life for man is not God but himself, on which account he gains hell and eternal death, which is damnation."

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.