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تكوين 8

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1 ثم ذكر الله نوحا وكل الوحوش وكل البهائم التي معه في الفلك. واجاز الله ريحا على الارض فهدأت المياه.

2 وانسدّت ينابيع الغمر وطاقات السماء. فامتنع المطر من السماء.

3 ورجعت المياه عن الارض رجوعا متواليا. وبعد مئة وخمسين يوما نقصت المياه.

4 واستقر الفلك في الشهر السابع في اليوم السابع عشر من الشهر على جبال اراراط.

5 وكانت المياه تنقص نقصا متواليا الى الشهر العاشر. وفي العاشر في اول الشهر ظهرت رؤوس الجبال

6 وحدث من بعد اربعين يوما ان نوحا فتح طاقة الفلك التي كان قد عملها

7 وارسل الغراب. فخرج مترددا حتى نشفت المياه عن الارض.

8 ثم ارسل الحمامة من عنده ليرى هل قلّت المياه عن وجه الارض.

9 فلم تجد الحمامة مقرا لرجلها. فرجعت اليه الى الفلك. لان مياها كانت على وجه كل الارض. فمدّ يده واخذها وادخلها عنده الى الفلك.

10 فلبث ايضا سبعة ايام أخر وعاد فارسل الحمامة من الفلك.

11 فأتت اليه الحمامة عند المساء واذا ورقة زيتون خضراء في فمها. فعلم نوح ان المياه قد قلّت عن الارض.

12 فلبث ايضا سبعة ايام أخر وارسل الحمامة فلم تعد ترجع اليه ايضا

13 وكان في السنة الواحدة والست مئة في الشهر الاول في اوّل الشهر ان المياه نشفت عن الارض. فكشف نوح الغطاء عن الفلك ونظر فاذا وجه الارض قد نشف.

14 وفي الشهر الثاني في اليوم السابع والعشرين من الشهر جفّت الارض

15 وكلم الله نوحا قائلا.

16 اخرج من الفلك انت وامرأتك وبنوك ونساء بنيك معك.

17 وكل الحيوانات التي معك من كل ذي جسد الطيور والبهائم وكل الدبابات التي تدب على الارض اخرجها معك. ولتتوالد في الارض وتثمر وتكثر على الارض.

18 فخرج نوح وبنوه وامرأته ونساء بنيه معه.

19 وكل الحيوانات كل الدبابات وكل الطيور كل ما يدبّ على الارض كانواعها خرجت من الفلك

20 وبنى نوح مذبحا للرب. واخذ من كل البهائم الطاهرة ومن كل الطيور الطاهرة واصعد محرقات على المذبح.

21 فتنسم الرب رائحة الرضا. وقال الرب في قلبه لا اعود العن الارض ايضا من اجل الانسان لان تصوّر قلب الانسان شرير منذ حداثته. ولا اعود ايضا أميت كل حيّ كما فعلت.

22 مدة كل ايام الارض زرع وحصاد وبرد وحرّ وصيف وشتاء ونهار وليل لا تزال

   

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Arcana Coelestia #921

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921. And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah. That this signifies a representative of the Lord, is evident from what has just been said. All the rites of the Ancient Church were representative of the Lord, as also the rites of the Jewish Church. But the principal representative in later times was the altar, and also the burnt-offering, which being made of clean beasts and clean birds, had its representation according to their signification, clean beasts signifying the goods of charity, and clean birds the truths of faith. When men of the Ancient Church offered these, they signified that they offered gifts of these goods and truths to the Lord. Nothing else can be offered to the Lord that will be grateful to Him. But their posterity, as the Gentiles and also the Jews, perverted these things, not even knowing that they had such a signification, and making their worship consist in the externals only.

[2] That the altar was the principal representative of the Lord, is evident from the fact that there were altars, even among Gentiles, before other rites were instituted, and before the ark was constructed, and before the temple was built. This is evident from Abram, as that when he came upon the mountain on the east of Bethel he raised an altar and called upon the name of Jehovah (Genesis 12:8); and afterwards he was commanded to offer Isaac for a burnt-offering on an altar (Genesis 22:2, 9). So Jacob built an altar at Luz, or Bethel (Genesis 35:6-7); and Moses built an altar under Mount Sinai, and sacrificed (Exodus 24:4-6). All this was before the [Jewish] sacrifices were instituted, and before the ark was constructed at which worship was afterwards performed in the wilderness. That there were altars likewise among the Gentiles, is evident from Balaam, who said to Balak that he should build seven altars and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams (Numbers 23:1-7, 14-18, 29-30); and also from its being commanded that the altars of the nations should be destroyed (Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2). Thus Divine worship by altars and sacrifices was not a new thing instituted with the Jews. Indeed altars were built before men had any idea of slaying oxen and sheep upon them, but as memorials.

[3] That altars signify a representative of the Lord, and burnt-offerings the worship of Him thereby, is plainly evident in the Prophets, as also in Moses when it is said of Levi, to whom the priesthood belonged:

They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense in Thy nostrils, and whole burnt-offering upon Thine altar (Deuteronomy 33:10),

meaning all worship; for “to teach Jacob judgments, and Israel the law” denotes internal worship; and “to put incense in Thy nostrils, and whole burnt-offering on Thine altar” denotes corresponding external worship.

In Isaiah:

In that day shall a man look unto his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel; and he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hand (Isaiah 17:7-8),

where “looking to the altars” plainly signifies representative worship in general, which was to be abolished. Again:

In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah (Isaiah 19:19),

where also “an altar” stands for external worship.

[4] In Jeremiah:

The Lord hath cast off His altar, He hath abhorred His sanctuary (Lamentations 2:7);

“altar” denoting representative worship which had become idolatrous.

In Hosea:

Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars have been unto him to sin (Hosea 8:11);

“altars” denote here all representative worship separate from internal, thus what is idolatrous. Again:

The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed; the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars (Hosea 10:8), where “altars” denote idolatrous worship.

In Amos:

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

where again “altars” denote representative worship become idolatrous.

[5] In David:

Let them bring me unto the mountain of Thy holiness, and to Thy tabernacles. And I will go unto the altar of God, unto God the gladness of my joy (Psalms 43:3-4), where “altar” manifestly denotes the Lord.

Thus the building of an altar in the Ancient and in the Jewish Church was for a representative of the Lord. As the worship of the Lord was performed principally by burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and thus these things signified principally representative worship, it is evident that the altar itself signifies this representative worship itself.

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