The Bible

 

Genesis 17

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1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,

2 And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased.

3 And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,

4 As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end.

5 No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations.

6 I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.

7 And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

8 And to you and to your seed after you, I will give the land in which you are living, all the land of Canaan for an eternal heritage; and I will be their God.

9 And God said to Abraham, On your side, you are to keep the agreement, you and your seed after you through all generations.

10 And this is the agreement which you are to keep with me, you and your seed after you: every male among you is to undergo circumcision.

11 In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you.

12 Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed.

13 He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time.

14 And any male who does not undergo circumcision will be cut off from his people: my agreement has been broken by him.

15 And God said, As for Sarai, your wife, from now her name will be not Sarai, but Sarah.

16 And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.

17 Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth?

18 And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care!

19 And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.

22 And having said these words, God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all whose birth had taken place in his house, and all his servants whom he had made his for a price, every male of his house, and on that very day he gave them circumcision in the flesh of their private parts as God had said to him.

24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he underwent circumcision.

25 And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he underwent circumcision.

26 Abraham and Ishmael, his son, underwent circumcision on that very day.

27 And all the men of his house, those whose birth had taken place in the house and those whom he had got for money from men of other lands, underwent circumcision with him.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1416

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1416. I will make thee into a great nation. That this signifies the kingdom in the heavens and on the earth, is evident from the signification of a “nation,” as being in the internal sense the celestial of love and the derivative good, thus all in the universe in whom is the celestial of love and of charity; and as in the internal sense the Lord is here treated of, there is meant all the celestial and all the derivative good, thus His kingdom, which is with those who are in love and charity. In the supreme sense the Lord is Himself the “great nation,” because He is the celestial itself, and good itself; for all the good of love and of charity is from Him alone; and therefore the Lord is His kingdom itself, that is, He is the all in all of His kingdom, as is also acknowledged by all the angels in heaven. Hence now it is evident that “I will make thee into a great nation,” signifies the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens and on earth.

[2] That in the internal sense, where the Lord and the celestial things of love are treated of, a “nation” signifies the Lord and all celestial things, is evident from the things adduced above concerning the signification of a “nation,” and of “nations” n. 1258,1259). This may also be further confirmed by the following passages. Concerning Abraham it is said:

Thy name shall not any more be called Abram, and thy name shall be Abraham, for the father of a multitude of nations have I given thee (Genesis 17:5).

The letter h in “Abraham” was taken from the name Jehovah, on account of his representation of Jehovah or the Lord. In like manner it is said of Sarai:

Thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and also give thee a son of her; thus I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall be of her (Genesis 17:15-16); where “nations” denote the celestial things of love, and “kings of peoples” the spiritual things of faith thence derived, which belong to the Lord alone.

[3] Concerning Jacob in like manner:

Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name, and He called his name Israel: and God said, I am God the thunderer; increase and multiply; a nation and a congregation of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall go forth out of thy loins (Genesis 35:10-11); where “Israel” denotes the Lord, and that He Himself is “Israel” in the supreme sense, is well known to some; and when He is “Israel,” it is evident that “a nation” and “an assemblage of nations,” and “kings out of His loins,” are the celestial and the spiritual things of love, and therefore all who are in the celestial and the spiritual things of love. Concerning Ishmael, Abram’s son by Hagar, it is said:

The son of the handmaid I will make him into a nation, because he is thy seed (Genesis 21:13, 18).

What is represented by Ishmael will be seen in its place; the “seed” of Abram is love itself, and from this the term “nation” is used for those begotten of Ishmael.

[4] That a “nation” signifies the celestial things of love, is evident in Moses:

If hearing ye will hear My voice, and will keep My covenant, ye shall also be a peculiar treasure unto Me out of all peoples, and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6); where “a kingdom of priests,” which is the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens and on earth, being so named from the celestial things of love, is manifestly called “a holy nation;” whereas the Lord’s kingdom from His kingly function was named from the spiritual things of love, and is called “a holy people;” and for this reason “kings out of the loins,” in the passage quoted above, are spiritual things.

In Jeremiah:

If these statutes have departed from before Me, saith Jehovah, the seed of Israel also shall cease, that it be not a nation before Me all the days (Jeremiah 31:36);

“the seed of Israel” denotes the celestial of charity; and when this ceases, there is no longer a nation before the Lord.

[5] In Isaiah:

The people that walk in darkness have seen a great light; Thou hast multiplied the nation (Isaiah 9:2-3).

This is said of the church of the nations specifically; but in general of all who are in ignorance and live in charity; these are a “nation,” because they are of the Lord’s kingdom.

In David:

That I may see the good of Thy chosen; that I may be glad in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory in Thine inheritance (Psalms 106:5).

Here “nation” plainly denotes the Lord’s kingdom. As the signification of “nation” is the celestial of love and the derivative good, there originated, from a perception of this signification, the fact that the men of the Most Ancient Church were distinguished into households, families, and nations; and thereby they perceived the Lord’s kingdom, and consequently the celestial itself. From this Perceptive arose the Significative, and from this the Representative.

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