The Bible

 

Genesis 21

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1 And the Lord came to Sarah as he had said and did to her as he had undertaken.

2 And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God.

3 And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac.

4 And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham made him undergo circumcision, as God had said to him.

5 Now Abraham was a hundred years old when the birth of Isaac took place.

6 And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me.

7 And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have a child at her breast? for see, I have given him a son now when he is old.

8 And when the child was old enough to be taken from the breast, Abraham made a great feast.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac.

10 So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.

11 And this was a great grief to Abraham because of his son.

12 But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.

13 And I will make a nation of the son of your servant-woman, because he is your seed.

14 And early in the morning Abraham got up, and gave Hagar some bread and a water-skin, and put the boy on her back, and sent her away: and she went, wandering in the waste land of Beer-sheba.

15 And when all the water in the skin was used up, she put the child down under a tree.

16 And she went some distance away, about an arrow flight, and seating herself on the earth, she gave way to bitter weeping, saying, Let me not see the death of my child.

17 And the boy's cry came to the ears of God; and the angel of God said to Hagar from heaven, Hagar, why are you weeping? have no fear, for the child's cry has come to the ears of God.

18 Come, take your child in your arms, for I will make of him a great nation.

19 Then God made her eyes open, and she saw a water-spring, and she got water in the skin and gave the boy a drink.

20 And God was with the boy, and he became tall and strong, and he became a bowman, living in the waste land.

21 And while he was in the waste land of Paran, his mother got him a wife from the land of Egypt.

22 Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do.

23 Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.

24 And Abraham said, I will give you my oath.

25 But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force.

26 But Abimelech said, I have no idea who has done this thing; you never gave me word of it, and I had no knowledge of it till this day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement together.

28 And Abraham put seven young lambs of the flock on one side by themselves.

29 Then Abimelech said, What are these seven lambs which you have put on one side?

30 And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole.

31 So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths.

32 So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.

34 And Abraham went on living in the land of the Philistines as in a strange country.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2712

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2712. 'He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran' means the life of the spiritual man as regards good. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as being used in reference to good residing in truth, which is spiritual good, that is, good present with the spiritual man. The essential nature of that good is described by his dwelling in the wilderness of Paran, dealt with immediately below. That 'dwelling' is used in reference to good residing in truth, or to the affection for truth, is clear from many places in the Word where it is said of cities, which mean truths, that they will be without any inhabitant, by whom good is meant, 2268, 2449, 2451; for truths are inhabited by good, and truths devoid of good are like a city that has no one dwelling in it, as in Zephaniah,

I have laid their streets waste, so that none passes through; their cities are desolate, so that there is no one dwelling in them. Zephaniah 3:6.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah was leading us through the wilderness. No man passed through in that [land], and no one dwelt there. They have turned his land into a solitary place, his cities have been burned, so that none is dwelling there. Jeremiah 2:6, 15.

In the same prophet,

Every city has been forsaken, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 4:29.

In the same prophet,

In the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate there is no human being, no inhabitant, no beast. Jeremiah 33:10.

'Streets' stands for truths, 2336, 'no human being' for no celestial good, 'no inhabitant' for no spiritual good, 'no beast' for no natural good. In the same prophet,

The cities of Moab will become a desolation, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 48:9.

[3] With each particular expression in the Prophets there exists the marriage of truth and good. Consequently when 'a city' is said to be desolate, the phrase 'no one dwelling in it' is also added, the reason being that 'a city' means truths and 'one dwelling in it' good. Otherwise it would be superfluous to say 'no one dwelling in it' when it has been stated that the city is desolate. In a similar way certain terms occur consistently to mean things that belong to celestial good, others that belong to spiritual good, and others also that belong to truths, as in Isaiah,

Your seed will possess the nations, and they will dwell in the desolate cities. Isaiah 54:3

Here 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In the same prophet,

My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isaiah 65:9.

Here the meaning is similar.

[4] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it, and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Psalms 69:35-36.

'Dwelling there' and at the same time 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In Isaiah,

He who says to Jerusalem, You will be dwelt in; and to the cities of Judah, You will be built. Isaiah 44:26.

Here 'dwelling in' has reference to the good of the spiritual Church, which is Jerusalem. To such an extent do the terms used in the Word have reference to their own goods and their own truths that simply from a knowledge of that usage of terms one may recognize what the subject is in general that is being dealt with.

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