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出埃及記 1

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1 以色列的眾子,各帶家眷,和雅各一同埃及。他們的名字記在下面。

2 有流便、西緬、利未、猶大

3 以薩迦、西布倫、便雅憫、

4 但、拿弗他利、迦得、亞設。

5 凡從雅各而生的,共有七十人。約瑟已經在埃及

6 約瑟和他的弟兄,並那一的人,都死了

7 以色列人生養眾多,並且繁茂,極其強盛,滿了那

8 有不認識約瑟的新王起來,治理埃及

9 對他的百姓:看哪,這以色列民比我們還多,又比我們強盛。

10 來罷,我們不如用巧計待他們,恐怕他們多起來,日後若遇甚麼爭戰的事,就連合我們的仇敵攻擊我們,離開這去了。

11 於是埃及人派督工的轄制他們,加重擔苦害他們。他們為法老建造兩座積貨城,就是比東和蘭塞。

12 只是越發苦害他們,他們越發多起來,越發蔓延;埃及人就因以色列人愁煩。

13 埃及人嚴嚴的使以色列人做工,

14 使他們因做苦工覺得命苦;無論是和泥,是作磚,是作田間各樣的工,在一切的工上都嚴嚴的待他們。

15 有希伯來的兩個收生婆,名施弗拉,名普阿;埃及王對他們

16 你們為希伯來婦人收生,他們臨盆的時候,若是男孩,就把他殺了;若是女孩,就留他存活。

17 但是收生婆敬畏,不照埃及王的吩咐行,竟存留男孩的性命。

18 埃及王召了收生婆來,:你們為甚麼做這事,存留男孩的性命呢?

19 收生婆對法老:因為希伯婦人與埃及婦人不同;希伯婦人本是健壯的(原文作活潑的),收生婆還沒有到,他們已經生產了。

20 厚待收生婆。以色列人多起來,極其強盛。

21 收生婆因為敬畏便叫他們成立家室。

22 法老吩咐他的眾民說:以色列人所生的男孩,你們都要丟在河裡;一切的女孩,你們要存留他的性命。

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6685

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6685. 'For they are full of life' means that it has spiritual life within it. This is clear from the meaning of 'having life' as spiritual life, dealt with in 5890, in this instance spiritual life within things belonging to the Church, which are meant by 'the Hebrew women'. What spiritual life is has been stated a number of times already; but since few at the present day know what the spiritual is, let a further brief explanation be given of what this is. In its first origin the spiritual is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human. That Truth has Divine Good within it, because Divine Truth comes from the Lord's Divine Human, which is Divine Good. This Divine Truth which has Divine Good within it is the spiritual itself in origin, and is the actual life that fills heaven, indeed that fills all creation. Where there is a subject, 1 there it flows in; yet it is different within each subject, depending on the form the subject takes. Within subjects in harmony with good it establishes spiritual life, but within subjects out of harmony with good it establishes the opposite of spiritual life, which in the Word is called 'death'. From this one may now see what spiritual life is, namely being in possession of truths rooted in good which come from the Lord.

Footnotes:

1. Subject is used here to mean something which really exists yet depends for its existence on something else prior to itself.

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