The Bible

 

創世記 12

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1 耶和華亞伯蘭:你要離開本、本族、父家,往我所要指示你的去。

2 我必叫你成為國。我必賜福給你,叫你的名為;你也要叫別人得福。

3 為你祝福的,我必賜福與他;那咒詛你的,我必咒詛他。地上的萬族都要因你得福。

4 亞伯蘭就照著耶和華的吩咐去了;羅得也和他同去。亞伯蘭哈蘭的時候年七十五歲。

5 亞伯蘭將他妻子撒萊和姪兒羅得,連他們在哈蘭所積蓄的財物、所得的人口,都帶往迦南去。他們就到了迦南

6 亞伯蘭經過那,到了示劍地方、摩利橡樹那裡。那時迦南人住在那

7 耶和華亞伯蘭顯現,:我要把這你的後裔。亞伯蘭就在那裡為向他顯現的耶和華築了一座

8 從那裡他又遷到伯特利東邊的,支搭帳棚;西邊是伯特利,東邊是艾。他在那裡又為耶和華築了一座,求告耶和華的名。

9 後來亞伯蘭又漸漸遷往地去。

10 遭遇饑荒。因饑荒甚大,亞伯蘭埃及去,要在那裡暫居。

11 將近埃及,就對他妻子撒萊:我知道你是容貌俊美的婦人。

12 埃及人見你必:這是他的妻子,他們就要殺我,卻叫你存活。

13 求你,你是我的妹子,使我因你得平安,我的命也因你存活。

14 及至亞伯蘭到了埃及埃及人見那婦人極其美貌。

15 法老的臣宰見了他,就在法老面前誇獎他。那婦人就被帶進法老的宮去。

16 法老因這婦人就厚待亞伯蘭亞伯蘭得了許多牛、駱駝、公、母、僕婢。

17 耶和華亞伯蘭妻子撒萊的緣故,降災與法老和他的全家。

18 法老就召了亞伯蘭來,:你這向我作的是甚麼事呢?為甚麼沒有告訴我他是你的妻子

19 為甚麼他是你的妹子,以致我把他取來要作我的妻子?現在你的妻子在這裡,可以帶他走罷。

20 於是法老吩咐人將亞伯蘭和他妻子,並他所有的都送走了。

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2500

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2500. 'Abraham travelled from there towards the land of the south' means the Lord's advances in goods and truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'travelling' as advancing, dealt with in 1457, and from the meaning of 'the land of the south' as the good and truth of faith, dealt with in 1458. Previously in Chapter 12 it was said of Abraham when entering Egypt that 'he travelled, going on and travelling towards the south', verses 9-10, which meant in the internal sense that the Lord, when a boy, made advances into goods and truths as regards knowledge consisting of cognitions, 1456, 1459. Now in the present chapter it is said that he travelled towards the land of the south, which means further and more interior advances, made this time into goods and truths as regards the doctrine of faith. This is why the expression 'the land of the south' is used here, for 'land' in its proper sense means the Church, for whose sake doctrine exists, 566, 662, 1066, 2117, 2118.

[2] As regards the Lord's instruction in general, the nature of it is quite plain from the internal sense of this chapter. From that sense it is plain that He was taught through a whole succession of revelations and so through Divine perceptions and thoughts from Himself, that is, from His Divine. These perceptions and thoughts He implanted in Divine intelligence and wisdom, and continued to do so until the perfect union of His Human and His Divine had been effected. This way of becoming wise is not at all open to anyone else, for it sprang from the Divine itself, which was His inmost, being the Father's, from whom He had been conceived. Thus it sprang from the Divine Love itself which the Lord alone possessed and which constituted His desire to save the entire human race.

[3] It is an arcanum as yet known by scarcely anyone that love itself holds wisdom and intelligence within it, but that the nature of these is determined by that of the love. The reason wisdom and intelligence exist within love is that all influx takes place into the love, or what amounts to the same, into the good, and so into the life itself of man. This is the source of the wisdom and intelligence possessed by angels, which are beyond description. It is the source also of the wisdom and intelligence possessed by men who are governed by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. Although during their lifetime the latter do not discern at all the presence with them of such wisdom and intelligence, they nevertheless enter into these after death for the reason that they exist within love itself and within charity itself, see 2494. As for the Lord's love however, this was infinitely higher than the love which exists in angels, for it was Divine Love itself, and therefore He had within Himself the acme of all wisdom and intelligence. Yet into the possession of this, because He was born a human being (homo) and advanced as a human being does according to Divine order, He entered by successive degrees so that He might in that way unite His Human to the Divine and make it Divine, doing so by His own power.

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