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创世记 21

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1 耶和华按着先前的话眷顾撒拉，便照他所说的给撒拉成就。

2 当亚伯拉罕年老的时候，撒拉怀了孕；到神所说的日期，就给亚伯拉罕生了一个儿子。

3 亚伯拉罕给撒拉所生的儿子起名叫以撒。

4 以撒生下来第八日，亚伯拉罕照着神所吩咐的，给以撒行了割礼。

5 他儿子以撒生的时候，亚伯拉罕年一百岁。

6 撒拉说：神使我喜笑，凡听见的必与我一同喜笑；

7 又说：谁能预先对亚伯拉罕说撒拉要乳养婴孩呢？因为在他年老的时候，我给他生了一个儿子。

8 孩子渐长，就断了奶。以撒断奶的日子，亚伯拉罕设摆丰盛的筵席。

9 当时，撒拉看见埃及人夏甲给亚伯拉罕所生的儿子戏笑，

10 就对亚伯拉罕说：你把这使女和他儿子赶出去！因为这使女的儿子不可与我的儿子以撒一同承受产业。

11 亚伯拉罕因他儿子的缘故很忧愁。

12 神对亚伯拉罕说：你不必为这童子和你的使女忧愁。凡撒拉对你说的话，你都该听从；因为从以撒生的，才要称为你的後裔。

13 至於使女的儿子，我也必使他的後裔成立一国，因为他是你所生的。

14 亚伯拉罕清早起来，拿饼和一皮袋水，给了夏甲，搭在他的肩上，又把孩子交给他，打发他走。夏甲就走了，在别是巴的旷野走迷了路。

15 皮袋的水用尽了，夏甲就把孩子撇在小树底下，

16 自己走开约有一箭之远，相对而坐，说：我不忍见孩子死，就相对而坐，放声大哭。

17 神听见童子的声音；神的使者从天上呼叫夏甲说：夏甲，你为何这样呢？不要害怕，神已经听见童子的声音了。

18 起来！把童子抱在怀(原文作手)中，我必使他的後裔成为大国。

19 神使夏甲的眼睛明亮，他就看见一口水井，便去将皮袋盛满了水，给童子喝。

20 神保佑童子，他就渐长，住在旷野，成了弓箭手。

21 他住在巴兰的旷野；他母亲从埃及地给他娶了一个妻子。

22 当那时候，亚比米勒同他军长非各对亚伯拉罕说：凡你所行的事都有神的保佑。

23 我愿你如今在这里指着神对我起誓，不要欺负我与我的儿子，并我的子孙。我怎样厚待了你，你也要照样厚待我与你所寄居这地的民。

24 亚伯拉罕说：我情愿起誓。

25 从前，亚比米勒的仆人霸占了一口水井，亚伯拉罕为这事指责亚比米勒。

26 亚比米勒说：谁做这事，我不知道，你也没有告诉我，今日我才听见了。

27 亚伯拉罕把羊和牛给了亚比米勒，二人就彼此立约。

28 亚伯拉罕把七只母羊羔另放在一处。

29 亚比米勒问亚伯拉罕说：你把这七只母羊羔另放在一处，是甚麽意思呢？

30 他说：你要从我手里受这七只母羊羔，作我挖这口井的证据。

31 所以他给那地方起名叫别是巴，因为他们二人在那里起了誓。(别是巴就是盟誓的井的意思)

32 他们在别是巴立了约，亚比米勒就同他军长非各起身回非利士地去了。

33 亚伯拉罕在别是巴栽上一棵垂丝柳树，又在那里求告耶和华─永生神的名。

34 亚伯拉罕在非利士人的地寄居了多日。

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2714

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2714. That 'Paran' means enlightenment coming from the Lord's Divine Human is clear from the meaning of 'Paran' as the Lord's Divine Human, as is evident from those places in the Word where this name is used, as in the prophet Habakkuk,

O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known. In zeal You will remember mercy. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His fame has covered the heavens, and the earth has been filled with His praise. And His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand, and there the hiding-place of His strength will be. Habakkuk 3:2-4.

This plainly refers to the Lord's Coming, which is meant by 'reviving in the midst of the years' and 'making known in the midst of the years'. His Divine Human is described by the words 'God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran'. He is said to come 'out of Teman' in regard to celestial love, and 'from Mount Paran' in regard to spiritual love; and the springing of these from enlightenment and power is meant by the words 'His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand'. 'Brightness' and 'light' mean enlightenment, 'horns' power.

[2] In Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came from myriads of holiness From His right hand came a fiery law for them. He indeed loves the peoples. All His holy ones are in your hand and have been joined together at your feet; and He will receive of your words. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

This also refers to the Lord, whose Divine Human is described by the words 'He dawned from Seir' and 'He shone from Mount Paran' - 'from Seir' being used in regard to celestial love, 'from Mount Paran' to spiritual love. Those who are spiritual are meant by 'the peoples whom He loves' and by 'those joined together at your feet', 'the foot' meaning that which is lower, and so more obscure, in the Lord's kingdom.

[3] In the same author,

Chedorlaomer and the kings with him smote the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran, which is over into the wilderness. Genesis 14:5-6.

As regards the Lord's Divine Human being meant there by 'Mount Seir' and by 'El-paran', see 1675, 1676. In the same author,

So it was, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day in the month, that the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel travelled according to their travels from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. Numbers 10:11-12.

[4] The truth that all the travels of the people in the wilderness mean the state of the Church militant, and its temptations, in which a person goes under but the Lord conquers on his behalf, and the truth that consequently they mean the Lord's own actual temptations and victories, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere. And because the Lord underwent temptations by reason of His Divine Human, the Lord's Divine Human is in a similar way meant here by 'the wilderness of Paran'. The same is also meant by the following in the same author,

After that the people travelled from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. And Jehovah spoke to Moses and said, Send men and let them explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the children of Israel. And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran as spoken by the mouth of Jehovah. And they returned to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran in Kadesh; and they brought back word to them, and showed them the fruit of the land. Numbers 12:16; 13:1-3, 26.

Their travelling from the wilderness of Paran to explore the land of Canaan means that by means of the Lord's Divine Human these people - the children of Israel, by whom were meant those who are spiritual - have access to the heavenly kingdom, meant by the land of Canaan. But their faltering also at that time means their weakness, on account of which the Lord fulfilled everything in the Law, underwent temptations and was victorious, so that those with whom faith grounded in charity resides, also those who undergo temptations in which the Lord is victorious, have salvation from His Divine Human. This also explains why, when the Lord was tempted, He was in the wilderness, Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1; see above in 2708.

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 21

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1 Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken.

2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

4 Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him.

6 Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me."

7 She said, "Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

8 The child grew, and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this handmaid and her son! For the son of this handmaid will not be heir with my son, Isaac."

11 The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son.

12 God said to Abraham, "Don't let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your handmaid. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For from Isaac will your seed be called.

13 I will also make a nation of the son of the handmaid, because he is your seed."

14 Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 The water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, "Don't let me see the death of the child." She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

17 God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Don't be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him in your hand. For I will make him a great nation."

19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink.

20 God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.

21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

22 It happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.

23 Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son. But according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have lived as a foreigner."

24 Abraham said, "I will swear."

25 Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this thing. Neither did you tell me, neither did I hear of it, until today."

27 Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.

28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 Abimelech said to Abraham, "What do these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves mean?"

30 He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well."

31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore there.

32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.

34 Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.

   

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