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創世記 16

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1 亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊不給他生兒女。撒萊有一個使女,名叫夏甲,是埃及人。

2 撒萊對亞伯蘭耶和華使我不能生育。求你和我的使女同房,或者我可以因他得孩子(原文作被建立)。亞伯蘭聽從了撒萊的話。

3 於是亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊將使女埃及人夏甲丈夫為妾;那時亞伯蘭迦南已經年。

4 亞伯蘭與夏甲同房,夏甲就懷了孕;他見自己有孕,就小他的主母。

5 撒萊對亞伯蘭:我因你受屈。我將我的使女放在你中,他見自己有了孕,就小我。願耶和華在你我中間判斷

6 亞伯蘭對撒萊:使女在你下,你可以隨意待他。撒萊苦待他,他就從撒萊面前逃走了。

7 耶和華的使者在曠野書珥上的泉旁遇見他,

8 對他:撒萊的使女夏甲,你從那裡?要往那裡去?夏甲:我從我的主母撒萊面前逃出

9 耶和華的使者對他:你回到你母那裡,服在他

10 :我必使你的後裔極其繁多,甚至不可勝

11 :你如今懷孕要生一個兒子,可以給他起名以實瑪利,因為耶和華見了你的苦情。(以實瑪利就是神見的意思)

12 他為人必像野驢。他的要攻打人,人的也要攻打他;他必住在眾弟兄的東邊。

13 夏甲就稱那對他說話耶和華顧人的神。因而:在這裡我也見那顧我的麼?

14 所以這庇耳拉海萊。這正在加低斯和巴列中間。

15 後來夏甲給亞伯蘭生了一個兒子亞伯蘭給他起名以實瑪利

16 夏甲給亞伯蘭以實瑪利的時候,亞伯蘭八十六歲。

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1894

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1894. That 'Sarai' is truth allied to good has been stated and shown already in 1468 and elsewhere; and that 'Abram' is the Lord's Internal Man, which is Jehovah, has likewise been stated and shown. The reason why the Lord's Internal Man, which is Jehovah, is called Man is that nobody is Man except Jehovah alone, for in its genuine sense Man means that Being (Esse) from which man derives his being. Being (Esse) itself - from which man derives his being - is Divine, and is consequently celestial and spiritual. Without that Divine celestial and spiritual there is nothing truly human in man, only something animal-like such as exists in beasts. It is by virtue of Jehovah's or the Lord's Being (Esse) that every man is 'man', and by virtue also of His Being that he is called 'man'. The celestial which makes him man consists in his love of the Lord and his love of the neighbour; and so he is man because he is an image of the Lord and because he has that celestial character from the Lord. Otherwise he is a wild beast.

[2] As regards Jehovah or the Lord being the only Man and that it is by virtue of Him that men are called 'men', also that one is more so man than another, see 49, 288, 477, 565. This matter becomes additionally clear from the fact that Jehovah or the Lord manifested Himself as Man to the patriarchs of the Most Ancient Church, subsequently to Abraham as well, and also to the prophets. This too was why the Lord was pleased, when no man remained on earth any more, that is, when nothing celestial or spiritual was left to mankind any more, to take on human nature by being born as any other, and to make that human nature Divine. In this respect also He is the only Man. In addition to this the whole of heaven presents before the Lord the image of a human being, because it is a presentation of Himself, and as a consequence heaven is called the Grand Man, chiefly from the fact that in heaven the Lord is the All in all.

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