The Bible

 

5 Mosebog 10

Study

   

1 Ved denne Tid sagde HE EN til mig: Tilhug dig to Stentavler ligesom de forrige og stig op til mig på Bjerget; lav dig også en Ark af Træ!

2 Så vil jeg på Tavlerne skrive de Ord, der stod på de forrige Tavler, som du knuste, og du skal lægge dem ned i Arken!"

3 Da lavede jeg en Ark af Akacietræ og tilhuggede to Stentavler ligesom de forrige og steg op på Bjerget med de to Tavler i Hånden.

4 Og han skrev på Tavlerne det samme, som var skrevet første Gang, de ti Ord, som HE EN havde talt til eder på Bjerget ud fra Ilden, den Dag I var forsamlet. Og HE EN overgav mig dem.

5 Så vendte jeg mig bort og steg ned fra Bjerget og lagde Tavlerne i den Ark, jeg havde lavet, og der blev de liggende, som HE EN havde pålagt mig.

6 Og Israelitterne drog fra Be'erotbene-Ja'akan til Mosera. Der døde Aron, og der blev han jordet, og hans Søn Eleazar blev Præst i hans Sted.

7 Derfra drog de til Gudgoda og fra Gudgoda til Jotbata, en Egn med Vandløb.

8 På den Tid udskilte HE EN Levis Stamme til at bære HE ENs Pagts Ark og til at stå for HE ENs Åsyn og tjene ham og velsigne i hans Navn, som det sker den Dag i Dag.

9 Derfor fik Levi ikke Arvelod og Del sammen med sine Brødre; HE EN selv er hans Arvelod, som HE EN din Gud lovede ham.

10 Men jeg blev på Bjerget lige så længe som forrige Gang, fyrretyve Dage og fyrretyve Nætter, og HE EN bønhørte mig også denne Gang; HE EN vilde ikke tilintetgøre dig.

11 Da sagde HE EN til mig: " ejs dig og bryd op i Spidsen for Folket, for at de kan komme og tage det Land i Besiddelse, jeg tilsvor deres Fædre at ville give dem!"

12 Og nu, Israel! Hvad andet kræver HE EN din Gud af dig, end at du skal frygte HE EN din Gud, så du vandrer på alle hans Veje, og at du skal elske ham og tjene HE EN din Gud af hele dit Hjerte og hele din Sjæl,

13 så du holder HE ENs Bud og Anordninger, som jeg i Dag pålægger dig, for at det må gå dig vel.

14 Se, Himmelen og Himlenes Himle og Jorden med alt, hvad der er på den, tilhører HE EN din Gud;

15 men kun til dine Fædre fattede han Velbehag, så han elskede dem, og eder, deres Afkom, udvalgte han af alle Folkeslag, som det nu er kendeligt.

16 Så omskær nu eders Hjerters Forhud og gør ikke mer eders Nakker stive!

17 Thi HE EN eders Gud er Gudernes Gud og Herrernes Herre, den store, vældige, forfærdelige Gud, som ikke viser Personsanseelse eller lader sig købe,

18 som skaffer den faderløse og Enken et og elsker den fremmede og giver ham Brød og klæder.

19 Derfor skal I elske den fremmede, thi I var selv fremmede i Ægypten.

20 HE EN din Gud skal du frygte: ham skal du tjene, ved ham skal du holde fast, og ved hans Navn skal du sværge!

21 Han er din Lovsang, og han er din Gud, han, som har gjort disse store og forfærdelige Ting imod dig, som du med egne Øjne har set!

22 Halvfjerdsindstyve i Tal drog dine Fædre ned til Ægypten, og nu har HE EN din Gud gjort dig talrig som Himmelens Stjerner!

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7673

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

7673. 'Stretch out your hand' means an exercising of power. This is clear from the meaning of 'stretching out' as that which is connected with the exercising of control, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518. The reason why 'stretching out the hand' means the exercising of power is that there is power in the hand or arm when it is stretched out. When therefore Jehovah is said to stretch out His hand or arm, boundless or infinite power in action is meant. This explains why Jehovah told Moses on so many occasions, when miracles were to be performed, to stretch out his hand or his rod; for example,

Stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, and they will be blood. Exodus 7:19.

Stretch out your hand over the rivers, and cause frogs to rise up. Exodus 8:1-2. 1

Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land, and it will then be lice. Exodus 8:11, 12. 2

Stretch out your hand towards heaven, and there will be hail. Exodus 9:22-23.

Such words would never have been used but for the meaning of 'stretching out the hand' in the highest sense as Jehovah's almighty power.

[2] The same thing is meant by Joshua's being told to stretch out his javelin, described in his book as follows,

Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai. When therefore Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand towards Ai, the ambush rose up quickly out of their place and ran, as soon as he stretched out his hand, and came to the city and took it. Joshua did not withdraw his hand which he had stretched out together with the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai had been utterly destroyed. Joshua 8:18-19, 26.

Being representative of God's almighty power, this too, like all other representative actions when they were commanded in those times, had force.

[3] There are a number of other places in which almighty power is described when it says that Jehovah 'stretches out His hand', or else His 'outstretched hand' or His 'outstretched arm' is spoken of. It is described by Jehovah stretching out His hand in Isaiah,

The anger [of Jehovah] has been roused against His people, and He has stretched out His hand over them and struck them, and the mountains were shaken. Isaiah 5:25.

In Ezekiel,

I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him. Ezekiel 14:9, 13.

In the same prophet,

I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations. Ezekiel 25:7.

I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast. I will stretch out My hand over the philistines, and cut off . . . Ezekiel 25:13, 16.

Other places like these are Ezekiel 35:3; Isaiah 31:3; Zephaniah 1:4; 2:13. The use of 'outstretched hand' to describe almighty power occurs in Isaiah,

Jehovah's outstretched hand is over all the nations; who will turn it back? Isaiah 14:26, 27.

In Jeremiah,

I will fight with you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, and in anger and in fury. Jeremiah 21:5.

In Isaiah,

Still His hand is outstretched. Isaiah 9:12, 17; 10:4.

The use of 'outstretched arm' occurs in Jeremiah,

I have made the earth, man, and beast by My great strength and by My outstretched arm. Jeremiah 27:5.

In the same prophet,

You have made heaven and earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; there is no matter 3 that is too impossible for You. Jeremiah 32:17.

Here it is self-evident that 'outstretched arm' means almighty power. The same applies to many other places in which the expression 'by a strong hand and an outstretched arm' is used, such as Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Kings 17:36; Jeremiah 32:21; Ezekiel 20:33, 34.

[4] There are places too in which Jehovah is said to 'stretch out the heavens', and in these places also 'stretching out' means almighty power; that is to say, He expands the limits of heaven and fills those who are there with life and wisdom, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens like a thin veil, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, spreads out the earth, gives breath 4 to His people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:5.

In Jeremiah,

. . . He who makes the earth by His power, prepares the world by His wisdom, and stretches out the heavens by His intelligence. Jeremiah 51:15.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

There are still more places besides these, such as Isaiah 44:24; 45:12; Psalms 104:2.

From all this one may now see why Moses was commanded to stretch out his hand and rod, that miracles were performed when he did so, and that 'stretching out the hand' for that reason means the exercising of power, and in the highest sense almighty power.

Footnotes:

1Exodus 8:5-6 in English Bibles

2Exodus 8:16-17 in English Bibles

3. or word

4. literally, soul

  
/ 10837  
  

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