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Genesis 16

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1 Abrams Hustru Saraj fødte ham intet Barn. Men Saraj havde en Ægyptisk Trælkvinde ved Navn Hagar;

2 og Saraj sagde til Abram: "HE EN har jo nægtet mig Børn; gå derfor ind til min Trælkvinde, måske kan jeg få en Søn ved hende!" Og Abram adlød Saraj.

3 Så tog Abrams Hustru Saraj sin Trælkvinde, Ægypterinden Hagar, efter at Abram havde boet ti År i Kana'ans Land, og gav sin Mand Abram hende til Hustru;

4 og han gik ind til Hagar, og hun blev frugtsommelig. Men da hun så, at hun var frugtsommelig, lod hun hånt om sin Herskerinde.

5 Da sagde Saraj til Abram: "Min Krænkelse komme over dig! Jeg lagde selv min Trælkvinde i din Favn, og nu hun ser, at hun skal føde, lader hun hånt om mig; HE EN være Dommer mellem mig og dig!"

6 Abram svarede Saraj: "Din Trældkvinde er i din Hånd, gør med hende, hvad du finder for godt!" Da plagede Saraj hende, så hun flygtede for hende.

7 Men HE ENs Engel fandt hende ved Vandkilden i Ørkenen, ved Kilden på Vejen til Sjur;

8 og han sagde: "Hvorfra kommer du, Hagar, Sarajs Trælkvinde, og hvor går du hen?" Hun svarede: "Jeg flygter for min Herskerinde Saraj!"

9 Da sagde HE ENs Engel til hende: "Vend tilbage til din Herskerinde og find dig i hendes Mishandling!"

10 Og HE ENs Engel sagde til hende: "Jeg vil gøre dit Afkom så talrigt, at det ikke kan tælles."

11 Og HE ENs Engel sagde til hende: "Se, du er frugtsommelig, og du skal føde en Søn, som du skal kalde Ismael, thi HE EN har hørt, hvad du har lidt;

12 og han skal blive et Menneske Vildæsel, hvis Hånd er mod alle, og alles Hånd mod ham, og han skal ligge i Strid med alle sine Frænder!"

13 Så gav hun HE EN, der havde talet til hende, Navnet: Du er en Gud, som ser; thi hun sagde: "Har jeg virkelig her set et Glimt af ham, som ser mig?"

14 Derfor kaldte man Brønden Be'er-lahaj-ro'i; den ligger mellem Kadesj og Bered.

15 Og Hagar fødte Abram en Søn, og Abram kaldte Sønnen, Hagar fødte ham, Ismael.

16 Abram var seks og firsindstyve År gammel, da Hagar fødte ham Ismael.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

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Arcana Coelestia #3246

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3246. And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts. That this signifies the spiritual adopted by the Lord’s Divine Human, that they have allotted places in His spiritual kingdom, is evident from the signification of the “sons of the concubines,” as denoting those who are spiritual (concerning whom in what follows); from the representation here of Abraham, as being the Lord’s Divine Human; so that by the words “which Abraham had,” is signified that they (namely, the spiritual) were adopted by the Lord’s Divine Human; and from the signification of the “gifts” which Abraham gave them, as being allotted places in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom.

[2] From what has already been shown in several places (as n. 3235, and elsewhere) concerning those who constitute the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and are called the spiritual, it can be seen that they are not sons born of the marriage itself of good and truth, but of a certain covenant not so conjugial; they are indeed from the same father, but not from the same mother; that is, they are from the same Divine good, but not from the same Divine truth. For as the celestial are from the very marriage of good and truth, they have good and thence truth; wherefore they never inquire what is true, but perceive it from good; and they discourse not about truth beyond affirming that it is so-according to what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

Let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, Nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37); whereas the spiritual, because they are from a covenant not so conjugial, do not know from any perception what truth is, but call that true which they have been told to be so by parents and masters; and therefore in them there is not the marriage of good and truth; but still the truth which they thus believe is adopted by the Lord for truth when they are in the good of life (concerning this see n. 1832). Therefore it is that those who are spiritual are here called the “sons of the concubines,” and by these are meant all the sons of Keturah hitherto enumerated, and also the sons of Hagar, who will be named immediately below, from the twelfth to the eighteenth verse.

[3] In former times, in order that both the celestial and the spiritual might be represented in marriages, it was permissible for a man to have a concubine in addition to a wife; such concubine being given to the husband by the wife, and she was then called his “woman,” or was said to be “given to him for a woman,” as when Hagar the Egyptian was given to Abraham by Sarah (Genesis 16:3); when Bilhah the handmaid was given by Rachel to Jacob (Genesis 30:4), and the handmaid Zilpah to Jacob by Leah (Genesis 30:9). They are there called “women,” but elsewhere they are called “concubines,” as Hagar the Egyptian in this verse, and Bilhah in Genesis 35:22, also Keturah herself in 1 Chronicles 1:32.

[4] That those ancients had concubines besides a wife, as was the case not only with Abraham and Jacob, but also with their descendants, as Gideon (Judges 8:31), Saul (2 Samuel 3:7), David (2 Samuel 5:13; 15:16), and Solomon (1 Kings 11:3), was of permission, for the sake of the representation, namely, of the celestial church by a wife, and of the spiritual church by a concubine: this was of permission because they were such that they had no conjugial love, neither was marriage to them marriage, but only a carnal coupling for the sake of procreating offspring. To such there might be permissions without injury to conjugial love, and consequently to its covenant; but never to those who are in good and truth, and who are or can become internal men; for as soon as man is in good and truth, and in things internal, such things cease. For this reason it is not allowable for Christians, as it was for the Jews, to take to themselves a concubine together with a wife, for this is adultery. That the spiritual were adopted by the Lord’s Divine Human, may be seen from what has been stated and shown before on the same subject (n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834).

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