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Genesis 33

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1 Da Jakob så op, fik han ØjeEsau, der kom fulgt af 400 Mand. Så delte han Børnene mellem Lea, akel og de to Trælkvinder,

2 idet han stillede Trælkvinderne med deres Børn forrest, Lea med hendes Børn længere tilbage og bagest akel med Josef;

3 selv gik han frem foran dem og kastede sig syv Gange til Jorden, før han nærmede sig sin Broder.

4 Men Esau løb ham i Møde og omfavnede ham, faldt ham om Halsen og kyssede ham, og de græd;

5 og da han så op og fik Øje på Kvinderne og Børnene, sagde han: "Hvem er det, du har der?" Han svarede: "Det er de Børn, Gud nådig har givet din Træl."

6 Så nærmede Trælkvinderne sig med deres Børn og kastede sig til Jorden,

7 derefter nærmede Lea sig med sine Børn og kastede sig til Jorden, og til sidst nærmede Josef og akel sig og kastede sig til Jorden.

8 Nu spurgte han: "Hvad vilde du med hele den Lejr, jeg traf på?" Han svarede: "Finde Nåde for min Herres Øjne!"

9 Men Esau sagde: "Jeg har nok, Broder; behold du, hvad dit er!"

10 Da svarede Jakob: "Nej, hvis jeg har fundet Nåde for dine Øjne, så tag imod min Gave! Da jeg så dit Åsyn, var det jo som Guds Åsyn, og du har taget venligt imod mig!

11 Tag dog den Velsignelse, som er dig bragt, thi Gud har været mig nådig, og jeg har fuldt op!" Således nødte han ham, til han tog det.

12 Derpå sagde Esau: "Lad os nu bryde op og drage af Sted, og jeg vil drage foran dig!"

13 Men Jakob svarede: "Min Herre ved jo, at jeg må tage Hensyn til de spæde Børn og de Får og Køer, som giver Die; overanstrenger jeg dem blot en eneste Dag, dør alt Småkvæget.

14 Vil min Herre drage forud for sin Træl, kommer jeg efter i o og Mag, som det passer sig for Kvæget, jeg har med, og for Børnene, til jeg kommer til min Herre i Seir."

15 Da sagde Esau: "Så vil jeg i alt Fald lade nogle af mine Folk ledsage dig!" Men han svarede: "Hvorfor dog det måtte jeg blot finde Nåde for min Herres Øjne!"

16 Så drog Esau samme Dag tilbage til Se'ir.

17 Men Jakob brød op og drog til Sukkot, hvor han byggede sig et Hus og indrettede Hytter til sit Kvæg; derfor gav han Stedet Navnet Sukkot.

18 Og Jakob kom på sin Vandring fra Paddan Aram uskadt til Sikems By i Kana'ans Land og slog Lejr uden for Byen;

19 og han købte det Stykke Jord, hvor han havde rejst sit Telt, af Sikems Pader Hamors Sønner for 100 Kesita

20 og byggede der et Alter, som han kaldte: Gud, Israels Gud.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4364

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4364. 'He said, What do you mean by all this camp which I met?' means the specific things which came from the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'camp' here as things that are specific, for these are meant by the animals mentioned in verses 14, 15 of the previous chapter - two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred sheep and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their colts, forty young cows and ten young bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. By these are meant the goods and truths together with the things that are subservient, by means of which the instillation was to be effected, see 4263, 4264, and so mean those that are specific. The specific ones meant here are nothing other than those which serve to prove that truths really are truths and forms of good really are forms of good. They support a person's thoughts and affections - that is, the things he knows and the things he loves - which lead him to favour an idea and maintain that it is true. The gifts which in the Church of old were made to kings and to priests also held the same meaning It is well known that another is led to one's own way of thinking - that is, to the things which one says are good and true - both by the use of rational arguments and by the appeal to affections. It is the actual supporting proofs to which the term 'specific' applies and that are meant at this point by 'this camp'. This is the reason why the words 'to find favour in the eyes of my lord' appear, explaining why 'the camp' was sent, and after that, 'If now I have found favour in your eyes, then take my gift from my hand'.

[2] It is similar with spiritual things or matters of faith, when these are being joined to the good of charity. People believe that goods and truths flow in immediately from heaven, and so without any intermediate agents in man; but in this they are much mistaken. The Lord leads everyone through the agency of his affections and in so doing bends him by means of a Providence working silently; for He leads people by means of their freedom, 1937, 1947. All freedom entails a person's affection or love, see 2870, 2873. Consequently every joining together of good and truth takes place in freedom and not under compulsion, 2875-2878, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031. When therefore a person has been brought in freedom to good, truths find acceptance and are implanted. That person also starts to be stirred by an affection for them and is in this manner introduced little by little into heavenly freedom. One who is regenerate, that is, who loves the neighbour - more so one who loves the Lord - will discover, if he reflects on his life before then, that he has been led to that point by many ideas present in his thought and many impulses of his affection.

[3] What exactly is meant here by the things which came from the good of truth may be seen more easily from examples. Let truth which has to be introduced into good be exemplified by the truth that man has life after death. Unless this is supported by specific truths, it does not find acceptance, that is, not unless it is supported by the following: Man is able to think not only about the things he sees and perceives with the senses but also about those which he does not see or perceive with the senses. Also his affection can be stirred by them; and through his affection he can become linked to them and therefore to heaven, indeed to the Lord Himself. And those who are able to be linked to the Divine can never die. These and many more like them are the specific truths which present themselves before that truth is instilled into good, that is, before it is believed fully. That truth does indeed submit itself first, yet these specific truths nevertheless cause it to find acceptance.

[4] Take as another example the truth that man is a spirit and that he is clothed with a body while he lives in the world. This also is a truth that has to be instilled into good, for if it is not instilled he has no concern for heaven, in which case he looks on himself in the same way as he does on animals. But this truth cannot be instilled except by means of specific ones such as the following: The body which a person carries around ministers to uses in the world; that is to say, it enables him by means of material eyes to see things that are in the world, and to perform actions by means of material muscles, which give him power that is sufficient to lift heavy objects. Nevertheless some more interior part of him exists which thinks and wills, and for which the body is the instrumental or material organ. Also his spirit is his true self, or the person himself, who performs actions and has sensory perception through these organic forms. And there are many other personal experiences by which he can prove that truth to be so once he believes it. All of these are specific truths which are put forward first and which cause that truth itself to be instilled into good and also to come from it. It is these and other things like them that are meant here by 'a camp'.

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