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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 #4430

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4430. 'And Shechem saw her' means truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Shechem' as truth, in this case the truth received by the Church from ancient times. The reason why 'Shechem' has this representation is that remnants of the Church still existed with the nation to which Shechem belonged. The fact that his nation was one of the upright nations is evident from the genuineness behind the things that Hamor and Shechem said to Jacob and his sons, verses 8-12, and from the deference that was shown by them in order that Shechem might marry Dinah, verses 18-24, on account of which they represented the truth of the Church. Furthermore the city of Shechem was Abram's first stopping-place when he came from Syria into the land of Canaan, Genesis 12:6, and was now also Jacob's first stopping-place when he too came from Syria, where he stretched his tent, made booths, and set up an altar, Genesis 33:17-20. It has been shown frequently that the journeys or wanderings of Abraham and Jacob represented advances into the truths of faith and the goods of love - in the highest sense, the Lord's own advances, and in the relative sense those made by the person who is being regenerated by the Lord. Hence 'Shechem' meant the first degree of light, 1440, 1441, and therefore interior truth since this is the first degree of light.

[2] But in the present chapter the subject in the internal sense is the way in which the descendants of Jacob annihilated this first degree of light or interior truth residing with them. In this sense, which is the internal historical sense, 'the sons of Jacob' means all his descendants, for the internal sense of the Word deals solely with the things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, and so those that belong to His Church. Jacob's actual sons did not constitute any Church but their descendants did, though not until after they had come out of Egypt, and in actual fact not until they entered the land of Canaan.

[3] Furthermore regarding this city named after Shechem, it was called Salem in ancient times, as is clear in the previous chapter,

Jacob came to Salem, the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. Genesis 32:18.

'Salem' means serenity, and 'the city of Shechem' the interior truths of faith; and a person comes into a state of serenity when he arrives at those truths, see 4393. But later on the same city was called Shechem, as may be seen in Joshua,

The bones of Joseph which the children of Israel caused to be brought up out of Egypt they buried in Shechem, in the part of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitahs. Joshua 24:32.

And in the Book of Judges,

Gaal the son of Ebed said to the citizens of Shechem, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal. and Zebul is his commander? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; and why shall we serve him? Judges 9:28.

[4] The same city after that was called 'Sychar', as is evident in John,

Jesus came into a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to Joseph his son; Jacob's well was there. John 4:5-6.

From these places, as well as from others where it is mentioned, it is evident that this city means interior truth. It is also clear in Hosea,

Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity; it is stained with blood; and as troops wait for a man so the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem, for they have committed villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a foul thing. Hosea 6:8-10.

Here 'they murder on the way to Shechem' means that they annihilate truths, including interior ones, and so annihilate all truths. The annihilation of interior truth is also meant by the reference to Abimelech's destruction of that city and sowing it with salt, Judges 9:45.

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