The Bible

 

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 #4391

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4391. And made booths for his acquisition. 1 That this signifies likewise in general an increase in good and truth then, is evident from the signification of “acquisition,” as being goods and truths in general; and from the signification of “making booths” or tents, as being like that of building a house, namely, to receive an increase of good from truth, with the difference that “building a house” is less general, thus is more interior; and “making booths” or tents is more general, thus more external. The former was for themselves (that is, for Jacob, his women and children), the latter was for the servants, the flocks, and the herds. “Booths” or “tents” in the Word properly signify the holy of truth, and are distinguished from tabernacles, which are also called, “tents,” by the fact that the latter signify the holy of good (n. 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 4128). In the original language the former are called “Succoth,” but the latter “Ohalim.” The holy of truth is the good which is from truth.

[2] That this is the signification of the booths or tents which are called “Succoth,” is evident also from the following passages in the Word.

In David:

Jehovah God rode upon a cherub and did fly, and was carried upon the wings of the wind; He made darkness His hiding place, and His surroundings His tent [succoth], darkness of waters, clouds of the heavens (Psalms 18:11-12).

And again:

He bowed the heavens when He came down, and thick darkness was under His feet; and He rode upon a cherub and did fly, and was carried upon the wings of the wind; and He put darkness round about Him for tents (succoth), bindings of the waters, clouds of the heavens (2 Samuel 22:10-12); where the subject treated of is Divine revelation or the Word. To “bow the heavens when He came down” denotes to hide the interiors of the Word; “thick darkness under His feet” denotes that the things which appear to man are relatively darkness (such is the literal sense of the Word.) To “ride upon a cherub” denotes that it was so provided; to “put darkness round about Him for tents,” or “His surroundings for His tent,” denotes the holy of truth in its hiding place, namely, within the literal sense; the “bindings of the waters” and “clouds of the heavens,” denote the Word in the letter. (That the “clouds of the heavens” denote the Word in the letter, may be seen above, preface to Genesis 18, and n. 4060.)

[3] The like is signified by these words in Isaiah:

Jehovah will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and over her convocations, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the shining of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory there shall be a covering. And there shall be a tent [succah] for a shade by day, and for refuge and hiding against flood and rain (Isaiah 4:5-6);

a “cloud” here also denotes the literal sense of the Word; and “glory,” the internal sense; as also in Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; a “tent” here also denotes the holy of truth. Interior truths are said to be in “hiding,” for the reason that if they had been revealed, they would in that case have been profaned (see n. 3398, 3399, 4289); which is also set forth by these words in David:

Thou hidest them in the hiding place of Thy faces from the ensnaring counsels of a man; Thou hidest them in a tent [succah] by reason of the strife of tongues (Psalms 31:21).

[4] That a “tent” denotes the holy of truth is evident also in Amos:

In that day will I set up the tent [succah] of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches, and I will set up the ruins, and I will build according to the days of eternity (Psalms 9:11);

to “set up the tent of David that is fallen,” denotes to restore the holy of truth after it has perished; “David” denotes the Lord relatively to Divine truth (n. 1888), for a “king” denotes Divine truth (n. 2015, 2069, 3009). As a “tent” signified the holy of truth, and “dwelling in tents,” the derivative worship, therefore the feast of tents, which is called the “feast of tabernacles,” was instituted in the Jewish and Israelitish Church (Leviticus 23:34, 42-43; Deuteronomy 16:13, 16); where also this feast is called the “feast of Succoth,” or “of tents.”

Footnotes:

1. Latin, acquisitio. The Hebrew mikneh means what is acquired, but is always used of cattle, in which the riches of nomads consist.

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