The Bible

 

Genesis 10

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1 And these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and to them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 From these came the distribution of the isles of the nations, according to their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

8 And Cush begot Nimrod: he began to be mighty on the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah; therefore it is said, As Nimrod, the mighty hunter before Jehovah!

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 From that land went out Asshur, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah,

12 and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah: this is the great city.

13 -- And Mizraim begot the Ludim, and the Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the Naphtuhim,

14 and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim, out of whom came the Philistines, and the Caphtorim.

15 -- And Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth,

16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

17 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. And afterwards the families of the Canaanites spread themselves abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as one goes to Gerar, up to Gazah; as one goes to Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, up to Lesha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

21 And to Shem -- to him also were [sons] born; he is the father of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.

22 The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 -- And Arphaxad begot Shelah; and Shelah begot Eber.

25 And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begot Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as one goes to Sephar, the eastern mountain.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations. And from these came the distribution of the nations on the earth after the flood.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1178

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1178. 'He was mighty in hunting before Jehovah' means that he persuaded many people. This is clear from the fact that faith separated from charity is such, and also from the meaning of 'hunting' in the Word. Faith separated from charity is such that people are easily persuaded. The vast majority of mankind do not know what internal things are, but they do know what external are. The vast majority are also given to sensualism, low pleasures and desires, considering only themselves and the world, and are therefore easily captivated by that kind of religion. From the meaning of 'hunting': in the Word 'hunting' means in general persuading and in particular captivating people's minds, by pandering to the senses, low pleasures and desires, and by the use of matters of doctrine which in an arbitrary fashion they explain in a way that satisfies their own disposition and that of the other person. They do this for the selfish reason that they may be important in position and in wealth, and so by the use of persuasion.

[2] This is clear in Ezekiel,

Woe to those who sew little pillows on all the joints of My hands and make veils upon the head [of persons] of every stature to hunt souls! You hunt souls for My people, and you keep souls alive for yourselves; and you have desecrated Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crusts of bread, to slay souls that will not die, and to keep alive souls that will not live, by lying to My people that listen to lies. behold, I am against your little pillows with which you there hunt the souls to make them fly away, and I will tear them from on your arms, and I will let the souls go that you hunt, souls to fly away; and I will tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they will be no more in your hand to be hunted. Ezekiel 13:18-21.

These verses explain what 'hunting' means - a deceiving by means of persuasions and by means of cognitions which they pervert and explain to their own advantage, and at the same time according to the other person's disposition.

[3] In Micah,

The compassionate man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; 1 they hunt every man his brother with a net. When they do evil with the hands instead of doing good, the prince asks for and gives judgement for the sake of a reward, and the great man utters the perversity of his soul; and they twist it around. Micah 7:2-3.

This in a similar way explains what 'hunting' means, namely lying in wait for the sake of self, that is, calling true that which is false, uttering perversity, and twisting things around, and in these ways persuading. In David,

A slanderer 2 will not be established in the land; as for the violent man, evil hunts him down, to overthrow him! Psalms 140:11.

This refers to wicked persons who persuade by means of falsities, think wickedly, and speak smoothly, with deceitful intent. 'Tongue' here stands for lying.

Footnotes:

1. literally, bloods

2. literally, A man of tongue

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