The Bible

 

Genesis 14

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1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations,

2 [that] they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

3 All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

4 Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim,

6 and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar.

8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim,

9 with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar -- four kings with the five.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed.

12 And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.

13 And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies.

14 And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained [servants], born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued [them] as far as Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley.

18 And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High ùGod.

19 And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of the Most High ùGod, possessor of heavens and earth.

20 And blessed be the Most High ùGod, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High ùGod, possessor of heavens and earth,

23 if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take [anything] ...; that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich;

24 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1725

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1725. That 'Melchizedek' means the celestial things of the Lord's Interior Man becomes clear from the meaning of 'Melchizedek', to be dealt with shortly, and also from the things that come before and after. What the internal man is, what the interior man is, and what the external man is, has been adequately shown above, as also has the fact that the internal man flows into the external man by way of the interior man, as well as that the internal man flows into the interior man either by way of celestial things or by way of spiritual things - by way of celestial things with every regenerate person, that is, with people who lead lives of love to the Lord and of love towards the neighbour, but by way of spiritual things with every individual, whatever his character. It is from this influx that he has his light from heaven, that is, is enabled to think and speak, and to be a human being. See what has appeared already in 1707.

[2] The celestial things of the interior man are all those that belong to celestial love, as often stated already. These celestial things with the Lord's Interior Man, or the Lord's Interior Man as to these celestial things, is called 'Melchizedek'. The Internal Man within the Lord was Jehovah Himself; and when the Interior Man, following the conflicts brought about by temptations, had been purified, that became Divine and Jehovah as well, as likewise did the External Man. But now, while the Interior Man was still passing through a state involving the conflicts brought about by temptation and had not yet been purified to any great extent by means of such conflicts, it is called as to celestial things 'Melchizedek', that is, 'king of holiness and righteousness'.

[3] That this is indeed so is also evident in David where similarly the Lord's conflicts during temptations are the subject, and where at length His Interior Man as regards celestial things is called Melchizedek,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies as Your foot-stool; Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of Your enemies. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness. From the womb of the morning You have the dew of Your birth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a Priest for ever, after the manner of 1 Melchizedek. The Lord on Your right hand has smitten kings on the day of His anger. Psalms 110:1-5.

These verses of Psalms 110 refer, as does this chapter in Genesis, to the Lord's temptation-conflicts with the hells, as becomes clear from every word. The fact that the statements in this Psalm refer to the Lord, He Himself teaches in Matthew 22:43-45; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-44. 'Making enemies a foot-stool', 'having dominion in the midst of enemies', 'the day of power', and 'smiting kings on the day of His anger' mean the conflicts that constitute temptations, and victories.

Footnotes:

1. The Latin means according to my word but the Hebrew means after the manner (or the word) of, which Swedenborg has in other places where he quotes this verse.

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