The Bible

 

Genesis 21

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1 And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did to Sarah as he had spoken.

2 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 And Sarah said, God has made me laugh: all that hear will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, Sarah will suckle children? For I have borne [him] a son in his old age.

8 And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

10 And she said to Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son -- with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

12 And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad and because of thy handmaid: [in] all that Sarah hath said to thee hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee.

13 But also the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a flask of water, and gave [it] to Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder -- and the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water was exhausted from the flask; and she cast the child under one of the shrubs,

16 and she went and sat down over against [him], a bow-shot off; for she said, Let me not behold the death of the child. And she sat over against [him], and lifted up her voice and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the Angel of God called to Hagar from the heavens, and said to her, What [aileth] thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad there, where he is.

18 Arise, take the lad, and hold him in thy hand; for I will make of him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the flask with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech, and Phichol the captain of his host, spoke to Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest.

23 And now swear to me here by God that thou wilt not deal deceitfully with me, nor with my son, nor with my grandson. According to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land in which thou sojournest.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water that Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this, neither hast thou told me [of it], neither have I heard [of it] but to-day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What [mean] these seven ewe-lambs, these which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, That thou take the seven ewe-lambs of my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well.

31 Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there they had sworn, both of them.

32 And they made a covenant at Beer-sheba. And Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the captain of his host, and returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And [Abraham] planted a tamarisk in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Eternal ùGod.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2720

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2720. Verse 22 And so it was at that time, that Abimelech spoke, and Phicol the general of his army, to Abraham, saying, God is with you in all that you are doing.

Verse 23 And now swear to me here by God that you will not lie to me, and to my son, and to my grandson; according to the kindness which I have done to you, may you do to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.

Verse 24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

Verse 25 And Abraham reproached Abimelech on account of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized.

Verse 26 And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this thing; and you also did not point it out to me, and I too have not heard about it until today.

Verse 27 And Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech; and the two of them made a covenant.

Verse 28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.

Verse 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have set by themselves?

Verse 30 And he said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.

Verse 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.

Verse 32 And they made a covenant in Beersheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the general of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

[2] 'So it was at that time' means the state which the Lord passed through when the Rational was made Divine. 'That Abimelech spoke, and Phicol the general of his army, to Abraham' means the merely human rational ideas based on facts that were to be allied to the doctrine of faith, which in itself is Divine. 'Saying, God is with you in all that you are doing' means that it was Divine in every single detail.

[3] 'And now swear to me here by God' means an affirmation. 'That you will not lie to me' means without any element of doubt. 'And to my son, and to my grandson' means regarding matters of faith. 'According to the kindness which I have done to you' means the rational ideas which the Lord had been taught previously. 'May you do to me and to the land in which you have sojourned' means that which is reciprocal.

[4] 'And Abraham said, I will swear' means a complete affirmation. 'And Abraham reproached Abimelech' means the Lord's displeasure. 'On account of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized' means the doctrine of faith, that factual knowledge wished to attribute that doctrine to itself.

[5] 'And Abimelech said' means a reply. 'I do not know who has done this thing' means that the rational dictated something different. 'And you also did not point it out to me' means that it did not come from the Divine. 'And I too have not heard about it until today' means that it was now disclosed for the first time.

[6] 'And Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech' means Divine Goods implanted in the rational ideas belonging to doctrine that were meant by Abimelech. 'And the two of them made a covenant' means joined together thus. 'And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves' means the holiness of innocence.

[7] 'And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have set by themselves?' means that He was to be taught and would acknowledge. 'And he said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand' means the holiness of innocence received from the Divine. 'That they may be a witness for me' means certainty. 'That I have dug this well' means that the doctrine came from the Divine.

[8] 'Therefore he called that place Beersheba' means the state and the nature of the doctrine. 'Because there the two of them swore an oath' means as a result of the joining together. 'And they made a covenant in Beersheba' means that the merely human rational ideas were allied to the doctrine of faith. 'And Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the general of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines' means that nevertheless they did not form part of that doctrine.

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