The Bible

 

Genesis 5

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1 This is the book of the generation of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God.

2 He created them male and female; and blessed them: and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3 And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth.

4 And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth, were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters.

5 And all the time that Adam lived came to nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

6 Seth also lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enos.

7 And Seth lived after he begot Enos, eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.

10 After whose birth he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

11 And the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Malaleel.

13 And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel, eight hundred forty years, and begot sons and daughters.

14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

15 And Malaleel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

16 And Malaleel lived after he begot Jared, eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

17 And all the days of Malaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

18 And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Henoch.

19 And Jared lived after he begot Henoch, eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

21 And Henoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Mathusala.

22 And Henoch walked with God: and lived after he begot Mathusala, three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

23 And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

24 And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God took him.

25 And Mathusala lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.

26 And Mathusala lived after he begot Lamech, seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters.

27 And all the days of Mathusala were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

28 And Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot a son.

29 And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall comfort us from the works and labours of our hands on the earth which the Lord hath cursed.

30 And Lamech lived after he begot Noe, five hundred and ninety-five years, and he begot sons and daughters.

31 And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. And Noe, when he was five hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #568

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568. 'Daughters' means the things that constituted the will of that man, and so means evil desires. This is clear from what has been stated and shown about sons and daughters at verse 4 of the previous chapter, where 'sons' meant truths and 'daughters' goods. 'Daughters' or goods constitute the will. But as is a person's character so is his understanding and his will, and so therefore his 'sons and daughters'. At the moment the subject is the corrupt human type who has no will but merely evil desire instead, which people imagine to be the will and actually call the will. For any attribute is determined by the nature of the subject to which it is attributed. As shown already, the human type to whom 'daughters' are attributed here is a corrupt type.

[2] The reason 'daughters' means things constituting the will, which are evil desires when the will for good is non-existent, while 'sons' means those constituting the understanding, which are delusions when the understanding of truth is non-existent, is that the female disposition and make-up is such that the will or evil desire reigns rather than understanding. Every one of their fibres runs in that direction; and it is their very nature. The male make-up however is such that the understanding or reason reigns; every one of their fibres too runs in that direction, and it is their very nature. Consequently the marriage of the two sexes is like that of the will and the understanding in the individual. And because nowadays the will for good does not exist, but only evil desire, when yet it is possible for something of the understanding or reason to exist, so many laws were for that reason laid down in the Jewish Church concerning the husband's rights and the wife's obedience.

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