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Genesis 13

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1 Alzo toog Abram op uit Egypte naar het zuiden, hij en zijn huisvrouw, en al wat hij had, en Lot met hem.

2 En Abram was zeer rijk, in vee, in zilver, en in goud.

3 En hij ging, volgens zijn reizen, van het zuiden tot Beth-El toe, tot aan de plaats, waar zijn tent in het begin geweest was, tussen Beth-El, en tussen Ai;

4 Tot de plaats des altaars, dat hij in het eerst daar gemaakt had; en Abram heeft aldaar den Naam des HEEREN aangeroepen.

5 En Lot, die met Abram toog, had ook schapen, en runderen, en tenten.

6 En dat land droeg hen niet, om samen te wonen; want hun have was vele, zodat zij samen niet konden wonen.

7 En er was twist tussen de herders van Abrams vee, en tussen de herders van Lots vee. Ook woonden toen de Kanaanieten en Ferezieten in dat land.

8 En Abram zeide tot Lot: Laat toch geen twisting zijn tussen mij en tussen u, en tussen mijn herders en tussen uw herders; want wij zijn mannen broeders.

9 Is niet het ganse land voor uw aangezicht? Scheid u toch van mij; zo gij de linkerhand kiest, zo zal ik ter rechterhand gaan; en zo gij de rechterhand, zo zal ik ter linkerhand gaan.

10 En Lot hief zijn ogen op, en hij zag de ganse vlakte der Jordaan, dat zij die geheel bevochtigde; eer de HEERE Sodom en Gomorra verdorven had, was zij als de hof des HEEREN, als Egypteland, als gij komt te Zoar.

11 Zo koos Lot voor zich de ganse vlakte der Jordaan, en Lot trok tegen het oosten; en zij werden gescheiden, de een van den ander.

12 Abram dan woonde in het land Kanaan; en Lot woonde in de steden der vlakte, en sloeg tenten tot aan Sodom toe.

13 En de mannen van Sodom waren boos, en grote zondaars tegen den HEERE.

14 En de HEERE zeide tot Abram, nadat Lot van hem gescheiden was: Hef uw ogen op, en zie van de plaats, waar gij zijt noordwaarts en zuidwaarts, en oostwaarts en westwaarts.

15 Want al dit land, dat gij ziet, zal Ik u geven, en aan uw zaad, tot in eeuwigheid.

16 En Ik zal uw zaad stellen als het stof der aarde, zodat, indien iemand het stof der aarde zal kunnen tellen, zal ook uw zaad geteld worden.

17 Maak u op, wandel door dit land, in zijn lengte en in zijn breedte, want Ik zal het u geven.

18 En Abram sloeg tenten op, en kwam en woonde aan de eikenbossen van Mamre, die bij Hebron zijn; en hij bouwde aldaar den HEERE een altaar.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1555

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1555. 'From the south and even to Bethel' means from the light of intelligence into the light of wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'the south' as the light of intelligence, or what amounts to the same, a state of light as regards interiors, dealt with already in 1458, and from the meaning of 'Bethel' as celestial light having its origin in cognitions, dealt with already in 1453. The expression 'light of intelligence' describes that light which is acquired through cognitions of the truths and goods of faith, whereas the light of wisdom is the light of life which is acquired from the light of intelligence. The light of intelligence has regard to the intellectual part of the mind, or to the understanding, whereas the light of wisdom has regard to the will part, or to life.

[2] Few if any people know how a person is led to true wisdom. Intelligence is not wisdom but it leads to wisdom, for having an understanding of what truth and good are is not the same as being a true and good person; but being wise is. Wisdom can be used only in reference to a person's life, to what kind of person he is. To wisdom, or life, he is introduced through coming to know and being aware, that is, through knowledge and cognitions. With every person there are two parts of the mind - the will and the understanding - the will being the primary part and the understanding the secondary; and the nature of his life after death is as the nature of the will part, not the understanding part, of his mind. A person's will is being formed by the Lord from infancy on into childhood, and this is achieved through the innocence that has been instilled into him, and through the exercise of charity towards parents, nursemaids, and other young children of his own age, and through further things that he is quite unaware of and which are celestial. Unless those celestial things were first instilled in a person while an infant and child he could not possibly become truly human. In this way the first degree is formed.

[3] But because a person is not human unless he is provided with understanding as well, will alone does not make a human being but understanding and will together. And understanding cannot be acquired except by means of knowledge and cognitions, and therefore he has to be endowed with these step by step from childhood onwards. In this way the second degree is formed. Once the understanding part of the mind has been furnished with knowledge and cognitions, especially cognitions of truth and good, he is for the first time able to undergo regeneration. And when he is being regenerated, truths and goods are implanted by the Lord by means of cognitions within the celestial things he has been granted by the Lord since infancy. The result is that the ideas now in his understanding make one with those celestial things. And once the Lord has joined them together so, he is endowed with charity from which he starts to act and which constitutes conscience. This is how he comes to receive new life for the first time, something that is achieved step by step. The light of this life is called wisdom, which then plays the leading role and is set above intelligence. In this way the third degree is formed. If this has happened to a person during his lifetime he goes on being perfected in the next life. These considerations show what the light of intelligence is, and what the light of wisdom.

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