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Genesis 17

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1 Kui Aabram oli üheksakümmend üheksa aastat vana, siis Issand ilmutas ennast Aabramile ja ütles temale: 'Mina olen Kõigeväeline Jumal, käi minu palge ees ja ole vaga!

2 Ma teen lepingu enese ja sinu vahel ja teen sind väga paljuks.'

3 Siis Aabram heitis silmili maha ja Jumal rääkis temaga, öeldes:

4 'See olen mina! Vaata, mu leping sinuga on, et sina saad paljude rahvaste isaks.

5 Sinu nime ei hüüta siis enam Aabramiks, vaid su nimi olgu Aabraham, sest ma teen sind paljude rahvaste isaks!

6 Ma teen sind väga viljakaks ja lasen sind rahvaiks saada, kuningadki põlvnevad sinust.

7 Ma teen lepingu enese ja sinu vahel, ja sinu soo vahel pärast sind, igaveseks lepinguks sugupõlvedele, et ma olen Jumalaks sinule ja su soole pärast sind.

8 Ja ma annan sinule ja su soole pärast sind selle maa, kus sa võõrana elad, kogu Kaananimaa, igaveseks omandiks. Ja mina olen neile Jumalaks!'

9 Ja Jumal ütles Aabrahamile: 'Ja sina pead mu lepingut pidama, sina ja su sugu pärast sind põlvest põlve.

10 See on minu leping minu ja teie ning sinu soo vahel pärast sind, mida te peate pidama: kõik meesterahvad tuleb teil ümber lõigata!

11 Te peate oma eesnaha liha ümber lõikama ja see olgu minu ja teie vahelise lepingu märgiks.

12 Kaheksapäevastena tuleb teil ümber lõigata kõik teie meesterahvad põlvkondade viisi, olgu peres sündinud, olgu raha eest ostetud ükskõik missuguselt võõralt, kes sinu soost ei ole,

13 kindlasti tuleb ümber lõigata niihästi su peres sündinu kui su raha eest ostetu. Minu leping peab teie ihu küljes olema igavese lepinguna!

14 Aga eesnahaga meesterahvas, kelle eesnaha liha ei ole ümber lõigatud, tuleb hävitada oma rahva seast: ta on tühistanud minu lepingu!'

15 Ja Jumal ütles Aabrahamile: 'Saaraid, oma naist, ära hüüa enam Saaraiks, vaid tema nimi olgu Saara!

16 Ma õnnistan teda ja annan ka temalt sulle poja. Ma õnnistan teda nõnda, et ta saab rahvaiks, rahvaste kuningadki põlvnevad temast.'

17 Siis Aabraham heitis silmili maha, naeris ja ütles oma südames: 'Kas peaks saja-aastasele poeg sündima? Või peaks üheksakümneaastane Saara sünnitama?'

18 Ja Aabraham ütles Jumalale: 'Kui ainult Ismaelgi sinu ees jääks elama!'

19 Siis ütles Jumal: 'Siiski, su naine Saara sünnitab sulle poja ja sa pead panema temale nimeks Iisak. Ja ma teen temaga lepingu, igaveseks lepinguks tema soole pärast teda.

20 Aga ka Ismaeli pärast ma olen sind kuulnud. Vaata, ma õnnistan teda ja teen ta viljakaks ning väga arvurikkaks. Temast sünnib kaksteist vürsti ja ma teen ta suureks rahvaks.

21 Kuid oma lepingu teen ma Iisakiga, kelle Saara sulle sünnitab tuleval aastal selsamal ajal.'

22 Kui Jumal oli lõpetanud kõneluse Aabrahamiga, siis ta läks tema juurest üles.

23 Ja Aabraham võttis oma poja Ismaeli ja kõik oma peres sündinud, ja kõik raha eest ostetud, kõik meesterahvad Aabrahami pere inimeste hulgast, ja lõikas ümber nende eesnaha liha, otse selsamal päeval, nõnda nagu Jumal teda oli käskinud.

24 Aabraham oli üheksakümmend üheksa aastat vana, kui ta eesnaha liha ümber lõigati.

25 Ja Ismael, tema poeg, oli kolmteist aastat vana, kui ta eesnaha liha ümber lõigati.

26 Otse selsamal päeval lõigati ümber Aabraham ja tema poeg Ismael;

27 ja kõik ta pere mehed, peres sündinud ja võõrastelt raha eest ostetud, lõigati ümber koos temaga.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1911

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1911. 'And she saw that she had conceived, and her mistress was despised in her eyes' means that this rational at its conception despised truth itself that was allied to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'mistress', or Sarai, as truth allied to good. The rational conceived first is unable to acknowledge intellectual or spiritual truth as truth because it has clinging to it many illusions that are a product of what is known about the world and the natural order, and many appearances which are not truths but are a product of things known from the literal sense of the Word. For example,

[2] It is an intellectual truth that all life is from the Lord. The rational conceived first does not apprehend this, but supposes that if it did not live of itself it would possess no life at all; indeed it is angry if anything different is asserted, as I have noticed frequently in the case of spirits who cling to the illusions of the senses.

[3] It is an intellectual truth that all good and truth are from the Lord. Again, the rational conceived first does not apprehend this because of its sensation that these are as if from itself; and also it supposes that if good and truth are not from itself, it is unable to think, let alone perform, anything good and true, and that if it did have some other source it would give up its own efforts and constantly wait for influx into itself.

[4] It is an intellectual truth that nothing but good, and not even the smallest amount of evil, comes from the Lord. The rational conceived first does not believe this either, but it supposes that because the Lord rules over every single thing, even evil derives from Him. And because He is all powerful and present everywhere and is Goodness itself but does not abolish the punishments of evil people in hell, it supposes that He wills the evil of punishment, when in fact He does not do evil to anyone and does not will that anyone should be punished.

[5] It is an intellectual truth that the celestial man has from the Lord a perception of good and truth. But the first rational either denies the existence of perception altogether or else it supposes that if it did perceive from another and not from its own self it would be like one who is inanimate, or devoid of life. Indeed the more that the thinking of the rational is based on the facts that arise from sensory evidence and the more it is based on philosophical arguments, the less it apprehends these and all other intellectual truths, for the illusions that result are enveloped in shadows darker still. This is why the learned are less believing than others.

[6] Since the rational conceived first is such, it is clear that 'it despises its mistress', that is, it despises intellectual truth. Intellectual truth is not open to view, that is, it is not acknowledged, until illusions and appearances have been dispersed, and these are never dispersed as long as a person reasons about truths themselves on the basis of sensory evidence and factual knowledge. But the moment he believes in simplicity of heart that it is the truth because the Lord has declared it to be so, the shadows of illusions are at that point dispelled, and then there is nothing to stop him apprehending it.

[7] With the Lord however no illusions were present; but when His rational was first conceived there were appearances of truth which were not truths in themselves, as is evident from what has been stated in 1661. This also explains why His rational when first conceived despised intellectual truth, but step by step, as the rational became Divine, the clouds of appearances were dispersed and intellectual truths in their light were for Him open to view. This was represented and meant by the expulsion of Ishmael from the house when Isaac grew up. That the Lord did not despise intellectual truth but that He perceived and saw that His new rational did so will be clear from what follows in 1914.

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