The Bible

 

Genesis 20

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1 Ja Aabraham siirdus sealt Lõunamaale ning asus elama Kaadesi ja Suuri vahele; ta elas Geraris võõrana.

2 Ja Aabraham ütles oma naise Saara kohta: 'Ta on minu õde.' Siis Gerari kuningas Abimelek läkitas järele ja võttis Saara.

3 Aga Jumal tuli Abimeleki juurde öösel unes ja ütles temale: 'Vaata, sa pead surema naise pärast, kelle sa enesele võtsid, sest ta on abielunaine!'

4 Abimelek aga ei olnud temasse puutunud ja vastas: 'Issand, kas tahad surmata ka õiget rahvast?

5 Eks ta öelnud mulle: Ta on minu õde? Ja tema ütles ka ise: Ta on mu vend. Ma tegin seda vaga südame ja süütute kätega.'

6 Siis ütles Jumal temale unes: 'Minagi tean, et sa tegid seda vaga südamega ja ma hoidsin sind ka minu vastu pattu tegemast: sellepärast ma ei lasknud sind temasse puutuda.

7 Ja nüüd anna mehele naine tagasi, sest ta on prohvet ja ta palvetab sinu pärast, et sa jääksid elama. Aga kui sa tagasi ei anna, siis tea, et sina ja kõik, kes sul on, peate surema!'

8 Ja Abimelek tõusis hommikul vara, kutsus kõik oma sulased ning rääkis kõik need sõnad nende kuuldes; ja mehed kartsid väga.

9 Siis Abimelek kutsus Aabrahami ja ütles temale: 'Mis sa meile tegid! Millega ma sinu vastu pattu tegin, et sa tõid suure süü minu ja mu kuningriigi peale? Sa oled minuga teinud sündmatuid tegusid!'

10 Ja Abimelek küsis Aabrahamilt: 'Mida sa mõtlesid seda asja tehes?'

11 Ja Aabraham vastas: 'Mina mõtlesin ainult, et selles paigas ei ole jumalakartust ja mind tapetakse mu naise pärast.

12 Ja tema ongi tõepoolest mu õde: mu isa tütar, kuigi mitte mu ema tütar; seetõttu ta sai mu naiseks.

13 Aga kui Jumal saatis mind isamajast rändama, ütlesin ma temale: Osuta mulle seda armastust, et sa kõigis paigus, kuhu tuleme, minu kohta ütled: Ta on mu vend.'

14 Siis Abimelek võttis lambaid, kitsi ja veiseid, sulaseid ja teenijaid ja andis Aabrahamile; ja ta andis temale tagasi Saara, ta naise.

15 Ja Abimelek ütles: 'Vaata, mu maa on lahti sinu ees, ela, kus sulle meeldib!'

16 Ja Saarale ta ütles: 'Näe, ma annan su vennale tuhat hõbetükki. Vaata, see olgu sulle hüvituseks kõigi ees, kes su juures on. Sa oled kõiges õigeks osutunud.'

17 Ja Aabraham palus Jumalat ja Jumal tegi terveks Abimeleki, ta naise ja ta teenijad, nõnda et nad said lapsi,

18 sest Issand oli sulgenud kõvasti kõik emaihud Abimeleki kojas Saara, Aabrahami naise pärast.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2547

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2547. 'That you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom' means that thereby the doctrine of faith and all matters of doctrine would be at risk. This is clear from the meaning of 'Abimelech', to whom the pronoun 'me' refers here, as the doctrine of faith, and from the meaning of 'kingdom' as the truth of doctrine or that which is a matter of doctrine. That 'a kingdom' in the internal sense means truths of doctrine, and in the contrary sense falsities of doctrine, is clear from the Word, as in Jeremiah,

He is the One who formed all things and the sceptre of His inheritance; Jehovah Zebaoth is His name. You are to me a hammer, weapons of war, and in You I will scatter the nations, and in You I will destroy the kingdoms. Jeremiah 51:19-20.

This refers to the Lord who, it is clear, is not going to scatter nations or destroy kingdoms but to do so to things meant by nations and kingdoms, namely evils and falsities of doctrine.

[2] In Ezekiel,

Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to where they have gone away, and will gather them from all around, and bring them into their own land; I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King will be King to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms. Ezekiel 37:21-22.

'Israel' stands for the spiritual Church, 'nation' for the good of that Church, that is, of doctrine, for by 'nations' goods are meant, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. 'Kingdom' stands for the truths of that Church. The fact that 'nations' and 'kingdoms' here mean something different from nations and kingdoms is quite evident, for the children of Israel, or the Israelites, are spoken of as being gathered together and brought into the land when in fact they were dispersed among the gentile nations and became such themselves.

[3] In Isaiah,

I will confound Egypt with Egypt, and they will fight, every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. Isaiah 19:2.

Here 'Egypt' stands for the reasonings based on facts concerning the truths of faith, 1164, 1165, 1186. 'City' stands for doctrine, in this case heretical doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, 'kingdom' for falsity of doctrine. 'City against city and kingdom against kingdom' therefore stands for the fact that heresies and falsities will be in conflict with one another. The same is meant by the following words spoken by the Lord in reference to the close of the age, in Matthew,

Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Matthew 24:7.

This stands for evils against evils, and falsities against falsities.

[4] The things that Daniel prophesied about the four kingdoms, Chapter 2:37-46; Daniel 7:17-end; and about the kingdoms of Media and Persia, Chapter 8:20-end; and about the kingdoms of the king of the south and the king of the north in Chapter 11; and the things that John too prophesied in the Book of Revelation about kings and kingdoms, have no other meaning. Those kingdoms are used solely to mean states of the Church as regards truths and falsities. The conditions of monarchs and of earthly kingdoms in the sense of the letter are in the internal sense states of the Church and of the Lord's kingdom. In the internal sense nothing else occurs there than spiritual and celestial things, for regarded in itself the Word of the Lord is purely spiritual and celestial; but so that it may be read and understood by man, no matter who, ideas of the things which belong to heaven are conveyed by means of such things as exist on earth.

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