The Bible

 

Genesis 25

Study

   

1 Ja Aabraham võttis taas naise, nimega Ketuura.

2 Ja see tõi temale ilmale Simrani, Joksani, Medani, Midjani, Jisbaki ja Suuahi.

3 Ja Joksanile sündisid Seeba ja Dedan; ja Dedani järeltulijad olid assüürlased, letuuslased ja leumlased.

4 Ja Midjani pojad olid Eefa, Eefer, Hanok, Abiida ja Eldaa. Need kõik olid Ketuura järeltulijad.

5 Ja Aabraham andis kõik, mis tal oli, Iisakile.

6 Aga liignaiste poegadele, kes Aabrahamil olid, andis Aabraham ande ja saatis nad veel oma eluajal oma poja Iisaki juurest ära hommiku poole, Hommikumaale.

7 Ja Aabrahami eluea aastaid, mis ta elas, oli sada seitsekümmend viis aastat.

8 Ja Aabraham heitis hinge ning suri heas vanuses, vana ning elatanud, ja ta koristati oma rahva juurde.

9 Ja ta pojad Iisak ja Ismael matsid tema Makpela koopasse, hett Sohari poja Efroni väljal, mis on Mamre kohal,

10 väljale, mille Aabraham hettidelt oli ostnud, maeti Aabraham ja tema naine Saara.

11 Ja pärast Aabrahami surma õnnistas Jumal ta poega Iisakit. Ja Iisak elas Lahhai-Roi kaevu juures.

12 Ja need olid Ismaeli, Aabrahami poja järeltulijad, keda egiptlanna Haagar, Saara teenija, Aabrahamile ilmale tõi.

13 Ismaeli poegade nimed, nimetatud nende sündimise järjekorras, olid need: Nebajot, Ismaeli esmasündinu, siis Keedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Misma, Duuma, Massa,

15 Hadad, Teema, Jetuur, Naafis ja Keedma.

16 Need olid Ismaeli pojad ja need olid nende nimed vastavalt nende asulatele ja leeridele: nende suguharude kaksteist vürsti.

17 Ja need olid Ismaeli eluaastad: sada kolmkümmend seitse aastat; siis ta heitis hinge ja suri, ja ta koristati oma rahva juurde.

18 Ja nad asusid Havilast kuni vastu Egiptust oleva Suurini Assuri suunas, tungides kallale kõigile oma vendadele.

19 Ja need olid Iisaki, Aabrahami poja järeltulijad: Aabrahamile sündis Iisak.

20 Ja Iisak oli neljakümneaastane, kui ta võttis enesele naiseks Rebeka, süürlase Betueli tütre Mesopotaamiast, süürlase Laabani õe.

21 Ja Iisak palus Issandat oma naise pärast, sest see oli viljatu; ja Issand kuulis ta palvet ja ta naine Rebeka jäi lapseootele.

22 Aga kui lapsed ta ihus tõuklesid, ütles ta: 'Mispärast on see minuga nõnda?' Ja ta läks Issandalt küsima.

23 Ja Issand vastas temale: 'Su ihus on kaks rahvast, kaks erinevat hõimu saab su üsast alguse: üks rahvas on vägevam teisest - vanem orjab nooremat.'

24 Ja kui tema sünnitamise aeg saabus, vaata, siis olid ta ihus kaksikud.

25 See, kes sündis esimesena, oli punakas, täiesti nagu karune kuub; ja temale pandi nimeks Eesav.

26 Seejärel sündis ta vend, kelle käsi hoidis kinni Eesavi kannast; ja temale pandi nimeks Jaakob. Iisak oli kuuskümmend aastat vana, kui nad sündisid.

27 Ja poisid kasvasid suureks. Eesavist sai osav kütt, väljal uitaja, aga Jaakob oli vagane mees, kes elas telkides.

28 Ja Iisak armastas Eesavit, sest jahisaak oli temale suupärane; aga Rebeka armastas Jaakobit.

29 Kord keetis Jaakob leent, Eesav aga tuli väljalt ning oli väsinud.

30 Ja Eesav ütles Jaakobile: 'Anna mulle ometi süüa seda punast, seda punast leent, sest ma olen väsinud!' Sellepärast hakati teda kutsuma Edomiks.

31 Aga Jaakob ütles: 'Enne müü mulle oma esmasünniõigus!'

32 Ja Eesav vastas: 'Vaata, mina ju suren niikuinii, milleks mulle siis veel esmasünniõigus!'

33 Siis ütles Jaakob: 'Vannu mulle enne!' Ja ta vandus temale ning müüs oma esmasünniõiguse Jaakobile.

34 Ja Jaakob andis Eesavile leiba ja läätseleent; ja tema sõi ja jõi, tõusis üles ja läks ära. Nii vähe hoolis Eesav esmasünniõigusest.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3527

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

3527. 'And I am a smooth man' means the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. This is clear from the representation of Jacob, to whom 'I' refers here, as the natural as regards truth, dealt with in 3305, and from the meaning of 'a smooth man' as the nature of it, which is dealt with below. Before anyone can know what these words mean he needs to know what 'hairy' means and what 'smooth' means. The inner things present in a person manifest themselves outwardly in some visible form, especially in his face and facial expressions. The things that are inmost within him are not seen there at the present day, only to some extent things less interior than those inmost ones. But not even these are seen, if he has learned since early childhood to employ presence, for in that case he adopts so to speak a different disposition of mind (animus) and as a consequence produces a different facial expression - it being the disposition of mind (animus) that shows in the face. Hypocrites more than all others have become steeped in such presence from actually behaving, and so becoming accustomed to behave in such ways; and the more deceitful they are the more thoroughly are they steeped in it. With people who are not hypocrites rational good is seen in the face as the manifestation of a certain fire of life, and rational truth as the manifestation of the light of that fire. These matters a person is aware of from a certain innate knowledge without having to learn them, for it is the life of his spirit as regards good and as regards truth that manifests itself in this way. And because man is a spirit clothed with a body he knows about such a thing as this from a perception of it in his spirit, and so is aware of it from within himself. This is why a person is on occasions stirred with affection by another's facial expression, though it is not the facial expression that stirs him but the disposition of mind shining through it. The natural degree of the mind however reveals itself in the face as a more obscure fire of life and more obscure light of life, while the bodily degree scarcely does so as more than a warm and bright complexion, and as the change of their states in accordance with affections.

[2] Because the inner things present in a person manifest themselves thus in a visible form, especially in the face, the most ancient people - who were celestial and had no knowledge at all of what it was to employ presence, let alone of what hypocrisy or what deceit was - were able to see the mind of another plainly revealed in his face. For this reason the face also meant things of the will and those of the understanding, that is, interior rational things as regards good and truth, 358, 1999, 2434. Indeed those interior things as regards good were meant by the blood and its redness, and as regards truths by the form resulting from it, and its pure whiteness. But interior natural things were meant by things growing out of these, such as hairs and scales are; that is to say, things stemming from the natural as regards good were meant by 'hairs' and those stemming from the natural as regards truth by 'scales'. Consequently people governed by natural good were called 'hairy men' whereas those governed by natural truth were called 'smooth men'. These considerations show what these words 'Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man' mean in the internal sense, namely the nature of natural good compared with natural truth, and the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. From this it is also evident what Esau represents, that is to say, the good of the natural; for he was called Esau because of his hairiness, Genesis 25:25, and Edom because of his ruddiness, Genesis 25:30. And Mount Seir where he dwelt also has a similar meaning, namely, shaggy. This being so, the mountain that led up to Seir was called the bald or smooth mountain, mentioned in Joshua 11:17; 12:7, which was also the representative of truth leading upwards to good.

[3] 'Hairy' has reference to good and from this to truth, and also in the contrary sense to evil and from this to falsity, as has been shown in 3301. But 'smooth' has reference to truth and in the contrary sense to falsity, as is also evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every green tree, among the smooth [stones] of the valley is your portion. Isaiah 57:5-6.

Here 'inflaming' has reference to evil, 'smooth [stones] of the valley' to falsity. In the same prophet,

The craftsman encourages the smith, the one rubbing smooth the hammer by his striking the anvil, and says of the soldering. It is good. Isaiah 41:7.

Here 'the craftsman encourages the smith' has reference to evil, 'the one rubbing smooth the hammer' to falsity. In David,

Butter makes his 1 mouth smooth; when his heart draws near, his words are softer than oil. Psalms 55:21.

Here 'a smooth mouth' or flattery refers to falsity, 'heart' and consequent soft words to evil. In the same author,

Their throat is an open sepulchre, they speak smooth things with their tongue. Psalms 5:9.

'Throat is an open sepulchre' refers to evil, 'tongue speaking smooth things' to falsity. In Luke,

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked places will be made straight, and the rough places into level ways. Luke 3:5.

'Valley' stands for what is lowly, 1723, 3417, 'mountain and hill' for what is exalted, 1691. 'The crooked made straight' stands for turning into good that evil which is due to ignorance, for 'length' and things to do with length have reference to good, 1613; 'rough places into level ways' stands for turning into truths those falsities which are due to ignorance - 'way' having reference to truth, 627, 2333.

Footnotes:

1. The Latin means your but the Hebrew means his.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1999

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

1999. That 'Abram fell on his face' 1 means adoration is clear without explanation. Falling on one's face' was the reverent way in which the Most Ancient Church, and as a consequence the ancients, expressed adoration. The reason they expressed it in this way was that 'the face' meant the inward parts, and 'falling on one's face' 1 represented a state of humiliation of those inward parts; and from this it became in the Jewish representative Church an act of reverence. True adoration or humility of heart entails prostration before the Lord face-downwards on the ground as the natural action resulting from it. Indeed humiliation of heart entails the acknowledgement of oneself as being nothing but uncleanness, and at the same time the acknowledgement of the Lord's infinite mercy towards such. When these acknowledgements are fixed in the mind, the mind itself casts itself down towards hell and prostrates the body. Nor does it raise itself until raised up by the Lord, as happens in all true humiliation, accompanied by a perception that such raising up is of the Lord's mercy. Such was the humiliation of members of the Most Ancient Church. It is different however with adoration which does not flow from humiliation of heart, see 1153.

[2] It is well known from the Word, in the Gospels, that the Lord adored and prayed to Jehovah, His Father, and that He did so as though to Someone other than Himself, even though Jehovah was within Him. But the state that the Lord experienced at such times was the state of His humiliation, the nature of which has been discussed in Volume One, namely this, that at such times as these He was in the infirm human derived from the mother. But to the extent He cast this off and took on the Divine His state was different, which state is called the state of His glorification. In the first state He adored Jehovah as Someone other than Himself, even though He was within Him, for, as has been stated, His Internal was Jehovah. In the latter state however, that is to say, the state of glorification, He spoke to Jehovah as to Himself, since He was Jehovah Himself.

[3] The truth of all this however cannot be grasped unless one knows what the internal is and how the internal operates into the external, and furthermore how the internal and external are distinct and separate and yet joined together. The matter may be illustrated however by means of something similar, namely by means of the internal with man and of its influx and operation into the external with him. For the fact that man has an internal, an interior or rational, and an external, see what has appeared already in 1889, 1940. Man's internal is that which makes him human and distinguishes him from animals. It is by means of this internal that man lives on after death and for ever, and by means of it the Lord can raise him up among angels. It is the prior or primary form from which anyone becomes and is a human being, and it is by means of this internal that the Lord is united to man. The heaven itself that is nearest to the Lord consists of these human internals, but being above even the inmost angelic heaven these internals therefore belong to the Lord Himself. In this way the entire human race is directly present beneath the eyes of the Lord. Distance, a visible feature of this sublunary world, does not exist in heaven, still less above heaven - see what has been mentioned from experience in 1275, 1277.

[4] These inward aspects of men possess no life in themselves but are recipient forms of the Lord's life. To the extent then that anyone is under the influence of evil, both that of his own doing and that which is hereditary, he has been so to speak separated from this internal which is the Lord's and resides with the Lord, and so has been separated from the Lord. For although that human internal is joined to the person and cannot be separated from him, yet to the extent he moves away from the Lord he does in a way separate himself from it, see 1594. But such separation is not a complete severance from that human internal - for if it were, man would no longer be able to live after death; but it is a lack of harmony and agreement with it on the part of his capacities which are beneath it, that is, of his rational and external man. Insofar as disharmony and disagreement are present there is no conjunction, but insofar as they are absent man is joined to the Lord by means of the internal, which is achieved in the measure that he is moved by love and charity, for love and charity effect conjunction. Such is the situation with man.

[5] But the Lord's Internal was Jehovah Himself, since He was conceived from Jehovah, who cannot be divided or become the relative of another, like a son who has been conceived from a human father. For unlike the human, the Divine is not capable of being divided but is and remains one and the same. To this Internal the Lord united the Human Essence. Moreover because the Lord's Internal was Jehovah it was not, like man's internal, a recipient form of life, but life itself. Through that union His Human Essence as well became life itself. Hence the Lord's frequent declaration that He is Life, as in John,

As the Father has Life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have Life in Himself. John 5:26.

And elsewhere besides this in the same gospel, 1:4; 5:21; 6:33, 35, 48; 11:25. 'The Son' is used to mean the Lord's Human Essence. To the extent therefore that the Lord was in the human which He received by heredity from the mother, He appeared to be distinct and separate from Jehovah, and worshipped Jehovah as Someone other than Himself. But to the extent He cast off this human, the Lord was not distinct and separate from Jehovah but one with Him. The first state, as has been mentioned, was the state of the Lord's humiliation, but the second the state of His glorification.

Footnotes:

1. lit faces

  
/ 10837  
  

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