The Bible

 

Genesis 28

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1 Siis Iisak kutsus Jaakobi ja õnnistas teda; ja ta keelas teda ning ütles temale: 'Ära võta naist kaananlaste tütreist!

2 Võta kätte, mine Mesopotaamiasse oma emaisa Betueli kotta ja võta sealt enesele naine oma ema venna Laabani tütreist.

3 Kõigeväeline Jumal õnnistagu sind, tehku sind viljakaks ja paljuks, et sinust tuleks hulk rahvaid!

4 Ta andku sulle Aabrahami õnnistust, sinule ja su soole koos sinuga, et sa päriksid maa, kus sa võõrana elad, mille Jumal on andnud Aabrahamile!'

5 Ja Iisak saatis Jaakobi teele ning see läks Mesopotaamiasse süürlase Betueli poja Laabani juurde, kes oli Jaakobi ja Eesavi ema Rebeka vend.

6 Kui Eesav nägi, et Iisak oli õnnistanud Jaakobit ja oli saatnud ta Mesopotaamiasse sealt enesele naist võtma, olles teda õnnistanud ja keelanud, öeldes: 'Ära võta naist kaananlaste tütreist!'

7 ja et Jaakob oli kuulanud oma isa ja ema ja oli läinud Mesopotaamiasse,

8 siis Eesav mõistis, et kaananlaste tütred olid pahad ta isa Iisaki silmis,

9 ja Eesav läks Ismaeli juurde ning võttis oma naiste kõrvale enesele naiseks Mahalati, Aabrahami poja Ismaeli tütre, Nebajoti õe.

10 Jaakob aga lahkus Beer-Sebast ja läks Haarani poole.

11 Ta sattus ühte paika ja ööbis seal, sest päike oli loojunud; ta võttis selle paiga kividest ühe, pani enesele peaaluseks ja heitis sinna paika magama.

12 Ja ta nägi und, ja vaata, maa peal seisis redel, mille ots ulatus taevasse, ja ennäe, Jumala inglid astusid sedamööda üles ja alla.

13 Ja vaata, Issand seisis tema ees ning ütles: 'Mina olen Issand, su isa Aabrahami Jumal ja Iisaki Jumal. Maa, mille peal sa magad, ma annan sinule ja su soole.

14 Ja sinu sugu saab maapõrmu sarnaseks ja sa levid õhtu ja hommiku, põhja ja lõuna poole, ja sinu ja su soo nimel õnnistavad endid kõik maailma suguvõsad.

15 Ja vaata, mina olen sinuga ja hoian sind kõikjal, kuhu sa lähed, ning toon sind taas sellele pinnale, sest ma ei jäta sind maha, kuni olen teinud, mis ma sulle olen öelnud!'

16 Siis Jaakob ärkas unest ja ütles: 'Issand on tõesti selles paigas, mina aga ei teadnud seda!'

17 Ja ta kartis ning ütles: 'Küll on see paik kardetav! See pole muud midagi kui Jumala koda ja taeva värav!'

18 Ja Jaakob tõusis hommikul vara ning võttis kivi, mille ta oli pannud enesele peaaluseks, ja pani selle sambaks püsti ning valas selle otsa peale õli.

19 Ja ta pani sellele paigale nimeks Peetel; enne aga oli selle linna nimi Luus.

20 Ja Jaakob andis tõotuse, öeldes: 'Kui Jumal on minuga ja hoiab mind teel, mida käin, ja annab mulle leiba süüa ja riided selga,

21 ja mina võin rahuga pöörduda oma isakotta, siis on Issand mulle Jumalaks,

22 ja see kivi, mille ma panin sambaks, saab Jumala kojaks. Ja kõigest, mis sa mulle annad, ma annan sulle täpselt kümnist.'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #395

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395. 'Anyone killing Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold' means that to violate faith thus separated was utterly forbidden. This is clear from the meaning of 'Cain' as separated faith, and from the meaning of 'seven' as utterly inviolable. As is well known, the number seven was considered holy on account of the six days of creation and of the seventh, which is the celestial man in whom peace, rest, and the Sabbath exist. This is the reason why the number seven occurs so many times in the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church, in every instance standing for that which is holy. It is also the reason why periods of time, long as well as short, were divided into seven, and were called weeks, as in the case of the long time intervals leading up to the time when the Messiah was to come, Daniel 9:24-25. A period of seven years is also called a week by Laban and Jacob, Genesis 29:27-28. Consequently wherever the number seven occurs it stands either for something holy or else for something utterly inviolable, as in David,

Seven times in the day I praise You. Psalms 119:164.

In Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days. Isaiah 30:26.

Here 'the sun' is love, and 'the moon' faith deriving from love, a faith which is to be as love.

[2] Just as the periods of man's regeneration divide into six before he reaches the seventh, which is the celestial man, so also do the periods of vastation even until nothing celestial is left. This was represented by the many captivities of the Jews, and by the last of them, the Babylonian, which was a captivity of seven decades, that is, seventy years. And it was several times stated that the land had to rest during its Sabbaths. It was also represented by Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is said in Daniel,

His heart will be changed from man, and the heart of a beast given him until seven times will pass over him. Daniel 4:16, 25, 32.

In reference to the vastation of the last times it is recorded in John,

I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful - seven angels holding the seven Revelation 15:1, 6-7.

They will trample over the holy city for forty-two months (that is, six times seven). Revelation 11:2.

In the same book,

I saw a book [written] within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Revelation 5:1.

Severe and increased penalties were for the same reason expressed by the number seven, as in Moses,

If you will not obey Me in this matter, I will chastise you seven times worse for your sins. Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28.

In David,

Return to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

So then, it is because it was utterly forbidden to violate faith - since it had a use to serve, as has been stated - that the statement is made about 'vengeance being taken sevenfold on him who killed Cain'.

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

The Bible

 

Isaiah 30:26

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26 Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.