The Bible

 

Genesis 30

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1 Kui Raahel nägi, et ta ei toonud Jaakobile lapsi ilmale, siis Raahel kadestas oma õde ja ütles Jaakobile: 'Muretse mulle lapsi, muidu ma suren!'

2 Aga Jaakobi viha süttis põlema Raaheli vastu ja ta küsis: 'Kas mina olen Jumala asemik, kes sulle ihuvilja keelab?'

3 Ja Raahel vastas: 'Vaata, seal on mu orjatar Billa. Heida tema juurde, et ta sünnitaks lapsi mu põlvede peale ja minagi saaksin nõnda temalt järglasi!'

4 Ja ta andis temale naiseks oma teenija Billa ning Jaakob heitis selle juurde.

5 Ja Billa jäi lapseootele ning tõi Jaakobile poja ilmale.

6 Siis ütles Raahel: 'Jumal tegi mulle õigust. Ta kuulis ka mu häält ja andis mulle poja.' Seepärast ta pani temale nimeks Daan.

7 Ja Billa, Raaheli teenija, jäi taas lapseootele ning tõi Jaakobile teise poja ilmale.

8 Siis ütles Raahel: 'Ma olen oma õega võidelnud Jumala võitlust ja olen võitnud.' Ja ta pani temale nimeks Naftali.

9 Kui Lea nägi, et ta oli lakanud sünnitamast, siis ta võttis oma teenija Silpa ja andis selle Jaakobile naiseks.

10 Ja Silpa, Lea teenija, tõi Jaakobile poja ilmale

11 ning Lea ütles: 'Õnneks!' Ja ta pani temale nimeks Gaad.

12 Ja Silpa, Lea teenija, tõi Jaakobile teise poja ilmale

13 ning Lea ütles: 'Ma olen õnnelik. Tõesti, naised kiidavad mind õnnelikuks.' Ja ta pani temale nimeks Aaser.

14 Kord läks Ruuben nisulõikuse ajal ja leidis väljalt lemmemarju ja tõi neid oma emale Leale. Ja Raahel ütles Leale: 'Anna ka minule oma poja lemmemarju!'

15 Aga ta vastas temale: 'Kas on veel vähe, et sa võtsid mu mehe? Nüüd tahad sa ka mu poja lemmemarjad ära võtta!' Siis ütles Raahel: 'Vastutasuks magagu ta täna öösel sinu juures su poja lemmemarjade eest!'

16 Kui Jaakob tuli õhtul väljalt, siis läks Lea temale vastu ja ütles: 'Sa pead minu juurde heitma, sest ma olen sind tinginud tasu eest, oma poja lemmemarjade eest!' Ja tema magas sel ööl ta juures.

17 Ja Jumal kuulis Lead, ja Lea jäi lapseootele ja tõi Jaakobile viienda poja ilmale.

18 Ja Lea ütles: 'Jumal tasus mulle, et ma andsin oma teenija oma mehele.' Ja ta pani temale nimeks Issaskar.

19 Ja Lea jäi taas lapseootele ja tõi Jaakobile kuuenda poja ilmale.

20 Ja Lea ütles: 'Jumal valmistas mulle ilusa kingituse. Nüüd mu mees hakkab mind sallima, sest ma olen temale kuus poega ilmale toonud!' Ja ta pani temale nimeks Sebulon.

21 Ja pärastpoole ta tõi tütre ilmale ning pani temale nimeks Diina.

22 Aga Jumal mõtles Raahelile, ja Jumal kuulis teda ning avas tema üsa.

23 Ja ta jäi lapseootele ja tõi poja ilmale ning ütles: 'Jumal võttis ära mu teotuse!'

24 Ja ta pani temale nimeks Joosep, öeldes: 'Annaks Issand mulle lisaks veel teisegi poja!'

25 Ja kui Raahel oli Joosepi ilmale toonud, siis Jaakob ütles Laabanile: 'Lase mind, et saaksin minna koju ja oma kodumaale!

26 Anna mu naised ja lapsed, kelle pärast ma sind olen teeninud, ja ma lähen, sest sa tead ju ise, kuidas ma sind olen teeninud!'

27 Ja Laaban vastas temale: 'Kui ma nüüd sinu silmis armu leiaksin! Märgid näitavad mulle, et Issand on mind sinu pärast õnnistanud.'

28 Ja ta ütles: 'Nimeta mulle oma palk ja ma annan selle!'

29 Siis ta vastas temale: 'Sina tead ise, kuidas ma sind olen teeninud ja mis on saanud su karjast minu juures.

30 Sest pisut oli seda, mis sul oli enne mind. See on aga ohtrasti kasvanud ja Issand on sind õnnistanud minu sammude läbi. Millal ma siis nüüd saan hoolitseda ka oma pere eest?'

31 Siis ta küsis: 'Mis ma sulle pean andma?' Ja Jaakob vastas: 'Ära anna mulle midagi. Kui sa lubad mulle seda, siis ma karjatan ja hoian veelgi su lambaid ja kitsi:

32 ma käisin täna läbi kõik su lamba- ja kitsekarjad, lahutades kõik tähnilised ja kirjud uted ja kõik mustad uted su tallede seast, samuti kirjud ja tähnilised kitsede hulgast. Need olgu mulle palgaks

33 ja mu õigus kostku minu eest tulevikus, kui sa tuled mu palka vaatama: kõik, kes ei ole tähnilised ja kirjud kitsede hulgas ja mustad tallede seas, loetagu minu poolt varastatuiks!'

34 Ja Laaban vastas: 'Hästi, sündigu tõesti su sõna järgi!'

35 Ja ta lahutas selsamal päeval vöödilised ja kirjud sikud ja kõik tähnilised ja kirjud kitsed, kellel oli valget küljes, ja kõik mustad tallede seas, andis need oma poegade hooleks

36 ning jättis kolme päeva tee enese ja Jaakobi vahele; Jaakob aga jäi karjatama Laabani ülejäänud lambaid ja kitsi.

37 Ja Jaakob võttis enesele papli-, mandli- ja plataanipuu tooreid keppe ja kooris neile valged vöödid, paljastades keppide valge puu.

38 Siis ta pani kooritud kepid lammaste ja kitsede ette rennidesse ja veekünadesse, kuhu loomad tulid jooma; ja joomas olles nad paaritusid.

39 Ja kui lambad ja kitsed keppide juures paaritusid, siis nad sünnitasid tallesid: vöödilisi, tähnilisi ja kirjusid.

40 Ja Jaakob eraldas noored jäärad: ta pööras isaloomade pead vöödiliste poole ja kõigi mustade poole Laabani karja hulgas. Nõnda tegi ta enesele eraldi karjad ega pannud neid Laabani lammaste ja kitsede sekka.

41 Ja iga kord, kui tugevamad loomad paaritusid, pani Jaakob kepid künadesse nende silme ette, et nad paarituksid keppide juures.

42 Aga kui loomad olid nõrgemad, siis ta ei pannud. Nõnda said nõrgad Laabanile ja tugevamad Jaakobile.

43 Ja mees kosus väga ja tal oli palju lambaid ja kitsi, teenijaid ja sulaseid, kaameleid ja eesleid.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3923

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3923. 'Therefore she called his name Dan' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature is contained in the name Dan, for he was so called from the verb 'to judge'. But although he was given this name from that verb, it nevertheless includes those things meant in the whole of Rachel's utterance 'God has judged me, and also has heard my voice'. That is, the name Dan holds within it the good of life and the holiness of faith, and also in the highest sense the Lord's righteousness and mercy. This general essential of the Church is meant by Dan and represented by the tribe named after Dan, and it is the first that has to be affirmed and acknowledged before a person can be regenerated or become the Church. Unless such goodness and holiness are affirmed and acknowledged, all the other qualities constituting faith and life cannot possibly be received, nor therefore affirmed, still less acknowledged. For anyone whose affirmation does not go beyond faith to the holiness of faith, which is charity - for charity is the holiness of faith - and does not affirm that holiness of faith through the good of life, that is, through charitable works, can no longer have any enthusiasm for the essence of faith since he rejects it. Acknowledgement as well as affirmation is the first general attainment in a person who is being regenerated but the last with one who has been regenerated. This explains why Dan comes first with one who is to be regenerated and Joseph last, for Joseph is the spiritual man himself, but why Joseph comes first with one who has been regenerated and Dan last. The reason for this is that one who is to be regenerated is at the point of beginning to affirm that these qualities - the holiness of faith and the good of life - are truly such. But one who is regenerate - a spiritual man - has arrived at spiritual good itself, and from here he sees the affirmation of those qualities as that which comes last, because the things that constitute the holiness of faith and the good of life have become firmly established in him.

[2] That 'Dan' means this affirmative attitude which must exist first when a person is being regenerated may also be seen from other places in the Word where Dan is mentioned, for example from the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel, concerning his own sons, Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent on the road, an asp on the path, biting the horse's heels; and its rider falls backwards. I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah. Genesis 49:16-18.

'Dan' in this case stands for an affirmative attitude to truth. This attitude is spoken of as a serpent which will be on the road and an asp on the path when someone reasoning about truth does so from sensory evidence. 'Biting the horse's heels' means when that person resorts to the lowest level of the understanding - namely factual knowledge - and bases his conclusions on this. And the fact that when he does so he is drawn away from the truth is meant by 'its rider falls backwards', as a consequence of which it is said that 'I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah'. For 'a serpent' means one who reasons from sensory evidence and from factual knowledge about Divine arcana, see 195-197; 'road' and 'path' mean truth, 627, 2333; 'the horse's heels' means the lowest level of the understanding, which is factual knowledge, 259 - 'a horse' meaning the understanding, 2761, 2762, the lowest level of which is meant by 'the heel'.

[3] In Moses' prophecy regarding the twelve tribes,

To Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp; he leaps out from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22.

'A lion' in the internal sense of the Word means the truth of the Church, on account of its strength, truth being that which fights and overcomes. 'A lion's whelp' therefore stands for the first stage truth passes through, which is one of affirmation and acknowledgement. The phrase 'from Bashan' is used because these begin in the good of the natural. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long are you causing your iniquitous thoughts to lodge within you? For there is a voice of one declaring from Dan, and of one causing iniquity to be heard from Mount Ephraim. Jeremiah 4:14-15.

'From Dan' stands for truth that is to be affirmed, 'from Mount Ephraim' for this being done from the affection for it.

[4] In the same prophet,

Await peace, and no good comes; for a time of healing, and behold, terror! From Dan the snorting of his horses was heard; at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land quaked. And they came and devoured the land and the fulness of it, the city and those dwelling in it. For behold, I am sending into you poisonous serpents which do not respond to charming; and they will bite you. Jeremiah 8:15-17.

'From Dan the snorting of horses was heard' stands for reasoning about truth from an unaffirmative attitude. 'The land which quaked' and 'they devoured the fulness of it' stand for the Church and all things constituting the Church. For people who reason about truth from an unaffirmative or negative attitude destroy everything that is part of faith. 'Poisonous serpents' stands for reasonings, as above.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan came and exchanged wrought iron at your fairs, cassia and calamus were in your trading. Ezekiel 27:19.

This refers to Tyre, which means cognitions of truth and good, 1201. 'Dan' stands for the first truths that are affirmed, 'fairs and tradings' for acquisitions of truth and good, 2967, 'wrought iron' stands for natural truth, which is primary, 425, 426, 'cassia and calamus' for the same, but natural truth from which good flows.

[6] In Amos,

On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Those swearing to the offence of Samaria, who say, Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives, they will both fall and not rise again. Amos 8:13-14.

'Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives' stands for their negative attitude towards everything that constitutes faith and its doctrine - 'way' meaning truth, 627, 2333, and 'Beersheba' doctrine, 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466. The reason a negative attitude towards everything constituting faith is meant is that Dan was the last boundary of the land of Canaan, and Beersheba the first; that is, it was situated in the middle or inmost part of the land. For the land of Canaan represented and meant the Lord's kingdom, and so the Church, 1607, 3038, 3481, and therefore every detail of love and faith, since these constitute the Lord's kingdom and Church. Consequently everything in the land of Canaan was representative, being determined by the distances, positions, and boundaries there, 1585, 1866, 3686.

[7] The first - that is, the central or inmost - point of reference to the land, before Jerusalem became such, was Beersheba; for this was where Abraham and also Isaac lived. But the outermost point of reference or the last boundary was Dan. Consequently when everything in its entirety was meant the phrase 'Dan even to Beersheba' was used, as in the second Book of Samuel,

To transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 3:10:.

In the same book,

David said to Joab, Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 24:2, 15.

In the first Book of Kings,

Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba. 1 Kings 4:25.

This phrase is used in the historical sense to mean every part of the land of Canaan, but in the internal sense everything constituting the Lord's kingdom, and also everything constituting the Church.

[8] Dan means the first boundary, and also - as stated above - the last boundary, for the reason that the affirmative attitude towards truth and good is the first requirement of all when faith and charity begin to be present in a person, but the last when charity and consequently faith are established in him. This is also why the last lot fell to Dan when the land of Canaan was divided up for inheritance, Joshua 19:40 and following verses; for the lot was cast before Jehovah, Joshua 18:6.

[9] That lot fell therefore according to what each tribe represented. And since the lot to Dan did not fall among the inheritances of all the other tribes but beyond their boundaries, Judges 18:1, that tribe was also left out of the description in John, in Revelation 7:5-8, concerning each twelve thousand who had been sealed. For those who merely affirm truth and also good, but go no further, are not within the Lord's kingdom, that is, among those who have been sealed. Even very wicked people may know truths and goods, and may also affirm them; but the true nature of their affirming is recognized from the life they lead.

[10] Dan is also referred to as a boundary in Genesis 14:14, in which verse it is said that Abraham pursued his enemies as far as there, and in which verse Dan has a similar meaning. The city called Dan, it is true, had yet to be built by Dan's descendants at a later time, Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:29; but even at that time it was referred to as the first boundary when one was entering the land of Canaan but the last when one was leaving it, the inmost part of the land being Hebron, and later on Beersheba, where Abraham and Isaac lived.

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