The Bible

 

1 Mose 9

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1 Und Gott segnete Noah und seine Söhne und sprach zu ihnen: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und füllet die Erde;

2 und die Furcht und der Schrecken vor euch sei auf allem Getier der Erde und auf allem Gevögel des Himmels! Alles, was sich auf dem Erdboden regt, und alle Fische des Meeres, in eure Hände sind sie gegeben:

3 alles, was sich regt, was da lebt, soll euch zur Speise sein; wie das grüne Kraut gebe ich es euch alles.

4 Nur das Fleisch mit seiner Seele, seinem Blute, sollt ihr nicht essen;

5 und wahrlich, euer Blut, nach euren Seelen, werde ich fordern; von jedem Tiere werde ich es fordern, und von der Hand des Menschen, von der Hand eines jeden, seines Bruders, werde ich die Seele des Menschen fordern.

6 Wer Menschenblut vergießt, durch den Menschen soll sein Blut vergossen werden; denn im Bilde Gottes hat er den Menschen gemacht.

7 Ihr nun, seid fruchtbar und mehret euch, wimmelt auf der Erde und mehret euch auf ihr!

8 Und Gott sprach zu Noah und zu seinen Söhnen mit ihm und sagte:

9 Und ich, siehe, ich errichte meinen Bund mit euch und mit eurem Samen nach euch;

10 und mit jedem lebendigen Wesen, das bei euch ist, an Gevögel, an Vieh und an allem Getier der Erde bei euch, was irgend von allem Getier der Erde aus der Arche gegangen ist.

11 Und ich errichte meinen Bund mit euch; und nicht mehr soll alles Fleisch ausgerottet werden durch die Wasser der Flut, und keine Flut soll mehr sein, die Erde zu verderben.

12 Und Gott sprach: Dies ist das Zeichen des Bundes, den ich stifte zwischen mir und euch und jeder lebendigen Seele, die bei euch ist, auf ewige Geschlechter hin:

13 Meinen Bogen setze ich in die Wolken, und er soll das Zeichen des Bundes sein zwischen mir und der Erde.

14 Und es wird geschehen, wenn ich Wolken über die Erde führe, so soll der Bogen in den Wolken erscheinen,

15 und ich werde meines Bundes gedenken, der zwischen mir und euch ist und jedem lebendigen Wesen, von allem Fleische; und nicht mehr sollen die Wasser zu einer Flut werden, alles Fleisch zu verderben.

16 Und der Bogen wird in den Wolken sein; und ich werde ihn ansehen, um zu gedenken des ewigen Bundes zwischen Gott und jedem lebendigen Wesen von allem Fleische, das auf Erden ist.

17 Und Gott sprach zu Noah: Das ist das Zeichen des Bundes, den ich errichtet habe zwischen mir und allem Fleische, das auf Erden ist.

18 Und die Söhne Noahs, die aus der Arche gingen, waren Sem und Ham und Japhet; und Ham ist der Vater Kanaans.

19 Diese drei sind die Söhne Noahs und von diesen aus ist die ganze Erde bevölkert worden.

20 Und Noah fing an ein Ackersmann zu werden und pflanzte einen Weinberg.

21 Und er trank von dem Weine und ward trunken, und er entblößte sich in seinem Zelte.

22 Und Ham, der Vater Kanaans, sah die Blöße seines Vaters und berichtete es seinen beiden Brüdern draußen.

23 Da nahmen Sem und Japhet das Obergewand und legten es beide auf ihre Schultern und gingen rücklings und bedeckten die Blöße ihres Vaters; und ihre Angesichter waren abgewandt, und sie sahen die Blöße ihres Vaters nicht.

24 Und Noah erwachte von seinem Weine und erfuhr, was sein jüngster Sohn ihm getan hatte.

25 Und er sprach: Verflucht sei Kanaan! Ein Knecht der Knechte sei er seinen Brüdern!

26 Und er sprach: Gepriesen sei Jehova, der Gott Sems; und Kanaan sei sein Knecht!

27 Weit mache es Gott dem Japhet, und er wohne in den Zelten Sems; und Kanaan sei sein Knecht!

28 Und Noah lebte nach der Flut dreihundertfünfzig Jahre;

29 und alle Tage Noahs waren neunhundertfünfzig Jahre, und er starb.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1071

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1071. And he drank of the wine. That this signifies that he desired to investigate the things which are of faith, is evident from the signification of “wine.” The “vineyard” or the “vine” as has been shown, is the spiritual church, or the man of the spiritual church; the “grape” “bunches” and “clusters” are its fruit, and signify charity and what is of charity. But “wine” signifies the faith thence derived, and all things that belong to it. Thus the “grape” is the celestial of that church, and the “wine” is the spiritual of that church. The former, or the celestial, is of the will, as has been said before; the latter, or the spiritual, is of the understanding. That his “drinking of the wine” signifies that he desired to investigate the things of faith, and this by reasonings, is evident from his becoming drunken, that is, fallen into errors. For the man of this church had no perception, as had the man of the Most Ancient Church, but had to learn what was good and true from the doctrinal things of faith collected and preserved from the perception of the Most Ancient Church, which doctrinal things were the Word of the Ancient Church. Like the Word, the doctrinal things of faith were in many cases such as without perception could not be believed; for spiritual and celestial things infinitely transcend human apprehension, and hence arises reasoning. But he who will not believe them until he apprehends them, can never believe, as has been often shown before. (See n. 128-130, 195, 196, 215, 232, 233.)

[2] That “grapes” in the Word signify charity and what is of charity, and that “wine” signifies the faith thence derived and the things that belong to it, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1-2, 4), where “grapes” denote charity and its fruits.

In Jeremiah:

Gathering I will gather them, saith Jehovah; there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree (Jeremiah 8:13), where the “vine” denotes the spiritual church; “grapes” charity.

In Hosea:

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree, at the beginning (Hosea 9:10).

“Israel” denotes the Ancient Church; “grapes” its being endued with charity. The sense is opposite when “Israel” denotes the sons of Jacob.

In Micah:

There is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the first-ripe fig. The holy man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men (Micah 7:1).

“Cluster” denotes charity, or what is holy; “first-ripe fig” faith, or what is right.

[3] In Isaiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it (Isaiah 65:8); where “cluster” denotes charity, and “new wine” the goods of charity and the truths thence derived.

In Moses:

He washed His garment in wine, and His vesture in the blood of grapes (Genesis 49:11); a prophecy relating to the Lord. “Wine” denotes the spiritual from the celestial, the “blood of grapes” the celestial relatively to spiritual churches. Thus “grapes” denote charity itself, “wine” faith itself.

In John:

The angel said, Put forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe (Revelation 14:18).

Here the subject is the last times when there is no faith, that is, when there is no charity; for faith is no other than of charity, and essentially is charity itself; so that when it is said that there is no longer any faith, as in the last times, it is meant that there is no charity.

[4] As “grapes” signify charity, so “wine” signifies the faith thence derived, for wine is from grapes. This will be evident from the passages already cited about the vineyard and the vine, and also from the following.

In Isaiah:

Gladness is taken away, and exultation, from Carmel; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise; no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease (Isaiah 16:10),

meaning that the spiritual church, which is “Carmel” is vastated; “not treading out wine in the presses” means that there are no longer any who are in faith. Again:

The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and man shall be left feeble; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish; they shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it; there is a crying in the streets because of the wine (Isaiah 24:6-7, 9, 11).The subject here is the vastated church, and “wine” denotes the truths of faith, there held to be of no value.

In Jeremiah:

They will say to their mothers, where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one wounded in the streets of the city (Lamentations 2:12).

“Where is the corn and the wine” signifies where is love and faith; the “streets of the city” signify here, as elsewhere in the Word, truths; “being wounded in them” signifies not to know what the truths of faith are.

[5] In Amos:

I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof (Amos 9:14).

This is said of the spiritual church, or “Israel” of which planting vineyards and drinking the wine thereof is predicated, when it becomes such as to have faith from charity.

In Zephaniah:

They shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof (Zephaniah 1:13; Amos 5:11).

Here is described the opposite condition, when the spiritual church is vastated.

In Zechariah:

They shall be as the mighty Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their sons shall see it and be glad (Zechariah 10:7); said of the house of Judah, that it should be such from the goods and truths of faith.

In John:

That they were not to hurt the oil and the wine (Revelation 6:6), meant that no injury is to be done to the celestial and the spiritual, or to what is of love and faith.

[6] As “wine” signified faith in the Lord, in the Jewish Church faith was represented in the sacrifices by a libation of wine (Numbers 15:2-15; 28:11-15, 18-31; 29:7-39; Leviticus 23:12-13; Exodus 29:40). Wherefore it is said in Hosea: The threshing-floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive therein; they shall not dwell in the land of Jehovah; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria; they shall not pour out wine to Jehovah, neither shall [their libations] be pleasing to Him (Hosea 9:2-4).

Here the subject is Israel, or the spiritual church, and those in it who pervert and defile the holy and true things of faith by desiring to investigate them by means of knowledges and reasonings. “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, “Assyria” reasoning, “Ephraim” one who reasons.

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