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1 Mose 21

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1 Und der HERR suchte heim Sara wie er geredet hatte, und tat mit ihr, wie er geredet hatte.

2 Und Sara ward schwanger und gebar Abraham einen Sohn in seinem Alter um die Zeit, die ihm Gott geredet hatte.

3 Und Abraham hieß seinen Sohn, der ihm geboren war, Isaak, den ihm Sara gebar,

4 und beschnitt ihn am achten Tage, wie ihm Gott geboten hatte.

5 Hundert Jahre war Abraham alt, da ihm sein Sohn Isaak geboren ward.

6 Und Sara sprach: Gott hat mir ein lachen zugerichtet; denn wer es hören wird, der wird mein lachen.

7 Und sprach: Wer dürfte von Abraham sagen, daß Sara Kinder säuget und hätte ihm einen Sohn geboren in seinem Alter?

8 Und das Kind wuchs und ward entwöhnet. Und Abraham machte ein groß Mahl am Tage, da Isaak entwöhnet ward.

9 Und Sara sah den Sohn Hagars, der Ägyptischen, den sie Abraham geboren hatte, daß er ein Spötter war,

10 und sprach zu Abraham: Treibe diese Magd aus mit ihrem Sohn; denn dieser Magd Sohn soll nicht erben mit meinem Sohn Isaak.

11 Das Wort gefiel Abraham sehr übel um seines Sohnes willen.

12 Aber Gott sprach zu ihm: Laß dir's nicht übel gefallen des Knaben und der Magd halben. Alles, was Sara dir gesagt hat, dem gehorche. Denn in Isaak soll dir der Same genannt werden.

13 Auch will ich der Magd Sohn zum Volk machen, darum daß er deines Samens ist.

14 Da stund Abraham des Morgens frühe auf und nahm Brot und eine Flasche mit Wasser und legte es Hagar auf ihre Schulter, und den Knaben mit, und ließ sie aus. Da zog sie hin und ging in der Wüste irre bei Bersaba.

15 Da nun das Wasser in der Flasche aus war, warf sie den Knaben unter einen Baum

16 und ging hin und setzte sich gegenüber von ferne, eines Bogenschusses weit; denn sie sprach: Ich kann nicht zusehen des Knaben Sterben. Und sie setzte sich gegenüber und hub ihre Stimme auf und weinete.

17 Da erhörete Gott die Stimme des Knaben. Und der Engel Gottes rief vom Himmel der Hagar und sprach zu ihr: Was ist dir, Hagar? Fürchte dich nicht; denn Gott hat erhöret die Stimme des Knaben, da er liegt.

18 Stehe auf, nimm den Knaben und führe ihn an deiner Hand; denn ich will ihn zum großen Volk machen.

19 Und Gott tat ihr die Augen auf, daß sie einen Wasserbrunnen sah. Da ging sie hin und füllete die Flasche mit Wasser und tränkte den Knaben.

20 Und Gott war mit dem Knaben; der wuchs und wohnete in der Wüste und ward ein guter Schütze;

21 und wohnete in der Wüste Pharan. Und seine Mutter nahm ihm ein Weib aus Ägyptenland.

22 Zu derselbigen Zeit redete Abimelech und Phichol, sein Feldhauptmann, mit Abraham und sprach: Gott ist mit dir in allem, das du tust.

23 So schwöre mir nun bei Gott, daß du mir, noch meinen Kindern, noch meinen Neffen keine Untreue erzeigen wollest, sondern die Barmherzigkeit, die ich an dir getan habe, an mir auch tust und an dem Lande, da du ein Fremdling innen bist.

24 Da sprach Abraham: Ich will schwören.

25 Und Abraham strafte Abimelech um des Wasserbrunnens willen, den Abimelechs Knechte hatten mit Gewalt genommen.

26 Da antwortete Abimelech: Ich hab's nicht gewußt, wer das getan hat; auch hast du mir's nicht angesagt; dazu habe ich's nicht gehöret denn heute.

27 Da nahm Abraham Schafe und Rinder und gab sie Abimelech; und machten beide einen Bund miteinander.

28 Und Abraham stellete dar sieben Lämmer besonders.

29 Da sprach Abimelech zu Abraham: Was sollen die sieben Lämmer, die du besonders dargestellt hast?

30 Er antwortete: Sieben Lämmer sollst du von meiner Hand nehmen, daß sie mir zum Zeugnis seien, daß ich diesen Brunnen gegraben habe.

31 Daher heißt die Stätte Bersaba, daß sie beide miteinander da geschworen haben.

32 Und also machten sie den Bund zu Bersaba. Da machten sich auf Abimelech und Phichol, sein Feldhauptmann, und zogen wieder in der Philister Land.

33 Abraham aber pflanzete Bäume zu Bersaba und predigte daselbst von dem Namen des HERRN, des ewigen Gottes.

34 Und war ein Fremdling in der Philister Lande eine lange Zeit.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2654

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2654. 'Mocking' means not in agreement with or favourably disposed towards the Divine Rational. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'mocking' as the product of an affection contrary to that which is not in agreement with or favourably disposed towards oneself. In the previous verse it was said that 'the boy grew and was weaned' and that 'Abraham made a great feast when he weaned Isaac', the meaning of which was that when the Lord's rational was made Divine the rational that existed first was separated. There now follows immediately therefore a reference to the son of Hagar the Egyptian, who is used to mean that first rational, as has been shown in the explanation of Chapter 16 where Ishmael and Hagar are the subject. From this it is also evident that the details in the internal sense follow, linked together in a continuous chain.

[2] But as regards the Lord's first rational, because it was born as with any other, that is to say, by means of knowledge and cognitions, it was inevitably immersed in appearances of truth, which are not in themselves truths, as may become clear from what has been presented in 1911, 1936, 2196, 2203, 2209, 2519. And because it was immersed in appearances of truth, truths devoid of appearances, as Divine truths are, were not able to agree with it nor to be favourably disposed towards it, not only because that rational can have no grasp of them but also because they are opposed to it. Let the following examples illustrate the matter:

[3] The human rational - that is to say, the rational formed from images of worldly things received through the senses, and later on from images of things analogous to actual worldly ones, such as are received from factual knowledge and from cognitions - virtually laughs or mocks if it is told that it does not live of itself but only appears to itself to do so. It likewise laughs if it is told that the less anyone believes that he lives of himself, the more he is truly living, that is, the more wise and intelligent he is, and the more blessed and happy. And it also laughs if it is told that that life is the life which angels possess, especially those who are celestial and are inmost or nearest to the Lord; for these know that nobody except Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord, lives of himself.

[4] This rational would also mock if it were told that it has nothing of its own, and that its possessing anything of its own is an illusion or an appearance. Still more would it mock if it were told that the more it is subject to the illusion that it possesses anything of its own the less it in fact possesses, and vice versa. It would likewise mock if it were told that whatever it thinks and does from what is its own is evil, even though it was good [in its effect], and if it were told that it has no wisdom until it believes and perceives that all evil comes from hell and all good from the Lord. This is a conviction, indeed a perception, that exists in all angels, yet they possess selfhood or a proprium in fuller measure than all others. But they realize and perceive that their selfhood comes from the Lord, even though it seems to be completely their own.

[5] This rational would again mock if it were told that in heaven the greatest are those who are least; that the wisest are those who believe and perceive that they themselves are the least wise; that the happiest are those who wish the greatest happiness to others and the least to themselves; that heaven consists in wishing to be below everyone else, but hell in wishing to be above everyone else; and that consequently the glory of heaven does not hold within it anything at all of that which the glory of the world holds.

[6] This rational would similarly mock if it were told that in the next life space and time do not exist at all but states in accordance with which there are appearances of space and time, and that life becomes more heavenly the further removed it is from the things that belong to space and time and the closer it comes to that which is eternal - for that which is eternal has absolutely nothing within it that is received from the notion of time or anything analogous to it. In the same way would the rational mock at countless other things it could be told.

[7] The Lord saw that such things were present in the merely human rational and that this rational therefore mocked Divine things. He did so from the Divine spiritual, which is meant by the words 'Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian', 2651, 2652. The fact that a person is able from within to have insight into the things residing with him that are below is well known from experience to those who have perception, and also to those who have conscience, for they see clearly enough to reproach themselves for what they think. This exemplifies how regenerate persons are able to see what their rational prior to regeneration is like. In man's case however such perception is received from the Lord, but in the Lord's case it was Self-derived.

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