The Bible

 

1 Mose 1

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1 Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde.

2 Und die Erde war wüst und leer, und es war finster auf der Tiefe; und der Geist Gottes schwebte auf dem Wasser.

3 Und Gott sprach: Es werde Licht! und es ward Licht.

4 Und Gott sah, daß das Licht gut war. Da schied Gott das Licht von der Finsternis

5 und nannte das Licht Tag und die Finsternis Nacht. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der erste Tag.

6 Und Gott sprach: Es werde eine Feste zwischen den Wassern, und die sei ein Unterschied zwischen den Wassern.

7 Da machte Gott die Feste und schied das Wasser unter der Feste von dem Wasser über der Feste. Und es geschah also.

8 Und Gott nannte die Feste Himmel. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der andere Tag.

9 Und Gott sprach: Es sammle sich das Wasser unter dem Himmel an besondere Örter, daß man das Trockene sehe. Und es geschah also.

10 Und Gott nannte das Trockene Erde, und die Sammlung der Wasser nannte er Meer. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

11 Und Gott sprach: Es lasse die Erde aufgehen Gras und Kraut, das sich besame, und fruchtbare Bäume, da ein jeglicher nach seiner Art Frucht trage und habe seinen eigenen Samen bei sich selbst auf Erden. Und es geschah also.

12 Und die Erde ließ aufgehen Gras und Kraut, das sich besamte, ein jegliches nach seiner Art, und Bäume, die da Frucht trugen und ihren eigenen Samen bei sich selbst hatten, ein jeglicher nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

13 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der dritte Tag.

14 Und Gott sprach: Es werden Lichter an der Feste des Himmels, die da scheiden Tag und Nacht und geben Zeichen, Zeiten, Tage und Jahre

15 und seien Lichter an der Feste des Himmels, daß sie scheinen auf Erden. Und es geschah also.

16 Und Gott machte zwei große Lichter: ein großes Licht, das den Tag regiere, und ein kleines Licht, das die Nacht regiere, dazu auch Sterne.

17 Und Gott setzte sie an die Feste des Himmels, daß sie schienen auf die Erde

18 und den Tag und die Nacht regierten und schieden Licht und Finsternis. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

19 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der vierte Tag.

20 Und Gott sprach: Es errege sich das Wasser mit webenden und lebendigen Tieren, und Gevögel fliege auf Erden unter der Feste des Himmels.

21 Und Gott schuf große Walfische und allerlei Getier, daß da lebt und webt, davon das Wasser sich erregte, ein jegliches nach seiner Art, und allerlei gefiedertes Gevögel, ein jegliches nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

22 Und Gott segnete sie und sprach: Seid fruchtbar und mehrt euch und erfüllt das Wasser im Meer; und das Gefieder mehre sich auf Erden.

23 Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der fünfte Tag.

24 Und Gott sprach: Die Erde bringe hervor lebendige Tiere, ein jegliches nach seiner Art: Vieh, Gewürm und Tiere auf Erden, ein jegliches nach seiner Art. Und es geschah also.

25 Und Gott machte die Tiere auf Erden, ein jegliches nach seiner Art, und das Vieh nach seiner Art, und allerlei Gewürm auf Erden nach seiner Art. Und Gott sah, daß es gut war.

26 Und Gott sprach: Laßt uns Menschen machen, ein Bild, das uns gleich sei, die da herrschen über die Fische im Meer und über die Vögel unter dem Himmel und über das Vieh und über die ganze Erde und über alles Gewürm, das auf Erden kriecht.

27 Und Gott schuf den Menschen ihm zum Bilde, zum Bilde Gottes schuf er ihn; und schuf sie einen Mann und ein Weib.

28 Und Gott segnete sie und sprach zu ihnen: Seid fruchtbar und mehrt euch und füllt die Erde und macht sie euch untertan und herrscht über die Fische im Meer und über die Vögel unter dem Himmel und über alles Getier, das auf Erden kriecht.

29 Und Gott sprach: Seht da, ich habe euch gegeben allerlei Kraut, das sich besamt, auf der ganzen Erde und allerlei fruchtbare Bäume, die sich besamen, zu eurer Speise,

30 und allem Getier auf Erden und allen Vögeln unter dem Himmel und allem Gewürm, das da lebt auf Erden, daß sie allerlei grünes Kraut essen. Und es geschah also.

31 Und Gott sah alles an, was er gemacht hatte; und siehe da, es war sehr gut. Da ward aus Abend und Morgen der sechste Tag.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3235

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3235. 'Abraham took another wife' means a further state which the Lord, whom Abraham represents, passed through - for 'Abraham and Sarah' represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, 'Abraham and Keturah' the Lord as regards the Divine Spiritual. This is clear from what has been stated and shown so far about Abraham and his wife Sarah, and from what is recorded here about Abraham and Keturah. But as it is said that Abraham here represents a further state which the Lord passed through, and that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, whereas Abraham and Keturah did so as regards the Divine Spiritual, one needs to know what is meant by the Divine Celestial and by the Divine Spiritual. The Divine Celestial and the Divine Spiritual have to do with those people who receive the Lord's Divine, for the Lord is seen by everyone according to the character of the recipient, as becomes clear from what has been stated in 1838, 1861, and is quite evident from the fact that the Lord appears to celestial people in one way but to spiritual in another. For He appears as the sun to those who are celestial, but as the moon to those who are spiritual, 1529-1531, 1838. The Lord appears to celestial people as the sun because in them celestial love, which is love to the Lord, is present, but to spiritual people as the moon because in these spiritual love, which is charity towards the neighbour, is present. The difference is like that between the light of the sun during the daytime and the light of the moon at night, and also between the warmth of both which causes things in the ground to grow. These are what were meant in Genesis 1 by the words,

And God made the two great Lights, the greater Light to have dominion over the day, and the lesser Light to have dominion over the night. Genesis 1:16.

[2] The Lord's kingdom is in general celestial and spiritual, that is, it consists of those who are celestial and of those who are spiritual. And because the Lord's Divine appears to those who are celestial as being celestial, but to those who are spiritual as being spiritual, it is therefore said that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, but Abraham and Keturah as regards the Divine Spiritual. But as scarcely anyone knows what the celestial is or what the spiritual, and who they are who are celestial or spiritual, please see what has been stated and shown about them already in the following places:

What the celestial is and what the spiritual, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2184, 2227, 2507.

Who celestial people are and who spiritual, 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715.

The celestial man is a likeness of the Lord and does good from love, whereas the spiritual man is an image of the Lord and does it from faith, 50-52, 1013.

Those who are celestial perceive truth from good and never indulge in reasoning about it, 202, 337, 607, 895, 1121, 2715.

With the celestial man good is implanted in the will part of his mind, but with the spiritual man in the understanding part, within which, in the case of those who are spiritual, a new will is created, 863, 875, 895, 897, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256.

From good itself those who are celestial see things without limit, but those who are spiritual, because they reason whether a thing is so, cannot reach even the furthest limit to which the light that the celestial have spreads, 2718.

Compared with those who are celestial those who are spiritual dwell in obscurity, 1043, 2708, 2715.

The Lord came into the world to save those who are spiritual, 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #895

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895. 'The waters dried up from over the earth' means that falsities were not at that time apparent. This is clear from what has been stated. In particular these words mean that falsities had been separated from things of the will belonging to the member of this Church. The statement 'the waters dried up from over the earth' occurs at this point because here 'earth' means the person's will, which is nothing but evil desire. As stated already, the ground is situated in the understanding part of man's mind, in which part truths are sown. No sowing ever takes place in the will part, which in the spiritual man has been separated from the understanding part. This is why in the last part of this verse it is said that 'the face 1 of the ground was dry'. With the member of the Most Ancient Church there was ground in the will part of his mind, where the Lord implanted goods. It was from goods therefore that he was able to know and perceive truth, that is, it was from love that he was able to possess faith. If the same thing were to happen today however, a person would inevitably and eternally perish, for his will is utterly corrupted. What implantation in the will part entails and what in the understanding part becomes clear from the consideration that the member of the Most Ancient Church had in fact enjoyed revelations through which from early childhood onwards he was led into a perception of goods and truths. But since they used to be implanted in the will part of his mind he perceived without any further instruction the countless aspects of any one general matter. He knew from the Lord the details and the finer points which nowadays men must learn before knowing about them. And even then they can know scarcely one thousandth of them. For the member of the spiritual Church knows nothing unless he acquires it by learning; and what he gets to know in this fashion he retains and believes to be true. Indeed if he learns something false and this is impressed on him as though it were true, he believes that as well, for he has no other perception than that a thing is true because he has in that way been persuaded of it. People who possess conscience derive from conscience a certain dictate. Yet with them a thing is true only because they have heard and learned that it is. This is what constitutes their conscience, as becomes clear from people who have a conscience of what is false.

Footnotes:

1. literally, the faces

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