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1 Mose 13

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1 Also zog Abram herauf aus Ägypten mit seinem Weibe und mit allem, was er hatte, und Lot auch mit ihm, ins Mittagsland.

2 Abram aber war sehr reich an Vieh, Silber und Gold.

3 Und er zog immer fort von Mittag bis gen Beth-El, an die Stätte, da am ersten seine Hütte war, zwischen Beth-El und Ai,

4 eben an den Ort, da er zuvor den Altar gemacht hatte. Und er predigte allda den Namen des HERRN.

5 Lot aber, der mit Abram zog, der hatte auch Schafe und Rinder und Hütten.

6 Und das Land konnte es nicht ertragen, daß sie beieinander wohnten; denn ihre Habe war groß, und konnten nicht beieinander wohnen.

7 Und es war immer Zank zwischen den Hirten über Abrams Vieh und zwischen den Hirten über Lots Vieh. So wohnten auch zu der Zeit die Kanaaniter und Pheresiter im Lande.

8 Da sprach Abram zu Lot: Laß doch nicht Zank sein zwischen mir und dir und zwischen meinen und deinen Hirten; denn wir sind Gebrüder.

9 Steht dir nicht alles Land offen? Scheide dich doch von mir. Willst du zur Linken, so will ich zur Rechten; oder willst du zur Rechten, so will ich zur Linken.

10 Da hob Lot sein Augen auf und besah die ganze Gegend am Jordan. Denn ehe der HERR Sodom und Gomorra verderbte, war sie wasserreich, bis man gen Zoar kommt, als ein Garten des HERRN, gleichwie Ägyptenland.

11 Da erwählte sich Lot die ganze Gegend am Jordan und zog gegen Morgen. Also schied sich ein Bruder von dem andern,

12 daß Abram wohnte im Lande Kanaan und Lot in den Städten der Jordangegend und setzte seine Hütte gen Sodom.

13 Aber die Leute zu Sodom waren böse und sündigten sehr wider den HERRN.

14 Da nun Lot sich von Abram geschieden hatte, sprach der HERR zu Abram: Hebe dein Augen auf und siehe von der Stätte an, da du wohnst, gegen Mittag, gegen Morgen und gegen Abend.

15 Denn alles Land, das du siehst, will ich dir geben und deinem Samen ewiglich;

16 und ich will deinen Samen machen wie den Staub auf Erden. Kann ein Mensch den Staub auf Erden zählen, der wird auch deinen Samen zählen.

17 Darum so mache dich auf und ziehe durch das Land in die Länge und Breite; denn dir will ich's geben.

18 Also erhob Abram sein Hütte, kam und wohnte im Hain Mamre, der zu Hebron ist, und baute daselbst dem HERRN einen Altar.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2909

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2909. 'In Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan' means within the Church. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Kiriath Arba' as the Church as regards truth, and from the meaning of 'Hebron in the land of Canaan' as the Church as regards good. In the Word, especially the prophetical part, whenever truth is the subject, good also is included, on account of the heavenly marriage that exists in every detail of the Word, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712. Here therefore when Kiriath Arba is mentioned, so also is 'Hebron in the land of Canaan'. The land of Canaan is the Lord's kingdom, 1413, 1437, 1607, and locations in that land were in varying ways representative, 1585, 1866.

[2] As regards 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron', this was a region where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelt. Abraham's dwelling there is evident from what has gone before,

Abraham came and dwelt in [the oak-groves of] Mamre, which are in Hebron. Genesis 13:18.

And Isaac and Jacob's dwelling there too is evident from what comes further on, Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, to Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Genesis 35:27.

Joseph was sent by Jacob his father to his brothers, from the Valley of Hebron. Genesis 37:14.

From the representation dealt with already of those three personages it is clear that 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron' represented the Church before Jerusalem did so.

[3] In the course of time every Church deteriorates until it ceases to possess any faith or charity at all, at which point it is destroyed. This too was represented by 'Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron', that is to say, when this place was occupied by the Anakim, by whom dreadful false persuasions were meant, 581, 1673, regarding which occupation by the Anakim, see Numbers 13:21-22; Joshua 11:21; 14:15; 15:13-14; Judges 1:10. As regards the end or close of the Church and its destruction, this was represented by Joshua's utterly destroying everything in that place, Joshua 10:36-37; 11:21, and by Judah and Caleb's smiting the Anakim, Judges 1:10; Joshua 14:13-15; 15:13-14. The establishment again of a new Church was represented by the allotment of its fields and villages to Caleb as his inheritance, Joshua 21:12. The city itself however became a city of refuge, Joshua 20:7; 21:13, and a city for priests, for the sons of Aaron, Joshua 21:10-11, within the inheritance of Judah, Joshua 15:54.

[4] From this it is evident that Hebron represented the Lord's spiritual Church in the land of Canaan. For the same reason also David was ordered by Jehovah's command to go to Hebron and was there anointed king over the house of Judah; and after he had reigned there for seven years and six months he went to Jerusalem and took possession of Zion, see 2 Samuel 2:1-11; 5:5; 1 Kings 2:11, at which point the Lord's spiritual Church now began to be represented by Jerusalem, and His celestial Church by Zion.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2515

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2515. 'And said to him' means thought springing from this, that is to say, from the perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving, and also as thinking, dealt with above in 2506. Since it is said here that the thought was derived from the perception, let a brief statement be made about thought. There are thoughts that derive from perception, thoughts that derive from conscience, and thoughts that derive from no conscience. Thoughts deriving from perception exist with celestial people only, that is, with those who are moved by love to the Lord. Such thought is the most internal to exist with man; and it exists with celestial angels in heaven. Perception from the Lord is the means and the source of their thought, and thinking contrary to perception is an impossibility. Thoughts deriving from conscience are of a lower order and exist with spiritual people, that is, with those who in life and in doctrine are moved by good that stems from charity and faith. For them as well, thinking contrary to conscience is an impossibility, for that would be thinking contrary to the good and truth which the Lord dictates to them by means of conscience.

[2] Thoughts deriving from no conscience however exist with people who do not allow themselves to be governed inwardly by good and truth but by evil and falsity, that is, not by the Lord but by themselves. They imagine that they think inwardly just as much as those who do so from conscience and perception, the reason being that they do not know what conscience is, still less what perception is, though the difference between their thought and that of people thinking from conscience or perception is as great as that between hell and heaven. People whose thought is devoid of conscience think from every evil desire and false notion, and so from hell. When they think in any other manner they do so from an outward respectability for the sake of reputation. But people who think from conscience do so from affections for good and truth, and so from heaven. As for the Lord's thought however, this surpasses all human understanding, for it sprang directly from the Divine.

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