The Bible

 

Bereshit 9

Study

   

1 ויברך אלהים את־נח ואת־בניו ויאמר להם פרו ורבו ומלאו את־הארץ׃

2 ומוראכם וחתכם יהיה על כל־חית הארץ ועל כל־עוף השמים בכל אשר תרמש האדמה ובכל־דגי הים בידכם נתנו׃

3 כל־רמש אשר הוא־חי לכם יהיה לאכלה כירק עשב נתתי לכם את־כל׃

4 אך־בשר בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו׃

5 ואך את־דםכם לנפשתיכם אדרש מיד כל־חיה אדרשנו ומיד האדם מיד איש אחיו אדרש את־נפש האדם׃

6 שפך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך כי בצלם אלהים עשה את־האדם׃

7 ואתם פרו ורבו שרצו בארץ ורבו־בה׃ ס

8 ויאמר אלהים אל־נח ואל־בניו אתו לאמר׃

9 ואני הנני מקים את־בריתי אתכם ואת־זרעכם אחריכם׃

10 ואת כל־נפש החיה אשר אתכם בעוף בבהמה ובכל־חית הארץ אתכם מכל יצאי התבה לכל חית הארץ׃

11 והקמתי את־בריתי אתכם ולא־יכרת כל־בשר עוד ממי המבול ולא־יהיה עוד מבול לשחת הארץ׃

12 ויאמר אלהים זאת אות־הברית אשר־אני נתן ביני וביניכם ובין כל־נפש חיה אשר אתכם לדרת עולם׃

13 את־קשתי נתתי בעןן והיתה לאות ברית ביני ובין הארץ׃

14 והיה בענני עןן על־הארץ ונראתה הקשת בעןן׃

15 וזכרתי את־בריתי אשר ביני וביניכם ובין כל־נפש חיה בכל־בשר ולא־יהיה עוד המים למבול לשחת כל־בשר׃

16 והיתה הקשת בעןן וראיתיה לזכר ברית עולם בין אלהים ובין כל־נפש חיה בכל־בשר אשר על־הארץ׃

17 ויאמר אלהים אל־נח זאת אות־הברית אשר הקמתי ביני ובין כל־בשר אשר על־הארץ׃ ף

18 ויהיו בני־נח היצאים מן־התבה שם וחם ויפת וחם הוא אבי כנען׃

19 שלשה אלה בני־נח ומאלה נפצה כל־הארץ׃

20 ויחל נח איש האדמה ויטע כרם׃

21 וישת מן־היין וישכר ויתגל בתוך אהלה׃*

22 וירא חם אבי כנען את ערות אביו ויגד לשני־אחיו בחוץ׃

23 ויקח שם ויפת את־השמלה וישימו* על־שכם שניהם וילכו אחרנית ויכסו את ערות אביהם ופניהם אחרנית וערות אביהם לא ראו׃

24 וייקץ נח מיינו וידע את אשר־עשה־לו בנו הקטן׃

25 ויאמר ארור כנען עבד עבדים יהיה לאחיו׃

26 ויאמר ברוך יהוה אלהי שם ויהי כנען עבד למו׃

27 יפת אלהים ליפת וישכן באהלי־שם ויהי כנען עבד למו׃

28 ויחי־נח אחר המבול שלש מאות שנה וחמשים שנה׃

29 ויהיו כל־ימי־נח תשע מאות שנה וחמשים שנה וימת׃ ף

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1103

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

1103. And Canaan shall be his servant. That this signifies that those who make worship consist solely in externals are able to perform vile offices, is evident from what has been said above, under the preceding verses (25-26), about Canaan, as being a servant. Such men are not indeed servants in the church of the Lord on earth, for there are many of them who hold high stations, and who are set over all others, who do nothing from charity and conscience, and yet observe with much strictness the externals of the church, and even condemn those who do not observe them. But such persons, because they are in no charity and conscience, and make worship consist solely in externals without internals, are servants in the kingdom of the Lord, that is, in the other life; for they are among the unhappy. The services which they there perform are vile, and are so many that they cannot be well set forth here, but of the Divine mercy of the Lord will be described hereafter. For in the other life everyone without exception must perform some use, because man is born for no other end than that he may perform use to the society in which he is and to the neighbor, while he lives in the world, and in the other life according to the good pleasure of the Lord. The case in this respect is the same as it is in the human body, every part of which must perform some use, even things which in themselves are of no value, such as humors which in themselves are excrementitious, as are the many salival fluids, the biles, and other secretions, which must be of service not only to the food, but in separating the excrements and purging the intestines. Such also are the uses of manure and dung in the fields and vineyards; and many other such things.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 9

Study

   

1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand.

3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you.

4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.

5 I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, I will require the life of man.

6 Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it."

8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

9 "As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth.

11 I will establish my covenant with you: all flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth."

12 God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

17 God said to Noah, "This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated.

20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.

21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.

22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness.

24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.

25 He said, "Canaan is cursed. He will be servant of servants to his brothers."

26 He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant."

28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.

29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, then he died.