The Bible

 

Bereshit 15

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1 אחר הדברים האלה היה דבר יהוה אל אברם במחזה לאמר אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך שכרך הרבה מאד׃

2 ויאמר אברם אדני יהוה מה תתן לי ואנכי הולך ערירי ובן משק ביתי הוא דמשק אליעזר׃

3 ויאמר אברם הן לי לא נתתה זרע והנה בן ביתי יורש אתי׃

4 והנה דבר יהוה אליו לאמר לא יירשך זה כי אם אשר יצא ממעיך הוא יירשך׃

5 ויוצא אתו החוצה ויאמר הבט נא השמימה וספר הכוכבים אם תוכל לספר אתם ויאמר לו כה יהיה זרעך׃

6 והאמן ביהוה ויחשבה לו צדקה׃

7 ויאמר אליו אני יהוה אשר הוצאתיך מאור כשדים לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה׃

8 ויאמר אדני יהוה במה אדע כי אירשנה׃

9 ויאמר אליו קחה לי עגלה משלשת ועז משלשת ואיל משלש ותר וגוזל׃

10 ויקח לו את כל אלה ויבתר אתם בתוך ויתן איש בתרו לקראת רעהו ואת הצפר לא בתר׃

11 וירד העיט על הפגרים וישב אתם אברם׃

12 ויהי השמש לבוא ותרדמה נפלה על אברם והנה אימה חשכה גדלה נפלת עליו׃

13 ויאמר לאברם ידע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם ועבדום וענו אתם ארבע מאות שנה׃

14 וגם את הגוי אשר יעבדו דן אנכי ואחרי כן יצאו ברכש גדול׃

15 ואתה תבוא אל אבתיך בשלום תקבר בשיבה טובה׃

16 ודור רביעי ישובו הנה כי לא שלם עון האמרי עד הנה׃

17 ויהי השמש באה ועלטה היה והנה תנור עשן ולפיד אש אשר עבר בין הגזרים האלה׃

18 ביום ההוא כרת יהוה את אברם ברית לאמר לזרעך נתתי את הארץ הזאת מנהר מצרים עד הנהר הגדל נהר פרת׃

19 את הקיני ואת הקנזי ואת הקדמני׃

20 ואת החתי ואת הפרזי ואת הרפאים׃

21 ואת האמרי ואת הכנעני ואת הגרגשי ואת היבוסי׃

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1798

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1798. Abram said, Lo to me Thou hast not given seed. That this signifies that there was no internal of the church, is evident from the signification of “seed,” which is love and faith, spoken of above (n. 255, 256, 1025), and from the signification of an heir, as explained in what follows. That love and the faith derived from it are the internal of the church, has already been several times said and shown. No other faith is meant as being the internal of the church than that which is of love or charity, that is, which is from love or charity.

[2] Faith, in a general sense, is all the doctrinal teaching of the church. But doctrine [doctrinale] separated from love or charity, by no means makes the internal of the church, for doctrine is only knowledge which is of the memory, and this exists also with the worst men, and even with infernals. But the doctrine that is from charity, or that is of charity, does make the internal of the church, for this is of the life. The life itself is the internal of all worship; and so is all doctrine that flows from the life of charity; and it is this doctrine that is of faith which is here meant. That it is this faith which is the internal of the church, may be seen from this consideration alone, that he who has the life of charity is acquainted with all things of faith. If you will, just examine all doctrinal things, and see what and of what quality they are; do they not all pertain to charity, and consequently to the faith that is from charity?

[3] Take only the Precepts of the Decalogue. The first of these is to worship the Lord God. He who has the life of love or of charity worships the Lord God, because this is his life. Another precept is to keep the Sabbath. He who is in the life of love, or in charity, keeps the Sabbath holy, for nothing is more sweet to him than to worship the Lord, and to glorify Him every day. The precept, “Thou shalt not kill,” is altogether of charity. He who loves his neighbor as himself, shudders at doing anything that injures him, still more at killing him. So too the precept, “Thou shalt not steal;” for he who has the life of charity would rather give of his own to his neighbor, than take anything away from him. And so with the precept, “Thou shalt not commit adultery;” he who is in the life of charity the rather guards his neighbor’s wife, lest anyone should offer her such injury, and regards adultery as a crime against conscience, and such as destroys conjugial love and its duties. To covet the things that are the neighbor’s is also contrary to those who are in the life of charity; for it is of charity to desire good to others from one’s self and one’s own; such therefore by no means covet the things which are another’s.

[4] These are the precepts of the Decalogue which are more external doctrinal things of faith; and these are not only known in the memory by him who is in charity and its life, but are in his heart; and he has them inscribed upon himself, because they are in his charity, and thus in his very life; besides other things of a dogmatic nature which he in like manner knows from charity alone; for he lives according to a conscience of what is right. The right and the truth which he cannot thus understand and explore, he believes simply or from simplicity of heart to be so because the Lord has said so; and he who so believes does not do wrong, even though what he thus accepts is not true in itself, but apparent truth.

[5] As for example, if anyone believes that the Lord is angry, punishes, tempts, and the like. Or if he holds that the bread and wine in the Holy Supper are significative, or that the flesh and blood are present in some way in which they explain it-it is of no consequence whether they say the one thing or the other, although there are few who think about this matter, or even if they do think about it, provided this is done from a simple heart, because they have been so instructed, and nevertheless live in charity: these, when they hear that the bread and wine in the internal sense signify the Lord’s love toward the whole human race, and the things which are of this love, and man’s reciprocal love to the Lord and the neighbor, they forthwith believe, and rejoice that it is so. Not so they who are in doctrinal things and not in charity; these contend about everything, and condemn all whoever they may be that do not say (they call it “believe”) as they do. From all this everyone can see that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are the internal of the church.

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