The Bible

 

Bereshit 35

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1 ויאמר אלהים אל יעקב קום עלה בית אל ושב שם ועשה שם מזבח לאל הנראה אליך בברחך מפני עשו אחיך׃

2 ויאמר יעקב אל ביתו ואל כל אשר עמו הסרו את אלהי הנכר אשר בתככם והטהרו והחליפו שמלתיכם׃

3 ונקומה ונעלה בית אל ואעשה שם מזבח לאל הענה אתי ביום צרתי ויהי עמדי בדרך אשר הלכתי׃

4 ויתנו אל יעקב את כל אלהי הנכר אשר בידם ואת הנזמים אשר באזניהם ויטמן אתם יעקב תחת האלה אשר עם שכם׃

5 ויסעו ויהי חתת אלהים על הערים אשר סביבתיהם ולא רדפו אחרי בני יעקב׃

6 ויבא יעקב לוזה אשר בארץ כנען הוא בית אל הוא וכל העם אשר עמו׃

7 ויבן שם מזבח ויקרא למקום אל בית אל כי שם נגלו אליו האלהים בברחו מפני אחיו׃

8 ותמת דברה מינקת רבקה ותקבר מתחת לבית אל תחת האלון ויקרא שמו אלון בכות׃

9 וירא אלהים אל יעקב עוד בבאו מפדן ארם ויברך אתו׃

10 ויאמר לו אלהים שמך יעקב לא יקרא שמך עוד יעקב כי אם ישראל יהיה שמך ויקרא את שמו ישראל׃

11 ויאמר לו אלהים אני אל שדי פרה ורבה גוי וקהל גוים יהיה ממך ומלכים מחלציך יצאו׃

12 ואת הארץ אשר נתתי לאברהם וליצחק לך אתננה ולזרעך אחריך אתן את הארץ׃

13 ויעל מעליו אלהים במקום אשר דבר אתו׃

14 ויצב יעקב מצבה במקום אשר דבר אתו מצבת אבן ויסך עליה נסך ויצק עליה שמן׃

15 ויקרא יעקב את שם המקום אשר דבר אתו שם אלהים בית אל׃

16 ויסעו מבית אל ויהי עוד כברת הארץ לבוא אפרתה ותלד רחל ותקש בלדתה׃

17 ויהי בהקשתה בלדתה ותאמר לה המילדת אל תיראי כי גם זה לך בן׃

18 ויהי בצאת נפשה כי מתה ותקרא שמו בן אוני ואביו קרא לו בנימין׃

19 ותמת רחל ותקבר בדרך אפרתה הוא בית לחם׃

20 ויצב יעקב מצבה על קברתה הוא מצבת קברת רחל עד היום׃

21 ויסע ישראל ויט אהלה מהלאה למגדל עדר׃

22 ויהי בשכן ישראל בארץ ההוא וילך ראובן וישכב את בלהה פילגש אביו וישמע ישראל ויהיו בני יעקב שנים עשר׃

23 בני לאה בכור יעקב ראובן ושמעון ולוי ויהודה ויששכר וזבלון׃

24 בני רחל יוסף ובנימן׃

25 ובני בלהה שפחת רחל דן ונפתלי׃

26 ובני זלפה שפחת לאה גד ואשר אלה בני יעקב אשר ילד לו בפדן ארם׃

27 ויבא יעקב אל יצחק אביו ממרא קרית הארבע הוא חברון אשר גר שם אברהם ויצחק׃

28 ויהיו ימי יצחק מאת שנה ושמנים שנה׃

29 ויגוע יצחק וימת ויאסף אל עמיו זקן ושבע ימים ויקברו אתו עשו ויעקב בניו׃

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4559

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4559. 'And called the place El Bethel' means a holy natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'Bethel' as the Divine Natural, dealt with in 4089, 4539, 4556. But when this place is called El Bethel it is not the Divine Natural that is meant but a holy natural, for when He made His Human Divine the Lord first of all made it holy. The difference between making Divine and making holy is that what is Divine is Jehovah Himself, whereas what is holy is from Jehovah. The former is the Divine Being (Esse) itself, the latter that which comes into being from this. When the Lord glorified Himself, He made even His Human the Divine Being (Esse) or Jehovah, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035; but before He made His Human Divine He made it holy. It was by a process such as this that the Lord glorified His Human. This also is why in this verse Bethel is called El Bethel, to which the phrase 'for there the gods were revealed to him' is added, to explain what El means. In the original language El means God, but in this explanatory phrase the plural 'gods' is used because in the internal sense 'gods' means holy truths, 4402. In what follows however that place is called simply Bethel. That is, verse 15 says, 'Jacob called the name of the place Bethel', then adds, 'where God spoke to him', the singular 'God' being used this time. In the original language Bethel is 'the house of God', whereas El Bethel is 'the God of the house of God', and therefore El Bethel means a holy natural, Bethel the Divine Natural.

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

The Bible

 

Mark 15

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1 Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.

2 Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered, "So you say."

3 The chief priests accused him of many things.

4 Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!"

5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

6 Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.

7 There was one called Barabbas, bound with those who had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.

8 The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them.

9 Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

10 For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.

12 Pilate again asked them, "What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

13 They cried out again, "Crucify him!"

14 Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they cried out exceedingly, "Crucify him!"

15 Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.

16 The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort.

17 They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

18 They began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

19 They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him.

20 When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.

21 They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.

22 They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, "The place of a skull."

23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn't take it.

24 Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take.

25 It was the third hour, and they crucified him.

26 The superscription of his accusation was written over him, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."

27 With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.

28 The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, "He was numbered with transgressors."

29 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,

30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!"

31 Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others. He can't save himself.

32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him." Those who were crucified with him insulted him.

33 When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah."

36 One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let him be. Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down."

37 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.

38 The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

39 When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

40 There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

42 When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

43 Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus' body.

44 Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.

45 When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

46 He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.