The Bible

 

Genesi 11

Study

   

1 OR tutta la terra era d’una favella e di un linguaggio.

2 Ed avvenne che, partendosi gli uomini di Oriente, trovarono una pianura nel paese di Sinear, e quivi si posarono.

3 E dissero l’uno all’altro: Or su, facciamo de’ mattoni, e cociamoli col fuoco. I mattoni adunque furono loro in vece di pietre, e il bitume in vece di malta.

4 Poi dissero: Or su, edifichiamoci una città, ed una torre, la cui sommità giunga fino al cielo, ed acquistiamoci fama; che talora noi non siamo dispersi sopra la faccia di tutta la terra.

5 E il Signore discese, per veder la città e la torre che i figliuoli degli uomini edificavano.

6 E il Signore disse: Ecco un medesimo popolo, ed essi tutti hanno un medesimo linguaggio, e questo è il cominciamento del lor lavoro, ed ora tutto ciò che hanno disegnato di fare, non sarà loro divietato.

7 Or su, scendiamo e confondiamo ivi la lor favella; acciocchè l’uno non intenda la favella dell’altro.

8 E il Signore li disperse di là sopra la faccia di tutta la terra; ed essi cessarono di edificar la città.

9 Perciò essa fu nominata Babilonia; perciocchè il Signore confuse quivi la favella di tutta la terra, e disperse coloro di là sopra la faccia di tutta la terra.

10 QUESTE sono le generazioni di Sem: Sem, essendo d’età di cent’anni, generò Arfacsad, due anni dopo il diluvio.

11 E Sem, dopo ch’ebbe generato Arfacsad, visse cinquecent’anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

12 Ed Arfacsad, essendo vivuto trentacinque anni, generò Sela.

13 Ed Arfacsad, dopo ch’egli ebbe generato Sela, visse quattrocentotre anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

14 E Sela, essendo vivuto trent’anni, generò Eber.

15 E Sela, dopo ch’ebbe generato Eber, visse quattrocentotre anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

16 Ed Eber, essendo vivuto trentaquattr’anni, generò Peleg.

17 Ed Eber, dopo ch’ebbe generato Peleg, visse quattrocentrenta anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

18 E Peleg, essendo vivuto trent’anni, generò Reu.

19 E Peleg, dopo ch’ebbe generato Reu, visse dugennove anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

20 E Reu, essendo vivuto trentadue anni, generò Serug.

21 E Reu, dopo che ebbe generato Serug, visse dugensette anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

22 E Serug, essendo vivuto trent’anni, generò Nahor.

23 E Serug, dopo che ebbe generato Nahor, visse dugent’anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

24 E Nahor, essendo vivuto ventinove anni, generò Tare.

25 E Nahor, dopo ch’ebbe generato Tare, visse cendiciannove anni, e generò figliuoli e figliuole.

26 E Tare, essendo vivuto settant’anni, generò Abramo, Nahor, e Haran.

27 E queste sono le generazioni di Tare: Tare generò Abramo, Nahor e Haran; e Haran generò Lot.

28 Or Haran morì in presenza di Tare suo padre, nel suo natio paese, in Ur de’ Caldei.

29 Ed Abramo e Nahor si presero delle mogli; il nome della moglie di Abramo era Sarai; e il nome della moglie di Nahor, Milca, la quale era figliuola di Haran, padre di Milca e d’Isca.

30 Or Sarai era sterile, e non avea figliuoli.

31 E Tare prese Abramo suo figliuolo, e Lot figliuol del suo figliuolo, cioè di Haran, e Sarai sua nuora, moglie di Abramo suo figliuolo; ed essi uscirono con loro fuori d’Ur de’ Caldei, per andar nel paese di Canaan; e, giunti fino in Charan, dimorarono quivi.

32 E il tempo della vita di Tare fu dugentocinque anni; poi morì in Charan.

   


To many Protestant and Evangelical Italians, the Bibles translated by Giovanni Diodati are an important part of their history. Diodati’s first Italian Bible edition was printed in 1607, and his second in 1641. He died in 1649. Throughout the 1800s two editions of Diodati’s text were printed by the British Foreign Bible Society. This is the more recent 1894 edition, translated by Claudiana.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #921

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

921. And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah. That this signifies a representative of the Lord, is evident from what has just been said. All the rites of the Ancient Church were representative of the Lord, as also the rites of the Jewish Church. But the principal representative in later times was the altar, and also the burnt-offering, which being made of clean beasts and clean birds, had its representation according to their signification, clean beasts signifying the goods of charity, and clean birds the truths of faith. When men of the Ancient Church offered these, they signified that they offered gifts of these goods and truths to the Lord. Nothing else can be offered to the Lord that will be grateful to Him. But their posterity, as the Gentiles and also the Jews, perverted these things, not even knowing that they had such a signification, and making their worship consist in the externals only.

[2] That the altar was the principal representative of the Lord, is evident from the fact that there were altars, even among Gentiles, before other rites were instituted, and before the ark was constructed, and before the temple was built. This is evident from Abram, as that when he came upon the mountain on the east of Bethel he raised an altar and called upon the name of Jehovah (Genesis 12:8); and afterwards he was commanded to offer Isaac for a burnt-offering on an altar (Genesis 22:2, 9). So Jacob built an altar at Luz, or Bethel (Genesis 35:6-7); and Moses built an altar under Mount Sinai, and sacrificed (Exodus 24:4-6). All this was before the [Jewish] sacrifices were instituted, and before the ark was constructed at which worship was afterwards performed in the wilderness. That there were altars likewise among the Gentiles, is evident from Balaam, who said to Balak that he should build seven altars and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams (Numbers 23:1-7, 14-18, 29-30); and also from its being commanded that the altars of the nations should be destroyed (Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2). Thus Divine worship by altars and sacrifices was not a new thing instituted with the Jews. Indeed altars were built before men had any idea of slaying oxen and sheep upon them, but as memorials.

[3] That altars signify a representative of the Lord, and burnt-offerings the worship of Him thereby, is plainly evident in the Prophets, as also in Moses when it is said of Levi, to whom the priesthood belonged:

They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense in Thy nostrils, and whole burnt-offering upon Thine altar (Deuteronomy 33:10),

meaning all worship; for “to teach Jacob judgments, and Israel the law” denotes internal worship; and “to put incense in Thy nostrils, and whole burnt-offering on Thine altar” denotes corresponding external worship.

In Isaiah:

In that day shall a man look unto his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel; and he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hand (Isaiah 17:7-8),

where “looking to the altars” plainly signifies representative worship in general, which was to be abolished. Again:

In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah (Isaiah 19:19),

where also “an altar” stands for external worship.

[4] In Jeremiah:

The Lord hath cast off His altar, He hath abhorred His sanctuary (Lamentations 2:7);

“altar” denoting representative worship which had become idolatrous.

In Hosea:

Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars have been unto him to sin (Hosea 8:11);

“altars” denote here all representative worship separate from internal, thus what is idolatrous. Again:

The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed; the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars (Hosea 10:8), where “altars” denote idolatrous worship.

In Amos:

In the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off (Amos 3:14),

where again “altars” denote representative worship become idolatrous.

[5] In David:

Let them bring me unto the mountain of Thy holiness, and to Thy tabernacles. And I will go unto the altar of God, unto God the gladness of my joy (Psalms 43:3-4), where “altar” manifestly denotes the Lord.

Thus the building of an altar in the Ancient and in the Jewish Church was for a representative of the Lord. As the worship of the Lord was performed principally by burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and thus these things signified principally representative worship, it is evident that the altar itself signifies this representative worship itself.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 8

Study

   

1 God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided.

2 The deep's fountains and the sky's windows were also stopped, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

3 The waters receded from the earth continually. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters decreased.

4 The ship rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on Ararat's mountains.

5 The waters receded continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 It happened at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made,

7 and he sent forth a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.

8 He sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground,

9 but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him into the ship; for the waters were on the surface of the whole earth. He put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ship.

10 He stayed yet another seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ship.

11 The dove came back to him at evening, and, behold, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth.

12 He stayed yet another seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she didn't return to him any more.

13 It happened in the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dried.

14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

15 God spoke to Noah, saying,

16 "Go out of the ship, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

17 Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth."

18 Noah went forth, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.

19 Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.

20 Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21 Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike everything living, as I have done.

22 While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."