The Bible

 

Genesi 12

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1 OR il Signore avea detto ad Abramo: Vattene fuor del tuo paese, e del tuo parentado, e della casa di tuo padre, nel paese che io ti mostrerò.

2 Ed io ti farò divenire una gran gente, e ti benedirò, e magnificherò il tuo nome; e tu sarai benedizione.

3 Ed io benedirò coloro che ti benediranno, e maledirò coloro che ti malediranno; e tutte le nazioni della terra saranno benedette in te.

4 Ed Abramo se ne andò, come il Signore gli avea detto; e Lot andò con lui. Or Abramo era d’età di settantacinque anni quando partì di Charan.

5 Abramo adunque prese Sarai sua moglie, e Lot figliuol del suo fratello, e tutte le lor facoltà che aveano acquistate, e parimente le persone che aveano acquistate in Charan; e si partirono, per andar nel paese di Canaan. E pervennero al paese di Canaan.

6 Ed Abramo passò per lo paese, fino al luogo di Sichem, fino alla pianura di More. Ed in quel tempo i Cananei erano nel paese.

7 E il Signore apparve ad Abramo, e gli disse: Io darò questo paese alla tua progenie. Ed Abramo edificò quivi un altare al Signore che gli era apparito.

8 Poi egli si tramutò di là verso il monte, dalla parte orientale di Betel; e tese i suoi padiglioni, avendo dal lato occidentale Betel, e dall’orientale Ai; ed edificò quivi un altare al Signore, ed invocò il Nome del Signore.

9 Poi Abramo si partì, camminando e traendo verso il Mezzodì.

10 OR sopravvenne una fame nel paese; ed Abramo scese in Egitto, per dimorarvi, perciocchè la fame era grave nel paese.

11 E, come egli fu presso ad entrare in Egitto, disse a Sarai sua moglie: Ecco, ora io so che tu sei donna di bell’aspetto.

12 Laonde avverrà che, quando gli Egizj ti vedranno, diranno: Costei è moglie di costui; e mi uccideranno, e a te scamperanno la vita.

13 Deh! ‘che tu sei mia sorella; acciocchè per cagion di te mi sia fatto del bene, e per amor tuo la vita mi sia conservata.

14 Avvenne adunque che, come Abramo fu venuto in Egitto, gli Egizj riguardarono quella donna, perchè ella era molto bella.

15 Ed i principi di Faraone, vedutala, la commendarono a Faraone; onde quella donna fu presa e menata in casa di Faraone.

16 Ed egli fece del bene ad Abramo, per amor di lei; ed egli n’ebbe pecore, e buoi, ed asini, e servi, e serve, ed asine, e cammelli.

17 Ma il Signore percosse Faraone e la sua casa di gran piaghe, per cagion di Sarai, moglie di Abramo.

18 E Faraone chiamò Abramo, e gli disse: Che cosa è questo che tu mi hai fatto? perchè non mi hai tu dichiarato ch’ella era tua moglie?

19 Perchè dicesti: Ell’è mia sorella? onde io me l’avea presa per moglie; ora dunque, eccoti la tua moglie, prendila, e vattene.

20 E Faraone diede commissione di lui a certi uomini; ed essi accommiatarono lui e la sua moglie e tutto quello ch’era suo.

   


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

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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.

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