The Bible

 

Genesi 25

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1 ED Abrahamo prese un’altra moglie, il cui nome era Chetura.

2 Ed ella gli partorì Zimran, e Iocsan, e Medan, e Madian, e Isbac, e Sua.

3 E Iocsan generò Seba e Dedan. Ed i figliuoli di Dedan furono Assurim, e Letusim, e Leummim.

4 Ed i figliuoli di Madian furono Efa, ed Efer ed Hanoc, ed Abida, ed Eldaa. Tutti questi furono figliuoli di Chetura.

5 Ed Abrahamo donò tutto il suo avere ad Isacco.

6 Ed a’ figliuoli delle sue concubine diede doni; e mentre era in vita, li mandò via d’appresso al suo figliuolo Isacco, verso il Levante, nel paese Orientale.

7 Or il tempo della vita di Abrahamo fu di centosettanta cinque anni.

8 Poi trapassò, e morì in buona vecchiezza, attempato, e sazio di vita: e fu raccolto a’ suoi popoli.

9 E Isacco ed Ismaele, suoi figliuoli, lo seppellirono nella spelonca di Macpela nel campo di Efron, figliuoli di Sohar Hitteo, ch’è dirimpetto a Mamre;

10 ch’è il campo che Abrahamo avea comperato da’ figliuoli di Het; quivi fu seppellito Abrahamo, e Sara, sua moglie.

11 Ora, dopo che Abrahamo fu morto, Iddio benedisse Isacco, suo figliuolo; e Isacco abitò presso del Pozzo del Vivente che mi vede.

12 OR queste sono le generazioni d’Ismaele, figliuolo di Abrahamo, il quale Agar Egizia, serva di Sara, avea partorito ad Abrahamo.

13 E questi sono i nomi de’ figliuoli d’Ismaele secondo i lor nomi nelle lor generazioni: Il primogenito d’Ismaele fu Nebaiot; poi v’era Chedar, ed Adbeel, e Mibsam;

14 e Misma, e Duma, e Massa;

15 ed Hadar, e Tema, e Ietur, e Nafis, e Chedma.

16 Questi furono i figliuoli d’Ismaele, e questi sono i lor nomi, nelle lor villate, e nelle lor castella; e furono dodici principi fra’ lor popoli.

17 E gli anni della vita d’Ismaele furono centrentasette; poi trapassò, e morì, e fu raccolto a’ suoi popoli.

18 Ed i suoi figliuoli abitarono da Havila fin a Sur, ch’è dirimpetto all’Egitto, traendo verso l’Assiria. Il paese di esso gli scadde dirimpetto a tutti i suoi fratelli.

19 E QUESTE sono le generazioni d’Isacco, figliuolo di Abrahamo:

20 Abrahamo generò Isacco. Ed Isacco era d’età di quarant’anni, quando prese per moglie Rebecca, figliuola di Betuel, Sirio, da Paddanaram, e sorella di Labano, Sirio.

21 E Isacco fece orazione al Signore per la sua moglie; perciocchè ella era sterile: e il Signore l’esaudì; e Rebecca sua moglie concepette.

22 Ed i figliuoli si urtavano l’un l’altro nel suo seno. Ed ella disse: Se così è, perchè sono io in vita? E andò a domandarne il Signore.

23 E il Signore le disse: Due nazioni sono nel tuo seno; e Due popoli diversi usciranno delle tue interiora; e l’un popolo sarà più possente dell’altro, e il maggiore servirà al minore.

24 E quando fu compiuto il termine di essa da partorire, ecco, due gemelli erano nel suo seno.

25 E il primo uscì fuori, ed era rosso, tutto peloso come un mantel velluto; e gli fu posto nome Esaù.

26 Appresso uscì il suo fratello, il quale con la mano teneva il calcagno di Esaù; e gli fu posto nome Giacobbe. Or Isacco era d’età di settant’anni, quando ella li partorì.

27 ED i fanciulli crebbero; ed Esaù fu uomo intendente della caccia, uomo di campagna; ma Giacobbe fu uomo semplice, che se ne stava ne’ padiglioni.

28 E Isacco amava Esaù; perciocchè le selvaggine erano di suo gusto; e Rebecca amava Giacobbe.

29 Ora, concendo Giacobbe una minestra, Esaù giunse da’ campi, ed era stanco.

30 Ed Esaù disse a Giacobbe: Deh! dammi a mangiare un po’ di cotesta minestra rossa; perciocchè io sono stanco; perciò egli fu nominato Edom.

31 E Giacobbe gli disse: Vendimi oggi la tua primogenitura.

32 Ed Esaù disse: Ecco, io me ne vo alla morte, che mi gioverà la primogenitura?

33 E Giacobbe disse: Giurami oggi che tu me la vendi. Ed Esaù gliel giurò; e vendette la sua primogenitura a Giacobbe.

34 E Giacobbe diede ad Esaù del pane, ed una minestra di lenticchie. Ed egli mangiò e bevve; poi si levò e se ne andò. Così Esaù sprezzò la primogenitura.

   


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 #3527

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3527. 'And I am a smooth man' means the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. This is clear from the representation of Jacob, to whom 'I' refers here, as the natural as regards truth, dealt with in 3305, and from the meaning of 'a smooth man' as the nature of it, which is dealt with below. Before anyone can know what these words mean he needs to know what 'hairy' means and what 'smooth' means. The inner things present in a person manifest themselves outwardly in some visible form, especially in his face and facial expressions. The things that are inmost within him are not seen there at the present day, only to some extent things less interior than those inmost ones. But not even these are seen, if he has learned since early childhood to employ presence, for in that case he adopts so to speak a different disposition of mind (animus) and as a consequence produces a different facial expression - it being the disposition of mind (animus) that shows in the face. Hypocrites more than all others have become steeped in such presence from actually behaving, and so becoming accustomed to behave in such ways; and the more deceitful they are the more thoroughly are they steeped in it. With people who are not hypocrites rational good is seen in the face as the manifestation of a certain fire of life, and rational truth as the manifestation of the light of that fire. These matters a person is aware of from a certain innate knowledge without having to learn them, for it is the life of his spirit as regards good and as regards truth that manifests itself in this way. And because man is a spirit clothed with a body he knows about such a thing as this from a perception of it in his spirit, and so is aware of it from within himself. This is why a person is on occasions stirred with affection by another's facial expression, though it is not the facial expression that stirs him but the disposition of mind shining through it. The natural degree of the mind however reveals itself in the face as a more obscure fire of life and more obscure light of life, while the bodily degree scarcely does so as more than a warm and bright complexion, and as the change of their states in accordance with affections.

[2] Because the inner things present in a person manifest themselves thus in a visible form, especially in the face, the most ancient people - who were celestial and had no knowledge at all of what it was to employ presence, let alone of what hypocrisy or what deceit was - were able to see the mind of another plainly revealed in his face. For this reason the face also meant things of the will and those of the understanding, that is, interior rational things as regards good and truth, 358, 1999, 2434. Indeed those interior things as regards good were meant by the blood and its redness, and as regards truths by the form resulting from it, and its pure whiteness. But interior natural things were meant by things growing out of these, such as hairs and scales are; that is to say, things stemming from the natural as regards good were meant by 'hairs' and those stemming from the natural as regards truth by 'scales'. Consequently people governed by natural good were called 'hairy men' whereas those governed by natural truth were called 'smooth men'. These considerations show what these words 'Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man' mean in the internal sense, namely the nature of natural good compared with natural truth, and the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. From this it is also evident what Esau represents, that is to say, the good of the natural; for he was called Esau because of his hairiness, Genesis 25:25, and Edom because of his ruddiness, Genesis 25:30. And Mount Seir where he dwelt also has a similar meaning, namely, shaggy. This being so, the mountain that led up to Seir was called the bald or smooth mountain, mentioned in Joshua 11:17; 12:7, which was also the representative of truth leading upwards to good.

[3] 'Hairy' has reference to good and from this to truth, and also in the contrary sense to evil and from this to falsity, as has been shown in 3301. But 'smooth' has reference to truth and in the contrary sense to falsity, as is also evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every green tree, among the smooth [stones] of the valley is your portion. Isaiah 57:5-6.

Here 'inflaming' has reference to evil, 'smooth [stones] of the valley' to falsity. In the same prophet,

The craftsman encourages the smith, the one rubbing smooth the hammer by his striking the anvil, and says of the soldering. It is good. Isaiah 41:7.

Here 'the craftsman encourages the smith' has reference to evil, 'the one rubbing smooth the hammer' to falsity. In David,

Butter makes his 1 mouth smooth; when his heart draws near, his words are softer than oil. Psalms 55:21.

Here 'a smooth mouth' or flattery refers to falsity, 'heart' and consequent soft words to evil. In the same author,

Their throat is an open sepulchre, they speak smooth things with their tongue. Psalms 5:9.

'Throat is an open sepulchre' refers to evil, 'tongue speaking smooth things' to falsity. In Luke,

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked places will be made straight, and the rough places into level ways. Luke 3:5.

'Valley' stands for what is lowly, 1723, 3417, 'mountain and hill' for what is exalted, 1691. 'The crooked made straight' stands for turning into good that evil which is due to ignorance, for 'length' and things to do with length have reference to good, 1613; 'rough places into level ways' stands for turning into truths those falsities which are due to ignorance - 'way' having reference to truth, 627, 2333.

Footnotes:

1. The Latin means your but the Hebrew means his.

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