The Bible

 

Genesi 28

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1 ISACCO adunque chiamò Giacobbe, e lo benedisse, e gli comandò, e gli disse: Non prender moglie delle figliuole di Canaan.

2 Levati, vattene in Paddan-aram, alla casa di Betuel, padre di tua madre, e prenditi di là moglie, delle figliuole di Labano, fratello di tua madre.

3 E l’Iddio Onnipotente ti benedica, e ti faccia fruttare, e crescere; talchè tu diventi una raunanza di popoli.

4 E ti dia la benedizione di Abrahamo; a te, ed alla tua progenie teco; acciocchè tu possegga il paese dove sei andato peregrinando, il quale Iddio donò ad Abrahamo.

5 Isacco adunque ne mandò Giacobbe; ed egli si ne andò in Paddan-aram, a Labano, figliuolo di Betuel, Sirio, fratello di Rebecca, madre di Giacobbe e di Esaù.

6 Ed Esaù vide che Isacco avea benedetto Giacobbe, e l’avea mandato in Paddan-aram, acciocchè di là si prendesse moglie; e che, benedicendolo, gli avea vietato e detto: Non prender moglie delle figliuole di Canaan;

7 e che Giacobbe avea ubbidito a suo padre ed a sua madre, e se n’era andato in Paddan-aram.

8 Esaù vedeva, oltre a ciò, che le figliuole di Canaan dispiacevano ad Isacco suo padre.

9 Ed egli andò ad Ismaele, e prese per moglie Mahalat, figliuola d’Ismaele, figliuolo di Abrahamo, sorella di Nebaiot; oltre alle sue altre mogli.

10 OR Giacobbe partì di Beerseba, ed andando in Charan,

11 capitò in un certo luogo, e vi stette la notte; perciocchè il sole era già tramontato, e prese delle pietre del luogo, e le pose per suo capezzale; e giacque in quel luogo.

12 E sognò; ed ecco una scala rizzata in terra, la cui cima giungeva al cielo; ed ecco gli angeli di Dio salivano e scendevano per essa.

13 Ed ecco, il Signore stava al disopra di essa. Ed egli disse: Io sono il Signore Iddio di Abrahamo tuo padre, e l’Iddio d’Isacco; io darò a te, ed alla tua progenie, il paese sopra il quale tu giaci.

14 E la tua progenie sarà come la polvere della terra; e tu ti spanderai verso occidente, e verso oriente, e verso settentrione, e verso mezzodì; e tutte le nazioni della terra saranno benedette in te, e nella tua progenie.

15 Ed ecco, io son teco, e ti guarderò dovunque tu andrai, e ti ricondurrò in questo paese; perciocchè io non ti abbandonerò, finchè io abbia fatto ciò che ti ho detto.

16 E quando Giacobbe si fu risvegliato dal suo sonno, disse: Per certo il Signore è in questo luogo, ed io nol sapeva.

17 E temette, e disse: Quanto è spaventevole questo luogo! questo luogo non è altro che la casa di Dio, e questa è la porta del cielo.

18 E Giacobbe si levò la mattina a buon’ora, e prese la pietra, la quale avea posta per suo capezzale, e ne fece un piliere, e versò dell’olio sopra la sommità di essa.

19 E pose nome a quel luogo Betel; conciossiachè prima il nome di quella città fosse Luz.

20 E Giacobbe fece un voto, dicendo: Se Iddio è meco, e mi guarda in questo viaggio che io fo, e mi del pane da mangiare, e de’ vestimenti da vestirmi;

21 e se io ritorno sano e salvo a casa di mio padre, il Signore sarà il mio Dio.

22 E questa pietra, della quale ho fatto un piliere, sarà una casa di Dio, e del tutto io ti darò la decima di tutto quel che tu mi avrai donato.

   


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 #3728

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3728. And poured oil upon the head of it. That this signifies holy good, is evident from the signification of “oil,” as being the celestial of love, or good (see n. 886, 3009); and from the signification of the “head,” as being that which is higher, or what is the same, that which is interior. That good is higher, or interior, and truth lower, or exterior, has been shown above in many places. From this it is evident what was signified by the ancient rite of pouring oil on the head of a pillar, namely, that truth should not be without good, but from good, thus that good should have the dominion as the head over the body; for truth without good is not truth, but is a sound void of life, and such that it is dissipated of itself. In the other life also it is dissipated with those who have excelled others in knowing truth or the doctrinal things of faith, and even the doctrinal things of love if they have not lived in good, and thus if they have not retained truth from good.

[2] Hence the church is not a church from truth separate from good, consequently not from faith separate from charity; but from truth which is from good, or from faith which is from charity. The like is signified also by what the Lord said to Jacob:

I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto Me (Genesis 31:13);

and by what is said again:

Jacob set up a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil thereon (Genesis 35:14);

by “pouring out a drink-offering on a pillar” is signified the Divine good of faith; and by “pouring oil” upon it, the Divine good of love. Everyone can see that to pour oil upon a stone, without the signification of something celestial and spiritual, would be ridiculous and idolatrous.

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

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.