The Bible

 

Exodus 13

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1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

4 This day came ye out in the month Abib.

5 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.

7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

11 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's.

13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8210

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8210. 'All Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen - into the middle of the sea' means factual knowledge belonging to a perverted understanding, doctrinal teachings upholding falsity, and reasonings - that they filled hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'Pharaoh's horses' as factual knowledge belonging to a perverted understanding, from the meaning of 'Pharaoh's chariots' as doctrinal teachings upholding falsity, and from the meaning of 'Pharaoh's horsemen' as reasonings based on these, all dealt with above in 8146, 8148; and from the meaning of 'into the middle of the sea' as filling hell.

[2] The reason why these three that were constituents of Pharaoh's army - horses, chariots, and horsemen - are now mentioned again here is that the final state in the vastation of those belonging to the Church who have championed faith separated from charity and led a life of evil is now at hand. This state is one of being cast into hell; and being cast into hell is being crowded around by falsities arising from evil. For when all the truth and goodness residing with the evil have been laid waste and those people have been abandoned to the evil and the falsity arising from it that have ruled their lives, the hells with which they have been in contact through the evils ruling their lives are opened. From there all the evils which they have made their own rapidly converge on them, and the falsities which well out of the evils constitute then the sphere surrounding them, a sphere which looks like a thick cloud, or like water. Once all this has taken place they are in hell, for now they have been shut off from all contact with heaven, and also have been separated from other hells.

[3] The expression 'being cast into hell' is used to mean this. This is the reason why the horses, chariots, and horsemen are mentioned now, when they went into the middle of the sea; for as has been stated, 'the Sea Suph' means hell, and 'horses, chariots, and horsemen' all the falsities and everything constituting falsity arising from evil which were loosed onto those people, in order that the falsity arising from evil, by its very nature, might separate them from all other hells. These are the matters which are dealt with specifically in verses 24-28 that immediately follow.

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