The Bible

 

Genesis 1

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1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first Day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #862

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862. That 'it happened at the end of forty days' means the duration of the former state, and the beginning of the one that followed, is clear from the meaning of 'forty', see 730, where, the subject being temptation, the phrase 'forty days and forty nights' was used, which meant the duration of temptation. Here, since the subject is the state following temptation, 'forty days' is mentioned but not forty nights. The reason is that charity now starts to appear, which in the Word is compared to the day and is called the day. Faith however which precedes but has not yet been so joined to charity is compared to the night and is called the night, as in Genesis 1:16, and elsewhere in the Word. Faith is also called 'the night' in the Word because it receives its light from charity, just as the moon does from the sun. Faith is therefore also compared to the moon and is called the moon; and love or charity is compared to the sun and is called the sun. 'Forty days', or the duration of time meant by them, refers both to the things that precede and to those that follow; hence the statement 'at the end of forty days', which accordingly means both the duration of the previous state, and the beginning of the one being described now. This then begins the description of the second state following temptation of the member of this Church.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4933

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4933. The reason why the hands, arms, and shoulders correspond to power in the Grand Man is that the strength and powers of the whole body and of all its internal organs are linked to them, in that the body employs the arms and hands to exercise its strength and powers. This also is the reason why in the Word powers are meant by 'the hands', 'the arms', and 'the shoulders'. As regards 'the hands' having this meaning, see 878, 3387, and as regards 'the arms' meaning the same, this is evident from many places, such as the following,

Be their arm every morning. Isaiah 33:2.

The Lord Jehovih is coming with might, and His arm will exercise dominion for Him. Isaiah 40:10.

He works it by means of His arm of strength. Isaiah 44:12.

My arms will judge the peoples. Isaiah 51:5.

Put on strength, O arm of Jehovah. Isaiah 51:9.

I looked around, and there was no helper, therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me. Isaiah 63:5.

Cursed is he who trusts in man (homo) and makes flesh his arm. Jeremiah 17:5.

I have made the earth, man, and beast, by My great strength and by My outstretched arm. Jeremiah 27:5; 32:17.

The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken. Jeremiah 48:25.

I am breaking the arms of the king of Egypt, but I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babel. Ezekiel 30:22, 24-25.

O Jehovah, break the arm of the wicked. Psalms 10:15.

According to the greatness of Your arm preserve those who are appointed to die. 1 Psalms 79:11.

They were brought out of Egypt by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Deuteronomy 7:19; 11:2-3; 26:8; Jeremiah 32:21; Psalms 136:12.

From these places it may also be recognized that by the right hand in the Word superior power is meant, and by 'sitting on the right hand of Jehovah' almighty power, Matthew 26:63-64; Luke 22:69; Mark 14:61-62; 16:19.

Footnotes:

1. literally, cause the sons of death to remain

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