The Bible

 

Genesis 13

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1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1420

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1420. And thou shalt be a blessing. That this signifies that all things both in general and in particular are from the Lord, is evident from the signification of “a blessing.” A “blessing” is predicated of all goods; in the external sense, of corporeal, worldly, and natural goods; in the internal sense, of spiritual and celestial goods. “To be a blessing,” is to be the source of all goods, and the giver of all goods. This can by no means be said of Abram, and hence it is evident that by Abram is represented the Lord, who alone is “a blessing.” In like manner in regard to what is said of Abraham hereafter:

Abraham shall surely become a great and numerous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 18:18);

of Isaac:

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 26:4),

and of Jacob:

In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 28:14).

That nations cannot be blessed, and are not blessed, in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in their seed, but in the Lord, may be seen by everyone. This is clearly said in David:

His name shall endure forever; before the sun shall the name of his son endure; and all nations shall be blessed in him (Psalms 72:17); where the Lord is treated of. Again:

Thou shalt set him for blessings forever (Psalms 21:6); where also the Lord is treated of.

In Jeremiah:

The nations shall be blessed in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

From these passages it is now evident that “a blessing” signifies the Lord, and that when He is called “a blessing,” it signifies that from Him are all celestial and spiritual things, which alone are goods; and because they alone are goods, they alone are truths; and therefore in proportion as there are celestial and spiritual goods in natural, worldly, and corporeal ones, in the same proportion these are goods, and are “blessed.”

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