Jonah 1
1
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
4
But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
5
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7
And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8
Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
11
Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14
Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
15
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
17
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Arcana Coelestia #6750
6750. 'And she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter' means an affection for factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh's daughter' as a kind of religion, dealt with in 6729, but here as an affection for factual knowledge. For a third state is what this verse describes, and at this point 'daughter' means an affection, 2362, 3963, while 'Pharaoh' means factual knowledge in general, 6015, so that 'Pharaoh's daughter' means an affection for factual knowledge. This is also evident from the train of thought in the internal sense, for since Moses represents the Lord in respect of the law of God, he could not have been brought to Pharaoh's daughter and been a son to her if she meant the kind of religion that was practised, as she had done previously. Furthermore factual knowledge is what those who are being regenerated must learn first, for that knowledge is the groundwork for things that compose the understanding, and the understanding is what receives the truth of faith, 6125, and the truth of faith what receives the good of charity. From this it may be seen that factual knowledge constitutes the first level to be laid down when a person is being regenerated.
[2] Factual knowledge also constituted the first level to be laid down in the Lord when He made His Human Divine Truth or the Divine Law. This is what is meant by the Lord's being taken to Egypt when He was a young child, Matthew 2:13-14, and so by the prophecy in Hosea,
Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Hosea 11:1; Matthew 1:15.
It has been shown quite a number of times that 'Egypt' means factual knowledge. By factual knowledge however one should understand not secular knowledge but knowledge that the Church possesses, regarding which see 4749, 4964-4966, 6004. The latter kind of knowledge is also what is meant by 'Egypt' in the genuine sense. As regards its providing the level to be laid down first, see 5901.
