The Bible

 

Genesis 2

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1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

   

Commentary

 

Grass

  

'Grass' is natural truth, and 'flower of the field' is spiritual truth, as in Isaiah 40:5, 6. Green grass, in the Word, signifies the good and truth of the church, and of faith, which first springs up in the natural man. This is also signified by 'herb in the field.' Grass and the pulse of the herb, as in Psalm 32:2, signify what is most vile. Grass signifies science from a spiritual origin, or that by which spiritual truth is confirmed. 'Reeds and rushes' signify science from a sensory origin, or the things which confirm the fallacies of the senses, as in Isaiah 25:7. This science, considered in itself, is only a part of the lowest natural degree, which may be justly called material and bodily, in which there is little or no life. Green grass also signifies that which is alive with man. 'Grass burnt up' signifies the things which are dead in him. Grass signifies the scientific principle. Just as green grass serves animals for support, spiritual truth serves men for spiritual nourishment.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 507)


From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9466

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9466. 'And violet' means the celestial love of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'violet' as the celestial love of truth, the reason why 'violet' has this meaning being that it is a celestial colour, and by this colour truth from a celestial origin is meant, that is, truth springing from the good of love to the Lord. This good predominates in the inmost heaven, revealing itself in the middle or second heaven as the colours purple and violet. The actual good reveals itself as purple, and the truth springing from it as violet. For when colours appear in the next life, and in heaven itself, they are most beautiful ones; and they all have their origin in goodness and truth. For the sphere of affections for goodness and truth is revealed to the eyes of angels and of spirits also by means of colours, specific things being revealed by means of objects variously coloured, and also to their nostrils by means of odours. For every celestial reality belonging to good or spiritual reality belonging to truth is represented in the lower heavens by means of the kinds of things that appear in the natural order, and by this means is revealed to the actual external senses of spirits and angels in those heavens. The reason why the spheres of affection for goodness and truth are revealed visually by means of colours is that colours are modifications of heavenly light, and so of intelligence and wisdom, see 4530, 4677, 4742, 4922.

[2] This now explains why the materials that were to be gathered together for the tabernacle and Aaron's garments included violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and skins of red rams; for the tabernacle represented the Lord's heaven, the materials which were used to construct and cover it represented the celestial and spiritual realities that belong to goodness and truth, and Aaron's garments had a like representation, 9457. It explains why the veil within which the ark of the Testimony was placed was woven from violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen thread, Exodus 26:31, as likewise was the covering for the door of the tent, Exodus 26:36, and the covering for the gate of the court as well, Exodus 27:16, and why the loops on the edge of the curtain were made of violet, Exodus 26:4. It also explains why the ephod was made of gold, violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and linen thread woven together, as was the breastplate of judgement, Exodus 28:6, 15.

[3] 'Violet' means the celestial love of truth, and 'garments made of violet' cognitions or knowledge of truth present as a result of that love, in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. They were your traders with choice wares, 1 with balls of violet, and embroidery, and with chests of precious garments. Ezekiel 27:7, 24.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions of truth and good are meant, 1201. Knowledge and understanding acquired from these is described by 'embroidered work from Egypt', and by 'violet and purple from the islands of Elishah'. 'Embroidered work from Egypt' is factual knowledge of truth, and 'violet and purple from the islands of Elishah' is an understanding of truth and good.

[4] In the same prophet,

Two women, the daughters of one mother, in their youth committed whoredom in Egypt - Oholah and Oholibah. Oholah committed whoredom under Me and doted on the Assyrians her neighbours - clothed in violet, governors and leaders, horsemen riding on horses. Ezekiel 23:2-6.

'Oholah' stands for Samaria, and 'Oholibah' for Jerusalem, Samaria in this instance being the corrupted spiritual Church. 'Committing whoredom in Egypt' means falsifying truths by means of factual knowledge, 'doting on the Assyrians her neighbours' stands for having a love of reasonings based on those falsifications, and 'clothed in violet' stands for ideas which look like truth springing from good because they are derived from the literal sense of the Word interpreted wrongly.

[5] Something similar occurs in Jeremiah,

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the smith and of the hands of the molder. Their clothing is violet and purple. These are all the work of the wise. Jeremiah 10:9.

This refers to the idols of the house of Israel, by which false teachings, supported by distortions of the outward sense of the Word, are meant, 9424. 'The work of the smith and of the hands of the molder', and also 'these are all the work of the wise', stand for the fact that they are the product of self-intelligence. 'Silver from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz' stands for their seeming to outward appearance to be true and good because they are taken from the Word; and much the same is meant by 'violet and purple' of which their clothing consisted.

[6] In John,

I saw horses in the vision, and those seated on them had breastplates of fire and violet and brimstone, by whom a third part of mankind was killed. Revelation 9:17-18.

'Horses' and 'those seated on them' stand for a topsy-turvy and corrupted understanding of truth. 'Breastplates of fire, violet, and brimstone' stands for defence of falsities that arise from the evils of devilish kinds of love. In this instance therefore 'fire' stands for the hellish love of evil, and 'violet' for the hellish love of falsity. They are accordingly used in the contrary sense; for the majority of things in the Word also have a contrary meaning.

Footnotes:

1. literally, with perfections

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