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

 

Exploring the Meaning of Genesis 2

By New Christian Bible Study Staff

Here are some excerpts from Swedenborg's "Arcana Coelestia" that help explain the inner meaning of this chapter:

AC 73. When from being dead a man has become spiritual, then from spiritual he becomes celestial, as is now treated of (verse 1).

AC 74. The celestial man is the seventh day, on which the Lord rests (verses 2, 3).

AC 75. His knowledge and his rationality (scientificum et rationale ejus) are described by the shrub and the herb out of the ground watered by the mist (verses 5, 6).

AC 76. His life is described by the breathing into him of the breath of lives (verse 7).

AC 77. Afterwards his intelligence is described by the garden in Eden, in the east; in which the trees pleasant to the sight are perceptions of truth, and the trees good for food are perceptions of good. Love is meant by the tree of lives, faith by the tree of knowledge (scientiae) (verses 8, 9).

AC 78. Wisdom is meant by the river in the garden. From thence were four rivers, the first of which is good and truth; the second is the knowledge (cognitio) of all things of good and truth, or of love and faith. These are of the internal man. The third is reason, and the fourth is memory-knowledge (scientia), which are of the external man. All are from wisdom, and this is from love and faith in the Lord (verses 10-14).

AC 79. The celestial man is such a garden. But as the garden is the Lord‘s, it is permitted this man to enjoy all these things, and yet not to possess them as his own (verse 15).

AC 80. He is also permitted to acquire a knowledge of what is good and true by means of every perception from the Lord, but he must not do so from himself and the world, nor search into the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of memory-knowledge (sensualia et scientifica); which would cause the death of his celestial nature (verses 16, 17).

AC 131. The posterity of the Most Ancient Church, which inclined to their Own, is here treated of.

AC 132. Since man is such as not to be content to be led by the Lord, but desires to be led also by himself and the world, or by his Own, therefore the Own which was granted him is here treated of (verse 18).

AC 133. And first it is given him to know the affections of good and the knowledges of truth with which he is endowed by the Lord; but still he inclines to his Own (verses 19, 20).

AC 134. Wherefore he is let into a state of his Own, and an Own is given him, which is described by the rib built into a woman (verses 21 to 23).

AC 135. Celestial and spiritual life are adjoined to the man’s Own, so that they appear as a one (verse 24).

AC 136. And innocence from the Lord is insinuated into this Own, so that it still might not be unacceptable (verse 25).

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #135

Study this Passage

  
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135. Then it is told how celestial and spiritual life is joined to the proprium, so that this life and proprium appear to be one, verse 24.

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