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

 

Land

  

'Land' in the Word, denotes the church, for the things which signify the church also signify the things relating to the church, for these constitute the church. The reason why 'land' denotes the church in the Word is because the land of Canaan was the land in which the church had been since the most ancient times. Hence, when 'land' is named in the Word, it means the land of Canaan, which then means the church. For when the expression 'the land' appears there, people in the spiritual world do not concern themselves with the idea of a land, only with the idea of the nation inhabiting it. And yet not with an idea of that nation but with an idea of the essential nature of it.

'Land' or 'earth,' as in Genesis 20:15, signifies the doctrine of love and charity.

'Land' signifies the celestial principle of love in Genesis 24:4.

In Genesis 26:12, 'land' signifies rational things.

In Genesis 28:13, this signifies the good of the natural.

The 'land' represents the divine of the rational principle in Genesis 30:25.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 5577)


From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10555

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10555. 'As a man (vir) speaks to [his] neighbour' means the joining together of truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as reciprocal perception and the consequent joining together, as immediately above in 10554; from the meaning of 'man' (vir) as truth, dealt with in 3134, 3459, 4823, 7716, 9007; and from the meaning of 'neighbour' as good to which truth is joined. Various places in the Word use the expression 'man and neighbour' or 'man and companion', and by it in a reciprocal way is meant, as also by 'man and brother'. And when in a reciprocal way is meant a reciprocal joining together should be understood, like that of truth and good. For truth joins itself in a reciprocal way with good, because truth derives its being from good, and good receives its specific quality in truth. No truth exists in heaven that is not joined to good, because without good truth is not anything; nor is good anything without truth. For truth without good is like the receiver of being without the giver of being, and good without truth is like the giver of it without the receiver. Or truth without good is like a body without life, and good without truth is like life without a body. Therefore unless the two are joined together they are not anything that can accomplish anything; that is, they are not anything to which anything of heaven and the Church can be attributed.

[2] The situation when one is without the other is similar to that when the human understanding exists without the will, or the will without the understanding. One may indeed become separated from the other, as when there is an understanding of what is true and good but no will to do it. In this case however the understanding has a will derived from a source other than that which is good. It derives it from willing well to self, or [to others] for the sake of self, with the understanding of what is true and good serving as means to this end. Those who reflect correctly on the matter may recognize that the human understanding derives its life from its will, without which it is not anything, and also that understanding and will turn to each other and are linked together. A similar situation exists with truth and good, consequently with faith and love. Unless truth is linked to good, or faith to love, there is no truth or good, nor any faith or love. These matters have been mentioned in order that people may know what to understand by a linking of each to the other, meant in the spiritual sense by 'man and companion' or 'man and neighbour', and also by 'man and brother'.

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