The Bible

 

Genesis 2

Study

   

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.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

10. The fourth state is when he is moved by love and enlightened by faith. Previous to this he did indeed utter pious words and bring forth good deeds, but he did so from a state of temptation and anguish, and not from faith and charity. Therefore the latter are now kindled in his internal man, and are called the two great lights.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #5411

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

5411. 'And Benjamin, Joseph's brother' means the spiritual of the celestial, which is the intermediary. This is clear from the representation of 'Benjamin' as the spiritual of the celestial, dealt with in 4592, where it may also be seen that the spiritual of the celestial is the intermediary. In general it should be recognized that what is internal cannot have any communication with what is external, or conversely what is external with what is internal, unless an intermediary exists. Consequently truth from the Divine, which is 'Joseph', cannot have any communication with the truths that exist as a general whole within the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob', unless the intermediary that is represented by 'Benjamin' and is called the spiritual of the celestial is present. And to be the intermediary it must partake of both, of both the internal and the external. The reason an intermediary is needed is that the internal and the external are utterly distinct from each other, so distinct that they can be separated from each other, just as a person's external or lowest part, which is his body, can be separated when it dies from his internal part, which is his spirit. The external is dead when the intermediary is severed from it but living when the intermediary is in place; also, the amount and the nature of the life that the external possesses depends on the amount and nature of the life that the intermediary present within it possesses. Because Jacob's sons did not have Benjamin, who is the intermediary, with them, Joseph could not therefore reveal who he was to his brothers. He consequently spoke hard words to them, calling them spies and placing them in custody, as a consequence of which they did not recognize him as Joseph.

[2] But the essential nature of this intermediary represented by 'Benjamin' and called the spiritual of the celestial defies any description that is intelligible. For not even any rough ideas exist about the celestial of the spiritual, which is 'Joseph', or about the truths of the Church existing merely as known facts, which are 'the sons of Jacob', and therefore no rough ideas exist either about the spiritual of the celestial, which is 'Benjamin'. But in the light of heaven the nature of this intermediary is seen as if in broad daylight. Its essential nature is revealed by the use of indescribable representatives seen in the light of heaven, which light at the same time holds perception within it. For the light of heaven is essentially intelligence flowing from the Divine which enables every single thing represented in the light of heaven to be perceived. The same is not so with the light of the world, for that light does not hold any intelligence at all within it; yet the understanding is formed by means of it - by means of the inflowing light of heaven into it, and at the same time by means of the inflowing of the power of perception which the light of heaven contains within itself. This being so, a person dwells in the light of heaven insofar as intelligence exists with him, while intelligence exists with him insofar as the truths of faith do so, and the truths of faith exist with him insofar as the good of love does so. Consequently a person dwells in the light of heaven insofar as the good of love exists with him.

  
/ 10837  
  

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