The Bible

 

Genesis 14

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1 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῇ αμαρφαλ βασιλέως σεννααρ αριωχ βασιλεὺς ελλασαρ καὶ χοδολλογομορ βασιλεὺς αιλαμ καὶ θαργαλ βασιλεὺς ἐθνῶν

2 ἐποίησαν πόλεμον μετὰ βαλλα βασιλέως σοδομων καὶ μετὰ βαρσα βασιλέως γομορρας καὶ σεννααρ βασιλέως αδαμα καὶ συμοβορ βασιλέως σεβωιμ καὶ βασιλέως βαλακ αὕτη ἐστὶν σηγωρ

3 πάντες οὗτοι συνεφώνησαν ἐπὶ τὴν φάραγγα τὴν ἁλυκήν αὕτη ἡ θάλασσα τῶν ἁλῶν

4 δώδεκα ἔτη ἐδούλευον τῷ χοδολλογομορ τῷ δὲ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει ἀπέστησαν

5 ἐν δὲ τῷ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει ἦλθεν χοδολλογομορ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέκοψαν τοὺς γίγαντας τοὺς ἐν ασταρωθ καρναιν καὶ ἔθνη ἰσχυρὰ ἅμα αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς ομμαίους τοὺς ἐν σαυη τῇ πόλει

6 καὶ τοὺς χορραίους τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν σηιρ ἕως τῆς τερεμίνθου τῆς φαραν ἥ ἐστιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

7 καὶ ἀναστρέψαντες ἤλθοσαν ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν τῆς κρίσεως αὕτη ἐστὶν καδης καὶ κατέκοψαν πάντας τοὺς ἄρχοντας αμαληκ καὶ τοὺς αμορραίους τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν ασασανθαμαρ

8 ἐξῆλθεν δὲ βασιλεὺς σοδομων καὶ βασιλεὺς γομορρας καὶ βασιλεὺς αδαμα καὶ βασιλεὺς σεβωιμ καὶ βασιλεὺς βαλακ αὕτη ἐστὶν σηγωρ καὶ παρετάξαντο αὐτοῖς εἰς πόλεμον ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τῇ ἁλυκῇ

9 πρὸς χοδολλογομορ βασιλέα αιλαμ καὶ θαργαλ βασιλέα ἐθνῶν καὶ αμαρφαλ βασιλέα σεννααρ καὶ αριωχ βασιλέα ελλασαρ οἱ τέσσαρες βασιλεῖς πρὸς τοὺς πέντε

10 ἡ δὲ κοιλὰς ἡ ἁλυκὴ φρέατα φρέατα ἀσφάλτου ἔφυγεν δὲ βασιλεὺς σοδομων καὶ βασιλεὺς γομορρας καὶ ἐνέπεσαν ἐκεῖ οἱ δὲ καταλειφθέντες εἰς τὴν ὀρεινὴν ἔφυγον

11 ἔλαβον δὲ τὴν ἵππον πᾶσαν τὴν σοδομων καὶ γομορρας καὶ πάντα τὰ βρώματα αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπῆλθον

12 ἔλαβον δὲ καὶ τὸν λωτ υἱὸν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αβραμ καὶ τὴν ἀποσκευὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπῴχοντο ἦν γὰρ κατοικῶν ἐν σοδομοις

13 παραγενόμενος δὲ τῶν ἀνασωθέντων τις ἀπήγγειλεν αβραμ τῷ περάτῃ αὐτὸς δὲ κατῴκει πρὸς τῇ δρυὶ τῇ μαμβρη ὁ αμορις τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ εσχωλ καὶ ἀδελφοῦ αυναν οἳ ἦσαν συνωμόται τοῦ αβραμ

14 ἀκούσας δὲ αβραμ ὅτι ᾐχμαλώτευται λωτ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἠρίθμησεν τοὺς ἰδίους οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ τριακοσίους δέκα καὶ ὀκτώ καὶ κατεδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἕως δαν

15 καὶ ἐπέπεσεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς τὴν νύκτα αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐδίωξεν αὐτοὺς ἕως χωβα ἥ ἐστιν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δαμασκοῦ

16 καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν πᾶσαν τὴν ἵππον σοδομων καὶ λωτ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπέστρεψεν καὶ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὸν λαόν

17 ἐξῆλθεν δὲ βασιλεὺς σοδομων εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῷ μετὰ τὸ ἀναστρέψαι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς κοπῆς τοῦ χοδολλογομορ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῶν μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν κοιλάδα τὴν σαυη τοῦτο ἦν τὸ πεδίον βασιλέως

18 καὶ μελχισεδεκ βασιλεὺς σαλημ ἐξήνεγκεν ἄρτους καὶ οἶνον ἦν δὲ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου

19 καὶ ηὐλόγησεν τὸν αβραμ καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογημένος αβραμ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ὑψίστῳ ὃς ἔκτισεν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν

20 καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς ὁ ὕψιστος ὃς παρέδωκεν τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποχειρίους σοι καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ δεκάτην ἀπὸ πάντων

21 εἶπεν δὲ βασιλεὺς σοδομων πρὸς αβραμ δός μοι τοὺς ἄνδρας τὴν δὲ ἵππον λαβὲ σεαυτῷ

22 εἶπεν δὲ αβραμ πρὸς βασιλέα σοδομων ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τὸν ὕψιστον ὃς ἔκτισεν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν

23 εἰ ἀπὸ σπαρτίου ἕως σφαιρωτῆρος ὑποδήματος λήμψομαι ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν σῶν ἵνα μὴ εἴπῃς ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐπλούτισα τὸν αβραμ

24 πλὴν ὧν ἔφαγον οἱ νεανίσκοι καὶ τῆς μερίδος τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν συμπορευθέντων μετ' ἐμοῦ εσχωλ αυναν μαμβρη οὗτοι λήμψονται μερίδα

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1742

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1742. 'Give me the people and take the acquisitions for yourself' 1 means that He was to give them life and they would not care about anything else. This is clear from the meaning of 'soul' as life, dealt with already in 1000, 1005, 1040, and from the meaning of 'acquisitions' as all the other things that do not belong properly to life, dealt with immediately below.

[2] The life that evil spirits have and love desperately is the life belonging to the desires that derive from self-love and love of the world - consequently the life that goes with hatred, revenge, and cruelty; and they imagine that no delight can exist in any other kind of life. They are like men, for they have been men and retain this conviction from their life when they were men. They centre all life in the delight that accompanies such desires; indeed they know no other than that this life is the only life, and that when they lose it they will die completely. The nature of the life they love is clear from those like them in the next life. There it is converted into a life that stinks most disgustingly, yet what is remarkable, they perceive that stench as something most delightful, as becomes clear from what has been told from experience in 820, 954.

[3] The same applies to the devils who, having been cast out of the demoniac by the Lord, begged for fear of their lives to be sent into the pigs, Mark 5:7-13. That these were people who during their lifetime had surrendered themselves to foul avarice becomes clear from the fact that such people seem to themselves in the next life to spend their time among pigs. They do so because the life of pigs corresponds to avarice, and therefore they find it delightful, as is clear in what has been told from experience in 939.

Footnotes:

1. literally, Give me the soul[s], and keep the acquisition[s] for yourself

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