The Bible

 

Genesis 16

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1 σαρα δὲ ἡ γυνὴ αβραμ οὐκ ἔτικτεν αὐτῷ ἦν δὲ αὐτῇ παιδίσκη αἰγυπτία ᾗ ὄνομα αγαρ

2 εἶπεν δὲ σαρα πρὸς αβραμ ἰδοὺ συνέκλεισέν με κύριος τοῦ μὴ τίκτειν εἴσελθε οὖν πρὸς τὴν παιδίσκην μου ἵνα τεκνοποιήσῃς ἐξ αὐτῆς ὑπήκουσεν δὲ αβραμ τῆς φωνῆς σαρας

3 καὶ λαβοῦσα σαρα ἡ γυνὴ αβραμ αγαρ τὴν αἰγυπτίαν τὴν ἑαυτῆς παιδίσκην μετὰ δέκα ἔτη τοῦ οἰκῆσαι αβραμ ἐν γῇ χανααν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν αβραμ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς αὐτῷ γυναῖκα

4 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς αγαρ καὶ συνέλαβεν καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχει καὶ ἠτιμάσθη ἡ κυρία ἐναντίον αὐτῆς

5 εἶπεν δὲ σαρα πρὸς αβραμ ἀδικοῦμαι ἐκ σοῦ ἐγὼ δέδωκα τὴν παιδίσκην μου εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου ἰδοῦσα δὲ ὅτι ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχει ἠτιμάσθην ἐναντίον αὐτῆς κρίναι ὁ θεὸς ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ

6 εἶπεν δὲ αβραμ πρὸς σαραν ἰδοὺ ἡ παιδίσκη σου ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου χρῶ αὐτῇ ὡς ἄν σοι ἀρεστὸν ᾖ καὶ ἐκάκωσεν αὐτὴν σαρα καὶ ἀπέδρα ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῆς

7 εὗρεν δὲ αὐτὴν ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σουρ

8 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου αγαρ παιδίσκη σαρας πόθεν ἔρχῃ καὶ ποῦ πορεύῃ καὶ εἶπεν ἀπὸ προσώπου σαρας τῆς κυρίας μου ἐγὼ ἀποδιδράσκω

9 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἀποστράφητι πρὸς τὴν κυρίαν σου καὶ ταπεινώθητι ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς

10 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὸ σπέρμα σου καὶ οὐκ ἀριθμηθήσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους

11 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἰδοὺ σὺ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχεις καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ισμαηλ ὅτι ἐπήκουσεν κύριος τῇ ταπεινώσει σου

12 οὗτος ἔσται ἄγροικος ἄνθρωπος αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πάντας καὶ αἱ χεῖρες πάντων ἐπ' αὐτόν καὶ κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ κατοικήσει

13 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αγαρ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ λαλοῦντος πρὸς αὐτήν σὺ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐπιδών με ὅτι εἶπεν καὶ γὰρ ἐνώπιον εἶδον ὀφθέντα μοι

14 ἕνεκεν τούτου ἐκάλεσεν τὸ φρέαρ φρέαρ οὗ ἐνώπιον εἶδον ἰδοὺ ἀνὰ μέσον καδης καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον βαραδ

15 καὶ ἔτεκεν αγαρ τῷ αβραμ υἱόν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αβραμ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ὃν ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ αγαρ ισμαηλ

16 αβραμ δὲ ἦν ὀγδοήκοντα ἓξ ἐτῶν ἡνίκα ἔτεκεν αγαρ τὸν ισμαηλ τῷ αβραμ

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4454

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4454. 'And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers' means counsel taken by the truth from the ancient Divine stock with the good and truth of this semblance of religion. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in this case as taking counsel; from the representation of 'Shechem' as the truth from the ancient Divine stock, dealt with above in 4447; from the meaning of 'father', who in this case is Jacob, as the good of truth, dealt with in 4273, 4337; and from the meaning of 'brothers', who in this case are the sons of Jacob, as truths, dealt with above. It is evident from the references quoted above in 4447 that Shechem means truth from the ancient Divine stock; for Hamor the Hivite together with his nation and family in the land of Canaan were part of the remnants of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial. This Church, more than all other Churches in the whole world, was in origin Divine, for the good of love to the Lord was present in it. Will and understanding with them made one, and so one mind, and on that account they had from good a perception of truth. For the Lord was flowing in by an internal route into the good present in their will and from this into the good present in their understanding, that is, into their truth, as a consequence of which that Church more than all others was called Man, 477-479, and also the Likeness of God, 51, 473, 1013. From this one may see why Hamor and Shechem are said to be from the ancient Divine stock, as previously in 4399. The fact that the Most Ancient Church, which was called 'Man', or to use the Hebrew word 'Adam', was located in the land of Canaan, as stated above in 4447, is quite evident from their descendants who were called the Nephilim, Genesis 6:4. The presence of the latter in the land of Canaan is referred to in Numbers 13:33; see 581. But at that time the expression 'the land of Canaan' was used to mean all the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, Genesis 15:18.

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