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Genesis 17

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1 ἐγένετο δὲ αβραμ ἐτῶν ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα καὶ ὤφθη κύριος τῷ αβραμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεός σου εὐαρέστει ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ καὶ γίνου ἄμεμπτος

2 καὶ θήσομαι τὴν διαθήκην μου ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ καὶ πληθυνῶ σε σφόδρα

3 καὶ ἔπεσεν αβραμ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς λέγων

4 καὶ ἐγὼ ἰδοὺ ἡ διαθήκη μου μετὰ σοῦ καὶ ἔσῃ πατὴρ πλήθους ἐθνῶν

5 καὶ οὐ κληθήσεται ἔτι τὸ ὄνομά σου αβραμ ἀλλ' ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου αβρααμ ὅτι πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε

6 καὶ αὐξανῶ σε σφόδρα σφόδρα καὶ θήσω σε εἰς ἔθνη καὶ βασιλεῖς ἐκ σοῦ ἐξελεύσονται

7 καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου μετὰ σὲ εἰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον εἶναί σου θεὸς καὶ τοῦ σπέρματός σου μετὰ σέ

8 καὶ δώσω σοι καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου μετὰ σὲ τὴν γῆν ἣν παροικεῖς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν χανααν εἰς κατάσχεσιν αἰώνιον καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς θεός

9 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς αβρααμ σὺ δὲ τὴν διαθήκην μου διατηρήσεις σὺ καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου μετὰ σὲ εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν

10 καὶ αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διατηρήσεις ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου μετὰ σὲ εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν περιτμηθήσεται ὑμῶν πᾶν ἀρσενικόν

11 καὶ περιτμηθήσεσθε τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἔσται ἐν σημείῳ διαθήκης ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν

12 καὶ παιδίον ὀκτὼ ἡμερῶν περιτμηθήσεται ὑμῖν πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν ὁ οἰκογενὴς τῆς οἰκίας σου καὶ ὁ ἀργυρώνητος ἀπὸ παντὸς υἱοῦ ἀλλοτρίου ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματός σου

13 περιτομῇ περιτμηθήσεται ὁ οἰκογενὴς τῆς οἰκίας σου καὶ ὁ ἀργυρώνητος καὶ ἔσται ἡ διαθήκη μου ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον

14 καὶ ἀπερίτμητος ἄρσην ὃς οὐ περιτμηθήσεται τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῆς ὅτι τὴν διαθήκην μου διεσκέδασεν

15 εἶπεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς τῷ αβρααμ σαρα ἡ γυνή σου οὐ κληθήσεται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς σαρα ἀλλὰ σαρρα ἔσται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς

16 εὐλογήσω δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ δώσω σοι ἐξ αὐτῆς τέκνον καὶ εὐλογήσω αὐτόν καὶ ἔσται εἰς ἔθνη καὶ βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔσονται

17 καὶ ἔπεσεν αβρααμ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον καὶ ἐγέλασεν καὶ εἶπεν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ αὐτοῦ λέγων εἰ τῷ ἑκατονταετεῖ γενήσεται καὶ εἰ σαρρα ἐνενήκοντα ἐτῶν οὖσα τέξεται

18 εἶπεν δὲ αβρααμ πρὸς τὸν θεόν ισμαηλ οὗτος ζήτω ἐναντίον σου

19 εἶπεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς τῷ αβρααμ ναί ἰδοὺ σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου τέξεταί σοι υἱόν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ισαακ καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτόν

20 περὶ δὲ ισμαηλ ἰδοὺ ἐπήκουσά σου ἰδοὺ εὐλόγησα αὐτὸν καὶ αὐξανῶ αὐτὸν καὶ πληθυνῶ αὐτὸν σφόδρα δώδεκα ἔθνη γεννήσει καὶ δώσω αὐτὸν εἰς ἔθνος μέγα

21 τὴν δὲ διαθήκην μου στήσω πρὸς ισαακ ὃν τέξεταί σοι σαρρα εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ ἑτέρῳ

22 συνετέλεσεν δὲ λαλῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ αβρααμ

23 καὶ ἔλαβεν αβρααμ ισμαηλ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντας τοὺς οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀργυρωνήτους καὶ πᾶν ἄρσεν τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αβρααμ καὶ περιέτεμεν τὰς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καθὰ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός

24 αβρααμ δὲ ἦν ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα ἐτῶν ἡνίκα περιέτεμεν τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτοῦ

25 ισμαηλ δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἐτῶν δέκα τριῶν ἦν ἡνίκα περιετμήθη τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτοῦ

26 ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης περιετμήθη αβρααμ καὶ ισμαηλ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ

27 καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ οἰκογενεῖς καὶ οἱ ἀργυρώνητοι ἐξ ἀλλογενῶν ἐθνῶν περιέτεμεν αὐτούς

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2116

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2116. That 'were circumcised by him' means that they were made righteous by the Lord becomes clear from the representation and consequently from the meaning of 'being circumcised' as being purified, dealt with above in 2039. 'Being circumcised by him' - that is, by Abraham - was also a representative act, that is to say, an act of being purified and so of being made righteous by the Lord. As regards righteousness however, the position is not as people commonly suppose. They imagine that all evils and sins are washed away and completely abolished when people become believers, even if they become such only in their last hour before they die, no matter whether they have committed evil and disgraceful actions throughout the whole course of their lives. I have been fully informed however that not even the smallest evil a person has thought and carried out during his lifetime is washed away and completely abolished, but that everything remains right down to the smallest detail.

[2] The truth of the matter is that in the case of people who have thought and practiced acts of hatred, revenge, cruelty, and adultery, and so have not led charitable lives, the life they have acquired in so doing awaits them after death. Indeed every single facet of that life awaits them and gradually reappears. This for them is the source of torment in hell. But in the case of people who have led lives of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour all their evils of life await them also; but these are moderated by the goods which they have received from the Lord through the life of charity during their lifetime, and in this condition they are raised up into heaven. Indeed they are withheld from the evils which they have with them so that these do not show themselves. People in the next life who doubt that they have evils with them because they do not show themselves are brought back into those evils until they know that it really is so. After that they are raised once more into heaven.

[3] This then is what being made righteous entails, for in this way people come to acknowledge not their own righteousness but the Lord's. When people say that those are saved who have faith, they are saying something that is true; but in the Word nothing else is meant by faith than love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, and so a life that is derived from those loves. Matters of doctrine and established beliefs do not constitute faith yet are part of faith, for these, each and every one, exist to the end that a person may become such as they teach. This becomes quite clear from the Lord's words about all the Law and all the Prophets, that is, the doctrine of faith in its entirety., consisting in love to God and love towards the neighbour, Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-35. The fact that no other kind of faith which is truly faith can possibly, exist has been shown in Volume One, in 30-38, 379, 389, 724, 809, 896, 904, 916, 989, 1017, 1076, 1077, 1121, 1158, 1162, 1176, 1258, 1285, 1316, 1608, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1843, 1844, and that heaven itself consists in love to the Lord and in mutual love, in 537, 547, 553, 1112, 2057.

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

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