The Bible

 

Genesis 18

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1 ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς πρὸς τῇ δρυὶ τῇ μαμβρη καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ μεσημβρίας

2 ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ τρεῖς ἄνδρες εἱστήκεισαν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδὼν προσέδραμεν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν

3 καὶ εἶπεν κύριε εἰ ἄρα εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον σου μὴ παρέλθῃς τὸν παῖδά σου

4 λημφθήτω δὴ ὕδωρ καὶ νιψάτωσαν τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν καὶ καταψύξατε ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον

5 καὶ λήμψομαι ἄρτον καὶ φάγεσθε καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο παρελεύσεσθε εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῶν οὗ εἵνεκεν ἐξεκλίνατε πρὸς τὸν παῖδα ὑμῶν καὶ εἶπαν οὕτως ποίησον καθὼς εἴρηκας

6 καὶ ἔσπευσεν αβρααμ ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν πρὸς σαρραν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ σπεῦσον καὶ φύρασον τρία μέτρα σεμιδάλεως καὶ ποίησον ἐγκρυφίας

7 καὶ εἰς τὰς βόας ἔδραμεν αβρααμ καὶ ἔλαβεν μοσχάριον ἁπαλὸν καὶ καλὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν τῷ παιδί καὶ ἐτάχυνεν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτό

8 ἔλαβεν δὲ βούτυρον καὶ γάλα καὶ τὸ μοσχάριον ὃ ἐποίησεν καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐφάγοσαν αὐτὸς δὲ παρειστήκει αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον

9 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν ποῦ σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ

10 εἶπεν δέ ἐπαναστρέφων ἥξω πρὸς σὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου σαρρα δὲ ἤκουσεν πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς σκηνῆς οὖσα ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ

11 αβρααμ δὲ καὶ σαρρα πρεσβύτεροι προβεβηκότες ἡμερῶν ἐξέλιπεν δὲ σαρρα γίνεσθαι τὰ γυναικεῖα

12 ἐγέλασεν δὲ σαρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγουσα οὔπω μέν μοι γέγονεν ἕως τοῦ νῦν ὁ δὲ κύριός μου πρεσβύτερος

13 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αβρααμ τί ὅτι ἐγέλασεν σαρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγουσα ἆρά γε ἀληθῶς τέξομαι ἐγὼ δὲ γεγήρακα

14 μὴ ἀδυνατεῖ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ῥῆμα εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ σαρρα υἱός

15 ἠρνήσατο δὲ σαρρα λέγουσα οὐκ ἐγέλασα ἐφοβήθη γάρ καὶ εἶπεν οὐχί ἀλλὰ ἐγέλασας

16 ἐξαναστάντες δὲ ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες κατέβλεψαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον σοδομων καὶ γομορρας αβρααμ δὲ συνεπορεύετο μετ' αὐτῶν συμπροπέμπων αὐτούς

17 ὁ δὲ κύριος εἶπεν μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ αβρααμ τοῦ παιδός μου ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ

18 αβρααμ δὲ γινόμενος ἔσται εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ πολύ καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς

19 ᾔδειν γὰρ ὅτι συντάξει τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτόν καὶ φυλάξουσιν τὰς ὁδοὺς κυρίου ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίσιν ὅπως ἂν ἐπαγάγῃ κύριος ἐπὶ αβρααμ πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησεν πρὸς αὐτόν

20 εἶπεν δὲ κύριος κραυγὴ σοδομων καὶ γομορρας πεπλήθυνται καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῶν μεγάλαι σφόδρα

21 καταβὰς οὖν ὄψομαι εἰ κατὰ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐρχομένην πρός με συντελοῦνται εἰ δὲ μή ἵνα γνῶ

22 καὶ ἀποστρέψαντες ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες ἦλθον εἰς σοδομα αβρααμ δὲ ἦν ἑστηκὼς ἐναντίον κυρίου

23 καὶ ἐγγίσας αβρααμ εἶπεν μὴ συναπολέσῃς δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής

24 ἐὰν ὦσιν πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀπολεῖς αὐτούς οὐκ ἀνήσεις πάντα τὸν τόπον ἕνεκεν τῶν πεντήκοντα δικαίων ἐὰν ὦσιν ἐν αὐτῇ

25 μηδαμῶς σὺ ποιήσεις ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής μηδαμῶς ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν

26 εἶπεν δὲ κύριος ἐὰν εὕρω ἐν σοδομοις πεντήκοντα δικαίους ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀφήσω πάντα τὸν τόπον δι' αὐτούς

27 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς αβρααμ εἶπεν νῦν ἠρξάμην λαλῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδός

28 ἐὰν δὲ ἐλαττονωθῶσιν οἱ πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι πέντε ἀπολεῖς ἕνεκεν τῶν πέντε πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἐὰν εὕρω ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα πέντε

29 καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν τεσσαράκοντα

30 καὶ εἶπεν μή τι κύριε ἐὰν λαλήσω ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἐὰν εὕρω ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα

31 καὶ εἶπεν ἐπειδὴ ἔχω λαλῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ εἴκοσι καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν εἴκοσι

32 καὶ εἶπεν μή τι κύριε ἐὰν λαλήσω ἔτι ἅπαξ ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ δέκα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν δέκα

33 ἀπῆλθεν δὲ κύριος ὡς ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν τῷ αβρααμ καὶ αβρααμ ἀπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2171

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2171. 'Abraham hastened towards the tent to Sarah' means the Lord's rational good joined to His truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Abraham' and also of 'Sarah' and from the meaning of 'the tent', dealt with in the three paragraphs following this. Just as the meaning of any single detail in the Word is determined by whatever the subject is in the internal sense, so it is with the details here; that is to say, they relate specifically to the Divine perception into which the Lord entered when the perception of the human existed with Him. But people who do not know what perception is cannot know what it entails, still less that degrees of perception more and more interior exist - natural perception, then rational perception, and finally internal perception which is Divine and which only the Lord has had. Those who have perception, as angels do, know very well what their degree of perception is, whether it is natural, or rational, or a more interior perception still, which to them is Divine. How then must it have been with the Lord, whose perception came from the Supreme and Infinite Divine itself, dealt with in 1616 (end), 1791? Angels never possess such perception as He had, for their perception flows into them from the Lord's Supreme or Infinite Divine by way of His Human Essence. The reason the Lord's perception is described is that when He was in the Human it was in this way made known to Him how the Divine itself, the Divine Human, and the Holy proceeding were to be united within Him; then how His Rational would be made Divine; and finally the nature of the human race which was to be saved through Him, that is, through the union of the Human Essence and the Divine Essence within Him. These are the matters dealt with in this chapter. It is on account of these that the Lord's perception is first described here, and also on account of the union itself which was to be effected.

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