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The Bible

 

Genesis 20

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1 καὶ ἐκίνησεν ἐκεῖθεν αβρααμ εἰς γῆν πρὸς λίβα καὶ ὤ|κησεν ἀνὰ μέσον καδης καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον σουρ καὶ παρῴκησεν ἐν γεραροις

2 εἶπεν δὲ αβρααμ περὶ σαρρας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν ἐφοβήθη γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι γυνή μού ἐστιν μήποτε ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες τῆς πόλεως δι' αὐτήν ἀπέστειλεν δὲ αβιμελεχ βασιλεὺς γεραρων καὶ ἔλαβεν τὴν σαρραν

3 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς αβιμελεχ ἐν ὕπνῳ τὴν νύκτα καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ σὺ ἀποθνῄσκεις περὶ τῆς γυναικός ἧς ἔλαβες αὕτη δέ ἐστιν συνῳκηκυῖα ἀνδρί

4 αβιμελεχ δὲ οὐχ ἥψατο αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπεν κύριε ἔθνος ἀγνοοῦν καὶ δίκαιον ἀπολεῖς

5 οὐκ αὐτός μοι εἶπεν ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν καὶ αὐτή μοι εἶπεν ἀδελφός μού ἐστιν ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ χειρῶν ἐποίησα τοῦτο

6 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς καθ' ὕπνον κἀγὼ ἔγνων ὅτι ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ ἐποίησας τοῦτο καὶ ἐφεισάμην ἐγώ σου τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν σε εἰς ἐμέ ἕνεκεν τούτου οὐκ ἀφῆκά σε ἅψασθαι αὐτῆς

7 νῦν δὲ ἀπόδος τὴν γυναῖκα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὅτι προφήτης ἐστὶν καὶ προσεύξεται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ζήσῃ εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀποδίδως γνῶθι ὅτι ἀποθανῇ σὺ καὶ πάντα τὰ σά

8 καὶ ὤρθρισεν αβιμελεχ τὸ πρωὶ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησεν πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα εἰς τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι σφόδρα

9 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αβιμελεχ τὸν αβρααμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας ἡμῖν μή τι ἡμάρτομεν εἰς σέ ὅτι ἐπήγαγες ἐπ' ἐμὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν μου ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην ἔργον ὃ οὐδεὶς ποιήσει πεποίηκάς μοι

10 εἶπεν δὲ αβιμελεχ τῷ αβρααμ τί ἐνιδὼν ἐποίησας τοῦτο

11 εἶπεν δὲ αβρααμ εἶπα γάρ ἄρα οὐκ ἔστιν θεοσέβεια ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ἐμέ τε ἀποκτενοῦσιν ἕνεκεν τῆς γυναικός μου

12 καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν ἐκ πατρός ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκ μητρός ἐγενήθη δέ μοι εἰς γυναῖκα

13 ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἐξήγαγέν με ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ εἶπα αὐτῇ ταύτην τὴν δικαιοσύνην ποιήσεις ἐπ' ἐμέ εἰς πάντα τόπον οὗ ἐὰν εἰσέλθωμεν ἐκεῖ εἰπὸν ἐμὲ ὅτι ἀδελφός μού ἐστιν

14 ἔλαβεν δὲ αβιμελεχ χίλια δίδραχμα πρόβατα καὶ μόσχους καὶ παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας καὶ ἔδωκεν τῷ αβρααμ καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτῷ σαρραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ

15 καὶ εἶπεν αβιμελεχ τῷ αβρααμ ἰδοὺ ἡ γῆ μου ἐναντίον σου οὗ ἐάν σοι ἀρέσκῃ κατοίκει

16 τῇ δὲ σαρρα εἶπεν ἰδοὺ δέδωκα χίλια δίδραχμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου ταῦτα ἔσται σοι εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ προσώπου σου καὶ πάσαις ταῖς μετὰ σοῦ καὶ πάντα ἀλήθευσον

17 προσηύξατο δὲ αβρααμ πρὸς τὸν θεόν καὶ ἰάσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν αβιμελεχ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς παιδίσκας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔτεκον

18 ὅτι συγκλείων συνέκλεισεν κύριος ἔξωθεν πᾶσαν μήτραν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ αβιμελεχ ἕνεκεν σαρρας τῆς γυναικὸς αβρααμ

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Faith #49

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49. The Philistines Mentioned in the Word Represent People Devoted to a Faith Divorced from Caring

IN the Word all the names of nations and peoples as well as of persons and places are used to mean matters of the church. The church itself is meant by Israel and Judah because that is where it was established; and various other religious perspectives are meant by the surrounding nations and peoples—compatible perspectives by the good nations and incompatible ones by the evil nations.

There are two evil versions of religion into which all churches degenerate with the passage of time. One is the corruption of what a given church has that is good and the other is the distortion of what that church has that is true. The origin of the version that pollutes the good qualities of the church is the love of having complete control [over others], and the origin of the second version, which distorts the true ideas of the church, is pride in our own intelligence.

The version that comes from a love of having complete control is the one meant in the Word by Babylon, and the version that comes from pride in our own intelligence is the one meant in the Word by Philistia.

Everyone knows who the Babylonians are in our own times, but not who the Philistines are. The Philistines are people who are devoted to faith but not to caring.

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

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