The Bible

 

Genesis 25

Study

   

1 προσθέμενος δὲ αβρααμ ἔλαβεν γυναῖκα ᾗ ὄνομα χεττουρα

2 ἔτεκεν δὲ αὐτῷ τὸν ζεμραν καὶ τὸν ιεξαν καὶ τὸν μαδαν καὶ τὸν μαδιαμ καὶ τὸν ιεσβοκ καὶ τὸν σωυε

3 ιεξαν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν σαβα καὶ τὸν θαιμαν καὶ τὸν δαιδαν υἱοὶ δὲ δαιδαν ἐγένοντο ραγουηλ καὶ ναβδεηλ καὶ ασσουριιμ καὶ λατουσιιμ καὶ λοωμιμ

4 υἱοὶ δὲ μαδιαμ γαιφα καὶ αφερ καὶ ενωχ καὶ αβιρα καὶ ελραγα πάντες οὗτοι ἦσαν υἱοὶ χεττουρας

5 ἔδωκεν δὲ αβρααμ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ ισαακ τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ

6 καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν παλλακῶν αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν αβρααμ δόματα καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ ισαακ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτι ζῶντος αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς εἰς γῆν ἀνατολῶν

7 ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ἔτη ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αβρααμ ὅσα ἔζησεν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε ἔτη

8 καὶ ἐκλιπὼν ἀπέθανεν αβρααμ ἐν γήρει καλῷ πρεσβύτης καὶ πλήρης ἡμερῶν καὶ προσετέθη πρὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ

9 καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν ισαακ καὶ ισμαηλ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον τὸ διπλοῦν εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν εφρων τοῦ σααρ τοῦ χετταίου ὅ ἐστιν ἀπέναντι μαμβρη

10 τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ τὸ σπήλαιον ὃ ἐκτήσατο αβρααμ παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν χετ ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν αβρααμ καὶ σαρραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ

11 ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν αβρααμ εὐλόγησεν ὁ θεὸς ισαακ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ κατῴκησεν ισαακ παρὰ τὸ φρέαρ τῆς ὁράσεως

12 αὗται δὲ αἱ γενέσεις ισμαηλ τοῦ υἱοῦ αβρααμ ὃν ἔτεκεν αγαρ ἡ παιδίσκη σαρρας τῷ αβρααμ

13 καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν υἱῶν ισμαηλ κατ' ὄνομα τῶν γενεῶν αὐτοῦ πρωτότοκος ισμαηλ ναβαιωθ καὶ κηδαρ καὶ ναβδεηλ καὶ μασσαμ

14 καὶ μασμα καὶ ιδουμα καὶ μασση

15 καὶ χοδδαδ καὶ θαιμαν καὶ ιετουρ καὶ ναφες καὶ κεδμα

16 οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ισμαηλ καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς σκηναῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἐπαύλεσιν αὐτῶν δώδεκα ἄρχοντες κατὰ ἔθνη αὐτῶν

17 καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ἔτη τῆς ζωῆς ισμαηλ ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα ἑπτὰ ἔτη καὶ ἐκλιπὼν ἀπέθανεν καὶ προσετέθη πρὸς τὸ γένος αὐτοῦ

18 κατῴκησεν δὲ ἀπὸ ευιλατ ἕως σουρ ἥ ἐστιν κατὰ πρόσωπον αἰγύπτου ἕως ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ἀσσυρίους κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ κατῴκησεν

19 καὶ αὗται αἱ γενέσεις ισαακ τοῦ υἱοῦ αβρααμ αβρααμ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ισαακ

20 ἦν δὲ ισαακ ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὴν ρεβεκκαν θυγατέρα βαθουηλ τοῦ σύρου ἐκ τῆς μεσοποταμίας ἀδελφὴν λαβαν τοῦ σύρου ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκα

21 ἐδεῖτο δὲ ισαακ κυρίου περὶ ρεβεκκας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι στεῖρα ἦν ἐπήκουσεν δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ θεός καὶ ἔλαβεν ἐν γαστρὶ ρεβεκκα ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ

22 ἐσκίρτων δὲ τὰ παιδία ἐν αὐτῇ εἶπεν δέ εἰ οὕτως μοι μέλλει γίνεσθαι ἵνα τί μοι τοῦτο ἐπορεύθη δὲ πυθέσθαι παρὰ κυρίου

23 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος αὐτῇ δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σού εἰσιν καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι

24 καὶ ἐπληρώθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ τεκεῖν αὐτήν καὶ τῇδε ἦν δίδυμα ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς

25 ἐξῆλθεν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς ὁ πρωτότοκος πυρράκης ὅλος ὡσεὶ δορὰ δασύς ἐπωνόμασεν δὲ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ησαυ

26 καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἐπειλημμένη τῆς πτέρνης ησαυ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ιακωβ ισαακ δὲ ἦν ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα ὅτε ἔτεκεν αὐτοὺς ρεβεκκα

27 ηὐξήθησαν δὲ οἱ νεανίσκοι καὶ ἦν ησαυ ἄνθρωπος εἰδὼς κυνηγεῖν ἄγροικος ιακωβ δὲ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἄπλαστος οἰκῶν οἰκίαν

28 ἠγάπησεν δὲ ισαακ τὸν ησαυ ὅτι ἡ θήρα αὐτοῦ βρῶσις αὐτῷ ρεβεκκα δὲ ἠγάπα τὸν ιακωβ

29 ἥψησεν δὲ ιακωβ ἕψεμα ἦλθεν δὲ ησαυ ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου ἐκλείπων

30 καὶ εἶπεν ησαυ τῷ ιακωβ γεῦσόν με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑψέματος τοῦ πυρροῦ τούτου ὅτι ἐκλείπω διὰ τοῦτο ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ εδωμ

31 εἶπεν δὲ ιακωβ τῷ ησαυ ἀπόδου μοι σήμερον τὰ πρωτοτόκιά σου ἐμοί

32 εἶπεν δὲ ησαυ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πορεύομαι τελευτᾶν καὶ ἵνα τί μοι ταῦτα τὰ πρωτοτόκια

33 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ιακωβ ὄμοσόν μοι σήμερον καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῷ ἀπέδοτο δὲ ησαυ τὰ πρωτοτόκια τῷ ιακωβ

34 ιακωβ δὲ ἔδωκεν τῷ ησαυ ἄρτον καὶ ἕψεμα φακοῦ καὶ ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔπιεν καὶ ἀναστὰς ὤ|χετο καὶ ἐφαύλισεν ησαυ τὰ πρωτοτόκια

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3293

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

3293. 'Two nations are in your womb' means the natural as regards good, interior and exterior, which is conception. This is clear from the meaning of 'nations' as goods, in particular of the Church, dealt with in 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849. Here goods within the natural are meant, as is evident from the consideration that Esau and Jacob, who at that time were in the womb, represent the Lord's Divine Natural, as will be quite clear from what follows in the part where they are the subject. As with the rational the natural consists of good and of truth. The good within the natural includes all that which goes with natural affection and is called delight, whereas the truth within the natural includes all that which is part of knowledge and is termed factual knowledge. These two must be present in the natural for it to be the natural. By itself and isolated from the delight which belongs to affection, factual knowledge is not anything at all - it being from delight that the natural gets its life, since it is from this that the natural may come to know anything. However, if delight, which is the good of the natural, is devoid of factual knowledge, it is nevertheless something, though only a vital spark, as it is in young children. For the natural to be human therefore it has to consist of both elements, the one perfecting the other. But life itself it receives from good.

[2] As for the good which is the subject here, it is twofold - interior and exterior. Interior good communicates with the interior man, that is, with the rational, while exterior good communicates with the external, that is, with the things that belong to the body, bringing life to the external senses as well as to actions. Without such communication in both parts no one is able to live as a rational being or as a physical organism. Interior communication is what remains with a person after death and then constitutes his natural life, for a spirit too possesses natural life since his spiritual life is encompassed in the natural as the ultimate level of it. For no one is able to think spiritually immediately after death except from the things that belong to his natural. Exterior communication however is what a person has while he is living in the body, but it comes to an end with the death of the body. From these considerations it may now be seen what 'two nations in the womb' means, namely the natural as regards good, interior and exterior. 'In the womb' means, in the internal sense, conception, and this is why at this point the expression 'which is conception' is used in reference to that good.

  
/ 10837  
  

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