The Bible

 

Genesis 32

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1 ἀναστὰς δὲ λαβαν τὸ πρωὶ κατεφίλησεν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς καὶ ἀποστραφεὶς λαβαν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ

2 καὶ ιακωβ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδόν καὶ ἀναβλέψας εἶδεν παρεμβολὴν θεοῦ παρεμβεβληκυῖαν καὶ συνήντησαν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ

3 εἶπεν δὲ ιακωβ ἡνίκα εἶδεν αὐτούς παρεμβολὴ θεοῦ αὕτη καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου παρεμβολαί

4 ἀπέστειλεν δὲ ιακωβ ἀγγέλους ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πρὸς ησαυ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς γῆν σηιρ εἰς χώραν εδωμ

5 καὶ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς λέγων οὕτως ἐρεῖτε τῷ κυρίῳ μου ησαυ οὕτως λέγει ὁ παῖς σου ιακωβ μετὰ λαβαν παρῴκησα καὶ ἐχρόνισα ἕως τοῦ νῦν

6 καὶ ἐγένοντό μοι βόες καὶ ὄνοι καὶ πρόβατα καὶ παῖδες καὶ παιδίσκαι καὶ ἀπέστειλα ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ κυρίῳ μου ησαυ ἵνα εὕρῃ ὁ παῖς σου χάριν ἐναντίον σου

7 καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν οἱ ἄγγελοι πρὸς ιακωβ λέγοντες ἤλθομεν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν σου ησαυ καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἔρχεται εἰς συνάντησίν σοι καὶ τετρακόσιοι ἄνδρες μετ' αὐτοῦ

8 ἐφοβήθη δὲ ιακωβ σφόδρα καὶ ἠπορεῖτο καὶ διεῖλεν τὸν λαὸν τὸν μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς βόας καὶ τὰ πρόβατα εἰς δύο παρεμβολάς

9 καὶ εἶπεν ιακωβ ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ησαυ εἰς παρεμβολὴν μίαν καὶ ἐκκόψῃ αὐτήν ἔσται ἡ παρεμβολὴ ἡ δευτέρα εἰς τὸ σῴζεσθαι

10 εἶπεν δὲ ιακωβ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου αβρααμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου ισαακ κύριε ὁ εἴπας μοι ἀπότρεχε εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς γενέσεώς σου καὶ εὖ σε ποιήσω

11 ἱκανοῦταί μοι ἀπὸ πάσης δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ἀληθείας ἧς ἐποίησας τῷ παιδί σου ἐν γὰρ τῇ ῥάβδῳ μου διέβην τὸν ιορδάνην τοῦτον νῦν δὲ γέγονα εἰς δύο παρεμβολάς

12 ἐξελοῦ με ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου ησαυ ὅτι φοβοῦμαι ἐγὼ αὐτόν μήποτε ἐλθὼν πατάξῃ με καὶ μητέρα ἐπὶ τέκνοις

13 σὺ δὲ εἶπας καλῶς εὖ σε ποιήσω καὶ θήσω τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης ἣ οὐκ ἀριθμηθήσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους

14 καὶ ἐκοιμήθη ἐκεῖ τὴν νύκτα ἐκείνην καὶ ἔλαβεν ὧν ἔφερεν δῶρα καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν ησαυ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ

15 αἶγας διακοσίας τράγους εἴκοσι πρόβατα διακόσια κριοὺς εἴκοσι

16 καμήλους θηλαζούσας καὶ τὰ παιδία αὐτῶν τριάκοντα βόας τεσσαράκοντα ταύρους δέκα ὄνους εἴκοσι καὶ πώλους δέκα

17 καὶ ἔδωκεν διὰ χειρὸς τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ ποίμνιον κατὰ μόνας εἶπεν δὲ τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ προπορεύεσθε ἔμπροσθέν μου καὶ διάστημα ποιεῖτε ἀνὰ μέσον ποίμνης καὶ ποίμνης

18 καὶ ἐνετείλατο τῷ πρώτῳ λέγων ἐάν σοι συναντήσῃ ησαυ ὁ ἀδελφός μου καὶ ἐρωτᾷ σε λέγων τίνος εἶ καὶ ποῦ πορεύῃ καὶ τίνος ταῦτα τὰ προπορευόμενά σου

19 ἐρεῖς τοῦ παιδός σου ιακωβ δῶρα ἀπέσταλκεν τῷ κυρίῳ μου ησαυ καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ὀπίσω ἡμῶν

20 καὶ ἐνετείλατο τῷ πρώτῳ καὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ καὶ τῷ τρίτῳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς προπορευομένοις ὀπίσω τῶν ποιμνίων τούτων λέγων κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο λαλήσατε ησαυ ἐν τῷ εὑρεῖν ὑμᾶς αὐτὸν

21 καὶ ἐρεῖτε ἰδοὺ ὁ παῖς σου ιακωβ παραγίνεται ὀπίσω ἡμῶν εἶπεν γάρ ἐξιλάσομαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς δώροις τοῖς προπορευομένοις αὐτοῦ καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ὄψομαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἴσως γὰρ προσδέξεται τὸ πρόσωπόν μου

22 καὶ παρεπορεύοντο τὰ δῶρα κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ αὐτὸς δὲ ἐκοιμήθη τὴν νύκτα ἐκείνην ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ

23 ἀναστὰς δὲ τὴν νύκτα ἐκείνην ἔλαβεν τὰς δύο γυναῖκας καὶ τὰς δύο παιδίσκας καὶ τὰ ἕνδεκα παιδία αὐτοῦ καὶ διέβη τὴν διάβασιν τοῦ ιαβοκ

24 καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτοὺς καὶ διέβη τὸν χειμάρρουν καὶ διεβίβασεν πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ

25 ὑπελείφθη δὲ ιακωβ μόνος καὶ ἐπάλαιεν ἄνθρωπος μετ' αὐτοῦ ἕως πρωί

26 εἶδεν δὲ ὅτι οὐ δύναται πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ πλάτους τοῦ μηροῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνάρκησεν τὸ πλάτος τοῦ μηροῦ ιακωβ ἐν τῷ παλαίειν αὐτὸν μετ' αὐτοῦ

27 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἀπόστειλόν με ἀνέβη γὰρ ὁ ὄρθρος ὁ δὲ εἶπεν οὐ μή σε ἀποστείλω ἐὰν μή με εὐλογήσῃς

28 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ τί τὸ ὄνομά σού ἐστιν ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ιακωβ

29 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ οὐ κληθήσεται ἔτι τὸ ὄνομά σου ιακωβ ἀλλὰ ισραηλ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου ὅτι ἐνίσχυσας μετὰ θεοῦ καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων δυνατός

30 ἠρώτησεν δὲ ιακωβ καὶ εἶπεν ἀνάγγειλόν μοι τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ εἶπεν ἵνα τί τοῦτο ἐρωτᾷς τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ηὐλόγησεν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ

31 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ιακωβ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου εἶδος θεοῦ εἶδον γὰρ θεὸν πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον καὶ ἐσώθη μου ἡ ψυχή

32 ἀνέτειλεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ἥλιος ἡνίκα παρῆλθεν τὸ εἶδος τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπέσκαζεν τῷ μηρῷ αὐτοῦ

33 ἕνεκεν τούτου οὐ μὴ φάγωσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ισραηλ τὸ νεῦρον ὃ ἐνάρκησεν ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ πλάτους τοῦ μηροῦ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης ὅτι ἥψατο τοῦ πλάτους τοῦ μηροῦ ιακωβ τοῦ νεύρου καὶ ἐνάρκησεν

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4236

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4236. And Jacob said when he saw them, This is the camp of God. That this signifies heaven, is because the “camp of God” signifies heaven, for the reason that an “army” signifies truths and goods (n. 3448), and truths and goods are marshaled by the Lord in heavenly order; hence an “encamping” denotes a marshalling by armies; and the heavenly order itself which is heaven, is the “camp.” This “camp” or order is of such a nature that hell cannot possibly break in upon it, although it is in the constant endeavor to do so. Hence also this order, or heaven, is called a “camp,” and the truths and goods (that is, the angels) who are marshaled in this order, are called “armies.” This shows whence it is that the “camp of God” signifies heaven. It is this very order, and thus heaven itself, which was represented by the encampments of the sons of Israel in the wilderness; and their dwelling together in the wilderness according to their tribes was called the “camp.” The tabernacle in the midst, and around which they encamped, represented the Lord Himself. That the sons of Israel encamped in this manner, may be seen in Numbers 1:1-54 33:2-56; as also that they encamped around the tabernacle by their tribes-toward the east Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; toward the south Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; toward the west Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin; toward the north Dan, Asher, and Naphtali; and the Levites in the middle near the tabernacle (2:2-34).

[2] The tribes signified all goods and truths in the complex (see n. 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060). It was for this reason that when Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, and the spirit of God came upon him, he uttered his enunciation, saying:

How good are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, thy dwelling places, O Israel, as the valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river (Numbers 24:5-6).

That by this prophecy was not meant the people named Jacob and Israel, but that it was the heaven of the Lord that was represented, is very manifest. For the same reason their marshallings in the wilderness, that is, their encampings by tribes, are called “camps” in other passages of the Word; and by a “camp” is there signified in the internal sense heavenly order; and by “encamping” a marshalling in accordance with this order, namely, the order in which goods and truths are disposed in heaven (as in Leviticus 4:12; 8:17; 13:46; 14:8; 16:26, 28; 24:14, 23; Numbers 2; 4:5-33; 5:2-4; 9:17 to the end; 10:1-10, 28; 11:31-32; 12:14-15; 31:19-24; Deuteronomy 23:10-14).

[3] That the “camp of God” denotes heaven may also be seen in Joel:

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled, the sun and the moon were blackened, and the stars withdrew their brightness, and Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, for His camp is exceeding many, for numerous is he that doeth His word (Joel 2:10-11).

In Zechariah:

I will encamp at my house from the army, on account of him who passeth by, and on account of him who goeth away, lest the extortioner should pass over them (Zech. 9:8).

In John:

Gog and Magog went up over the plain of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; but fire came up from God and consumed them (Revelation 20:9);

“Gog and Magog” denote those who are in external worship that is separated from internal and made idolatrous (n. 1151); the “plain of the earth” denotes the truth of the church (that a “plain” is the truth which is of doctrine may be seen above, n. 2450; and that the “earth” is the church, n. 556, 662, 1066, 1067, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355); the “camp of the saints” denotes the heaven or kingdom of the Lord on the earth, which is the church.

[4] As most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so likewise has a “camp,” which then signifies evils and falsities, consequently hell; as in David:

Though the evil should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear (Psalms 27:3).

In the same:

God hath scattered the bones of them that encamp against me; thou hast put them to shame, because God hath rejected them (Psalms 53:5).

By the camp of Assyria, in which the angel of Jehovah smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand (Isaiah 37:36), nothing else is meant; and the same by the camp of the Egyptians (Exodus 14:20).

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

The Bible

 

Numbers 1

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1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

2 "Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, every male, one by one;

3 from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their divisions.

4 With you there shall be a man of every tribe; everyone head of his fathers' house.

5 These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur.

6 Of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

7 Of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

8 Of Issachar: Nethanel the son of Zuar.

9 Of Zebulun: Eliab the son of Helon.

10 Of the children of Joseph: Of Ephraim: Elishama the son of Ammihud. Of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

11 Of Benjamin: Abidan the son of Gideoni.

12 Of Dan: Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

13 Of Asher: Pagiel the son of Ochran.

14 Of Gad: Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

15 Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan."

16 These are those who were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

17 Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name.

18 They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one.

19 As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 The children of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

21 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty-six thousand five hundred.

22 Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, those who were numbered of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

23 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

24 Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

25 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.

26 Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

27 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were sixty-four thousand six hundred.

28 Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

29 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

30 Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

31 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

32 Of the children of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

33 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred.

34 Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

35 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

36 Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

37 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

38 Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;

39 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

40 Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;

41 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred.

42 Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;

43 those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

44 These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: they were each one for his fathers' house.

45 So all those who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel;

46 even all those who were numbered were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.

47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.

48 For Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

49 "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, neither shall you take a census of them among the children of Israel;

50 but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle, and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it.

51 When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

52 The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions.

53 But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony."

54 Thus the children of Israel did. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so they did.