The Bible

 

Genesis 7

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1 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς πρὸς νωε εἴσελθε σὺ καὶ πᾶς ὁ οἶκός σου εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν ὅτι σὲ εἶδον δίκαιον ἐναντίον μου ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ

2 ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν καθαρῶν εἰσάγαγε πρὸς σὲ ἑπτὰ ἑπτά ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν μὴ καθαρῶν δύο δύο ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ

3 καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῶν καθαρῶν ἑπτὰ ἑπτά ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν τῶν μὴ καθαρῶν δύο δύο ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ διαθρέψαι σπέρμα ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν

4 ἔτι γὰρ ἡμερῶν ἑπτὰ ἐγὼ ἐπάγω ὑετὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας καὶ ἐξαλείψω πᾶσαν τὴν ἐξανάστασιν ἣν ἐποίησα ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς

5 καὶ ἐποίησεν νωε πάντα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεός

6 νωε δὲ ἦν ἐτῶν ἑξακοσίων καὶ ὁ κατακλυσμὸς ἐγένετο ὕδατος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

7 εἰσῆλθεν δὲ νωε καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν διὰ τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ

8 καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν καθαρῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν μὴ καθαρῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

9 δύο δύο εἰσῆλθον πρὸς νωε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ καθὰ ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ ὁ θεός

10 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ τὰς ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

11 ἐν τῷ ἑξακοσιοστῷ ἔτει ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τοῦ νωε τοῦ δευτέρου μηνός ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐρράγησαν πᾶσαι αἱ πηγαὶ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ οἱ καταρράκται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἠνεῴχθησαν

12 καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ὑετὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας

13 ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ εἰσῆλθεν νωε σημ χαμ ιαφεθ υἱοὶ νωε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ νωε καὶ αἱ τρεῖς γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν

14 καὶ πάντα τὰ θηρία κατὰ γένος καὶ πάντα τὰ κτήνη κατὰ γένος καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετὸν κινούμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος καὶ πᾶν πετεινὸν κατὰ γένος

15 εἰσῆλθον πρὸς νωε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκός ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν πνεῦμα ζωῆς

16 καὶ τὰ εἰσπορευόμενα ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκὸς εἰσῆλθεν καθὰ ἐνετείλατο ὁ θεὸς τῷ νωε καὶ ἔκλεισεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἔξωθεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κιβωτόν

17 καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ κατακλυσμὸς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπληθύνθη τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐπῆρεν τὴν κιβωτόν καὶ ὑψώθη ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς

18 καὶ ἐπεκράτει τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐπληθύνετο σφόδρα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπεφέρετο ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος

19 τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ ἐπεκράτει σφόδρα σφοδρῶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπεκάλυψεν πάντα τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλά ἃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

20 δέκα πέντε πήχεις ἐπάνω ὑψώθη τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐπεκάλυψεν πάντα τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλά

21 καὶ ἀπέθανεν πᾶσα σὰρξ κινουμένη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν θηρίων καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετὸν κινούμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος

22 καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ πᾶς ὃς ἦν ἐπὶ τῆς ξηρᾶς ἀπέθανεν

23 καὶ ἐξήλειψεν πᾶν τὸ ἀνάστημα ὃ ἦν ἐπὶ προσώπου πάσης τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους καὶ ἑρπετῶν καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐξηλείφθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ κατελείφθη μόνος νωε καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ

24 καὶ ὑψώθη τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἡμέρας ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #788

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788. 'The waters increased and raised the ark and lifted it above the earth' means that in such manner it wavered; and 'the waters grew stronger and increased greatly over the earth, and the ark went over the face 1 of the waters' means that in such manner its waverings grew stronger. This does not become clear unless the nature of the state of this Church called Noah is stated beforehand. 'Noah' was not the Ancient Church itself but, as already stated, was like the parent or seed of that Church. But Noah together with Shem, Ham, and Japheth constituted the Ancient Church that followed immediately after the Most Ancient Church. Every member of the Church called Noah belonged to the descendants of the Most Ancient Church, and therefore as far as hereditary evil was concerned his state was little different from that of other descendants who did not survive. Those whose state was little different were unable to be regenerated and become spiritual as those could whose hereditary disposition was not like theirs. The nature of their hereditary disposition has been stated already in 310, but to enable people to have a better knowledge of it let the following be said.

[2] People who belong to the seed of Jacob, such as the Jews, cannot be regenerated so easily as gentiles. The reverse of faith is ingrained within them not only on account of the assumptions they have adopted since early childhood and subsequently confirmed, but also on account of their heredity. That it is also ingrained within them on account of their heredity becomes clear to some extent from the consideration that they are by disposition different from others, indeed have different customs and also different facial features from others, by which they can be singled out, such characteristics being theirs by heredity. And the same applies to their interior peculiarities, for customs and facial features are the imprints of the things within. This also is why converted Jews, more than anybody else, waver between truth and falsity. It was similar with the first people of this Church who were called Noah, for they belonged to the stock and seed of the most ancient people. These waverings are what are being described here, and in what follows further on where it is said that Noah was a man of the ground and that he planted a vineyard, and drank some of the wine, and became drunk, so that he lay naked in the middle of his tent, Genesis 9:20-21. That those people were few has been made clear to me from the consideration that the member (homo) of that Church is represented in the world of spirits as a tall slim man (vir) clothed in white, in a narrow room. Even so these were the people who preserved and possessed among themselves doctrinal matters concerning faith.

Footnotes:

1. literally, over the faces

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