The Bible

 

Genesis 8

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1 καὶ ἐμνήσθη ὁ θεὸς τοῦ νωε καὶ πάντων τῶν θηρίων καὶ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ πάντων τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν ὅσα ἦν μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ καὶ ἐπήγαγεν ὁ θεὸς πνεῦμα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκόπασεν τὸ ὕδωρ

2 καὶ ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ πηγαὶ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ οἱ καταρράκται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ συνεσχέθη ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

3 καὶ ἐνεδίδου τὸ ὕδωρ πορευόμενον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐνεδίδου καὶ ἠλαττονοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ μετὰ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν ἡμέρας

4 καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐν μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ αραρατ

5 τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ πορευόμενον ἠλαττονοῦτο ἕως τοῦ δεκάτου μηνός ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑνδεκάτῳ μηνί τῇ πρώτῃ τοῦ μηνός ὤφθησαν αἱ κεφαλαὶ τῶν ὀρέων

6 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας ἠνέῳξεν νωε τὴν θυρίδα τῆς κιβωτοῦ ἣν ἐποίησεν

7 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν κόρακα τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ κεκόπακεν τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐξελθὼν οὐχ ὑπέστρεψεν ἕως τοῦ ξηρανθῆναι τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς

8 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὴν περιστερὰν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ κεκόπακεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς

9 καὶ οὐχ εὑροῦσα ἡ περιστερὰ ἀνάπαυσιν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῆς ὑπέστρεψεν πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν ὅτι ὕδωρ ἦν ἐπὶ παντὶ προσώπῳ πάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν

10 καὶ ἐπισχὼν ἔτι ἡμέρας ἑπτὰ ἑτέρας πάλιν ἐξαπέστειλεν τὴν περιστερὰν ἐκ τῆς κιβωτοῦ

11 καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ περιστερὰ τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν καὶ εἶχεν φύλλον ἐλαίας κάρφος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῆς καὶ ἔγνω νωε ὅτι κεκόπακεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς

12 καὶ ἐπισχὼν ἔτι ἡμέρας ἑπτὰ ἑτέρας πάλιν ἐξαπέστειλεν τὴν περιστεράν καὶ οὐ προσέθετο τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔτι

13 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ καὶ ἑξακοσιοστῷ ἔτει ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τοῦ νωε τοῦ πρώτου μηνός μιᾷ τοῦ μηνός ἐξέλιπεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἀπεκάλυψεν νωε τὴν στέγην τῆς κιβωτοῦ ἣν ἐποίησεν καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι ἐξέλιπεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς

14 ἐν δὲ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός ἐξηράνθη ἡ γῆ

15 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ νωε λέγων

16 ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς κιβωτοῦ σὺ καὶ ἡ γυνή σου καὶ οἱ υἱοί σου καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν σου μετὰ σοῦ

17 καὶ πάντα τὰ θηρία ὅσα ἐστὶν μετὰ σοῦ καὶ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἀπὸ πετεινῶν ἕως κτηνῶν καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετὸν κινούμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐξάγαγε μετὰ σεαυτοῦ καὶ αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

18 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν νωε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ

19 καὶ πάντα τὰ θηρία καὶ πάντα τὰ κτήνη καὶ πᾶν πετεινὸν καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετὸν κινούμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος αὐτῶν ἐξήλθοσαν ἐκ τῆς κιβωτοῦ

20 καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν νωε θυσιαστήριον τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν καθαρῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν πετεινῶν τῶν καθαρῶν καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν ὁλοκαρπώσεις ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον

21 καὶ ὠσφράνθη κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς διανοηθείς οὐ προσθήσω ἔτι τοῦ καταράσασθαι τὴν γῆν διὰ τὰ ἔργα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅτι ἔγκειται ἡ διάνοια τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ ἐκ νεότητος οὐ προσθήσω οὖν ἔτι πατάξαι πᾶσαν σάρκα ζῶσαν καθὼς ἐποίησα

22 πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς γῆς σπέρμα καὶ θερισμός ψῦχος καὶ καῦμα θέρος καὶ ἔαρ ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα οὐ καταπαύσουσιν

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #895

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895. 'The waters dried up from over the earth' means that falsities were not at that time apparent. This is clear from what has been stated. In particular these words mean that falsities had been separated from things of the will belonging to the member of this Church. The statement 'the waters dried up from over the earth' occurs at this point because here 'earth' means the person's will, which is nothing but evil desire. As stated already, the ground is situated in the understanding part of man's mind, in which part truths are sown. No sowing ever takes place in the will part, which in the spiritual man has been separated from the understanding part. This is why in the last part of this verse it is said that 'the face 1 of the ground was dry'. With the member of the Most Ancient Church there was ground in the will part of his mind, where the Lord implanted goods. It was from goods therefore that he was able to know and perceive truth, that is, it was from love that he was able to possess faith. If the same thing were to happen today however, a person would inevitably and eternally perish, for his will is utterly corrupted. What implantation in the will part entails and what in the understanding part becomes clear from the consideration that the member of the Most Ancient Church had in fact enjoyed revelations through which from early childhood onwards he was led into a perception of goods and truths. But since they used to be implanted in the will part of his mind he perceived without any further instruction the countless aspects of any one general matter. He knew from the Lord the details and the finer points which nowadays men must learn before knowing about them. And even then they can know scarcely one thousandth of them. For the member of the spiritual Church knows nothing unless he acquires it by learning; and what he gets to know in this fashion he retains and believes to be true. Indeed if he learns something false and this is impressed on him as though it were true, he believes that as well, for he has no other perception than that a thing is true because he has in that way been persuaded of it. People who possess conscience derive from conscience a certain dictate. Yet with them a thing is true only because they have heard and learned that it is. This is what constitutes their conscience, as becomes clear from people who have a conscience of what is false.

Footnotes:

1. literally, the faces

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