The Bible

 

Genesis 28

Study

   

1 προσκαλεσαμενος δε ισαακ τον ιακωβ ευλογησεν αυτον και ενετειλατο αυτω λεγων ου λημψη γυναικα εκ των θυγατερων χανααν

2 αναστας αποδραθι εις την μεσοποταμιαν εις τον οικον βαθουηλ του πατρος της μητρος σου και λαβε σεαυτω εκειθεν γυναικα εκ των θυγατερων λαβαν του αδελφου της μητρος σου

3 ο δε θεος μου ευλογησαι σε και αυξησαι σε και πληθυναι σε και εση εις συναγωγας εθνων

4 και δωη σοι την ευλογιαν αβρααμ του πατρος μου σοι και τω σπερματι σου μετα σε κληρονομησαι την γην της παροικησεως σου ην εδωκεν ο θεος τω αβρααμ

5 και απεστειλεν ισαακ τον ιακωβ και επορευθη εις την μεσοποταμιαν προς λαβαν τον υιον βαθουηλ του συρου αδελφον δε ρεβεκκας της μητρος ιακωβ και ησαυ

6 ειδεν δε ησαυ οτι ευλογησεν ισαακ τον ιακωβ και απωχετο εις την μεσοποταμιαν συριας λαβειν εαυτω εκειθεν γυναικα εν τω ευλογειν αυτον και ενετειλατο αυτω λεγων ου λημψη γυναικα απο των θυγατερων χανααν

7 και ηκουσεν ιακωβ του πατρος και της μητρος αυτου και επορευθη εις την μεσοποταμιαν συριας

8 και ειδεν ησαυ οτι πονηραι εισιν αι θυγατερες χανααν εναντιον ισαακ του πατρος αυτου

9 και επορευθη ησαυ προς ισμαηλ και ελαβεν την μαελεθ θυγατερα ισμαηλ του υιου αβρααμ αδελφην ναβαιωθ προς ταις γυναιξιν αυτου γυναικα

10 και εξηλθεν ιακωβ απο του φρεατος του ορκου και επορευθη εις χαρραν

11 και απηντησεν τοπω και εκοιμηθη εκει εδυ γαρ ο ηλιος και ελαβεν απο των λιθων του τοπου και εθηκεν προς κεφαλης αυτου και εκοιμηθη εν τω τοπω εκεινω

12 και ενυπνιασθη και ιδου κλιμαξ εστηριγμενη εν τη γη ης η κεφαλη αφικνειτο εις τον ουρανον και οι αγγελοι του θεου ανεβαινον και κατεβαινον επ' αυτης

13 ο δε κυριος επεστηρικτο επ' αυτης και ειπεν εγω κυριος ο θεος αβρααμ του πατρος σου και ο θεος ισαακ μη φοβου η γη εφ' ης συ καθευδεις επ' αυτης σοι δωσω αυτην και τω σπερματι σου

14 και εσται το σπερμα σου ως η αμμος της γης και πλατυνθησεται επι θαλασσαν και επι λιβα και επι βορραν και επ' ανατολας και ενευλογηθησονται εν σοι πασαι αι φυλαι της γης και εν τω σπερματι σου

15 και ιδου εγω μετα σου διαφυλασσων σε εν τη οδω παση ου εαν πορευθης και αποστρεψω σε εις την γην ταυτην οτι ου μη σε εγκαταλιπω εως του ποιησαι με παντα οσα ελαλησα σοι

16 και εξηγερθη ιακωβ απο του υπνου αυτου και ειπεν οτι εστιν κυριος εν τω τοπω τουτω εγω δε ουκ ηδειν

17 και εφοβηθη και ειπεν ως φοβερος ο τοπος ουτος ουκ εστιν τουτο αλλ' η οικος θεου και αυτη η πυλη του ουρανου

18 και ανεστη ιακωβ το πρωι και ελαβεν τον λιθον ον υπεθηκεν εκει προς κεφαλης αυτου και εστησεν αυτον στηλην και επεχεεν ελαιον επι το ακρον αυτης

19 και εκαλεσεν ιακωβ το ονομα του τοπου εκεινου οικος θεου και ουλαμλους ην ονομα τη πολει το προτερον

20 και ηυξατο ιακωβ ευχην λεγων εαν η κυριος ο θεος μετ' εμου και διαφυλαξη με εν τη οδω ταυτη η εγω πορευομαι και δω μοι αρτον φαγειν και ιματιον περιβαλεσθαι

21 και αποστρεψη με μετα σωτηριας εις τον οικον του πατρος μου και εσται μοι κυριος εις θεον

22 και ο λιθος ουτος ον εστησα στηλην εσται μοι οικος θεου και παντων ων εαν μοι δως δεκατην αποδεκατωσω αυτα σοι

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3701

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

3701. 'And behold, the angels of God going up and coming down on it' means an infinite and eternal communication and the consequent joining together - a going up, so to speak, from what is lowest, and after that, when order has been inverted, a coming down to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the angels' as some aspect of the Lord's Divine meant by the expression 'angels' when used in the Word, dealt with in 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039. The aspect meant here is Divine Truth. This is clear from the fact that they are called 'the angels of God', for the name God is used when truth is the subject in the internal sense, but Jehovah when good is the subject, see 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822. This is why although the name Jehovah is used directly after this in the phrase 'Jehovah standing above it', they are nevertheless referred to here as 'the angels of God', since the subject is truth from which good springs, represented by 'Jacob' here, as stated many times above. As regards the expression 'going up and coming down on the stairway' meaning in the highest sense infinite and eternal communication and the consequent joining together, this is clear without further explanation. But one cannot speak of a communication between, and the consequent joining together of the Lord's Divine itself and His Divine Human unless at the same time one calls these attributes infinite and eternal, for in the Lord everything is infinite and eternal - infinite so far as Being (Esse) is concerned and eternal so far as Manifestation (Existere) is concerned. From what has been stated up to now it is evident that 'a stairway set up on the earth, and its top reaching to heaven, and behold, the angels of God going up and coming down on it' means in a nutshell a going up so to speak from what is lowest, and after that, when order is inverted, a coming down to it.

[2] The nature of this going up and coming down becomes clear from what has been stated and shown above in 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3607, 3610, 3665, 3690. But because this order - which comes into effect when a person is being regenerated and which is described in the internal sense here and in what follows - is completely unknown in the Church, let the nature of it be illustrated further: It is well known that a person is born into the same disposition as his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, going back for centuries, and so into hereditary evil gradually accumulated by all those before him, so much so that there is nothing but evil in what he does when he acts from himself. As a consequence both his understanding and his will have been totally spoiled and of himself he does not will anything good at all and therefore does not understand anything true at all. That which he calls good, indeed believes to be good, is in fact evil, and that which he calls the truth, indeed believes to be the truth, is in fact falsity. Take, for example, loving himself more than others, wanting things to be better for himself than for others, desiring what belongs to someone else, and considering only himself and not others unless he himself will benefit. Because he desires these things of himself he indeed calls them good and also true. And what is more, if anyone harms or tries to harm these things which by him are called good and true, he hates him and is also filled with thoughts of revenge. He desires and also seeks that person's ruin, and takes delight in this insofar as he actually strengthens such intentions in himself, that is, as frequently as he actually puts them into effect.

[3] When such a person enters the next life his desires remain the same. The actual disposition which he has acquired in the world by the life he led remains, and that delight is perceived plainly by others. Consequently he is unable to be in any heavenly community where everyone wants things to be better for others than for himself; but he is in some community of hell whose delight is similar to his own. It is that disposition of his which needs to be rooted out while he is living in the world, something that cannot possibly be achieved except through regeneration from the Lord, that is, through receiving quite another will and therefore quite another understanding - by becoming a new person so far as both those powers of mind are concerned. But for this to come about he must first of all be born like a young child again, learn what evil and falsity are, and learn what good and truth are, for without knowledge or awareness of these he is unable to have any good conferred on him. Indeed of himself he does not acknowledge anything else as good except that which is evil, nor anything else as truth except that which is false.

[4] To make a person new, cognitions are instilled into him such as are not completely contrary to those he has already - for example, the idea that all love starts in himself; the idea that one should consider oneself first and others only after that; the idea that those people who are outwardly poor and wretched should be helped irrespective of what they are like inwardly; and that similarly widows and orphans should be helped solely because they are called such; and at length the idea that enemies in general should be helped irrespective of who they may be; and also the idea that by acting in these ways one is able to merit heaven. These and other ideas like them are the cognitions proper to the early childhood of his new life. They are such that because they derive to some extent from his previous life, or the disposition belonging to his previous life, they also derive to some extent from his new life into which he is being led in this way. They are consequently such as allow into themselves things that contribute towards the formation of a new will and of a new understanding. They are the lowest forms of good and truth, and it is with these that people who are being regenerated start out. And because these lowest forms of good and truth allow more interior truths into themselves, that is, truths closer to Divine truths, falsities which a person had previously believed to be truths are also rooted out.

[5] People who are being regenerated however do not learn such things simply as matters of knowledge but as matters of life, for they practice those truths. But their practice of them has its beginnings in the new will which the Lord is instilling, though they are totally unaware of it. And to the extent they welcome that new will they also welcome those cognitions, put them into practice, and believe them. But to the extent they do not welcome that new will they are indeed able to learn such truths but not to put them into effect since they consider them purely as matters of knowledge and not of life.

[6] That state is the state of early and later childhood as regards the new life which is to replace the previous life, but the state of the early and later youth of that life is a state when no attention is paid to any person's outward presentation of himself but to what he is like with regard to good - first of all with regard to it in public affairs, then in private affairs, and at length in spiritual, at which point he starts to possess and to love good first and foremost, and from good the person. And when after that he is more perfect still his concern is to aid those who are governed by good, his help depending on the kind of good present with those whom he helps. At length he takes delight in helping them. And because he takes delight in good he also takes pleasure in ideas that support it. Those supporting ideas he acknowledges as truths, which also constitute the truths of his new understanding which flow from the forms of good which belong to his new will.

[7] To the same extent as he takes delight in that good and takes pleasure in those truths he also feels an aversion to the evils of his previous life and a displeasure in its falsities. This is why things belonging to the previous will are now separated from those belonging to the new will, and those belonging to the previous understanding from those belonging to the new understanding. The determining factor in this separation is not the affection for knowing them, but the affection for doing them. As a consequence he now sees that the truths belonging to his early childhood in relation one to another have existed inversely and that those same truths have been reorganized little by little into another order, that is to say, their interrelationship has been changed so that those which initially occupied the first place now occupy the last. In this way he sees that by means of those truths which belonged to his early and later childhood the angels of God so to speak went up by means of a stairway from earth to heaven, whereas now by means of the truths belonging to his adult life the angels of God so to speak come down by means of the stairway from heaven to earth.

  
/ 10837  
  

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