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ကမ္ဘာ ဦး 25

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1 တဖန်အာဗြဟံသည်၊ ကေတုရအမည်ရှိသော မိန်းမနှင့် စုံဘက်၍၊

2 ထိုမိန်းမသည် ဇိမရံ၊ ယုတ်ရှန်၊ မေဒန်၊ မိဒျန်၊ ဣရှဗက်၊ ရှုအာတို့ကို ဘွားမြင်လေ၏။

3 ယုတ်ရှန်သားကား၊ ရှေဘနှင့်ဒေဒန်တည်း။ ဒေဒန်သားကား၊ အာရှုရိမ်လူ၊ လေတုရှိမ်လူ၊ လုမ်မိမ် လူတည်း။

4 မိဒျိန် သားကား၊ ဧဖါ၊ ဧဖေရ၊ ဟာနုတ်၊ အဘိဒ၊ ဧလဒါတည်း။ ထိုသူအပေါင်းတို့ကား ကေတုရအနွယ် ဖြစ်ကြသတည်း။

5 အာဗြဟံသည်၊ မိမိဥစ္စာရှိသမျှကို ဣဇာက်အား ပေးလေ၏။

6 မယားငယ်တို့၌ ရသောသားတို့အားလည်း၊ မိမိအသက်ရှင်စဉ်တွင် ဆုလပ်များကိုဝေပေး၍၊ သား ဣဇာတ်ထံမှ အရှေ့ပြည်သို့ လွှတ်လိုက်လေ၏။

7 ထိုနောက်အာဗြဟံသည် အသက်ကြီးရင့်၍၊ အိုမင်းခြင်း၊ နေ့ရက် ကာလပြည့်စုံခြင်းနှင့်တကွ၊ အသက်ပေါင်း တရာခုနစ်ဆယ်ငါးနှစ်ရှိသော်၊

8 အသက်ချုပ်၍ အနိစ္စဖြစ်သဖြင့်၊ မိမိလူမျိုး စည်းဝေးရာသို့ရောက်လေ၏။

9 သားဣဇာက်နှင့် ဣရှမေလတို့သည်၊ မံရေမြို့ ရှေ့မှာဟိတ္တိအမျိုးသား၊ ဇောရသားဧဖရုန်၏လယ်ပြင် တွင်၊ မပ္ပေလမြေတွင်း၌ အဘကို သင်္ဂြိုဟ်ကြ၏။

10 ဟေသအမျိုးသားတို့အား အဘိုးပေး၍ အာဗြဟံ ဝယ်သောလယ်ပြင်၌၊ အာဗြဟံနှင့် မယားစာရာတို့ကို သင်္ဂြိုဟ်ကြသတည်း။

11 အာဗြဟံ သေသောနောက်၊ သားဣဇာက်ကို ဘုရားသခင် ကောင်းကြီးပေးတော်မူ၏။ ဣဇာက်သည် ဗေရလဟဲရောမြို့မှာ နေသတည်း။

12 စာရာ၏ကျွန်မ၊ အဲဂုတ္တု၊ အမျိုးသား ဟာဂရ ဘွားမြင်သော အာဗြဟံသား ဣရှမေလသားဉ် မြေးဆက်တည်းဟူသော၊

13 မိမိအမျိုးအနွယ်အလိုက်၊ ဣရှမေလသားများအမည်ဟူမူကား၊ သားအကြီး နာဗာယုတ်။ ထိုနောက် ကေဒါ၊ အာဒဗေလ၊ မိဗသံ၊

14-15 မိရှမ၊ ဒုမာ၊ မာစ၊ - ဟာဒဒ်၊ တေမ၊ ယေတုရ၊ နာဖိရှ၊ ကေဒမာတည်းဟူသော၊

16 ဣရှမေလသားတည်း။ ထိုသို့အမည်ရှိသော သူတို့သည်၊ မိမိမြို့၊ မိမိရဲတိုက်အလိုက်၊ အမျိုးမျိုးသော မင်းဆယ်နှစ်ပါးဖြစ်သတည်း။

17 ဣရှမေလသည် အသက်တရာသုံးဆယ်ခုနစ်နှစ်ရှိသော်၊ အသက်ချုပ်၍သေသဖြင့်၊ မိမိလူမျိုးစည်းဝေးရာသို့ ရောက်လေ၏။

18 သူတို့သည်လည်း၊ အာရှုရိပြည်သို့သွားရာလမ်း အရှေ့၊ ရှုရမြို့ တိုင်အောင် နေကြ၏။ ထိုသို့ ဣရှမေလ၏ နေရာသည်၊ မိမိ ညီအစ်ကို အပေါင်းအနား၌ ကျသတည်း။

19 အာဗြဟံသား ဣဇာက်၏အဆက်အနွှယ်ဟူ မူကား၊ အာဗြဟံသားကား ဣဇာက်တည်း။

20 ဣဇာက်သည်၊ အသက်လေးဆယ်ရှိသောအခါ၊ ပါဒနာရံအရပ်သူ၊ ရှုရိအမျိုးဗေသွေလသမီးရှုရိလူ လာဗန်၏ နှမရေဗက္ကနှင့် အိမ်ထောင်လေ၏။

21 ဣဇာက်သည်၊ မိမိမယား ရေဗက္ကမြုံသော ကြောင့်၊ ထာဝရဘုရားကို တောင်းပန်၍၊ ထာဝရဘုရား နားထောင်တော်မူသဖြင့်၊ သူ၏မယားသည် ပဋိသန္ဓေ စွဲယူလေ၏။

22 ဝမ်းအတွင်း၌ တည်သောသူငယ်တို့သည်၊ အချင်းချင်း တိုက်ခိုက်ကြ၏။ အမိကလည်း၊ ထိုသို့ဖြစ်၍ ငါ၌အဘယ်အမှုရောက်ပါလိမ့်မည်နည်းဟု ဆိုသဖြင့်၊ ထာဝရဘုရားကို မေးလျှောက်ခြင်းငှါသွားလေ၏။

23 ထာဝရဘုရားကလည်း၊ သင်၏ ဝမ်းအတွင်း၌ လူမျိုးနှစ်မျိုးရှိ၏။ သင်၏ဝမ်းထဲက ခြားနားသော လူစု နှစ်စုကို ဘွားရလိမ့်မည်။ လူတမျိုးသည် တမျိုးထက် အားကြီးလိမ့်မည်။ အကြီးသည်အငယ်၌ ကျွန်ခံရလိမ့် မည်ဟု မိန့်တော်မူ၏။

24 ဘွားချိန်ေ့သောအခါ၊ သူဝမ်း၌သားအမွှာ ရှိသဖြင့်၊

25 အဦးဘွားသောသားသည်၊ အမွေးပါသော ဝတ်ကဲ့သို့ဖြစ်၍၊ တကိုယ်လုံးအဆင်းနီ၏။ သူ့ကို ဧသော ဟူသောအမည်ဖြင့် မှည့်ကြ၏။

26 ထိုနောက်မှ သူ့ညီသည်၊ အစ်ကိုဧသော၏ ဖနှောင့်ကို ကိုင်လျက် ဘွားလာ၏။ သူ့ကိုကား၊ ယာကုပ် အမည်ဖြင့် မှည့်ကြ၏။ ထိုသားနှ်ယောက်ကို ဘွားသော အခါ၊ ဣဇာက်သည် အသက်ခြောက်ဆယ်ရှိသတည်း။

27 သူငယ်တို့သည် ကြီးပွား၍၊ ဧသောကား လိမ္မာ သော တောသားမုဆိုးဖြစ်လေ၏။ ယာကုပ်ကားတဲနေတတ်၍ စိတ်ကောင်းသောသူဖြစ်၏။

28 ဣဇာက်သည်ဧသောပေးသောအမဲသားကို စားလေ့ရှိသောကြောင့် သူ့ကိုချစ်၏။ ရေဗက္ကမူကား ယာကုပ်ကို ချစ်၏။

29 တနေ့သ၌၊ ယာကုပ်သည် စားစရာကို ချက် ပြုတ်စဉ်တွင်၊ ဧသောသည် တောမှလာ၍ မောသော ကြောင့်၊

30 ယာကုပ်အား၊ ထိုနီသောစားစရာနှင့် ငါ့ကို ကျွေးပါလော့၊ ငါမောပါသည်ဟုဆိုလေ၏။ ထိုကြောင့် သူ၏နာမည်ကို ဧဒုံဟုတွင်သတည်း။

31 ယာကုပ်ကလည်း၊ ယနေ့ပင် သင်၏သားဦး အရာကို၊ ငါ့အား ရောင်ပါဟုဆိုလျှင်၊

32 ဧသောက၊ ငါသေလုပြီ။ သားဦးအရာအားဖြင့် အဘယ်အကျိုး ရှိပါလိမ့်မည်နည်းဟုဆို၏။

33 ယာကုပ်ကလည်း၊ ယနေ့ပင်ငါ့အား ကျိန်ဆိုခြင်း ကို ပြုပါဟုဆိုသော်၊ သူသည်ကျိန်ဆိုသဖြင့်၊ ယာကုပ်အား မိမိသားဦးအရာကို ရောင်းလေ၏။

34 ိုအခါ ယာကုပ်သည်၊ မုန်နှင့်ပဲဟင်းကို ဧသော အားပေးသဖြင့်၊ သူသည် စားသောက်ပြီးမှ၍ သွားလေ ၏။ ိုသို့ဧသောသည်၊ မိမိနှင့် ဆိုင်သောသားဦးအရာကို မထီမဲ့မြင်ပြုသတည်း။

   

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Arcana Coelestia #3322

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3322. Therefore he called his name Edom. That this signifies his quality therefrom as to good, to which were adjoined the doctrinal things of truth, is evident from the signification of “calling a name,” or of “calling by name,” as being the quality (see n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006); and from the representation of Edom. There is frequent mention in the Word of Esau, and also of Edom; and by “Esau” is there signified the good of the natural before the doctrinal things of truth have been thus conjoined with this good, and also the good of life from influx out of the rational; and by “Edom” is signified the good of the natural to which have been adjoined the doctrinal things of truth. But in the opposite sense, “Esau” signifies the evil of the love of self before falsities have been thus adjoined to this love; and “Edom” signifies the evil of this love when falsities have been adjoined to it. As has been frequently shown, most names in the Word have also an opposite sense, because the same things that in the churches have been good and true, in process of time through various adulterations degenerate into what is evil and false.

[2] That such things are signified by “Esau” and “Edom” may be seen from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, marching in the multitude of His strength. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the peoples there was no man with Me. I looked, but there was none to help, I was amazed that there was none to uphold, and Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me (Isaiah 63:1, 3, 5); where it is clearly evident that “Edom” is the Lord; and that it is the Lord as to the Divine good of the Divine natural is manifest, for the subject is the conjunction of good and truth in the Lord’s Human, and also the temptation combats by which He conjoined them. That “garments” here are the truths of the natural man, or truths relatively inferior, may be seen above (n. 2576); and that “red” is the good of the natural (n. 3300). That the Lord by His own power, through temptation combats, conjoined truths in the natural with good, is described by, “I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the peoples there was no man with Me. I looked but there was none to help, I was amazed that there was none to uphold, and Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me.” (That “arm” denotes power, see above, n. 878)

[3] In the book of Judges:

O Jehovah when Thou wentest forth out of Seir, when Thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds also dropped water; the mountains flowed down (Judg. 5:4-5);

to “march out of the field of Edom” signifies nearly the same as, in Isaiah, to “come out of Edom.” In like manner in Moses:

Jehovah came from Sinai, and rose from Seir unto them (Deuteronomy 33:2).

Again:

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not nigh; there shall come up a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; and Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession of his enemies, while Israel doeth valiantly. And he shall have dominion over Jacob, and shall destroy the remnant from the city (Numbers 24:17-19);

treating of the coming of the Lord into the world, whose Human Essence is called a “star out of Jacob,” and a “scepter out of Israel.” “Edom” and “Seir,” which should be a “possession,” signify the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine natural; their being the “possession of his enemies” signifies that this should succeed in the place of those things which were before in the natural; dominion then over truths therein is meant by “having dominion over Jacob, and destroying the remnant from the city.” (That “Jacob” signifies the truth of the natural, see above, n. 3305; and that “city” signifies what is doctrinal, n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216.) Dominion is said to be had over these when they are subordinated and subjected to good; for before this they are called “enemies,” because they continually resist, as was shown above (n. 3321).

[4] In Amos:

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of eternity; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that were called by My name (Amos 9:11-12).

The “tabernacle of David” denotes the church and worship of the Lord; the “remnant of Edom,” those who are in good within the church; the “nations that were called by His name,” those who are in good out of the church. (That “nations” are those who are in good, see above, n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849.) In David:

Upon Edom will I cast my shoe. Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me unto Edom? Wilt not Thou, O God? (Psalms 60:8, 10); where “Edom” denotes the good of the natural, as is evident from the signification of “shoe,” as being the lowest natural (n. 1748).

[5] In Daniel:

At the time of the end shall the king of the south thrust at him; and the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind with a chariot, and shall overflow and pass through; and when he shall come into the beauteous land many shall be overthrown; but these shall be rescued out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and the firstfruits of the sons of Ammon (Daniel 11:40-41); where the last state of the church is treated of; the “king of the north” denotes falsities, or what is the same, those who are in falsities; “Edom,” those who are in simple good, which is such good as exists with those who constitute the Lord’s external church; in like manner “Moab” and the “sons of Ammon” (n. 2468); and because both, namely, “Edom” and “Moab,” signify those who are in good, therefore in many passages both are named together; but the difference is that “Edom” is the good of the natural to which are adjoined the doctrinal things of truth, while “Moab” is natural good such as exists with those in whom these have not been conjoined; the two appear alike in the external form, but not in the internal.

[6] From this it is now evident why it was said:

Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother; thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a sojourner in his land (Deuteronomy 23:7);

as by an “Edomite” is signified the good of the natural, and by an “Egyptian,” the truths thereof which are those of memory-knowledge (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462), therefore both are mentioned in a good sense. This shows why Jehovah said to Moses that they should not contend 1 with the sons of Esau, and there should not be given of their land to the sons of Jacob so much as for the sole of the foot to tread upon (Deuteronomy 2:4-6).

[7] But in the opposite sense by “Esau” and “Edom” are represented those who turn aside from good through the fact that they altogether despise truth, and are unwilling that anything of the truth of faith should be adjoined, which is chiefly owing to the love of self; and therefore in the opposite sense such persons are signified by “Esau” and “Edom;” as was also represented by the circumstance that the king of Edom went forth with a numerous people and a strong hand, and refused to permit Israel to pass through his border (Numbers 20:14-22). This evil of the love of self, which is of such a nature as not to admit the truths of faith, thus neither the doctrinal things of truth, is described in various passages of the Word by “Esau” and “Edom,” and at the same time the state of the church when it becomes of this quality; as in Jeremiah:

Against Edom. Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the intelligent? Is their wisdom become of an ill savor? Flee ye; they have turned themselves away, they have gone into the deep to dwell, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him. I will make Esau bare, I will reveal his hidden things, and he shall not be able to hide himself; his seed is laid waste, and his brethren, and his neighbors. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in Me. Edom shall become a waste, everyone that passeth by it shall be amazed, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof (Jeremiah 49:7-8, 10-11, 17).

[8] In David:

They say, Let the name of Israel be no more in remembrance; for they consult together with one heart; against thee do they make a covenant, the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagarenes (Psalms 83:4-6).

In Obadiah:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovih concerning Edom, Behold I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, in the height of thy habitation; that saith in thine heart, Who shall bring me down to the earth? Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thou settest thy nest among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence. How are they of Esau searched out! their hidden things discovered! Shall I not in that day destroy the wise men out of Edom, and the intelligent from the mount of Esau? From the slaughter on account of the violence of thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble; and they shall enkindle them, and devour them; and there shall not be any residue to the house of Esau; and they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau (Obad. 1:1-10, 18-19).

In this passage “Esau” and “Edom” denote the evil of the natural man originating in the love of self, which despises and rejects all truth, whence comes its devastation.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, set thy face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, I am against thee, O Mount Seir, and I will stretch out Mine hand against thee, and I will make thee a waste and a devastation. Because thou hast had an enmity of eternity, and hast given over the sons of Israel to the hands of the sword, in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end. Because thou hast said, These two nations, and these two lands, shall be mine, and we will possess it, and Jehovah is there. And thou shalt know that I Jehovah have heard all thy blasphemies, which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel. Thou shalt be a waste, O Mount Seir and all Edom, all of it (Ezekiel 35:2-3, 5, 8-10 (Ezekiel 35:5)12, 15); where it is very evident that in the opposite sense “Edom” denotes those who despise, reject, and vilify spiritual goods and truths, which are the “mountains of Israel.”

[10] Again:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, If I have not spoken in the fire of My jealousy against the remains of the nations, and against all Edom, which have given My land unto themselves for a possession, with the joy of all their heart, with despite of soul (Ezekiel 36:5); where the sense is the same; to “give the land unto themselves for a possession” denotes to vastate the church, that is, the good and truth of the church.

[11] In Malachi:

The word of Jehovah against Israel. I have loved you, saith Jehovah; yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us? Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? Yet I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated, and I make his mountain a waste (Malachi 1:1-3); where “Esau” denotes the evil of the natural that does not admit spiritual truth which is “Israel” (n. 3305), and what is doctrinal of truth which is “Jacob” (n. 3305); and on this account he is vastated, which is being “hated” (that “hating” is nothing else, is manifest from what was adduced above from the Word concerning Esau and Edom in a good sense); but when truth does not suffer itself to be adjoined to good, then evil is on the other hand predicated of Jacob, as in Hosea:

To visit upon Jacob according to his ways; according to his works will He recompense him; in the womb he supplanted his brother (Hos. 12:2-3).

Footnotes:

1. Literally, “mix hands.” The Hebrew garah is translated by Swedenborg and Schmidius with the Latin miscere manus and miscere in Deuteronomy 2:5, 19; and in Dan 11:25 with commiscere (bello).

  
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Arcana Coelestia #2468

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2468. These things, again, need no confirmation; for that such things are signified is evident from the explication itself, and from what precedes and what follows. But what is the nature and quality of the religion signified by “Moab” and the “sons of Ammon,” can be seen from their origin, as here described; as well as from many passages in the Word, both historic and prophetic, where these nations are mentioned. To speak generally they denote those who are in an external worship which appears in a manner holy, but who are not in internal worship; and who readily learn as being goods and truths the things that belong to external worship, but reject and despise those of internal worship.

[2] Such worship and such religion fall to the lot of those who are in natural good, but despise others in comparison with themselves. They are not unlike fruits which in the external form are not unbeautiful, but which are moldy or rotten within; and they are not unlike marble vases, within which are things impure and even foul; or not unlike women seemly enough in face, form, and manners, but diseased within, and full of impurities. For there is a general good appertaining to such which appears not ill-favored; but the particulars that enter into it are filthy. In the beginning indeed it is not so, but it gradually becomes so; for such men easily suffer themselves to be imbued with whatever things are called good, and with any falsities whatsoever that are derived from these, and which, because they confirm them, they suppose to be truths; and this because they despise the interior things of worship, for the reason that they are in the love of self. Such persons have their existence and derivation from those who are in external worship alone (represented in this chapter by Lot); and this when the good of truth has been desolated. They are described in the Word, both such as they are in the beginning, when their good has not yet become so defiled; and afterwards when it is becoming defiled; and also after this, when it has become utterly defiled; and it is shown that they reject the interior things of worship and of doctrine.

[3] The character of such in the beginning when their good has not yet become so defiled, is described in Daniel:

In the time of the end shall the king of the south be at variance with him; and the king of the north shall rush upon him like a storm, with chariot, and with horsemen, and with many ships, and shall come into the lands, and shall overflow, and shall pass through; and he shall come into the land of beauty, and many lands shall go to ruin: these shall be rescued out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the firstlings of the sons of Ammon (Daniel 11:40-41).

The “king of the south,” denotes those who are in goods and truths; the “king of the north,” those who are in evils and falsities; the “king of the north with chariot, horsemen, and ships, coming upon the lands, overflowing, and passing through,” signifies that the evils and falsities denoted by “chariots,” “horsemen,” and “ships,” will prevail; “Edom, Moab, and the firstlings of the sons of Ammon who are to be rescued out of his hand,” denote those who are in such good that is not as yet so defiled by falsities; on which account they are called the “firstlings of the sons of Ammon.”

[4] In Moses:

We passed through by the way of the wilderness, and Jehovah said unto Moses, Distress not Moab, neither mingle thyself with them in war, for I will not give thee of his land for an inheritance, because I have given Ar unto the sons of Lot for an inheritance (Deuteronomy 2:8-9).

And concerning the sons of Ammon:

Jehovah spoke unto Moses, saying, Thou art to pass this day over Ar the border of Moab, and thou wilt come near over against the sons of Ammon; distress them not, nor mingle thyself with them; for I will not give thee of the land of the sons of Ammon for an inheritance, because I have given it unto the sons of Lot for an inheritance (Deuteronomy 2:17-19);

“Ar” denotes such good; “Moab” and the “sons of Ammon” denote those who are in such good, but in the beginning; on which account it is ordered that they be not distressed.

[5] Hence it is that Moab drove out the Emim, and the Rephaim who were like the Anakim; and that the sons of Ammon also drove out the Rephaim whom they called the Zamzumim (Deuteronomy 2:9-11, 18-21). By the Emim, Rephaim, Anakim, and Zamzumim, are signified those who are imbued with persuasions of what is evil and false (see n. 581, 1673); by Moab and the sons of Ammon are here meant those who were not yet so imbued. These nations however when they too had become so imbued, that is, when their good was defiled by falsities, were likewise driven out (Numbers 21:21-31; Ezekiel 25:8-11).

[6] Their character when their good is becoming defiled is described in Jeremiah:

Unto Moab thus saith Jehovah, Woe unto Nebo, for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, is taken; Misgab is put to shame and is dismayed; the praise of Moab is no more; give wing to Moab, for flying she must fly away, and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein. Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab; and be like the dove, she maketh her nest in the passages of the mouth of the pit. I know his anger, saith Jehovah, but it is not firm; his falsities, they have not done right. Therefore will I howl over Moab, and I will cry out to all Moab. From the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy shoots have passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer; upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the spoiler is fallen. Therefore my heart is moved over Moab, like fruits. Woe unto thee, O Moab, the people of Chemosh is destroyed; for thy sons are taken into captivity, and thy daughters into captivity. And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days (Jeremiah 48:1, 9, 28, 30-32, 36, 46-47).

[7] In this whole chapter the subject treated of is Moab; but through him those are treated of who are in such good, in that they suffer themselves to be imbued with falsities; on which account it is said that they should “give wing to Moab, that it may fly away, and that its cities shall become a desolation;” but that they should “leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and make nests like the dove in the passages of the mouth of the pit,” and so on, by which expressions it is signified that they are persuaded to remain in their general goods and truths; and that if they should then be seduced by the falsities of ignorance, they will be brought back from captivity in the latter days; but concerning those with whom this was not done it is said, “I will howl over Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab, and my heart is moved over Moab.” The falsities with which they are imbued are signified by Nebo, Kiriathaim, Misgab, Sibmah, Jazer, Chemosh, and other names in this chapter.

[8] In Isaiah:

A nest sent away shall the daughters of Moab be. Bring forth counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow like the night 1 in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts, betray not the wanderer, let mine outcasts dwell with thee, O Moab; be thou a covert to them from the spoiler. We have heard the arrogance of Moab, he is very arrogant, his pride, and his arrogance, and his anger; his lies are not so; therefore Moab shall howl, for Moab all shall howl. Therefore my bowels shall be stirred like a harp over Moab, and mine inward part for the city of Heres. And it shall come to pass when Moab shall be seen, when he is wearied upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail. In three years, as if years of hire, and the praise of Moab shall become vile, in all the great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small, and not strong (Isaiah 16:2-4, 6, 11-12, 14).

Moab is further treated of in this whole chapter, and through him those who are in such good; and they are described there in words similar to those in Jeremiah (chapter 48) and are in like manner persuaded to remain in their general goods and truths, and not to suffer themselves to be imbued with falsities. These general goods and truths are signified by their “giving counsel,” “executing judgment,” “hiding the outcasts,” “not betraying the wanderer,” and being “a covert to the outcasts from the spoiler;” all of which things signify the externals of worship. But as they suffer themselves to be imbued with falsities, it is said, “in three years, as years of hire, shall the praise of Moab become vile in all the great multitude, and the remnant shall be very small, and not strong.”

[9] As such persons are easily led away, Moab is called “the sending forth of the hand of the Philistines,” and the sons of Ammon their “obedience,” in Isaiah:

The root of Jesse which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto Him shall the nations seek, and His rest shall be glory; the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not distress Ephraim; and they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the sea; together shall they spoil the sons of the east, Edom, Moab the sending forth of their hand, and the sons of Ammon their obedience (Isaiah 11:10, 13-14)

the “root of Jesse” denotes the Lord; “Judah” those who are in celestial good; “Ephraim” those who are in spiritual truth; the “Philistines” those who are in the mere memory-knowledge of the knowledges of truth, and not in charity, the “sons of the east,” those who are in the mere memory-knowledge of the knowledges of good, and also not in charity; and Moab is called the “sending forth of their hand,” and the sons of Ammon their “obedience,” because they are imbued with falsities by them.

[10] But of what character become those who are called Moab and the sons of Ammon when their good has been altogether defied by falsities, is described in David:

God hath spoken in His holiness, Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine, Ephraim also is the strength of My head, Judah is My lawgiver, Moab is My washpot (Psalms 60:7-9, and also Psalms 108:8-10)

the “washpot” denotes good defiled by falsities.

[11] In Jeremiah:

The praise of Moab is no more: in Heshbon they have devised evil against him: come, let us cut him off from being a nation. Moab hath been at peace from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, and hath not gone into exile; therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his odor is not changed. On all the housetops of Moab there shall be lamentation everywhere, because I have broken Moab like a vessel in which there is no pleasure (Jeremiah 48:2, 11, 38)

The falsities with which the good denoted by Moab is defiled, are here called “lees, in which the taste and the odor remain,” if he is not reformed, which is here denoted by being “emptied from vessel to vessel.” This good itself is called the “vessel in which there is no pleasure,” just as in David it is called a “washpot,” in which washing is done.

In Isaiah:

In this mountain the hand of Jehovah resteth, and Moab shall be trodden down under it, as chaff is trodden down in the dunghill (Isaiah 25:10).

[12] That they who are in such good care for external things only, and despise, reject, and indeed spew out the internal things of worship and of doctrine, and that consequently they have falsities instead of truths—in Ezekiel:

Son of man, set thy face toward the sons of Ammon, and prophesy against them, and say unto the sons of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thou saidst, Aha, against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, I will make Rabbah a habitation for camels, and the sons of Ammon a couching-place for the flock. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thou hast clapped the hand, and hast stamped with the foot, and hast been glad with all the contempt of thy soul against the ground of Israel, therefore behold I will stretch out My hand upon thee, and give thee for a spoil to the nations, and I will cut thee off from the peoples, and destroy thee from the lands (Ezekiel 25:2-11).

These words: “Aha, against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity,” “thou hast clapped the hand, and hast stamped with the foot, and hast been glad with all the contempt of thy soul against the land of Israel,” are expressions of contempt, derision, and rejection of the interior things of worship and of doctrine; and when these are rejected, external things are of no avail; but such persons are “given for a spoil to the nations,” that is, they are taken possession of by evils, and are “cut off from the peoples,” that is by falsities, and are “destroyed from the earth,” that is they become of no church.

[13] In Zephaniah:

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, who have reproached My people; they enlarged against their border: therefore, as I live, Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a place abandoned to the nettle, and a pit of salt, and a perpetual desolation. This they have for their pride, because they reproached and enlarged against the people of Jehovah Zebaoth (Zeph. 2:8-10).

To “reproach the people,” and to “enlarge against their boundary, and against the people of Jehovah Zebaoth,” is to hold as vile and to reject interior truths, which are the “people of Jehovah Zebaoth.” The consequence of this is that goods become evils of falsity, which are “Sodom” and a “place abandoned to the nettle;” and truths become falsities, which are “Gomorrah” and a “pit of salt.” For it is from internal things that external are capable of being good and true.

[14] In David:

Thine enemies craftily meditate a secret thing against thy people, they consult together against thy hidden ones: Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, and let the name of Israel be no more in remembrance; for they consult together with one heart; against thee do they cut out a covenant, the tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre Asshur also is joined with them, they are an arm to the sons of Lot (Psalms 83:2-8).

To “consult together against the hidden ones,” to “cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel should be no more in remembrance,” denotes to utterly reject interior things; the “tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites, Noah, the Hagarenes, Gebal, and Ammon,” denote those who are in the external things of worship and of doctrine; “Philistia with Tyre” denote the things they say concerning internal things while not being in them; “Asshur, who is an arm to the sons of Lot,” denotes the reasoning by which they contend in favor of external things and against internal things.

[15] In Moses:

A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not violate his father’s skirt. He that is bruised with a bruising, or is bruised in the testicle, shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah; a Moabite and an Ammonite shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation, they shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah forever (Deuteronomy 22:30; 23:1-3).

These words show what is the character of Moab and Ammon in the “end of days,” or when they have become altogether imbued with falsities (that is, those with whom good is being adulterated and truth falsified), in that they despise, reject, and at length utterly cast out all interior things. On this account they are here mentioned after mention has been made of foul adulteries, such as taking a father’s wife, and violating a father’s skirt; nearly as is related of Lot’s daughters, from whom came Moab and Ammon; and also after the mention of those who are bruised with a bruising, and bruised in the testicle, by whom are signified those who utterly reject whatever is of love and charity. The “congregation of Jehovah” is heaven, into which they cannot come, because they have no remains, which are solely from interior goods and interior truths, and are signified by the “tenth generation” (n. 576, 1738, 2280).

[16] These were also among the nations who sacrificed their sons and daughters to Molech, by which is signified in the internal sense that they extinguished truths and goods; for the god of Moab was Chemosh, and the god of the sons of Ammon was Molech and Milchom (1 Kings 11:7, 33; 2 Kings 23:13), to which they sacrificed (2 Kings 3:27). That by “sons and daughters” are signified truths and goods, may be seen above (n. 489-491, 533, 1147).

[17] Such then is the signification of Moab and Ammon; but as regards the various kinds of falsity by which they adulterate goods and extinguish truths, these are numerous, being thus recounted in Jeremiah, but merely by names:

Judgment is come upon the land of the plain, upon Holon, upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath; and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim; and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon; and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken. Make him drunken, because he magnified himself against Jehovah; and let Moab exult in his vomit (Jeremiah 48:21-26).

These are the kinds of falsity that assemble together in those who are called Moab and Ammon; but what is the nature and quality of these various kinds of falsity can be seen from the signification of these several names in the internal sense. That in the Word names signify nothing else than actual things, has often been shown already.

Footnotes:

1. Totam but sicut noctem n. 9642 [Rotch ed.]

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