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1 Mosebok 16

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1 Sarai, Abrams hustru, fødte ham ikke barn; men hun hadde en egyptisk trælkvinne, som hette Hagar.

2 Og Sarai sa til Abram: Se, Herren har nektet mig barn; gå derfor inn til min trælkvinne! Kanskje jeg kunde få et barn ved henne. Og Abram lød Sarais råd.

3 Så tok Sarai, Abrams hustru, og lot Abram, sin mann, få egypterkvinnen Hagar, som var hennes trælkvinne, til hustru; da var det ti år siden Abram hadde bosatt sig i Kana'ans land.

4 Og han gikk inn til Hagar, og hun blev fruktsommelig; men da hun så at hun var blitt fruktsommelig, ringeaktet hun sin frue.

5 Da sa Sarai til Abram: Den urett jeg lider, er du skyld i; jeg har selv gitt min trælkvinne i din favn; men nu, da hun ser at hun er fruktsommelig, ringeakter hun mig; Herren skal dømme mellem mig og dig.

6 Da sa Abram til Sarai: Se, din trælkvinne råder du selv over; gjør med henne som du synes. Og Sarai var hård mot henne, og hun rømte fra henne.

7 Men Herrens engel fant henne ved vannkilden i ørkenen, ved kilden på veien til Sur.

8 Og han sa: Hagar, Sarais trælkvinne, hvor kommer du fra, og hvor akter du dig hen? Hun svarte: Jeg har flyktet fra min frue Sarai.

9 Da sa Herrens engel til henne: Gå tilbake til din frue, og bøi dig under henne!

10 Og Herrens engel sa til henne: Jeg vil gjøre din ætt så tallrik at den ikke skal kunne telles for mengde.

11 Og Herrens engel sa videre til henne: Se, du er fruktsommelig og skal føde en sønn, og du skal kalle ham Ismael*; for Herren har hørt din nød. / {* Gud hører.}

12 Og han skal bli et vill-asen av et menneske; hans hånd skal være mot alle, og alles hånd mot ham; og han skal bo østenfor alle sine brødre.

13 Og hun gav Herren, som hadde talt med henne, navnet "Du er Gud, den som ser". For hun sa: Har jeg virkelig fått se ham som ser mig?

14 Derfor kaller de brønnen Lakai o'is brønn*; den ligger mellem Kades og Bered. / {* d.e. den levendes brønn som ser mig.}

15 Og Hagar fødte Abram en sønn; og Abram kalte den sønn som Hagar hadde født ham, Ismael.

16 Abram var seks og åtti år gammel da Hagar fødte ham Ismael.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1928

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1928. 'Near the spring on the road to Shur' means that this truth was an assemblage of things which come from facts. This is clear from the meaning of 'a spring', also from that of 'a road', as well as from the meaning of 'Shur'. 'A spring', as has been stated, means truth; 'a road' means that which leads to truth and which comes from truth, as shown already in 627; while 'Shur' means factual knowledge such as is still in the desert so to speak, that is, which has not yet acquired any life. Truths that come from facts are said to acquire life when they ally or associate themselves with truths into which the celestial element of love is flowing, the source of the actual life of truth. Real things, and thus truths, exist joined together in the way that communities in heaven are joined together, to which communities they also correspond; for interiorly man is a kind of miniature heaven. Real things, or truths, which do not exist joined together in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess have not as yet acquired any life; for prior to this the celestial element of love from the Lord cannot fittingly flow in. They first receive life when a similar form exists on both sides, that is, when the miniature heaven in man is a corresponding image of the Grand [Man]. Prior to that nobody can be called a heaven-like man.

[2] The Lord, who from Himself was to govern the whole of heaven, imposed such order while He was in the world on the truths and goods present with His External Man, that is, with His Human Essence. But because He perceived that such order did not exist with His rational conceived first, as was stated above at verses 4 and 5, He thought about and perceived the reason why. This was that natural truths arising from facts did not as yet have any life in them, that is, that heavenly order had not been imposed on them. Furthermore truths of faith never possess any life unless a person is leading a charitable life, charity being that form from which all truths of faith flow, and that in which they inhere; and when they inhere in and flow from charity they possess life. It is in charity that life resides, never in truths devoid of charity.

[3] That 'Shur' means factual knowledge that as yet has not acquired life is clear from the meaning of this name. Shur was a desert not far from the Sea Suph, and so lay in the direction of Egypt, as is clear in Moses,

Moses made Israel journey from the Sea Suph, and they went out to the desert of Shur; from there they went three days in the desert, and did not find any water. Exodus 15:22.

That it lay in the direction of Egypt is again clear in Moses where the descendants of Ishmael are the subject,

They dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt. 1 Genesis 25:18.

And in Samuel,

Saul defeated Amalek from Havilah as you come to Shur, which is opposite Egypt'. 1 1 Samuel 15:7.

And elsewhere in 1 Samuel,

David spread out against the Geshurites, and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites, who inhabited the land from of old, as you come to Shur and as far as the land of Egypt. 1 Samuel 27:8.

These quotations show that 'Shur' means primary factual knowledge, in particular such as is still in the desert, that is, not yet joined to all the rest in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess, for 'Egypt' which it was opposite 2 means knowledge in every sense, as shown already in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462.

Footnotes:

1. literally, towards the faces of Egypt

2. literally, towards the face of which it was

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