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1 Mosebok 2

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1 Så blev himmelen og jorden med hele sin hær fullendt.

2 Og Gud fullendte på den syvende dag det verk som han hadde gjort, og han hvilte på den syvende dag fra all den gjerning som han hadde gjort.

3 Og Gud velsignet den syvende dag og helliget den; for på den hvilte han fra all sin gjerning, den som Gud gjorde da han skapte.

4 Dette er himmelens og jordens historie, da de blev skapt, den tid da Gud Herren gjorde jord og himmel:

5 Det var ennu ingen markens busk på jorden, og ingen markens urt var ennu vokset frem; for Gud Herren hadde ikke latt det regne på jorden, og der var intet menneske til å dyrke jorden.

6 Da steg det op en damp av jorden og vannet hele jordens overflate.

7 Og Gud Herren dannet mennesket av jordens muld og blåste livets ånde i hans nese; og mennesket blev til en levende sjel.

8 Og Gud Herren plantet en have i Eden, i Østen, og der satte han mennesket som han hadde dannet.

9 Og Gud Herren lot trær av alle slag vokse op av jorden, prektige å se til og gode å ete av, og midt i haven livsens tre og treet til kunnskap om godt og ondt.

10 Og det gikk en elv ut fra Eden og vannet haven; og siden delte den sig i fire strømmer.

11 Den første heter Pison; det er den som løper omkring hele landet Havila, der hvor det er gull.

12 Og gullet i dette land er godt; der er bdellium* og onyks-stenen. / {* et slags velluktende gummi.}

13 Den annen elv heter Gihon; det er den som løper omkring hele landet Kus.

14 Den tredje elv heter Hiddekel; det er den som går østenfor Assur. Og den fjerde elv er Frat.

15 Og Gud Herren tok mennesket og satte ham i Edens have til å dyrke og vokte den.

16 Og Gud Herren bød mennesket: Du må fritt ete av alle trær i haven;

17 men treet til kunnskap om godt og ondt, det må du ikke ete av; for på den dag du eter av det, skal du visselig .

18 Og Gud Herren sa: Det er ikke godt at mennesket er alene; jeg vil gjøre ham en medhjelp som er hans like.

19 Og Gud Herren hadde dannet av jorden alle dyr på marken og alle fugler under himmelen, og han ledet dem til mennesket for å se hvad han vilde kalle dem; og som mennesket kalte hver levende skapning, så skulde den hete.

20 Så gav mennesket navn til alt feet og fuglene under himmelen og alle ville dyr; men for et menneske fant han ingen medhjelp som var hans like.

21 Da lot Gud Herren en dyp søvn falle på mennesket, og mens han sov, tok han et av hans ribben og fylte igjen med kjøtt.

22 Og Gud Herren bygget av det ribben han hadde tatt av mennesket, en kvinne og ledet henne til mennesket.

23 Da sa mennesket: Dette er endelig ben av mine ben og kjøtt av mitt kjøtt; hun skal kalles manninne, for av mannen er hun tatt.

24 Derfor skal mannen forlate sin far og sin mor og bli hos sin hustru, og de skal være ett kjød.

25 Og de var nakne både Adam og hans hustru, men bluedes ikke.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9408

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9408. And as the substance of heaven in respect to cleanness. That this signifies the shining through of the angelic heaven, is evident from the signification of “heaven,” as being the angelic heaven (of which in what follows); and from the signification of the “cleanness,” or purity, of “the substance,” when said of heaven, as being its shining through. It shall be briefly stated what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven in connection with the Word. The angelic heaven is said to shine through when truth Divine shines through. For the whole heaven is nothing but a receptacle of truth Divine, because every angel is a reception of it in particular; thus all the angels, or the whole heaven, are so in general. From this, heaven is called “the habitation of God,” and also “the throne of God,” because by “habitation” is signified the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord received in the inmost heaven, which relatively is good (n. 8269, 8309); and by “throne” is signified truth Divine from the Lord received in the middle heaven (n. 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039). As it is truth Divine such as in the heavens which shines through from the sense of the letter of the Word, therefore it is the angelic heaven which shines through; for the Word is Divine truth accommodated to all the heavens; and it consequently conjoins the heavens with the world, that is, angels with men (n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, 9396). From all this it is evident what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven.

[2] That in the internal sense “heaven” denotes the angelic heaven, is from correspondence, and also from the appearance. Hence it is that when mention is made in the Word of “the heavens,” and also of “the heavens of heavens,” in the internal sense are meant the angelic heavens. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible heaven than that the heavenly inhabitants dwell there, and that the stars are their habitations. Similar also at this day is the idea of the simple, and especially of little children. From this also men look upward to heaven when praying earnestly to God. This also is from correspondence; for in the other life a heaven with stars appears, yet not the heaven that appears to men in the world; but a heaven that appears in accordance with the state of intelligence and wisdom of the spirits and angels. The stars there are knowledges of good and truth; and the clouds which are sometimes seen beneath the heaven are of various signification according to their colors, their translucence, and their movements; the blueness of heaven is truth transparent from good. From all this it can be seen that by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; but by “the angelic heavens” are signified truths Divine, because the angels are receptions of the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord.

[3] Similar things are signified by “the heavens” in David:

Praise Jehovah ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens (Psalms 148:4).

Sing psalms to the Lord that rideth upon the heaven of heaven which is of old (Psalms 68:32-33).

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them (Psalms 33:6).

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament declareth the works of His hands (Psalms 19:1).

Jehovah, when Thou wentest forth out of Seir, the earth trembled; the heavens also dripped, the clouds also dripped water (Judg. 5:4).

The horn of the he-goat grew, even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them (Daniel 8:10).

The Lord Jehovih buildeth in the heavens His steps (Amos 9:6).

If there be food in My house I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing (Malachi 3:10).

Look forth from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy comeliness (Isaiah 63:15).

Blessed of Jehovah be the land of Joseph, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew (Deuteronomy 33:13).

Jesus said, Swear not by the heaven; for it is the throne of God. He that sweareth by the heaven sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 5:34; 23:22).

[4] In these passages, and in many others, by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; and as the Lord’s heaven on earth is the church, by “heaven” is also signified the church; as in the following passages. In John::

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth were passed away (Revelation 21:1).

Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things shall not be remembered, nor come up upon the heart (Isaiah 65:17).

The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment (Isaiah 51:6).

I clothe the heaven with blackness, and I make sackcloth a covering (Isaiah 50:3).

I will cover the heavens, and I will blacken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; and I will blacken all the luminaries of light in the heaven, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).

After the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matthew 24:29).

What is here signified by the “sun,” “moon,” “stars,” and “the powers of the heavens,” may be seen above (n. 4056-4060).

In Isaiah:

O Jehovah the God of Israel, Thou alone art the God over all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made heaven and earth (Isaiah 37:16).

I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that spreadeth out the heavens alone; that stretcheth out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).

Jehovah that createth the heavens, that formeth the earth and maketh it, and prepareth it, He created it not an emptiness (Isaiah 45:18).

[5] That by “heaven and earth” in these and in other passages is signified in the internal sense the church; by “heaven” the internal church, and by “earth” the external church, may be seen above (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535), from which it is evident that by the “creation” in the first chapters of Genesis, where it is said, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); “and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them” (Genesis 2:1) is meant a new church; for the creation there denotes a new regeneration, which is also called a “new creation,” as can be seen from what was shown in the explications at these chapters.

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