The Bible

 

Бытие 12

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1 Между тјмъ Іегова сказалъ Авраму: поди изъ земли твоей, съ родины твоей, и изъ дома отца твоего въ землю, которую укажу тебј.

2 И Я произведу отъ тебя великій народъ, и благословлю тебя, и возвеличу имя твое; и будь ты въ благословеніе.

3 Я благословлю и благословлящихъ тебя, а злословящихъ тебя прокляну; и благословятся въ тебј всј племена земныя.

4 И пошелъ Аврамъ, какъ сказалъ ему Іегова; и съ нимъ пошелъ Лотъ. Семьдесятъ пять лјтъ отъ роду было Авраму, когда онъ вышелъ изъ Харрана.

5 Аврамъ взялъ съ собою жену свою Сару, племянника своего Лота, все имјніе, пріобрјтенное ими, и всјхъ людей, которыхъ они имјли въ Харранј, и пошли въ землю Ханаанскую; и пришли въ землю Ханаанскую.

6 По землј сей Аврамъ прошелъ до мјста Сихема, до дубравы Море. Въ землј сей тогда жили Хананеи.

7 И явился Іегова Авраму, и сказалъ: потомству твоему отдамъ Я землю сію; и тутъ создалъ Аврамъ жертвенникъ Іеговј, который явился ему.

8 Оттуда двигнулся онъ къ горј, лежащей на востокъ отъ Веѕиля, и поставилъ шатеръ свой такъ, что у него Веѕиль былъ отъ запада, а Гай отъ востока. Онъ создалъ и тутъ жергвенникъ Іеговј, и призвалъ имя Іеговы.

9 Потомъ Аврамъ поднялся и продолжалъ идти къ полудню.

10 И былъ гододъ въ землј той. И пошелъ Аврамъ въ Египетъ пожить тамъ; потому что усилился голодъ въ землј той.

11 Когда же онъ приближался къ Египту, то сказалъ Сарј, женј своей: вотъ я знаю, что ты женщина прекрасиая видомъ;

12 можетъ быть, Египтяне, увидјвъ тебя, скажутъ: это жена его, - и убьютъ меня, а тебя оставятъ въ живыхъ;

13 итакъ скажи, что ты мнј сестра, дабы мнј хорошо было ради тебя, и дабы сохранилась жизнь моя чрезъ тебя.

14 Такъ и случилось, что, когда пришелъ Аврамъ въ Египетъ, Египтяне увидјли, что это женщина весьма прекрасная;

15 увидјли ее также вельможи Фараоновы, и похвалили ее Фараону; почему она и взята въ домъ Фараоновъ.

16 Авраму же хорошо было ради ея, и былъ у него мелкій и крупный скотъ, и ослы, и рабы и рабыни, и ослицы и верблюды.

17 Но Іегова тяжкими ударами поразилј Фараона и домъ его за Сару, жену Аврамову.

18 Посему Фараонъ призвалъ Аврама и сказалъ: что ты это сдјлалъ надо мною? для чего не сказалъ мнј, что это жена твоя?

19 Для чего ты сказалъ: это сестра моя? и я взялъ было ее себј въ жену. Итакъ, теперь вотъ тебј жена твоя; возми, и поди.

20 И приказалъ Фараонъ людямъ, чтобы проводили его, и жену его, и все, что у него было.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1472

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1472. That 'it will be, when the Egyptians see you' means knowledge comprised of cognitions, it being the nature of that knowledge when celestial cognitions are seen that is described, becomes clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' as knowledge comprised of cognitions, as shown already. And from this what the words 'if the Egyptians see you' mean may become clear, namely that this knowledge is such as is described in the present verse. Such is the case with knowledge comprised of cognitions; and it has also a certain naturalness within it, as is manifested in children when they first start to learn - that is to say, the higher things are, the more they desire them; and all the more so when they hear that these things are celestial and Divine. But this delight is natural and arises from a strong desire that belongs to the external man. With others that strong desire causes them to take delight solely in knowledge comprised of cognitions, without any other end in view; yet that knowledge is nothing else than a certain means that exists to achieve an end, which is use. That is to say, cognitions exist to serve as vessels for celestial and spiritual things, and when they are performing that service, for the first time they have a use, and from that use receive their delight. It may become clear to anyone, if he pays the matter any attention, that in itself the knowledge comprised of cognitions exists for no other reason than that a person should become rational, and from that become spiritual, and at length celestial, and that by means of those cognitions his external man may be allied to his internal. When this point is reached he has arrived at the use itself, the internal man having nothing else than uses in view. For the sake of the same end also the Lord instills the delight that childhood and youth experience in forms of knowledge. When however a person begins to take delight in knowledge alone, it is a bodily desire that carries him away; and to the extent it carries him away, that is, to the extent he takes delight in knowledge alone, to the same extent does he move away from what is celestial, and to the same extent do the facts he knows close themselves up in the Lord's direction and become materially inclined. But insofar as facts are learned with a view to use - such as for the sake of human society, for the sake of the Lord's Church on earth, for the sake of the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and still more for the sake of the Lord Himself - the more they are opened out towards Him. For these reasons also the angels, who possess the knowledge that is comprised of all cognitions - having so full a possession of it that scarcely one ten thousandth part of what they know can be presented to man's entire mental grasp - nevertheless place no value at all in knowledge when compared with use. These considerations show what is meant by the words, 'when the Egyptians see you they will say, This is his wife, and they will slay me and let you live'. It is because the Lord when He was a boy knew this and thought in this way, that these things have been stated, namely that if He were to be carried away by a strong desire for nothing else than the knowledge that is comprised of cognitions, this knowledge would be such that He would have no interest any more in celestial things but only in the cognitions which that strong desire for knowledge would seize upon. More regarding these matters follows below.

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