The Bible

 

Бытие 28

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1 И призвалъ Исаакъ Іакова, и благословилъ его, и заповјдалъ ему, говоря: не бери себј жены изъ дочерей Ханаанскихъ.

2 Встань, поди въ Месопотаиію, въ домъ Ваѕуила, отца матери твоей, и возьми себј жену оттуда, изъ дочерей Лавана, брата матери твоей.

3 Богъ же Всемогущій да благословитъ тебя, да расплодитъ тебя, и да размножитъ тебя, чтобы ты сдјлался сонмомъ народовъ.

4 И да дастъ тебј благословеніе Авраамово, тебј и потомству твоему, съ тобою, да наслјдуешь ты землю странствованія твоего, которую Богъ далъ Аврааму.

5 Такимъ образомъ Исаакъ отпустилъ Іакова, и онъ пошелъ въ Падан-Арамъ, къ Лавану, сыну Ваѕуила, Арамеянина, къ брату Ревекки, матери Іакова и Исава.

6 Исавъ увидјлъ, что Исаакъ благословилъ Іакова, и послалъ его въ Падан-Арамъ взятъ себј жену оттуда, заповјдавъ ему при благословеніи, и сказавъ: не бери жены изъ дочерей Ханаанскихъ;

7 и что Іаковъ послушался отца своего и матери своей, и пошелъ въ Падан-Арамъ;

8 и увидјлъ Исавъ, что дочери Ханаанскія неугодны Исааку, отцу его:

9 и пошелъ Исавъ къ Измаилу, и взялъ себј въ жену Махалаѕу, дочь Измаила, сына Авраамова, сестру Наваіоѕову, сверхъ другихъ женъ своихъ.

10 Іаковъ же, вышедши изъ Беэр-Шавы, чтобъ идти въ Харранъ,

11 пришелъ на одно мјсто, и остался тамъ ночевать, потому что зашло солнце. И взялъ одинъ изъ бышихъ на томъ мјстј камней, и положилъ себј въ головы, и легъ на томъ мјстј.

12 И видитъ во снј: вотъ, лјстница стоитъ на землј, а верхъ ея касается небесъ; и се, ангелы Божіи восходятъ и нисходятъ по ней.

13 И се, Іегова стоитъ на ней, и говорить: Я Іегова, Богъ Авраама, отца твоего, и Богъ Исаака. Землю, на которой ты лежишь, Я дамъ тебј и потомству твоему.

14 И будетъ потомство твое, какъ иесокъ земный; и распространится къ морю, и къ востоку, и къ сјверу, и къ полудню; и благословятся въ тебј и въ сјмени твоемъ всј племена земныя.

15 И се, Я съ тобою, и сохраню тебя вездј, куда ты ни пойдешь; и возвращу тебя въ сію землю; ибо Я не оставлю тебя, пока не исполню того, что Я сказалъ тебј.

16 И пробудился Іаковъ отъ сна своего, и сказалъ: точно Іегова на мјстј семъ; а я не зналъ.

17 И убоялся, и сказалъ: какъ страшно сіе мјсто! Это не иное что, какъ домъ Божій, это врата небесная.

18 Вставъ поутру, Іаковъ взялъ камень, который былъ у него въ головахъ, и поставилъ его памятникомъ; и возлилъ елей на верхъ его.

19 И нарекъ имя мјсту тому: Веѕиль, а прежнее имя того города было: Лузъ.

20 И положилъ Іаковъ објтъ говоря: если Богъ будетъ со мною, и сохранитъ меня въ пути семъ, въ который я иду, и дастъ мнј хлјбъ јсть, и одежду одјтъся;

21 и я въ мирј возвращусь въ домъ отца моего, и будетъ Іегова моимъ Богомъ:

22 то этотъ камень, который я поставилъ памятникомъ, да будетъ домомъ Божіимъ, и изъ всего, что Ты, Боже, даруешь мнј, я дамъ Тебј десятую часть.

   

Commentary

 

Wife

  

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #915

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915. 'He went out' means that this did in fact happen. 'Noah and his sons means the member of the Ancient Church; and 'his wife and his sons' wives' means the Church itself. This is clear from the train of thought, which implies that in this way the Ancient Church came into being, for these words form an end or conclusion to what goes before them. When the Church is being described in the Word it is described either as 'husband (vir) and wife' or as 'man (homo) and wife'. When it is husband and wife 'husband' means the understanding part, which is truth, and 'wife' the will part, which is good. And when man and wife is used 'man' means love, or good that stems from love, and 'wife' faith, or the truth of faith. 'Man' accordingly means the essential element of the Church, 'wife' the Church itself. This applies throughout the Word. Here, since the subject up to now has been the forming of a new Church while the Most Ancient Church was dying out, 'Noah and his sons' means the member of the Ancient Church, and 'his wife and his sons' wives with him' the Church itself. This is why they are here referred to in a different order from what they were in verse 16 previously. In that verse, where it is said, 'Go out, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you', 'you' and 'wife' are coupled together, as are 'sons' and 'your sons' wives'. Consequently 'you' and 'sons' mean truth, and 'wife' and 'sons' wives' good. In this verse 18 however they do not come in the same order, the reason being, as has been stated, that 'you and sons' means the member of the Church, and 'his wife and his sons' wives' the Church itself. It in fact forms the conclusion to what goes before it. It was not Noah but his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth who constituted the Ancient Church, as stated already. For three Churches in a sense formed this Ancient Church, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with later on. These Churches emerged as offspring of the one Church called Noah, and this is why the expressions 'you and your sons', and then 'your wife and sons' wives' are used here.

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