The Bible

 

Бытие 4

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1 Послј сего Адамъ позналъ Еву жену свою; и она зачала и родила Каина, и сказала: приобрјла я человјка отъ Іеговы.

2 Потомъ родила брата его Авеля. Авель былъ пастырь овецъ; а Каинъ былъ земледјлецъ.

3 Спустя нјсколько времени Каинъ принесъ отъ плодовъ земли даръ Іеговј.

4 И Авель также принесъ отъ первородныхъ овецъ своихъ и отъ тука ихъ. И призрјлъ Іегова на Авеля и на даръ его.

5 А на Каина и на даръ его не призрјлъ: и Каинъ сильно огорчился и потупилъ взоры свои.

6 Тогда Іегова сказалъ Каину: для чего ты огорчился? и для чего потупилъ взоры твои?

7 Если дјлаешь доброе: то не поднимаешь ли чела? а если не дјлаешь добраго: то у дверей грјхъ лежитъ; онъ влечетъ тебя къ себј, но ты господствуй надъ нимъ.

8 И говорилъ Каинъ съ Авелемъ братомъ своимъ; и когда они были въ полј, Каинъ возсталъ на Авеля брата своего, и убилъ его.

9 И сказалъ Іегова Каину: гдј Авель братъ твой? онъ сказалъ: не знаю; развј я сторожъ брату моему?

10 Но Богъ сказалъ: что ты сдјлалъ? гласъ крови брата твоего вопіетъ ко мнј отъ земли.

11 И нынј проклятъ ты отъ земли, которая отверзла уста свои принять кровь брата твоего отъ руки твоей.

12 Когда будешь воздјлывать землю, она не ставетъ болје давать силы своей для тебя; ты будешь изгнанникомъ, и станешь скитаться по землј.

13 И сказалъ Каинъ Іеговј: велико преступленіе мое и непростительно.

14 Вотъ, Ты теперь сгоняешь меня съ лица земли, и отъ лица Твоего я скроюсь, и буду изгнанникомъ и стану скитаться по землј; всякой, кто встрјтится со мною, убьетъ меня.

15 И сказалъ ему Іегова: за то всякому, кто убьетъ Каина, отмстится всемеро. И положилъ Іегова на Каинј знаменіе, что бы кто, встрјтясь съ нимъ, неубилъ его.

16 И пошелъ Каинъ отъ лица Іегова; и сталъ жить въ землј Нодъ, на востокъ отъ Едема.

17 И позналъ Каинъ жену свою, и она зачала, и родила Еноха. И построилъ городъ; и наименовалъ городъ по имени сына своего Енохомъ.

18 Отъ Еноха родился Ирадъ, отъ Ирада родился Мехіаель; отъ Мехіаела родился Меѕушаелъ; отъ Меѕушаела родился Ламехъ.

19 Ламехъ взялъ за себя двј жены: имя одной Ада, имя другой Цилла.

20 Ада родила Іавала: сей былъ отецъ живущихъ въ шатрахъ со стадами.

21 Имя брату его: Іувалъ, сей былъ отецъ всјхъ играющихъ па гусляхъ и органј.

22 Цилла также родила Ѕовела кузнеца, сей былъ отецъ кующихъ, всјхъ работающихъ изъ мјди и желјза. У Ѕовела кузнеца была сестра Ноема.

23 И сказалъ Ламехъ женамъ своимъ: Ада и Цилла! послушайте словъ моихъ: Жены Ламеховы! вслушайтесь въ рјчь мою: Я убью человјка, Который поранитъ меня, И отрока, Который ударитъ меня.

24 Если за Каина должно быть отмщено всемеро; То за Ламеха въ семьдесятъ разъ всемеро.

25 И еще Адамъ позналъ жену свою, и она родила сына, и нарекла ему имя: Сиѕъ; потому что, говорила она, Богъ положилъ мнј другое сјмя вмјсто Авеля, котораго убилъ Каинъ.

26 У Сиѕа также родился сынъ, и онъ нарекъ ему имя Эносъ; тогда начали называться по имени Іеговы.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christianity #260

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260. It is important to know as well that the literal meaning is a protection to prevent harm to the genuine truths that lie inside it. The nature of this protection is that the literal meaning can be turned this way and that and explained to different levels of comprehension without damaging or violating what is inside. It does no harm if one person takes the literal meaning one way and another takes it another way. It is harmful, however, if people bring in false ideas that go against divine truths. Only people who are adamant about falsities do this. Doing so does violence to the Word. The literal meaning offers protection to prevent this from happening. It also offers protection to people who have been given false ideas by their religion but have not become adamant about them.

The angel guardians in the Word both stand for and portray the protecting role of the Word's literal meaning. This protection is the meaning of the angel guardians who were placed at the entrance of the garden of Eden after Adam was thrown out with his wife. About this we read,

When Jehovah God expelled the human, he made angel guardians dwell on the east side of the garden of Eden and made the flame of a sword turning this way and that to guard the pathway to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)

[2] No one could see what these details mean without knowing the meaning of "angel guardians," "the garden of Eden," the garden's "tree of life," and "the flame of a sword" turning this way and that. These details have been explained in the relevant chapter of Secrets of Heaven, published in London [Secrets of Heaven 305-313]. To be specific, the "angel guardians" mean protection. The "pathway to the tree of life" means the access to the Lord available to people through the truths in the Word's spiritual meaning. The "flame of a sword turning" means divine truth on the outermost level, which is like the Word in its literal meaning; it is similarly capable of being turned this way and that.

The same thing is meant by the angel guardians made of gold that were placed on the two ends of the mercy seat that was on top of the ark in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-21). The "ark" meant the Word because the Ten Commandments are the most basic thing in the Word. The "angel guardians" meant protection, which is why the Lord spoke with Moses from between the angel guardians (Exodus 25:22; 37:9; Numbers 7:89). Further, the Lord spoke to Moses in the earthly meaning because he does not speak with us unless he speaks in a complete way, and divine truth has its complete form in the literal meaning (see 214-224 above).

The angel guardians on the curtains and the veil in the tabernacle (Exodus 26:31) had a similar meaning. The curtains and the veil in the tabernacle meant the outermost aspects of heaven and the church; therefore they meant the outermost aspects of the Word as well (see 220 above).

The same applies to the angel guardians carved on the walls and doors of the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35); see 221 above. Likewise, the angel guardians in the new temple (Ezekiel 41:18-20).

[3] Angel guardians mean the protection that prevents people from going directly to the Lord, heaven, and the divine truth in the form it takes inside the Word, and steers them instead to go indirectly through the [Word's] outermost level. For this reason we read the following statements about the king of Tyre:

You who seal up your measurement; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in the Garden of Eden. Every precious stone was your covering. You, O angel guardian, were the stretching out of a covering. I lost you, O protecting angel guardian, in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:12-14, 16)

"Tyre" means the church's knowledge of goodness and truth. "The king of Tyre" means the Word where that knowledge exists and originates. The king clearly means the Word on its outermost level and the angel guardian means protection, because it says, "You who seal up your measurement, every precious stone is your covering, you, O angel guardian, were the stretching out of a covering," and "O protecting angel guardian. " On the precious stones listed in that passage as referring to aspects of the literal meaning, see 217, 218 above. Since "angel guardians" mean the Word at the outermost level and protection as well, therefore we read the following phrases in David:

Jehovah bowed down the heavens and came down. He rode upon an angel guardian. (Psalms 18:9-10)

Shine forth, O Shepherd of Israel who sits upon angel guardians. (Psalms 80:1)

Jehovah sitting upon angel guardians. (Psalms 99:1)

Riding and sitting "upon angel guardians" refers to the Word's outermost meaning.

The Word's divine truth and the qualities of that truth are portrayed by four creatures that are also called angel guardians (Ezekiel 1:9-10), and by four creatures in the middle of the throne and next to it (Revelation 4:6-7). See Revelation Unveiled (which I published in Amsterdam) 239, 275, 314.

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