The Bible

 

Postanak 24

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1 A Avram beše star i vremenit, i Gospod beše blagoslovio Avrama u svemu;

2 I reče Avram sluzi svom najstarijem u kući svojoj, koji beše nad svim dobrom njegovim: Metni ruku svoju pod stegno moje,

3 Da te zakunem Gospodom Bogom nebeskim i Bogom zemaljskim da nećeš dovesti žene sinu mom između kćeri ovih Hananeja, među kojima živim;

4 Nego da ćeš otići u zemlju moju i u rod moj i dovesti ženu sinu mom Isaku.

5 A sluga mu reče: i ako devojka ne htedbude poći sa mnom u ovu zemlju; hoću li odvesti sina tvog u zemlju iz koje si se iselio?

6 A Avram mu reče: Pazi da ne odvedeš sina mog onamo.

7 Gospod Bog nebeski, koji me je uzeo iz doma oca mog i iz zemlje roda mog, i koji mi je rekao i zakleo mi se govoreći: Semenu ću tvom dati zemlju ovu, On će poslati anđela svog pred tobom da dovedeš ženu sinu mom odande.

8 Ako li devojka ne htedbude poći s tobom, onda da ti je prosta zakletva moja; samo sina mog nemoj odvesti onamo.

9 I metnu sluga ruku svoju pod stegno Avramu gospodaru svom, i zakle mu se za ovo.

10 Tada sluga uze deset kamila između kamila gospodara svog da ide, jer sve blago gospodara njegovog beše pod njegovom rukom; i otišavši dođe u Mesopotamiju do grada Nahorovog.

11 I pusti kamile da poležu iza grada kod studenca pred veče kad izlaze građanke da zahvataju vode;

12 I reče: Gospode Bože gospodara mog Avrama, daj mi sreću danas i učini milost gospodaru mom Avramu.

13 Evo, ja ću stajati kod ovog studenca, a građanke će doći da zahvataju vode.

14 Kojoj devojci kažem: Nagni krčag svoj da se napijem, a ona reče: Na pij, i kamile ću ti napojiti; daj to da bude ona koju si namenio sluzi svom Isaku; i po tome da poznam da si učinio milost gospodaru mom.

15 I on još ne izgovori, a to Reveka, kći Vatuila sina Melhe žene Nahora brata Avramovog, dođe s krčagom na ramenu.

16 I beše vrlo lepa, još devojka, još je čovek ne beše poznao. Ona siđe na izvor, i natoči krčag, i pođe;

17 A sluga iskoči pred nju, i reče; daj mi da se napijem malo vode iz krčaga tvog.

18 A ona reče: Na pij, gospodaru. I brže spusti krčag na ruku svoju, i napoji ga.

19 I kad ga napoji, reče: i kamilama ću tvojim naliti neka se napiju.

20 I brže izruči krčag svoj u pojilo, pa opet otrča na studenac da nalije, i nali svim kamilama njegovim.

21 A čovek joj se divljaše, i ćutaše, neće li poznati je li Gospod dao sreću putu njegovom ili nije.

22 A kad se kamile napiše, izvadi čovek zlatnu grivnu od po sikala i metnu joj oko čela, i dve narukvice metnu joj na ruke od deset sikala zlata.

23 I reče: Čija si kći? Kaži mi. Ima li u kući oca tvog mesta za nas da prenoćimo?

24 A ona mu reče: Ja sam kći Vatuila sina Melšinog, koga rodi Nahoru.

25 Još reče: Ima u nas mnogo slame i piće i mesta za noćište.

26 Tada čovek savivši se pokloni se Gospodu,

27 I reče: Blagosloven da je Gospod Bog gospodara mog Avrama, što ne ostavi milost svoju i veru svoju prema gospodaru mom, i putem dovede me Gospod u dom rodbine gospodara mog.

28 A devojka otrča i sve ovo kaza u domu matere svoje.

29 A Reveka imaše brata, kome ime beše Lavan; i istrča Lavan k čoveku na studenac,

30 Kako vide grivnu i narukvice na rukama sestre svoje i ču gde Reveka sestra mu reče: Tako mi kaza čovek; dođe k čoveku; a on stajaše kod kamila na studencu.

31 I reče: Hodi, koji si blagosloven od Gospoda; što bi stajao napolju? Spremio sam kuću, ima mesta i za kamile.

32 I dovede čoveka u kuću, i rastovari kamile; i dodaše slame i piće kamilama, i donesoše vode za noge njemu i ljudima što behu s njim;

33 I postaviše mu da jede; ali on reče: Neću jesti dokle ne kažem stvar svoju. A Lavan mu reče: Govori.

34 Tada reče: Ja sam sluga Avramov.

35 A Gospod je blagoslovio gospodara mog veoma, te je postao velik, i dao mu je ovaca i goveda, i srebra i zlata, i sluga i sluškinja, i kamila i magaraca.

36 I još Sara žena gospodara mog rodi sina gospodaru mom u starosti njegovoj, i on mu dade sve što ima.

37 A mene zakle gospodar moj govoreći: Nemoj dovesti sinu mom žene između kćeri ovih Hananeja, među kojima živim;

38 Nego idi u dom oca mog i u rod moj, da dovedeš ženu sinu mom.

39 A ja rekoh gospodaru svom:

40 Može biti da devojka neće hteti poći sa mnom.

41 A on mi reče: Gospod, po čijoj volji svagda živeh, poslaće anđela svog s tobom, i daće sreću tvom putu da dovedeš ženu sinu mom od roda mog, iz doma oca mog.

42 Onda će ti biti prosta zakletva moja, kad otideš u rod moj; ako ti je i ne dadu, opet će ti biti prosta zakletva moja.

43 I kad dođoh danas na studenac, rekoh: Gospode Bože gospodara mog Avrama, ako si dao sreću putu mom, kojim idem,

44 Evo, ja ću stajati kod studenca: koja devojka dođe da zahvati vode, i ja joj kažem: Daj mi da se napijem malo vode iz krčaga tvog,

45 A ona mi odgovori: i ti pij i kamilama ću tvojim naliti; to neka bude žena koju je namenio Gospod sinu gospodara mog.

46 Ja još ne izgovorih u srcu svom, a dođe Reveka s krčagom na ramenu, i sišavši na izvor zahvati; i ja joj rekoh: Daj mi da se napijem.

47 A ona brže spustivši sa sebe krčag reče: Na pij, i kamile ću ti napojiti. I kad se napih, napoji i kamile moje.

48 I zapitah je govoreći: Čija si kći? A ona odgovori: Ja sam kći Vatuila sina Nahorovog, kog mu rodi Melha. Tada joj metnuh grivnu oko čela i narukvice na ruke;

49 I padoh i poklonih se Gospodu, i zahvalih Gospodu Bogu gospodara mog Avrama, što me dovede pravim putem da nađem kćer brata gospodara svog za sina njegovog.

50 Ako ćete dakle učiniti ljubav i veru gospodaru mom, kažite mi; ako li nećete, kažite mi, da idem na desno ili na levo.

51 A Lavan i Vatuilo odgovarajući rekoše: Od Gospoda je ovo došlo; mi ti ne možemo kazati ni zlo ni dobro. Eto, Reveka je u tvojoj vlasti, uzmi je pa idi, i neka bude žena sinu tvog gospodara, kao što kaza Gospod.

52 A kad ču sluga Avramov reči njihove, pokloni se Gospodu do zemlje;

53 I izvadi zaklade srebrne i zlatne i haljine, i dade Reveci; takođe i bratu njenom i materi njenoj dade darove.

54 Potom jedoše i piše on i ljudi koji behu s njim, i prenoćiše. A kad ujutru ustaše, reče sluga: Pustite me gospodaru mom.

55 A brat i mati njena rekoše: Neka ostane devojka kod nas koji dan, barem deset dana, pa onda neka ide.

56 A on im reče: Nemojte me zadržavati, kad je Gospod dao sreću mom putu; pustite me da idem gospodaru svom.

57 Tada rekoše: Da zovemo devojku, i upitamo šta ona veli.

58 I dozvaše Reveku i rekoše joj: Hoćeš ići s ovim čovekom? A ona odgovori: Hoću.

59 I pustiše Reveku sestru svoju i dojkinju njenu sa slugom Avramovim i ljudima njegovim.

60 I blagosloviše Reveku i rekoše joj: Sestro naša, da se namnožiš na hiljade hiljada, i seme tvoje da nasledi vrata svojih neprijatelja!

61 I podiže se Reveka s devojkama svojim, i posedaše na kamile, i pođoše s čovekom; i sluga uzevši Reveku otide.

62 A Isak iđaše vraćajući se od studenca Živoga koji me vide jer življaše u južnom kraju;

63 A beše izašao Isak u polje pred veče da se pomoli Bogu; i podigavši oči svoje ugleda kamile gde idu.

64 I Reveka podigavši oči svoje ugleda Isaka, te skoči s kamile,

65 I reče sluzi: Ko je onaj čovek što ide preko polja pred nas? A sluga reče: Ono je gospodar moj. I ona uze pokrivalo i pokri lice.

66 I pripovedi sluga Isaku sve što je svršio.

67 I odvede je Isak u šator Sare matere svoje; i uze Reveku, i ona mu posta žena, i omile mu. I Isak se uteši za materom svojom.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4447

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4447. 'Hamor spoke to them, saying' means the good of the Church among the Ancients. This is clear from the representation of 'Hamor' as that which was received from the Ancients, dealt with in 4431, namely the good of the Church received from them, for the good of the Church is 'a father', and the truth derived from that good, meant here by 'Shechem', is 'a son' - which also is why 'father' in the Word means good, and 'son' truth. The expression 'the good of the Church among the Ancients' is used here, not the good of the Ancient Church, for the reason that the phrase 'the Church among the Ancients' is used to mean the Church that descended from the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood, whereas the Ancient Church is used to mean the Church which came into existence after the Flood. Those two Churches have been dealt with several times previous to this, when it has been shown that the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood was celestial whereas the Ancient Church which came into existence after the Flood was spiritual. The difference between the two has also been dealt with often.

[2] Remnants of the Most Ancient Church which was celestial were still in existence in the land of Canaan, especially among those in that land who were called Hittites and Hivites. The reason why such remnants did not exist anywhere else was that the Most Ancient Church, which was called Man or Adam, 478, 479, existed in the land of Canaan, where the garden of Eden, which meant the intelligence and wisdom of the members of that Church, 100, 1588, and the trees in it their perception, 103, 2163, 2722, 2972, was therefore situated. And because intelligence and wisdom were meant by that garden or paradise the Church itself is also meant by it. And because the Church is meant, so also is heaven; and because heaven is meant, so also in the highest sense is the Lord. So it is that in the highest sense the land of Canaan also means the Lord, in the relative sense heaven and also the Church, and in the personal sense the member of the Church, 1413, 1437, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705. So it is too that the word 'land' standing by itself in the Word has a similar meaning, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1413, 1607, 3355; while a new heaven and a new earth mean a new Church, internally and externally, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end). The Most Ancient Church was situated in the land of Canaan, see 567, and it was from this that places there became representative. It explains why Abram was commanded to go there, and also why the land was given to his descendants from Jacob, namely that the representatives connected with the places which were to be used in the composition of the Word might be perpetuated, 3686. This was why every place in that land, including mountains and rivers, and also all the borders surrounding it, became representative, 1585, 1866, 4240.

[3] From all these considerations one may see what the expression 'Church among the Ancients' is used to mean, namely remnants of the Most Ancient Church. And because those remnants existed among the Hittites and Hivites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives, acquired a burial-place among the Hittites in their land, Genesis 23:1-end; Genesis 49:29-32; 50:13; and Joseph among the Hivites, Joshua 24:32. Hamor, Shechem's father, represented the remnants of that Church, and as a consequence means the good of the Church among the Ancients and therefore the origin of interior truth from a Divine stock, 4399. What the difference is between the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood and the Ancient Church which came into existence after the Flood, see 597, 607, 608, 640, 641, 765, 784, 895, 920, 1114-1128, 1238, 1327, 2896, 2897.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3686

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3686. 'And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father' means the Lord's foresight and provision that the affections for that truth - the affections to which natural good had been joined until then - would not be suitable for such conjunction. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' here as foresight and provision, dealt with in 2837, 2839; from the representation of 'Esau' as the Lord as regards the Divine Good of the Natural, dealt with already; from the meaning of 'the daughters of Canaan', in this case the daughters of Heth, as affections for truth from a non-genuine source, dealt with in 3470, 3620-3622; and from the meaning of '[evil] in the eyes of Isaac his father' as not being suitable for such conjunction, that is to say, through the good of the natural, represented by 'Esau', with the good of the rational, represented by 'Isaac'. From this it is evident that all these words mean the Lord's foresight and provision that the affections for that truth, being from a non-genuine source, would not be suitable for conjunction. The truth of all this may be seen from the explanation given at 26:34-35, where the subject is the daughters of Heth whom Esau had taken as wives, and at 27:46, where the subject is the plea to Jacob not to marry one of the daughters of Canaan. The reason why 'the daughters of Canaan' here means affections for truth from a non-genuine source, whereas above 'the daughters of Canaan' meant affections for falsity and evil, 3662, 3683, is that the Hittites in the land of Canaan belonged to the Church as it existed among gentiles. They were not so much under the influence of falsity and evil as other nations there, such as the Canaanites, Amorites, and Perizzites. This also was why the Hittites represented the Lord's spiritual Church among the gentiles, 2913, 2986.

[2] The Most Ancient Church which was celestial and existed before the Flood was situated in the land of Canaan, see 567. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood was also situated there, as well as in many other countries, 1238, 2385. This was how it came about that all the gentile nations there, and also all the territories there, and all the rivers there, served as representatives. For the most ancient people, who were celestial, perceived through all the objects they beheld the kind of things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, 920, 1409, 2896, 2897, 2995, and so beheld the same through the territories and the rivers there.

[3] After their times those representatives survived in the Ancient Church, including the representatives related to the places there. Furthermore the Word that existed in the Ancient Church, dealt with in 2897-2899, contained place-names which were for the same reason representative; and the Word existing after their times, which is called Moses and the Prophets, also contains them. This was why Abraham was commanded to go there, and the promise was made to him that his descendants would possess that land. That promise was not made because they were any better than all the other nations, for they were the worst of them all, 1167, 3373. But it was made so that through them the representative Church might be established, in which no attention was paid to representative persons and places themselves but to the actual things which these represented, 3670, and thus also so that the names existing in the Most Ancient and the Ancient Churches might be preserved.

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