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Génesis 30

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1 Y VIENDO Rachêl que no daba hijos á Jacob, tuvo envidia de su hermana, y decía á Jacob: Dame hijos, ó si no, me muero.

2 Y Jacob se enojaba contra Rachêl, y decía: ¿Soy yo en lugar de Dios, que te impidió el fruto de tu vientre?

3 Y ella dijo: He aquí mi sierva Bilha; entra á ella, y parirá sobre mis rodillas, y yo también tendré hijos de ella.

4 Así le dió á Bilha su sierva por mujer; y Jacob entró á ella.

5 Y concibió Bilha, y parió á Jacob un hijo.

6 Y dijo Rachêl: Juzgóme Dios, y también oyó mi voz, y dióme un hijo. Por tanto llamó su nombre Dan.

7 Y concibió otra vez Bilha, la sierva de Rachêl, y parió el hijo segundo á Jacob.

8 Y dijo Rachêl: Con luchas de Dios he contendido con mi hermana, y he vencido. Y llamó su nombre Nephtalí.

9 Y viendo Lea que había dejado de parir, tomó á Zilpa su sierva, y dióla á Jacob por mujer.

10 Y Zilpa, sierva de Lea, parió á Jacob un hijo.

11 Y dijo Lea: Vino la ventura. Y llamó su nombre Gad.

12 Y Zilpa, la sirva de Lea, parió otro hijo á Jacob.

13 Y dijo Lea: Para dicha mía; porque las mujeres me dirán dichosa: y llamó su nombre Aser.

14 Y fué Rubén en tiempo de la siega de los trigos, y halló mandrágoras en el campo, y trájolas á Lea su madre: y dijo Rachêl á Lea: Ruégote que me des de las mandrágoras de tu hijo.

15 Y ella respondió: ¿Es poco que hayas tomado mi marido, sino que también te has de llevar las mandrágoras de mi hijo? Y dijo Rachêl: Pues dormirá contigo esta noche por las mandrágoras de tu hijo.

16 Y cuando Jacob volvía del campo á la tarde, salió Lea á él, y le dijo: A mí has de entrar, porque á la verdad te he alquilado por las mandrágoras de mi hijo. Y durmió con ella aquella noche.

17 Y oyó Dios á Lea: y concibió, y parió á Jacob el quinto hijo.

18 Y dijo Lea: Dios me ha dado mi recompensa, por cuanto dí mi sierva á mi marido: por eso llamó su nombre Issachâr.

19 Y concibió Lea otra vez, y parió el sexto hijo á Jacob.

20 Y dijo Lea: Dios me ha dado una buena dote: ahora morará conmigo mi marido, porque le he parido seis hijos: y llamó su nombre Zabulón.

21 Y después parió una hija, y llamó su nombre Dina.

22 Y acordóse Dios de Rachêl, y oyóla Dios, y abrió su matriz.

23 Y concibió, y parió un hijo: y dijo: Quitado ha Dios mi afrenta:

24 Y llamó su nombre José, diciendo: Añádame Jehová otro hijo.

25 Y aconteció, cuando Rachêl hubo parido á José, que Jacob dijo á Labán: Envíame, é iré á mi lugar, y á mi tierra.

26 Dame mis mujeres y mis hijos, por las cuales he servido contigo, y déjame ir; pues tú sabes los servicios que te he hecho.

27 Y Labán le respondió: Halle yo ahora gracia en tus ojos, y quédate; experimentado he que Jehová me ha bendecido por tu causa.

28 Y dijo: Señálame tu salario, que yo lo daré.

29 Y él respondió: Tú sabes cómo te he servido, y cómo ha estado tu ganado conmigo;

30 Porque poco tenías antes de mi venida, y ha crecido en gran número; y Jehová te ha bendecido con mi llegada: y ahora ¿cuándo tengo de hacer yo también por mi propia casa?

31 Y él dijo: ¿Qué te daré? Y respondió Jacob: No me des nada: si hicieres por mí esto, volveré á apacentar tus ovejas.

32 Yo pasaré hoy por todas tus ovejas, poniendo aparte todas las reses manchadas y de color vario, y todas las reses de color oscuro entre las ovejas, y las manchadas y de color vario entre las cabras; y esto será mi salario.

33 Así responderá por mí mi justicia mañana cuando me viniere mi salario delante de ti: toda la que no fuere pintada ni manchada en las cabras y de color oscuro en las ovejas mías, se me ha de tener por de hurto.

34 Y dijo Labán: Mira, ojalá fuese como tú dices.

35 Y apartó aquel día los machos de cabrío rayados y manchados; y todas las cabras manchadas y de color vario, y toda res que tenía en sí algo de blanco, y todas las de color oscuro entre las ovejas, y púsolas en manos de sus hijos;

36 Y puso tres días de camino entre sí y Jacob: y Jacob apacentaba las otras ovejas de Labán.

37 Y tomóse Jacob varas de álamo verdes, y de avellano, y de castaño, y descortezó en ellas mondaduras blancas, descubriendo así lo blanco de las varas.

38 Y puso las varas que había mondado en las pilas, delante del ganado, en los abrevaderos del agua donde venían á beber las ovejas, las cuales se recalentaban viniendo á beber.

39 Y concebían las ovejas delante de las varas, y parían borregos listados, pintados y salpicados de diversos colores.

40 Y apartaba Jacob los corderos, y poníalos con su rebaño, los listados, y todo lo que era oscuro en el hato de Labán. Y ponía su hato aparte, y no lo ponía con las ovejas de Labán.

41 Y sucedía que cuantas veces se recalentaban las tempranas, Jacob ponía las varas delante de las ovejas en las pilas, para que concibiesen á la vista de las varas.

42 Y cuando venían las ovejas tardías, no las ponía: así eran las tardías para Labán, y las tempranas para Jacob.

43 Y acreció el varón muy mucho, y tuvo muchas ovejas, y siervas y siervos, y camellos y asnos.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #4151

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4151. And Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. That this signified that they were of the affection of interior truth, is evident from the representation of Rachel, as being the affection of interior truth (see n. 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819); and from the signification of “stealing,” as being to take away that which is dear and holy (see n. 4112, 4113, 4133). By Rachel stealing the teraphim, or Laban’s gods, as narrated above, was signified the change of state represented by Laban as to truth (see n. 4111); and here and in what follows, this change of state is further described, as resulting from the fact that after the good represented by Laban had been separated from the good which is “Jacob,” it came through this separation into another state; for those truths which when the goods had been conjoined had appeared to the good represented by Laban as its own, were now perceived as if they had been taken away. This is the reason why Laban made complaint concerning them, and why he searched in the tents and did not find anything. For the truths signified by the teraphim in a good sense (n. 4111), were not his, but belonged to the affection of truth which is “Rachel.”

[2] How the case herein is cannot be seen except from what happens in the other life; for the things which there happen near a man appear to him as if they were in him; and the case is nearly the same with the spirits in the other life. When societies of spirits which are in mediate good are in company with angels, it then appears to them exactly as if the truths and goods which belong to the angels are theirs, and indeed they know no otherwise. But when they are separated, they then perceive that this is not the case; and they therefore complain, as believing them to be taken away by those in whose company they have been. This is what is here signified in the internal sense by what is narrated concerning the teraphim.

[3] Speaking generally, the case is that no one ever has good and truth which is his own, but all good and truth flow in from the Lord, both immediately, and also mediately through angelic societies; and yet it appears as if the good and truth were the man’s, to the intent that they may be appropriated to him, until he comes into a state to know, and then to acknowledge, and at last to believe, that they are not his, but the Lord’s. Moreover it is known from the Word, and thereby in the Christian world, that all good and truth are from the Lord, and that nothing of good is from man; nay, the doctrinals of the church which are from the Word declare that man cannot even strive after good of himself, and thus cannot will it, and therefore cannot do it-for doing good is from willing good-and that all faith also is from the Lord; so that a man can have no faith at all unless it flows in from the Lord.

[4] These things are declared by the doctrinals of the church, and are taught by preachings. But that few, nay, very few, believe it to be so, may be seen from the fact that they suppose all life to be in themselves, and scarcely any think that life flows in. All man’s life consists in the faculty of being able to think and of being able to will; for if the faculty of thinking and willing is taken away, nothing of life remains. And the veriest life consists in thinking good and willing good, and also in thinking truth, and in willing that which we think to be true. As it is in accordance with the doctrinals of the church which are from the Word that these things are not of man, but of the Lord, and that they flow in from the Lord through heaven, those who possess any judgment and are able to reflect, might conclude therefrom that all life flows in.

[5] The same is the case with evil and falsity. According to the doctrinals from the Word, the devil is continually endeavoring to seduce man, and is continually inspiring evil; and therefore when anyone commits a great crime; it is said that he has suffered himself to be led astray by the devil. And this is the real fact, although few if any believe it; for as all good and truth are from the Lord, so all evil and falsity are from hell, that is, from the devil, for hell is the devil. From this we can also see that as all good and truth flow in, so also do all evil and falsity, and consequently also all the thinking and willing of evil. As these also flow in, all who have any judgment and are able to reflect, can infer that all life flows in, although it appears as if it were in man.

[6] That this is the case has frequently been shown to spirits who had come recently from the world into the other life. But some of them have said that if all evil and falsity also flow in, nothing of evil and falsity can be attributed to them, and they are not in fault, because these come from another source. But they received for answer that they had appropriated evil and falsity by believing that they think and will of themselves; whereas if they had believed as the case really is, they would not then have appropriated the evil and falsity, for they would have believed all good and truth to be from the Lord; and if they had believed this, they would have suffered themselves to be led by the Lord, and therefore would have been in a different state; and then the evil which entered into their thought and will would not have affected them, because not evil but good would have gone out of them; for it is not the things that enter in, but those which go out that affect us; according to the Lord’s words in Mark 7:15.

[7] Many can know this, but few believe it. Even those who are evil can know, but still not believe it, for they desire to be in what is their own, and they love this to such a degree that when they are shown that everything flows in, they come into anxiety and urgently entreat that they may be permitted to live in what is their own, insisting that if this should be taken away from them, they could live no longer. Such is the belief even of those who know. These things have been said in order that it may be known how the case is with societies of spirits which are in mediate good, when they are conjoined with others and when they are separated from them; namely, that when they are conjoined, they know no otherwise than that the goods and truths are their own, although they are not theirs.

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