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Génesis 14

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1 Y aconteció en aquellos días que Amrafel, rey de Sinar; Arioc, rey de Elasar; Quedorlaomer, rey de Elam, y Tidal, rey de los gentiles,

2 hicieron guerra contra Bera, rey de Sodoma, y contra Birsa, rey de Gomorra, y contra Sinab, rey de Adma, y contra Semeber, rey de Zeboim, y contra el rey de Bela, la cual es Zoar.

3 Todos éstos se juntaron en el valle de Sidim, que es el Mar Salado.

4 Doce años habían servido a Quedorlaomer, y al decimotercer año se rebelaron.

5 Y en el año decimocuarto vino Quedorlaomer, y los reyes que estaban de su parte, e hirieron a los refaítas en Asterot-carnaim; a los zuzitas en Ham, y a los emitas en Save-quiriataim.

6 Y a los horeos en el monte de Seir, hasta la llanura de Parán, que está junto al desierto.

7 Y volvieron y vinieron a En-mispat, que es Cades, e hirieron todas las labranzas de los amalacitas, y también al amorreo, que habitaba en Hazezontamar.

8 Y salió el rey de Sodoma, y el rey de Gomorra, y el rey de Adma, y el rey de Zeboim, y el rey de Bela, que es Zoar, y ordenaron contra ellos batalla en el valle de Sidim;

9 es a saber , contra Quedorlaomer, rey de Elam, y Tidal, rey de los gentiles, y Amrafel, rey de Sinar, y Arioc, rey de Elasar; cuatro reyes contra cinco.

10 Y el valle de Sidim estaba lleno de pozos de betún; y huyeron el rey de Sodoma y el de Gomorra, y cayeron allí; y los demás huyeron al monte.

11 Y tomaron toda la hacienda de Sodoma y de Gomorra, y todas sus vituallas, y se fueron.

12 Tomaron también a Lot, hijo del hermano de Abram, que moraba en Sodoma, y a su hacienda, y se fueron porque él moraba en Sodoma.

13 Y vino uno que escapó, y lo denunció a Abram el hebreo, que habitaba en el alcornocal de Mamre amorreo, hermano de Escol y hermano de Aner, los cuales estaban confederados con Abram.

14 Y oyó Abram que su hermano era cautivo, y armó sus criados, los criados de su casa, trescientos dieciocho, y los siguió hasta Dan.

15 Y se derramó sobre ellos de noche él y sus siervos, y los hirió, y los siguió hasta Hoba, que está a la izquierda de Damasco.

16 Y recobró todos los bienes, y también a Lot su hermano y su hacienda, y también las mujeres y el pueblo.

17 Y salió el rey de Sodoma a recibirlo, cuando volvía de herir a Quedorlaomer y a los reyes que estaban con él, al valle de Save, que es el valle del rey.

18 Entonces Melquisedec, rey de Salem, sacó pan y vino; el cual era sacerdote del Dios alto;

19 y le bendijo, y dijo: Bendito sea Abram del Dios alto, poseedor de los cielos y de la tierra;

20 y bendito sea el Dios alto, que entregó tus enemigos en tu mano. Y Abram le dio los diezmos de todo.

21 Entonces el rey de Sodoma dijo a Abram: Dame las personas, y toma para ti la hacienda.

22 Y respondió Abram al rey de Sodoma: He alzado mi mano al SEÑOR Dios alto, poseedor de los cielos y de la tierra,

23 que desde un hilo hasta la correa de un zapato, nada tomaré de todo lo que es tuyo, para que no digas: Yo enriquecí a Abram.

24 Sacando solamente lo que comieron los jóvenes, y la parte de los varones que fueron conmigo, Aner, Escol, y Mamre; los cuales tomarán su parte.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #2714

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2714. That 'Paran' means enlightenment coming from the Lord's Divine Human is clear from the meaning of 'Paran' as the Lord's Divine Human, as is evident from those places in the Word where this name is used, as in the prophet Habakkuk,

O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known. In zeal You will remember mercy. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His fame has covered the heavens, and the earth has been filled with His praise. And His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand, and there the hiding-place of His strength will be. Habakkuk 3:2-4.

This plainly refers to the Lord's Coming, which is meant by 'reviving in the midst of the years' and 'making known in the midst of the years'. His Divine Human is described by the words 'God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran'. He is said to come 'out of Teman' in regard to celestial love, and 'from Mount Paran' in regard to spiritual love; and the springing of these from enlightenment and power is meant by the words 'His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand'. 'Brightness' and 'light' mean enlightenment, 'horns' power.

[2] In Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came from myriads of holiness From His right hand came a fiery law for them. He indeed loves the peoples. All His holy ones are in your hand and have been joined together at your feet; and He will receive of your words. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

This also refers to the Lord, whose Divine Human is described by the words 'He dawned from Seir' and 'He shone from Mount Paran' - 'from Seir' being used in regard to celestial love, 'from Mount Paran' to spiritual love. Those who are spiritual are meant by 'the peoples whom He loves' and by 'those joined together at your feet', 'the foot' meaning that which is lower, and so more obscure, in the Lord's kingdom.

[3] In the same author,

Chedorlaomer and the kings with him smote the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran, which is over into the wilderness. Genesis 14:5-6.

As regards the Lord's Divine Human being meant there by 'Mount Seir' and by 'El-paran', see 1675, 1676. In the same author,

So it was, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day in the month, that the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel travelled according to their travels from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. Numbers 10:11-12.

[4] The truth that all the travels of the people in the wilderness mean the state of the Church militant, and its temptations, in which a person goes under but the Lord conquers on his behalf, and the truth that consequently they mean the Lord's own actual temptations and victories, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere. And because the Lord underwent temptations by reason of His Divine Human, the Lord's Divine Human is in a similar way meant here by 'the wilderness of Paran'. The same is also meant by the following in the same author,

After that the people travelled from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. And Jehovah spoke to Moses and said, Send men and let them explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the children of Israel. And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran as spoken by the mouth of Jehovah. And they returned to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran in Kadesh; and they brought back word to them, and showed them the fruit of the land. Numbers 12:16; 13:1-3, 26.

Their travelling from the wilderness of Paran to explore the land of Canaan means that by means of the Lord's Divine Human these people - the children of Israel, by whom were meant those who are spiritual - have access to the heavenly kingdom, meant by the land of Canaan. But their faltering also at that time means their weakness, on account of which the Lord fulfilled everything in the Law, underwent temptations and was victorious, so that those with whom faith grounded in charity resides, also those who undergo temptations in which the Lord is victorious, have salvation from His Divine Human. This also explains why, when the Lord was tempted, He was in the wilderness, Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1; see above in 2708.

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