The Bible

 

Génesis 28

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1 Entonces Isaac llamó a Jacob, y lo bendijo, y le mandó diciendo: No tomes mujer de las hijas de Canaán.

2 Levántate, ve a Padan-aram, a casa de Betuel, padre de tu madre, y toma de allí para ti mujer de las hijas de Labán, hermano de tu madre.

3 Y el Dios omnipotente te bendiga y te haga fructificar, y te multiplique, hasta venir a ser congregación de pueblos;

4 y te dé la bendición de Abraham, y a tu simiente contigo, para que heredes la tierra de tus peregrinaciones, que Dios dio a Abraham.

5 Así envió Isaac a Jacob, el cual fue a Padan-aram, a Labán, hijo de Betuel, el arameo, hermano de Rebeca, madre de Jacob y de Esaú.

6 Y vio Esaú como Isaac había bendecido a Jacob, y le había enviado a Padan-aram, para tomar para sí mujer de allí; y que cuando le bendijo, le había mandado, diciendo: No tomarás mujer de las hijas de Canaán;

7 y que Jacob había escuchado a su padre y a su madre, y se había ido a Padan-aram.

8 Vio asimismo Esaú que las hijas de Canaán parecían mal a Isaac su padre;

9 y se fue Esaú a Ismael, y tomó para sí por mujer a Mahalet, hija de Ismael, hijo de Abraham, hermana de Nebaiot, además de sus otras mujeres.

10 Y salió Jacob de Beerseba, y fue a Harán;

11 y se encontró con un lugar, y durmió allí porque ya el sol se había puesto; y tomó de las piedras de aquel lugar y puso a su cabecera, y se acostó en aquel lugar.

12 Y soñó, y he aquí una escalera que estaba apoyada en tierra, y su cabeza tocaba en el cielo; y he aquí ángeles de Dios que subían y descendían por ella.

13 Y he aquí, el SEÑOR estaba encima de ella, el cual dijo: Yo soy el SEÑOR Dios de Abraham tu padre, y el Dios de Isaac; la tierra en que estás acostado te la daré a ti y a tu simiente.

14 Y será tu simiente como el polvo de la tierra, y te multiplicarás al occidente, y al oriente, y al aquilón, y al mediodía; y todas las familias de la tierra serán benditas en ti y en tu simiente.

15 Y he aquí, yo soy contigo, y yo te guardaré por dondequiera que fueres, y yo te volveré a esta tierra; porque no te dejaré hasta tanto que haya hecho lo que te he dicho.

16 Y despertó Jacob de su sueño, y dijo: Ciertamente el SEÑOR está en este lugar, y yo no lo sabía.

17 Y tuvo miedo, y dijo: ¡Cuán espantoso es este lugar! No es otra cosa que casa de Dios, y puerta del cielo.

18 Y madrugó Jacob por la mañana, y tomó la piedra que había puesto a su cabecera, y la puso por título, y derramó aceite encima de ella.

19 Y llamó el nombre de aquel lugar Bet-el, bien que Luz era el nombre de la ciudad primero.

20 E hizo Jacob voto, diciendo: Si fuere Dios conmigo, y me guardare en este viaje donde voy, y me diere pan para comer y vestido para vestir,

21 y si tornare en paz a casa de mi padre, el SEÑOR será mi Dios,

22 y esta piedra que he puesto por título, será casa de Dios; y de todo lo que me dieres, la décima parte lo he de apartar para ti.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6426

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6426. 'From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the spiritual kingdom possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the shepherd' as one who leads to the good of charity by means of the truth of faith, dealt with in 343, 3795, 6044 (here in the highest sense, since it has reference to the Lord, goodness and truth themselves are meant); from the meaning of 'the stone' as truth, dealt with in 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286, for 'Israel' is spiritual good or the good of truth, 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. And since the good of truth is the essential element of the spiritual Church, 'Israel' means the spiritual Church, and in the highest sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom. From all this it is evident that 'from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the Lord's spiritual kingdom possesses.

[2] The reason why in the highest sense 'the stone of Israel' means the Lord with respect to the truth that His spiritual kingdom possesses is that in general 'the stone' means the temple, and specifically the foundation on which it stands. 'The temple' in turn means the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in John 2:19, 21, and so does its 'foundation' in Matthew 21:42, 44, and in Isaiah 28:16. This meaning of 'the stone' in the highest sense - the Lord in respect to Divine Truth which His spiritual kingdom possesses - is evident in David,

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This has been done by Jehovah; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalms 118:22-23.

'The stone' here is the Lord, as is made clear in Luke,

It is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Whoever falls onto that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:17-18.

These things are spoken by the Lord regarding Himself. In Isaiah,

He is your fear, and He is your dread; for He will be a sanctuary, though He will be a stone to strike against and a rock to stumble over 1 for both houses of Israel. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces. Isaiah 8:13-15.

Here the Lord is referred to. In the same prophet,

The Lord Jehovih said, Behold I [am He who] will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tested stone, a precious corner-stone, surely founded. He who believes will not be hasty. Isaiah 28:16.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will place them as His glorious horse 2 in battle. From Him comes the corner-stone, from Him the tent-peg, from Him the battle-bow. Zechariah 10:3-4.

[3] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. The stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold . . . Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

Here 'the stone' is used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the relative sense to mean His spiritual kingdom. When it says that 'the stone was cut out of the rock' the meaning is that it came out of the truth of faith, for the truth of faith is meant in the Word by 'rock'. And because the truth of faith is meant by 'the stone' and 'the rock', the Lord's spiritual kingdom is also what is meant, since the truth of faith and good ensuing from this truth prevail in that kingdom. Something similar is also meant by 'the stone' on which Jacob slept and which he afterwards set up as a pillar, described as follows,

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And in the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He said, This stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:16-18, 22.

The fact that by 'the stone' the ancients understood the Lord in the highest sense and His spiritual kingdom in the relative sense is also plain to see in Joshua,

Joshua erected the stone under the oak which was in Jehovah's sanctuary. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He spoke to us. And it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:26, 17.

Footnotes:

1. literally, a stone of striking and a rock of stumbling

2. literally, the horse of His glory

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