The Bible

 

Génesis 9

Study

   

1 Y bendijo Dios a Noé y a sus hijos, y les dijo: Fructificad, y multiplicaos, y llenad la tierra;

2 y vuestro temor y vuestro pavor será sobre todo animal de la tierra, y sobre toda ave de los cielos, en todo lo que se moverá en la tierra, y en todos los peces del mar; en vuestra mano son entregados.

3 Todo lo que se mueve, que es vivo, os será para mantenimiento; así como la verdura de hierba, os lo he dado todo.

4 Pero la carne con su alma (o vida ), que es su sangre, no comeréis.

5 Porque ciertamente vuestra sangre que es vuestra alma, yo la demandaré; de mano de todo animal la demandaré, y de mano del hombre; de mano del varón su hermano demandaré el alma del hombre.

6 El que derramare sangre de hombre en el hombre, su sangre será derramada; porque a imagen de Dios es hecho el hombre.

7 Mas vosotros fructificad, y multiplicaos; y andad en la tierra, y multiplicaos en ella.

8 Y habló Dios a Noé y a sus hijos con él, diciendo:

9 He aquí, que yo establezco mi pacto con vosotros, y con vuestra simiente después de vosotros;

10 y con toda alma viviente que está con vosotros, en aves, en animales, y en toda bestia de la tierra que está con vosotros; desde todos los que salieron del arca hasta todo animal de la tierra.

11 Que yo estableceré mi pacto con vosotros, que no será talada más toda carne con aguas de diluvio; y que no habrá más diluvio para destruir la tierra.

12 Y dijo Dios: Esta será la señal del pacto que yo pongo entre mí y vosotros y toda alma viviente que está con vosotros, por siglos perpetuos:

13 Mi arco pondré en las nubes, el cual será por señal de pacto entre mí y la tierra.

14 Y será, que cuando anublare sobre la tierra, entonces mi arco aparecerá en las nubes.

15 Y me acordaré de mi pacto que está entre mí y vosotros y toda alma viviente en toda carne; y no serán más las aguas por diluvio para destruir a toda carne.

16 Y estará el arco en las nubes, y lo veré para acordarme del pacto perpetuo entre Dios y toda alma viviente, con toda carne que está sobre la tierra.

17 Dijo más Dios a Noé: Esta será la señal del pacto que he establecido entre mí y toda carne, que está sobre la tierra.

18 Y los hijos de Noé que salieron del arca fueron Sem, Cam y Jafet; y Cam es el padre de Canaán.

19 Estos tres son los hijos de Noé; y de ellos fue llena toda la tierra.

20 Y comenzó Noé a labrar la tierra, y plantó una viña;

21 y bebió del vino, y se embriagó, y se descubrió en medio de su tienda.

22 Y Cam, padre de Canaán, vio la desnudez de su padre, y lo dijo a sus dos hermanos que estaban fuera.

23 Entonces Sem y Jafet tomaron la ropa, y la pusieron sobre los hombros de ambos, y andando hacia atrás, cubrieron la desnudez de su padre teniendo vueltos los rostros, que no vieron la desnudez de su padre.

24 Y despertó Noé de su vino, y supo lo que había hecho con él su hijo el más joven;

25 y dijo: Maldito sea Canaán; siervo de siervos será a sus hermanos.

26 Dijo más: Bendito el SEÑOR, el Dios de Sem, y sea Canaán su siervo.

27 Ensanche Dios a Jafet, y habite en las tiendas de Sem, y sea Canaán su siervo.

28 Y vivió Noé después del diluvio trescientos cincuenta años.

29 Y fueron todos los días de Noé novecientos cincuenta años; y murió.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1093

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

1093. That 'cursed be Canaan' means that external worship separated from internal turned itself away from the Lord is clear from the meaning of 'Canaan' and from the meaning of 'being cursed'. That 'Canaan' is external worship separated from internal is clear from what has been stated already about Canaan, also from his being called 'cursed'; and from what follows about his being 'a slave of slaves'. And being a slave both to Shem and to Japheth cannot mean anything other than something separated from the Church itself, such as worship that is wholly external. This is clear from the meaning of 'being cursed' as turning oneself away, for the Lord in no way curses anybody, or is even angry. Instead it is man who brings the curse upon himself by turning himself away from the Lord. On these points see what has been shown already in 223, 245, 592. The Lord is as far from cursing or being angry with anyone as the sky is from the earth. Who can believe that the Lord, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, who with wisdom rules the universe, and so who is infinitely superior to all [human] weaknesses, is angry with such pitifully worthless dust, that is, with human beings who scarcely know anything of what they do and who of themselves are incapable of anything other than evil? With the Lord therefore anger is never present, only mercy.

[2] That arcana are contained here can be seen merely from the consideration that even though it was Ham who saw his father's nakedness and pointed it out to his brothers, he was not cursed but his son Canaan, who was not his only son nor even the firstborn but the fourth in line, as is clear from Chapter 10, verse 6 later on, where the sons of Ham are mentioned as being Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. It can in addition be seen from the Divine Law that no son was to bear his father's iniquity, as is clear in Ezekiel,

The soul that has sinned will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son. Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 14:16; 2 Kings 14:6.

And the same can also be seen from the consideration that this iniquity of merely seeing his father's nakedness and pointing it out to his brothers seems too slight for all of his descendants ever to have been cursed on that account. From these considerations it is clear that arcana are contained here.

[3] The reason Ham is not mentioned here but Canaan is that Ham means faith separated from charity in the spiritual Church, which cannot be cursed because in that Church faith has holiness present within it because truth is present there. And although there is no faith when there is no charity, it is still possible - since it is by means of the cognitions of faith that a person is regenerated - for separated faith to be allied to charity, and in this way to be in some sense 'a brother' or may become one. This was why Canaan was cursed and not Ham. Furthermore the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were for the most part people such as made all worship consist in external things, the Jews there as much as the gentiles. These are the arcana contained here, but for which Canaan would never have been substituted for Ham. That external worship separated from internal turns itself away and so brings a curse on itself is quite clear from the fact that people whose worship is external have no regard for anything other than worldly, bodily, and earthly things. Thus they look downwards, and immerse their minds (animus) and life in those things; such will be dealt with a little further on.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 18:20

Study

       

20 The soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.