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1 Mosebok 1

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1 I begynnelsen skapade Gud himmel och jord.

2 Och jorden var öde och tom, och mörker var över djupet, och Guds Ande svävade över vattnet.

3 Och Gud sade: »Varde ljus»; och det vart ljus.

4 Och Gud såg att ljuset var gott; och Gud skilde ljuset från mörkret.

5 Och Gud kallade ljuset dag, och mörkret kallade han natt. Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den första dagen.

6 Och Gud sade: »Varde mitt i vattnet ett fäste som skiljer vatten från vatten.»

7 Och Gud gjorde fästet, och skilde vattnet under fästet från vattnet ovan fästet; och det skedde så.

8 Och Gud kallade fästet himmel. Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den andra dagen.

9 Och Gud sade: »Samle sig det vatten som är under himmelen till en särskild plats, så att det torra bliver synligt.» Och det skedde så.

10 Och Gud kallade det torra jord, och vattensamlingen kallade han hav. Och Gud såg att det var gott.

11 Och Gud sade: »Frambringe jorden grönska, fröbärande örter och fruktträd, som efter sina arter bära frukt, vari de hava sitt frö, på jorden.» Och det skedde så;

12 jorden frambragte grönska, fröbärande örter, efter deras arter, och träd som efter sina arter buro frukt, vari de hade sitt frö. Och Gud såg att det var gott.

13 Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den tredje dagen.

14 Och Gud sade: »Varde på himmelens fäste ljus som skilja dagen från natten, och vare de till tecken och till att utmärka särskilda tider, dagar och år,

15 och vare de på himmelens fäste till ljus som lysa över jorden.» Och det skedde så;

16 Gud gjorde de två stora ljusen, det större ljuset till att råda över dagen, och det mindre ljuset till att råda över natten, så ock stjärnorna.

17 Och Gud satte dem på himmelens fäste till att lysa över jorden,

18 och till att råda över dagen och över natten, och till att skilja ljuset från mörkret. Och Gud såg att det var gott.

19 Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den fjärde dagen.

20 Och Gud sade: »Frambringe vattnet ett vimmel av levande varelser; flyge ock fåglar över jorden under himmelens fäste

21 Och Gud skapade de stora havsdjuren och hela det stim av levande varelser, som vattnet vimlar av, efter deras arter, så ock alla bevingade fåglar, efter deras arter. Och Gud såg att det var gott.

22 Och Gud välsignade dem och sade: »Varen fruktsamma och föröken eder, och uppfyllen vattnet i haven; föröke sig ock fåglarna på jorden

23 Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den femte dagen.

24 Och Gud sade: »Frambringe jorden levande varelser, efter deras arter, boskapsdjur och kräldjur och vilda djur, efter deras arter.» Och det skedde så;

25 Gud gjorde de vilda djuren, efter deras arter, och boskapsdjuren, efter deras arter, och alla kräldjur på marken, efter deras arter. Och Gud såg att det var gott.

26 Och Gud sade: »Låt oss göra människor till vår avbild, till att vara oss lika; och må de råda över fiskarna i havet och över fåglarna under himmelen och över boskapsdjuren och över hela jorden och över alla kräldjur som röra sig på jorden

27 Och Gud skapade människan till sin avbild, till Guds avbild skapade han henne, till man och kvinna skapade han dem.

28 Och Gud välsignade dem; Gud sade till dem: »Varen fruktsamma och föröken eder, och uppfyllen jorden och läggen den under eder; och råden över fiskarna i havet och över fåglarna under himmelen och över alla djur som röra sig på jorden

29 Och Gud sade: »Se, jag giver eder alla fröbärande örter på hela jorden och alla träd med fröbärande trädfrukt; detta skolen I hava till föda.

30 Men åt alla djur på jorden och åt alla fåglar under himmelen och åt allt som krälar på jorden, vad som i sig har en levande själ, åt dessa giver jag alla gröna örter till föda.» Och det skedde så.

31 Och Gud såg på allt som han hade gjort, och se, det var mycket gott. Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den sjätte dagen.

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Arcana Coelestia #9340

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9340. 'And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting the boundary from one place to another', when it refers to spiritual truths, as the full range; from the meaning of 'the Sea Suph' as truths on the levels of the senses and of factual knowledge, which are the lowest levels of the human mind (the Sea Suph was the final boundary of the land of Egypt, and 'Egypt' means factual knowledge in both senses, that is, true factual knowledge and false, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926, 8146, 8148; in this instance true factual knowledge is meant since the subject is the full range of spiritual matters of faith among the children of Israel, who represented the spiritual Church, 4286, 4598, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805); and from the meaning of 'the Sea of the Philistines' as interior truths of faith. The reason why these truths are meant by 'the Sea of the Philistines' is that the sea where Tyre and Sidon lay was the boundary of the land of Philistia, and 'Tyre and Sidon' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, while 'the land of Philistia' means the knowledge of interior matters of faith, 1197, 2504, 2726, 3463.

[2] Since 'the land of Canaan' represented the Lord's kingdom, which is heaven and the Church, all places in the land therefore meant such things as form part of the Lord's kingdom, or heaven and the Church, which things are called celestial and spiritual, and are connected with the good of love to the Lord and the truths of faith in Him. For this reason the seas and rivers which were boundaries meant the final limits there, and therefore 'from sea to sea' or 'from river to river' meant the full range of those things, as may be seen in 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. From all this it becomes clear that 'the boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the range of spiritual things, which are matters of truth, from external ones to internal, thus truths ranging from factual ones to interior truths of faith. But the range of celestial things, which are aspects of the good of love, is described next by the words 'from the wilderness even to the River'. The fact that places belonging to the land of Canaan, including seas and rivers, mean such things in the Word, has been shown in explanations everywhere.

[3] What the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith is must be stated briefly. Truths which exist in the external man are called factual ones, but truths which exist in the internal man are called interior truths of faith. Factual truths reside in a person's memory, and when they are brought out from there they pass into the person's immediate awareness. But interior truths of faith are truths of life itself which are inscribed on the internal man, but few of which show up in the memory. These however are matters which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be spoken of more fully elsewhere. Factual truths and interior truths of faith were meant in Genesis 1:6-7 by the waters under the expanse and the waters above the expanse, 24; for the first chapter of Genesis deals in the internal sense with the new creation or the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church.

[4] The reason why 'Philistia', which also bordered on the land of Canaan as far as Tyre and Sidon, meant the interior truths of faith was that there also the representative Ancient Church had existed, as is evident from the remnants of Divine worship among them which are alluded to in historical sections and prophetical parts of the Word in which the Philistines and the land of Philistia are the subject, such as - in the prophetical parts - Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 47:1-end; Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15-16; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:5; Zechariah 9:6; Psalms 56:1; 1 60:8; 83:7; 108:9. The situation with the Philistines was the same as it was with all the nations in the land of Canaan, in that they represented the Church's forms of good and its truths, and also evils and falsities. When the representative Ancient Church existed among them they represented celestial things which were aspects of good and spiritual things which were matters of truth. But when they fell away from true representative worship they began to represent devilish things which were aspects of evil and hellish things which were matters of falsity. This is the reason why 'Philistia', like all the other nations belonging to the land of Canaan in the Word, means either forms of good and truths, or else evils and falsities.

[5] The fact that interior truths of faith are meant by 'the Philistines' is clear in David,

Glorious things are to be spoken in you, O city of God. I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; also Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia. The latter was born here. 2 Psalms 87:3-4.

'The city of God' means teachings presenting the truth of faith that are drawn from the Word, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, 5297; 'Tyre' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, and so does 'Ethiopia', 116, 117. From this it is evident that 'Philistia' means knowledge of the truths of faith.

[6] In Amos,

Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to Me, O children of Israel? Did I not cause Israel to come up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Amos 9:7.

This refers to the corruption and destruction of the Church after it had been established. 'The children of the Ethiopians' here are those in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they use to substantiate evils and falsities, 1163, 1164. 'The children of Israel from the land of Egypt' are those who had been brought to spiritual truths and forms of good by means of factual truths, 'the children of Israel' being people in possession of spiritual truths and forms of good, thus in the abstract sense spiritual truths and forms of good, see 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, and 'the land of Egypt' being factual truth, as shown above. The same is meant by 'the Philistines from Caphtor' and by 'the Syrians from Kir', to whom they are therefore likened. 'The Philistines from Caphtor' are people who had been brought to interior truths by means of exterior ones, but who perverted them and used them to substantiate falsities and evils, 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 3762, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313, whereas 'the Syrians from Kir' are those who were in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they likewise perverted, 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112.

[7] In Jeremiah,

... because of the day that is coming to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that is left, for Jehovah is laying waste the Philistines, the remnants of the island of Caphtor. Jeremiah 47:4.

The subject in Jeremiah 47 is the laying waste of the Church's truths of faith, interior truths of faith being meant by 'the Philistines' and exterior truths by 'the remnants of the island of Caphtor'.

[8] In Joel,

What have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Swiftly I will return your recompense upon your own head, inasmuch as you have taken My silver and My gold, and My good and desirable treasures you have carried into your temples. Joel 3:4-5.

'All the borders of Philistia' stands for all the interior and the exterior truths of faith; 'carrying silver and gold, and good and desirable treasures into their temples' stands for perverting truths and forms of good, and profaning them by putting them together with evils and falsities. For the meaning of 'silver and gold' as truths and forms of good, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932.

[9] In Obadiah,

At that time those in the south will be the heirs of the mountain of Esau, and of the plain of the Philistines, and they will become the heirs of the field of Ephraim; but Benjamin [will be the heir] of Gilead. Obad. verse 19.

This refers to the establishment of the Church; but spiritual things are implied by the names. 'Those in the south' are people who dwell in the light of truth, 1458, 3195, 3708, 5672, 5962; 'the mountain of Esau' is the good of love, 3300, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576; 'the plain of the Philistines' is the truth of faith, 'the plain' being also that which constitutes matters of doctrine about faith, 2418; 'Ephraim' is the Church's power of understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; 'Benjamin' is the Church's spiritual-celestial truth, 3969, 4592, 5686, 5689, 6440; and 'Gilead' is the corresponding exterior good, 4117, 4124, 4747.

[10] In Isaiah,

He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. They will fly down onto the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea, together they will plunder the sons of the east. Isaiah 11:12, 14.

Here 'Israel' and 'Judah' are not used to mean Israel and Judah; rather, 'Israel' means those who are governed by the good of faith, and 'Judah' those who are governed by the good of love. 'Flying down onto the shoulder of the Philistines' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior truths of faith; and 'plundering the sons of the east' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior forms of the good of faith, for 'the sons of the east' are people who are governed by forms of the good of faith and with whom cognitions or knowledge of good exists, 3249. 3762. For the meaning of 'plundering' as receiving and taking into possession, see what has been shown in 6914, 6917, regarding the plundering of the Egyptians by the children of Israel.

[11] Since 'the land of Philistia' meant knowledge of the interior truths of faith, and since Abraham and Isaac represented the Lord, and the sojourning of these two in places meant instruction received by the Lord in the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, which belong to God's wisdom, therefore - to provide a figurative representation of this - Abraham was commanded to sojourn in Philistia, Genesis 20:1-end, and so too was Isaac, Genesis 26:1-24. Therefore also Abimelech king of the Philistines made a covenant with Abraham, Genesis 21:22-end, and also with Isaac, Genesis 26:26-end. Regarding all this, see the explanations to those chapters.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. in the superscription or heading of this Psalm

2. i.e. in the city of God, see 1164:7.

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