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Genesis 31

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1 At narinig ni Jacob ang mga salita ng mga anak ni Laban, na nagsisipagsabi, Kinuha ni Jacob ang lahat ng sa ating ama; at doon sa mga sa ating ama ay tinamo niya ang buong karangalang ito.

2 At minasdan ni Jacob ang mukha ni Laban, at narito't hindi sumasa kaniyang gaya ng dati.

3 At sinabi ng Panginoon kay Jacob, Magbalik ka sa lupain ng iyong mga magulang, at sa iyong kamaganakan; at ako'y sasaiyo.

4 At si Jacob ay nagsugo at tinawag si Raquel at si Lea sa bukid, sa kaniyang kawan,

5 At sinabi sa kanila, Nakikita ko ang mukha ng inyong ama, na hindi sumasaakin na gaya ng dati; datapuwa't ang Dios ng aking ama ay sumaakin.

6 At nalalaman ninyo, na ang aking buong lakas ay ipinaglingkod ko sa inyong ama.

7 At dinaya ako ng inyong ama, at binagong makasangpu ang aking kaupahan; datapuwa't hindi pinahintulutan siya ng Dios, na gawan ako ng masama.

8 Kung kaniyang sinabing ganito, Ang mga may batik ang magiging kaupahan mo; kung magkagayo'y nanganganak ang lahat ng kawan ng mga may batik: at kung kaniyang sinabing ganito, Ang mga may guhit ang magiging kaupahan mo; kung magkagayo'y ang lahat ng kawan ay manganganak ng mga may guhit.

9 Ganito inalis ng Dios ang mga hayop ng inyong ama, at ibinigay sa akin.

10 At nangyari, na sa panahong ang kawan ay naglilihi, ay itiningin ko ang aking mga mata, at nakita ko sa panaginip, at narito, ang mga kambing na lalake na nakatakip sa kawan ay mga may guhit, may batik at may dungis.

11 At sinabi sa akin ng anghel ng Dios, sa panaginip, Jacob: at sinabi ko, Narito ako.

12 At kaniyang sinabi, Itingin mo ngayon ang iyong mga mata, tingnan mo na ang lahat ng kambing na natatakip sa kawan ay may guhit, may batik at may dungis: sapagka't aking nakita ang lahat na ginagawa sa iyo ni Laban.

13 Ako ang Dios ng Betel, na doon mo pinahiran ng langis ang batong pinakaalaala, at doon ka gumawa ng panata sa akin: ngayo'y tumindig ka, umalis ka sa lupaing ito, at bumalik ka sa lupaing pinanganakan sa iyo.

14 At nagsisagot si Raquel at si Lea, at sa kaniya'y sinabi, Mayroon pa ba kaming natitirang bahagi o mana sa bahay ng aming ama?

15 Hindi ba inaari niya kaming taga ibang bayan? sapagka't ipinagbili niya kami at kaniyang lubos nang kinain ang aming halaga.

16 Sapagka't ang buong kayamanang inalis ng Dios sa aming ama, ay amin yaon at sa aming mga anak: ngayon nga, gawin mo ang lahat ng sinabi sa iyo ng Dios.

17 Nang magkagayo'y tumindig si Jacob, at pinasakay sa mga kamello ang kaniyang mga anak at ang kaniyang mga asawa;

18 At dinala ang kaniyang lahat na hayop, at ang kaniyang buong pag-aaring tinipon, ang hayop na kaniyang napakinabang, na kaniyang tinipon, sa Padan-aram, upang pumaroon kay Isaac na kaniyang ama, sa lupain ng Canaan.

19 Si Laban nga ay yumaon upang gupitan ang kaniyang mga tupa: at ninakaw ni Raquel ang mga larawang tinatangkilik ng kaniyang ama.

20 At tumanan si Jacob na di nalalaman ni Laban na taga Siria, sa di niya pagbibigay alam na siya'y tumakas.

21 Ganito tumakas si Jacob sangpu ng buong kaniya; at bumangon at tumawid sa ilog Eufrates, at siya'y tumungo sa bundok ng Gilead.

22 At binalitaan si Laban sa ikatlong araw, na tumakas si Jacob.

23 At ipinagsama niya ang kaniyang mga kapatid, at hinabol niyang pitong araw; at kaniyang inabutan sa bundok ng Gilead.

24 At naparoon ang Dios kay Laban na taga Siria, sa panaginip sa gabi, at sa kaniya'y sinabi, Ingatan mong huwag kang magsalita kay Jacob ng mabuti o masama man,

25 At inabutan ni Laban si Jacob, At naitirik na ni Jacob ang kaniyang tolda sa bundok; at si Laban sangpu ng kaniyang mga kapatid ay nagtirik din sa bundok ng Gilead.

26 At sinabi ni Laban kay Jacob, Anong ginawa mo na tumanan ka ng di ko nalalaman, at dinala mo ang aking mga anak na parang mangabihag sa tabak?

27 Bakit ka tumakas ng lihim, at tumanan ka sa akin; at hindi mo ipinaalam sa akin, upang ikaw ay napagpaalam kong may sayahan at may awitan, may tambol at may alpa;

28 At hindi mo man lamang ipinahintulot sa aking humalik sa aking mga anak na lalake at babae? Ngayon nga'y gumawa ka ng kamangmangan.

29 Nasa kapangyarihan ng aking kamay ang gawan ko kayo ng masama: nguni't ang Dios ng inyong ama ay kinausap ako kagabi, na sinasabi, Ingatan mong huwag kang magsalita kay Jacob ng mabuti o masama man.

30 At ngayon, bagaman iyong inibig yumaon, sapagka't pinagmimithian mong datnin ang bahay ng iyong ama ay bakit mo ninakaw ang aking mga dios?

31 At sumagot si Jacob, at sinabi kay Laban, Sapagka't ako'y natakot: sapagka't sinabi kong baka mo alising sapilitan sa akin ang iyong mga anak.

32 Kaya kung kanino mo masumpungan ang iyong mga dios, ay huwag mabuhay: sa harap ng ating mga kapatid ay iyong kilalanin kung anong mayroon akong iyo, at dalhin mo sa iyo. Sapagka't hindi nalalaman ni Jacob na si Raquel ang nagnakaw.

33 At pumasok si Laban sa tolda ni Jacob, at sa tolda ni Lea, at sa tolda ng dalawang alilang babae, datapuwa't hindi niya nasumpungan; at lumabas sa tolda ni Lea, at pumasok sa tolda ni Raquel.

34 Nakuha nga ni Raquel ang mga larawan, at naisiksik sa mga daladalahan ng kamello at kaniyang inupuan. At inapuhap ni Laban ang buong palibot ng tolda, nguni't hindi niya nasumpungan.

35 At sinabi niya sa kaniyang ama, Huwag magalit ang aking panginoon na ako'y hindi makatindig sa harap mo; sapagka't ako'y mayroon ng kaugalian ng mga babae. At kaniyang hinanap, datapuwa't hindi masumpungan ang mga larawan.

36 At naginit si Jacob at nakipagtalo kay Laban, at sumagot si Jacob, at sinabi kay Laban, Ano ang aking sinalangsang at ang aking kasalanan, upang ako'y habulin mong may pagiinit?

37 Yamang inapuhap mo ang lahat ng aking kasangkapan, anong nasumpungan mong kasangkapan, ng iyong bahay? Ilagay mo rito sa harap ng aking mga kapatid at ng iyong mga kapatid, upang hatulan nila tayong dalawa.

38 Ako'y natira sa iyo nitong dalawang pung taon: ang iyong mga babaing tupa, at ang iyong mga babaing kambing ay hindi nawalan ng kanilang mga anak, at ang mga tupang lalake ng iyong kawan ay hindi ko kinain.

39 Ang nilapa ng mga ganid ay hindi ko dinala sa iyo; ako ang nagbata ng kawalan; sa aking kamay mo hiningi, maging nanakaw sa araw, o nanakaw sa gabi.

40 Ganito nakaraan ako; sa araw ay pinupugnaw ako ng init, at ng lamig sa gabi; at ang pagaantok ay tumatakas sa aking mga mata.

41 Nitong dalawang pung taon ay natira ako sa iyong bahay; pinaglingkuran kitang labing apat na taon dahil sa iyong dalawang anak, at anim na taon dahil sa iyong kawan: at binago mo ang aking kaupahan na makasangpu.

42 Kung hindi sumaakin ang Dios ng aking ama, ang Dios ni Abraham, at ang Katakutan ni Isaac, ay walang pagsalang palalayasin mo ako ngayong walang dala. Nakita ng Dios ang aking kapighatian, ang kapaguran ng aking mga kamay, at sinaway ka niya kagabi.

43 At sumagot si Laban at sinabi kay Jacob, Ang mga anak na babaing ito, ay aking mga anak at itong mga anak ay mga anak ko, at ang mga kawan ay mga kawan ko, at ang lahat ng iyong nakikita ay akin: at anong magagawa ko ngayon sa mga anak kong babae, o sa kanilang mga anak na ipinanganak nila?

44 At ngayo'y halika, gumawa tayo ng isang tipan, ako't ikaw na maging patotoo sa akin at sa iyo.

45 At kumuha si Jacob ng isang bato, at itinindig na pinakaalaala.

46 At sinabi ni Jacob sa kaniyang mga kapatid, Manguha kayo ng mga bato; at kumuha sila ng mga bato at kanilang ginawang isang bunton: at sila'y nagkainan doon sa malapit sa bunton.

47 At pinanganlan ni Laban na Jegarsahadutha, datapuwa't pinanganlan ni Jacob na Galaad.

48 At sinabi ni Laban, Ang buntong ito ay saksi sa akin at sa iyo ngayon. Kaya't ang pangalan niya'y tinawag na Galaad;

49 At Mizpa sapagka't kaniyang sinabi, Bantayan ng Panginoon ako at ikaw, pag nagkakahiwalay tayo.

50 Kung pahirapan mo ang aking mga anak, o kung magasawa ka sa iba bukod sa aking mga anak, ay wala tayong ibang kasama; tingnan mo, ang Dios ay saksi sa akin at sa iyo.

51 At sinabi ni Laban kay Jacob, Narito, ang buntong ito at ang batong pinakaalaalang ito, na aking inilagay sa gitna natin.

52 Maging saksi ang buntong ito, at saksi ang batong ito, na hindi ko lalagpasan ang buntong ito sa dako mo, at hindi mo lalagpasan ang buntong ito at ang batong pinakaalaalang ito sa pagpapahamak sa amin.

53 Ang Dios ni Abraham at ang Dios ni Nachor, ang Dios ng ama nila ay siyang humatol sa atin. At si Jacob ay sumumpa ng ayon sa Katakutan ng kaniyang amang si Isaac.

54 At naghandog si Jacob ng hain sa bundok, at tinawag ang kaniyang mga kapatid upang magsikain ng tinapay: at sila'y nagsikain ng tinapay, at sila'y nagparaan ng buong gabi sa bundok.

55 At bumangong maaga sa kinaumagahan si Laban, at hinagkan ang kaniyang mga anak na lalake at babae, at pinagbabasbasan: at yumaon at umuwi si Laban.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3727

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3727. As regards the meaning of 'a pillar', the reason why it means a holy boundary and so the ultimate degree of order is that in most ancient times people used to place stones where their boundaries ran which separated one person's property or inheritance from another's. These served as a sign and witness to the existence of the boundaries there. The most ancient people, who in every object and in every pillar thought of something celestial or spiritual, 1977, 2995, thought, when they saw these stones set up as pillars, of the ultimate things present in man, and so of the ultimate degree of order, which is truth in the natural man. And it was from those most ancient people who lived before the Flood that the ancients who lived after it acquired this custom, 920, 1409, 2179, 2896, 2897, and began to regard the stones they set up on their boundaries as sacred, for the reason, as stated, that they meant holy truth as it exists in the ultimate degree of order, and also called those stones 'pillars'. This was how it came about that pillars were introduced into their worship, and why they erected them where they had their sacred groves and subsequently their temples, and also anointed them with oil, a point to be dealt with shortly. Indeed the worship of the Ancient Church consisted of things that had been perceived and things that had carried a meaning among the most ancient people prior to the Flood, as is evident from the paragraphs that have just been referred to. Since the most ancient people talked to angels and were in their company while still on earth, they received it from heaven that 'stones' means truth and 'wood' good; see just above in 3720. This then is why 'pillars' means a holy boundary, and so truth as it exists in the ultimate degree of order with man. For good which flows in from the Lord by way of the internal man terminates in the external man, and in the truth that is there. Man's thought, speech, and activity, which are the ultimates of order, are nothing else than truths stemming from good. In fact they are the images or forms which good takes, for they belong to the understanding part of the human mind, whereas the good that is within them, and from which they spring, belongs to the will part.

[2] The fact that pillars were erected as a sign and a witness, and were also introduced into worship, and that in the internal sense they mean a holy boundary, or truth within man's natural, which is the ultimate degree of order, becomes clear from other places in the Word, as in the following verses where the subject is the covenant made between Laban and Jacob,

Now come, let us make a covenant, I and you, and let it be a witness between me and you. And Jacob took a stone and erected it as a pillar. Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar which I have erected between me and you. This heap is a witness and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and that you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. Genesis 31:44-45, 51-52.

Here 'pillar' means truth, as will be seen in the explanation of those verses.

[3] In Isaiah,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak with the lips of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah, which will be a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt. Isaiah 19:18-20.

'Egypt' stands for facts which belong to the natural man, 'an altar' for Divine worship in general, for in the second Ancient Church that began with Eber the altar became the first and foremost representative in its worship, 921, 1343, 2777, 2811. 'The midst of the land of Egypt' stands for the primary and inmost aspect of worship, 2940, 2973, 3436. 'Pillar' stands for truth as it exists in the ultimate degree of order in the natural. The fact that it stood at the border as a sign and a witness is quite evident.

[4] In Moses,

Moses wrote down all the words of Jehovah and rose up in the morning and built an altar beside Mount Sinai, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Exodus 24:4.

Here similarly 'an altar' was the representative of all worship, and indeed was the representative of good present in worship. 'The twelve pillars' however were the representative in worship of truth that stems from good - 'twelve' meaning every aspect of truth in its entirety, see 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272; and the twelve tribes likewise meaning every aspect of truth in the Church, as in the Lord's Divine mercy will be shown in the next chapter.

[5] Because altars were representative of all good in worship, and the Jewish Church was established so as to represent the celestial Church which acknowledged no other truth than truth stemming from good, which is called celestial truth (for the celestial Church was totally unwilling to separate truth from good, so much so that it was unwilling even to refer to anything of faith or truth without thinking about good, and doing so from good, see 202, 337, 2069, 2715, 2718, 3246), truth was therefore represented by the stones of the altar. And they were forbidden to represent it by means of pillars lest in so doing they separated truth from good and by representation worshipped truth instead of good. This accounts for the following prohibition in Moses,

You shall not plant for yourself a grove of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah your God which you shall make for yourself. And you shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God hates. Deuteronomy 16:21-22.

For worshipping truth separated from good, or faith separated from charity, is contrary to the Divine since it is contrary to order, meant by 'you shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God hates'.

[6] Despite this they did erect them and so represented things that are contrary to order, as is clear in Hosea,

Israel, according to the multiplying of his fruit, multiplies altars; according to the goodness of their land they make well their pillars. But He will overturn their altars, and lay waste their pillars. Hosea 10:1-2.

In the first Book of Kings,

Judah did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and they built for themselves high places and pillars and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree. 1 Kings 14:22-23.

In the second Book of Kings,

The children of Israel set up pillars for themselves and groves on every high hill and under every green tree. 2 Kings 17:10.

In the same book,

Hezekiah removed the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the grove, and smashed the bronze snake which Moses had made, because they had been burning incense to it. 2 Kings 18:4.

[7] Since gentile nations too derived through tradition the idea that the holiness of worship was to be represented by means of altars and pillars, and yet they were under the influence of evil and falsity, the altars among the nations therefore mean the evils of worship and the pillars the falsities. This was why the command was given for them to be destroyed. In Moses,

The altars of the nations you shall overthrow, and you shall break down their pillars and tear down their groves. Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3.

In the same author,

You shall not bow down to the gods of the nations, or worship them, or do according to their works, for you shall utterly destroy them, and utterly break down their pillars. Exodus 23:24.

'The gods of the nations' stands for falsities, 'their works' for evils, 'breaking down their pillars' for destroying worship arising out of falsity.

[8] In Jeremiah,

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel will break down the pillars of the house of the sun that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire. Jeremiah 43:13.

In Ezekiel,

By means of the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel will trample all your streets, slay the people with the sword, and cause your mighty pillars to come down to the ground. Ezekiel 26:11.

This refers to Tyre. 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel' stands for that which lays waste, 1327 (end). 'The hoofs of horses' stands for the lowest form of intellectual concepts, such as facts based on mere sensory impressions - 'hoofs' meaning lowest concepts, as will in the Lord's Divine mercy be confirmed elsewhere. 'Horses' stands for matters of the understanding, 2760-2762, 'streets' for truths, and in the contrary sense for falsities, 2336. 'trampling' on them is destroying cognitions of truth, which are meant by 'Tyre' - 'Tyre', the subject here, meaning cognitions of truth, 1201. 'Slaying the people with the sword' stands for destroying truths by means of falsity - 'people' being used in reference to truths, 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581, and 'sword' meaning falsity engaged in conflict, 2799. From this one may see what 'causing your mighty pillars to come down to the ground' means - 'might' being used in reference either to truth or to falsity, as is also clear from the Word.

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