The Bible

 

Genesis 34

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1 At lumabas si Dina na anak ni Lea, na ipinanganak nito kay Jacob, upang tingnan ang mga anak na babae ng lupaing yaon.

2 At siya'y nakita ni Sichem, anak ni Hamor, na Heveo, na prinsipe sa lupain; at siya'y kinuha at sumiping sa kaniya, at siya'y pinangayupapa.

3 At inilakip niya ang kaniyang kaluluwa kay Dina, na anak ni Jacob at kaniyang sininta ang dalaga, at nakiusap ng kalugodlugod sa dalaga.

4 At si Sichem ay nagsalita sa kaniyang amang kay Hamor, na sinabi, Ipakamit mo sa akin ang dalagang ito na maging asawa ko.

5 Nabalitaan nga ni Jacob na dinahas ang kaniyang anak na si Dina; at ang kaniyang mga anak ay nasa kasamahan ng mga hayop niya sa parang: at tumahimik si Jacob hanggang sa sila'y dumating.

6 At nilabas ni Hamor na ama ni Sichem si Jacob upang makiusap sa kaniya.

7 At ang mga anak ni Jacob ay nagsiuwi mula sa parang nang kanilang mabalitaan: at nangagdamdam ang mga lalake, at nagningas ang kanilang galit, sapagka't gumawa ng kaululan sa Israel, na sinipingan ang anak ni Jacob; bagay na di nararapat gawin.

8 At nakiusap si Hamor sa kanila, na sinasabi, Ang kaluluwa ni Sichem na aking anak ay sumasa iyong anak; ipinamamanhik ko sa inyo na ipagkaloob ninyo sa kaniya na maging asawa niya.

9 At magsipagasawa kayo sa amin; ibigay ninyo sa amin ang inyong mga anak na babae, at ibibigay namin sa inyo ang aming mga anak na babae.

10 At tatahan kayong kasama namin; at ang lupain ay sasa harap ninyo; tumahan kayo at mangalakal kayo riyan at magkaroon kayo ng mga pag-aari riyan.

11 At sinabi ni Sichem sa ama ni Dina, at sa mga kapatid niya, Makasundo nawa ako ng biyaya sa inyong mga mata at ang sabihin ninyo sa akin ay aking ibibigay.

12 Hingin ninyo sa akin ang walang bilang na bigay-kaya at kaloob, at aking ibibigay ayon sa sabihin ninyo sa akin; ipagkaloob lamang ninyo sa akin ang dalaga na maging asawa ko.

13 At nagsisagot na may pagdaraya ang mga anak ni Jacob kay Sichem at kay Hamor na kaniyang ama, at sila'y nagsalitaan, sapagka't kaniyang dinahas si Dina na kanilang kapatid.

14 At sinabi niya sa kanila, Hindi namin magagawa ito, na ibigay ang aming kapatid sa isang hindi tuli; sapagka't isang kasiraan ng puri namin.

15 Sa ganitong paraan lamang papayag kami sa inyo: kung kayo'y magiging gaya namin, na mangatuli ang lahat ng lalake sa inyo;

16 Ay ibibigay nga namin sa inyo ang aming mga anak na babae, at makikisama kami sa inyong mga anak na babae, at tatahan kami sa inyo, at tayo'y magiging isa lamang bayan.

17 Datapuwa't kung ayaw ninyo kaming pakinggan, na kayo'y mangatuli; ay dadalhin nga namin ang aming anak na babae at kami ay yayaon.

18 At ang kanilang mga salita ay kinalugdan ni Hamor at ni Sichem, na anak ni Hamor.

19 At hindi iniliban ng binata ang paggawa niyaon, sapagka't nalugod siya sa anak na babae ni Jacob: at siya ang pinarangalang higit sa buong sangbahayan ng kaniyang ama.

20 At si Hamor at si Sichem na kaniyang anak ay napasa pintuang-bayan ng kanilang bayan, at sila'y nakiusap sa mga tao sa kanilang bayan, na sinasabi.

21 Ang mga taong ito ay tahimik sa atin; kaya't magsitahan sila sa lupain at magsipangalakal sila riyan; sapagka't narito, ang lupain, ay may malabis na kaluwangan sa kanila; tayo'y makisama sa kanilang mga anak na babae, at ating ibigay sa kanila ang ating mga anak.

22 Sa ganito lamang paraan papayagan tayo ng mga taong iyan, sa pagtahan sa atin, na maging isa lamang bayan, kung patuli ang lahat ng lalake sa atin, na gaya naman nila na mga tuli.

23 Di ba magiging atin ang kanilang mga baka at ang kanilang mga pag-aari at ang lahat nilang hayop? Atin lamang silang payagan, at tatahan sa atin.

24 At pinakinggan si Hamor at si Sichem na kaniyang anak, ng lahat na lumalabas sa pintuan ng kaniyang bayan; at ang lahat ng lalake ay nagtuli, ang lahat ng lumalabas sa pintuan ng kaniyang bayan.

25 At nangyari, nang ikatlong araw, nang sila'y nangasasaktan, na ang dalawa sa mga anak ni Jacob, si Simeon at si Levi, na mga kapatid ni Dina, na kumuha ang bawa't isa ng kaniyang tabak, at sila'y lihim na pumasok sa bayan, at kanilang pinatay ang lahat ng mga lalake.

26 At kanilang pinatay si Hamor at si Sichem na kaniyang anak, sa talim ng tabak, at kanilang kinuha si Dina sa bahay ni Sichem, at sila'y nagsialis.

27 Nagsiparoon ang mga anak ni Jacob sa mga patay, at kanilang sinamsaman ang bayan, sapagka't kanilang dinahas ang kapatid nila.

28 Kinuha nila ang kanilang mga kawan at ang kanilang mga bakahan, at ang kanilang mga asno, at ang nasa bayan, at ang nasa parang;

29 At ang kanilang buong yaman, at ang lahat ng kanilang mga anak, at mga asawa, ay dinala nilang bihag at samsam, sa makatuwid baga'y lahat na nasa bahay.

30 At sinabi ni Jacob kay Simeon at kay Levi, Ako'y inyong binagabag, na pinapaging mapagtanim ninyo ako sa mga tumatahan sa lupain, sa mga Cananeo, at sa mga Pherezeo; at akong may kaunting tao, ay magpipisan sila laban sa akin, at ako'y sasaktan nila; at lilipulin ako at ang aking sangbahayan.

31 At kanilang sinabi, Aariin ba niya ang aming kapatid na parang isang patutot?

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6306

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6306. 'Which I took out of the hand of the Amorite' means because of the victory over evil. This is clear from the representation of 'the Amorite' as evil, dealt with in 1857; and from the meaning of 'taking out of the hand' as acquiring through victory. As regards 'the Amorites', it should be recognized that they mean evil, just as 'the Canaanites' and all the other nations in the land that are mentioned in the Word mean various kinds of evil and also of falsity. Such things were represented by the nations when the children of Israel were taking possession of the land of Canaan. The reason for this was that whenever the children of Israel represented the things of heaven those nations represented the things of hell; thus the land of Canaan represented every state that exists in the next life. Also, because the nations represented the things of hell they were utterly destroyed; and entrance into any treaty with those who might remain was forbidden.

[2] The action of the children of Israel, of their taking possession of and dwelling in the land of those who represented the hells, was representative. It represented what happened around the time of the Lord's Coming, when spirits from hell had possession of a large part of heaven but He, by coming into the world and making the human within Himself Divine, cast them out of there and down into hell, and thereby delivered heaven from them, which He then gave as an inheritance to those who belonged to His spiritual kingdom.

[3] The representation of the Amorite nation as evil in general is evident from the places where it is referred to, as in Ezekiel, Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Jerusalem, 1 Your tradings and your births are of the land of the Canaanite. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. Ezekiel 16:3, 45.

'Father' in the internal sense means the Church's good, or in the contrary sense evil, and 'mother' means the Church's truth, or in the contrary sense falsity; and this is why it is said, 'Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite'.

[4] In Amos,

I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and whose strength was like the oaks. I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. Amos 2:9-10.

Here also 'the Amorite' stands for evil, for the evil of self-love is described by 'the height of the cedars' and 'the strength of an oak'. The reason why 'the Amorite' means evil in general is that the entire land of Canaan was called 'the land of the Amorite'; for it says, 'I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite'. In addition the second Book of Kings says,

Manasseh king of Judah did what was evil, greater than all the evil which the Amorites did, who were before him. 2 Kings 21:11.

[5] 'With my sword' means through truth engaged in conflict. This is clear from the meaning of 'sword' as truth engaged in conflict, dealt with in 2799, 4499.

'And my bow' means received from doctrine. This is clear from the meaning of 'bow' as doctrine, dealt with in 2686, 2709.

[6] The words used here, 'the portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow' were, it is quite evident, uttered by Israel on account of the internal sense; for Jacob did not take that portion from the Amorite with sword or bow. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, as is evident from Genesis 33, where these words occur, Jacob came to Salem, the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, as he was coming from Paddan Aram; and he encamped towards the face of the city. And he bought the portion of the field where he had stretched his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitahs. Genesis 33:18-19.

The fact that this field was the portion he gave to Joseph is clear in Joshua,

The bones of Joseph which the children of Israel caused to be brought up out of Egypt they buried in Shechem, in the part of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitahs; and they had become an inheritance for the children of Joseph. Joshua 24:32.

From this it is evident that the portion had been bought, and that this is what was given to Joseph. Nor was the city of Shechem nearby meant, the city in which Simeon and Levi killed every male and which they took with the sword, Genesis 34. This is made clear by the fact that Jacob detested what they did and for that reason cursed Simeon and Levi, completely dissociating himself from the crime. He said,

Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of violence are their swords. Into their secret place let my soul not come; in their congregation let not my glory be united; for in their anger they killed a man, and in their pleasure they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was hard. 2 I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. Genesis 49:5-7.

From all this it may now be seen that the words 'the portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow' were uttered by him, when the spirit of prophecy rested on him, for the sake of the internal sense.

Footnotes:

1. The Latin means O Jerusalem but the Hebrew means to Jerusalem, which Swedenborg has in other places where he quotes this verse (and possibly in his rough draft here).

2. i.e. cruel

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