The Bible

 

Genesis 35

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1 At sinabi ng Dios kay Jacob, Tumindig ka, umahon ka sa Bethel, at tumahan ka roon; at gumawa ka roon ng isang dambana sa Dios na napakita sa iyo nang ikaw ay tumatakas mula sa harap ng iyong kapatid na si Esau.

2 Nang magkagayo'y sinabi ni Jacob sa kaniyang sangbahayan, at sa lahat niyang kasama. Ihiwalay ninyo ang mga dios ng iba na nangasa inyo, at magpakalinis kayo, at magbago kayo ng inyong mga suot:

3 At tayo'y magsitindig at magsisampa tayo sa Bethel; at gagawa ako roon ng dambana sa Dios na sumagot sa akin sa araw ng aking kahapisan, at sumaakin sa daan na aking nilakaran.

4 At kanilang ibinigay kay Jacob ang lahat ng ibang pinaka dios na nasa kamay nila, at ang mga hikaw na nasa kanilang mga tainga; at itinago ni Jacob sa ilalim ng punong encina na malapit sa Sichem.

5 At sila'y naglakbay; at ang isang malaking sindak mula sa Dios ay sumabayan na nasa mga palibot nila, at hindi nila hinabol ang mga anak ni Jacob.

6 Sa gayo'y naparoon si Jacob sa Luz, na nasa lupain ng Canaan (na siyang Bethel), siya at ang buong bayang kasama niya.

7 At siya'y nagtayo roon ng isang dambana at tinawag niya ang dakong yaon na El-beth-el; sapagka't ang Dios ay napakita sa kaniya roon, nang siya'y tumatakas sa harap ng kaniyang kapatid.

8 At namatay si Debora na yaya ni Rebeca, at nalibing sa paanan ng Bethel, sa ilalim ng encina, na ang pangalan ay tinawag na Allon-bacuth.

9 At ang Dios ay napakita uli kay Jacob, nang siya'y manggaling sa Padan-aram, at siya'y pinagpala.

10 At sinabi sa kaniya ng Dios, Ang pangalan mo'y Jacob; ang pangalan mo'y hindi na tatawagin pang Jacob kundi Israel ang itatawag sa iyo: at tinawag ang kaniyang pangalan na Israel.

11 At sinabi sa kaniya ng Dios, Ako ang Dios na Makapangyarihan sa lahat; ikaw ay lumago at dumami ka; isang bansa at isang kapisanan ng mga bansa ang magmumula sa iyo, at mga hari ay lalabas sa iyong balakang;

12 At ang lupaing ibinigay ko kay Abraham at kay Isaac, ay ibibigay ko sa iyo, at sa iyong lahi pagkamatay mo ay ibibigay ko ang lupain.

13 At ang Dios ay napailanglang mula sa tabi niya sa dakong pinakipagusapan sa kaniya.

14 At si Jacob ay nagtayo ng isang batong pinakaalaala sa dakong pinakipagusapan sa kaniya ng Dios, haliging bato: at binuhusan niya ng isang inuming handog at binuhusan niya ng langis.

15 At tinawag ni Jacob na Bethel ang dakong pinakipagusapan sa kaniya ng Dios.

16 At sila'y naglakbay mula sa Bethel; at may kalayuan pa upang dumating sa Ephrata: at nagdamdam si Raquel, at siya'y naghihirap sa panganganak.

17 At nangyari, nang siya'y naghihirap sa panganganak, na sinabi sa kaniya ng hilot, Huwag kang matakot, sapagka't magkakaroon ka ng isa pang anak na lalake.

18 At nangyari, nang nalalagot ang kaniyang hininga (sapagka't namatay siya), ay kaniyang pinanganlang Benoni: datapuwa't pinanganlan ng kaniyang ama na Benjamin.

19 At namatay si Raquel at inilibing sa daang patungo sa Ephrata (na siyang Bethlehem).

20 At nagtayo si Jacob ng isang batong pinakaalaala sa ibabaw ng kaniyang libingan: na siyang batong pinakaalaala ng libingan ni Raquel hanggang ngayon.

21 At naglakbay si Israel at iniladlad ang kaniyang tolda sa dako pa roon ng moog ng Eder.

22 At nangyari, samantalang tumatahan si Israel sa lupaing yaon, na si Ruben ay yumaon at sumiping kay Bilha, na babae ng kaniyang ama; at ito'y nabalitaan ni Israel. Labing dalawa nga ang anak na lalake ni Jacob.

23 Ang mga anak ni Lea, ay: si Ruben, na panganay ni Jacob, at si Simeon, at si Levi, at si Juda at si Issachar, at si Zabulon.

24 Ang mga anak ni Raquel, ay: si Jose at si Benjamin:

25 At ang mga anak ni Bilha, na alila ni Raquel, ay: si Dan at si Nephtali:

26 At ang mga anak ni Zilpa na alilang babae ni Lea, ay: si Gad at si Aser: ito ang mga anak ni Jacob na ipinanganak sa kaniya sa Padan-aram.

27 At naparoon si Jacob kay Isaac na kaniyang ama, sa Mamre, sa Kiriat-arba (na siyang Hebron), na doon tumahan si Abraham at si Isaac.

28 At ang mga naging araw ni Isaac ay isang daan at walong pung taon.

29 At nalagot ang hininga ni Isaac at namatay, at siya'y nalakip sa kaniyang bayan, matanda at puspos ng mga araw: at inilibing siya ng kaniyang mga anak na si Esau at si Jacob.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1453

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1453. As regards 'Bethel being towards the sea and Ai towards the east, 1 ' meaning that His state was still obscure, that is to say, so far as cognitions of celestial and spiritual things were concerned, it is one thing to be governed by celestial things, another to be governed by the cognitions of celestial things. Infants and children are governed, more so than adults, by celestial things because of the presence in them of love towards their parents and of love for one another, as well as of innocence. But adults are governed, more so than infants and children, by the cognitions of those celestial things, very many adults not being governed at all by the celestial things of love. Until a person is taught the things of love and faith, he dwells in an obscure state, that is, so far as cognitions are concerned. That state is described here by the statement 'Bethel' was 'towards the sea', that is, 'towards the west', and 'Ai towards the east' 'Bethel', as stated already, means cognitions of celestial things, but 'Ai' the cognitions of worldly things. The former are said to be 'towards the west' when they are in obscurity, for in the Word 'the west' means that which is obscure, while the latter are said to be 'towards the east' when they are in brightness; for in comparison with the west the east is brightness. There is no need to confirm that west and east have these meanings, as they may be evident to anyone without confirmation.

[2] That 'Bethel' means the cognitions of celestial things however may become clear from other places where Bethel is mentioned in the Word, as in the next chapter,

Abram went according to his journeys from the south even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the start, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar that he had made there. Genesis 13:3-4.

Here 'according to his journeys from the south towards Bethel' means advancing into the light of cognitions, and this is why no reference is made in this case to 'Bethel towards the west and Ai towards the east'. When Jacob saw the stairway he said,

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And he called the name of this place Bethel. Genesis 28:17, 19.

Here similarly 'Bethel' means knowledge of celestial things, for a person is a 'Bethel', that is, a 'House of God', and a 'Gate of heaven', when he is governed by the celestial things that have been present as cognitions. While a person is being regenerated he is undergoing introduction, which is effected by means of cognitions of spiritual and celestial things; but once he has been regenerated that introduction has been completed, and he is now governed by the celestial and spiritual things that have been present as cognitions. Further on it is said,

God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; make there an altar to the God who appeared to you. Genesis 35:1, 6-7.

[3] Here similarly 'Bethel' means cognitions.

The presence of the Ark of Jehovah in Bethel, and the visits to that place by the children of Israel to inquire of Jehovah, Judges 20:18, 26-27; 1 Samuel 7:16, 10:3, have similar meanings. So also has the reference to the king of Assyria sending one of the priests whom he had deported from Samaria, who resided in Bethel and was teaching them how to fear Jehovah, 2 Kings 17:27-28.

In Amos,

Amaziah said to Amos, O seer, go, flee to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there. And do not prophesy any more in Bethel, for this is the king's sanctuary and this is a house of the kingdom. Amos 7:12-13.

[4] After Jeroboam had profaned Bethel, 1 Kings 12:32; 13:1-8; 2 Kings 23:15, Bethel had a contrary representation, as in Hosea 10:15; Amos 3:14-15; 5:5-7. As regards 'Ai' meaning cognitions of worldly things however this too may be confirmed from historical and prophetical parts of the Word, in Joshua 7:2; 8:1-28; Jeremiah 49:3-4.

Footnotes:

1. literally, Bethel from the sea (an idiom for from the west) and Ai from the east

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