The Bible

 

Genesis 12

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1 Now the LORD had said to Abram, Depart from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, to a land that I will show thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went to go forth into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To thy seed will I give this land: and there he erected an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him.

8 And he removed from thence to a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he erected an altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still towards the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to dwell there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

12 Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that when Abram had come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16 And he treated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.

17 And the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? why didst thou not tell me that she is thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me for a wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Coronis (An Appendix to True Christian Religion) #48

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48. But it is impossible for man to acknowledge God, or anything pertaining to Him, unless God had manifested Himself in a Personal Human Form; for the Nature of the world surrounds him, and he does not see, feel or breathe anything but what is from it and in contact with the organs of his body. From this his mind conceives and adopts a Rational which lies in the interior bosom of Nature, as an embryo in the womb; nor does it see anything until it struggles forth, and receives sight. How, then, can a man in this state by any method look through Nature, and acknowledge anything that is above her - as is everything Divine, heavenly and spiritual, and hence everything religious, which in themselves are above natural things? Wherefore it is an absolute necessity that God should manifest Himself, and thereby cause Himself to be acknowledged, and after acknowledgment should inspire man with His Divine spirit, and by this received in the heart lead him, even at length to Himself in heaven; which cannot possibly be effected except by instruction. Must not also an emperor, or a king, first cause himself to be acknowledged and crowned, before he enters on his government? And before he is crowned, is he not provided with the insignia of authority, robed and anointed? and must he not bind the people to himself by agreed compacts, sworn to by both sides, whereby the people become the king's, and the king the people's? Must not a bridegroom first cause himself to be seen, before he proposes betrothal, and afterwards marriage? Must not a father present himself before his babe, and embrace and kiss him, before the babe can say, "Abba, father?" and so in other cases. Still more must the Lord Jehovih, who is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14), the Bridegroom and Husband of the Church (Rev. 21:9), and consequently the Father of all her offspring. By the "Lord Jehovih" is meant the Lord our Saviour and Redeemer: He is called the "Lord Jehovih" in Daniel, and in the Prophets again and again.

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