The Bible

 

Genesis 22

Study

   

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God tempted Abraham, and said to him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

2 And he said, Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to thee.

3 And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and cleft the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose and went to the place which God had named to him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said to his young men, Abide you here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and return to you.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had named to him; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing to him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld from me thy son, thy only son.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it will be seen.

15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told to Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children to thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah bore to Nahor Abraham's brother.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bore also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2857

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

2857. 'And they rose up' means being raised up to an even higher degree. This is clear from the meaning of 'rising up', when this expression is used in the Word, as something being raised up - also the meaning in 2401. Here the raising up of the rational after temptation is meant, for after temptations there was always a raising up of the rational, as is also the case with everyone. Every temptation in which a person is victorious raises up his mind and the things that compose his mind, for goods and truths are strengthened and new ones are added, 1692, 1717, 1740, 2272.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2272

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

2272. 'And said, Perhaps forty will be found there' means people who have undergone temptations. This is clear from the meaning of the number 'forty' as temptations, dealt with in Volume One, in 730. How these details follow on in the train of thought is seen from what temptations are. Temptations arise not only so that a person may be confirmed in truths but also so that truths may be joined more closely to goods; for in times of temptation he fights for truths against falsities. And because during temptations he suffers inward distress and suffers torment, the delights of life belonging to evil desires and their attendant pleasures cease to exist. Goods from the Lord flow in, and at the same time evils are regarded as abominable. As a consequence of this new thoughts contrary to those that he had previously now arise. Towards these his mind is then able to be turned, and so it is able to be turned from evils to goods, which are then joined to truths. And because it is through temptations that good becomes joined to truth, and because in the previous verse it was said that those would be saved with whom goods are able to be joined to truths, what occurs in this verse to the effect that goods and truths are able to be joined through temptations therefore follows. This is the sequence of ideas seen by those who know the internal sense.

  
/ 10837  
  

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