The Bible

 

Genesis 23

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1 And Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

6 Hear us, my lord; thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead: none of us will withhold from thee his sepulcher, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

7 And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the children of Heth.

8 And he communed with them, saying, If it is your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me, for a possession of a burying-place among you.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, of all that entered the gates of his city, saying,

11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I to thee, and the cave that is in it, I give it to thee; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to thee: bury thy dead.

12 And Abraham bowed himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field: take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

15 My lord, hearken to me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

16 And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 To Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that entered the gate of his city.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is in it were made sure to Abraham for a possession of a burying-place, by the sons of Heth.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2904

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2904. 'The life of Sarah was' means all the preceding times and states of the Church as regards Divine truths. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'the life' here, and from the representation of 'Sarah'. 'The life' here - since it refers to the whole span of life and to the periods that constitute it, namely early childhood, youth, adult years, and old age means states, as do all periods of time in general, see 2625, 2788, 2837. And since the subject in what follows is the Church, 'the life' therefore means times and states of the Church. 'Sarah' represents Divine truth, see 1468, 1901, 2063, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507. From this it follows that here 'the life of Sarah was' means in the internal sense all the preceding times and states of the Church as regards Divine truths. When she lived as Abraham's wife Sarah represented the Lord's Divine Truth joined to His Divine Good, as may be seen in the paragraphs just quoted. And as she represented the Lord's Divine Truth, so she also means the Church's Divine truth, for in the Church no other truth exists than that which is the Lord's. Truth that does not come from Him is not truth, as is also clear both from the Word itself and from the doctrine of faith drawn from it. It is clear from the Word itself in John,

Man cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.

And elsewhere in John,

Without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

The same is also clear from the doctrine of faith, which teaches that the whole of faith, that is, all truth, comes from the Lord.

[2] The representatives and the meaningful signs in the Word are such that every single one in the highest sense has regard to the Lord; and from this springs the life itself of the Word. And because they have regard to the Lord, they also have regard to His kingdom, since the Lord is the All in His kingdom. Divine things from the Lord within His kingdom are what make it the kingdom. To the extent therefore that an angel, spirit, or man receives good and truth from the Lord, and believes that these come from Him, he is in His kingdom. But to the extent that he does not receive them, and does not believe that they come from the Lord, he is not in His kingdom. Thus Divine things from the Lord are what constitute His kingdom or heaven; and this is what is meant when it is said that the Lord is the All in His kingdom.

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