The Bible

 

Genesis 28

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1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

3 May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,

4 and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham."

5 Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, Rebekah's brother, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,"

7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.

8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn't please Isaac, his father.

9 Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed.

14 Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you."

16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn't know it."

17 He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."

18 Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top.

19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,

21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God,

22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1420

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1420. And thou shalt be a blessing. That this signifies that all things both in general and in particular are from the Lord, is evident from the signification of “a blessing.” A “blessing” is predicated of all goods; in the external sense, of corporeal, worldly, and natural goods; in the internal sense, of spiritual and celestial goods. “To be a blessing,” is to be the source of all goods, and the giver of all goods. This can by no means be said of Abram, and hence it is evident that by Abram is represented the Lord, who alone is “a blessing.” In like manner in regard to what is said of Abraham hereafter:

Abraham shall surely become a great and numerous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 18:18);

of Isaac:

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 26:4),

and of Jacob:

In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 28:14).

That nations cannot be blessed, and are not blessed, in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in their seed, but in the Lord, may be seen by everyone. This is clearly said in David:

His name shall endure forever; before the sun shall the name of his son endure; and all nations shall be blessed in him (Psalms 72:17); where the Lord is treated of. Again:

Thou shalt set him for blessings forever (Psalms 21:6); where also the Lord is treated of.

In Jeremiah:

The nations shall be blessed in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

From these passages it is now evident that “a blessing” signifies the Lord, and that when He is called “a blessing,” it signifies that from Him are all celestial and spiritual things, which alone are goods; and because they alone are goods, they alone are truths; and therefore in proportion as there are celestial and spiritual goods in natural, worldly, and corporeal ones, in the same proportion these are goods, and are “blessed.”

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