The Bible

 

Genesis 9

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1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand.

3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you.

4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.

5 I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, I will require the life of man.

6 Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it."

8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

9 "As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth.

11 I will establish my covenant with you: all flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth."

12 God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

17 God said to Noah, "This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated.

20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.

21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.

22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness.

24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.

25 He said, "Canaan is cursed. He will be servant of servants to his brothers."

26 He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant."

28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.

29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, then he died.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #289

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289. "And blessing!" This symbolically means, all these being in Him and from Him in those angels of the lower heavens.

A blessing means every good that a person has from the Lord, such as power and wealth, and everything that accompanies these, but especially every spiritual good, such as love and wisdom, charity and faith, and the accompanying joy and happiness, which have to do with eternal life. And because all of these come from the Lord, it follows that He has them in Him; for if He did not have them in Him, they could not be present in others from Him.

It is for this reason that in the Word the Lord is called blessed, and also a blessing, which is to say, blessing itself.

That Jehovah, or the Lord, is called blessed, is apparent from the following passages:

...the high priest asked (Jesus)..., "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (Mark 14:61)

(Jesus said,) "you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (Matthew 23:39, cf. Luke 13:35)

(Melchizedek) blessed (Abram) and said: ."..blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." (Genesis 14:18-20)

Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem... (Genesis 9:26)

Blessed be Jehovah (who) has heard (my) voice... (Psalms 28:6)

Blessed be Jehovah, for He has shown me His marvelous clemency... (Psalms 31:21)

Blessed be Jehovah... from everlasting to everlasting! (Psalms 41:13)

So likewise Psalms 66:20; 68:19, 35; 72:18-19; 89:52; 119:12; 124:6; 135:21; 144:1, Luke 1:68.

It is owing to this that blessing is mentioned in this verse, as again in verse 12, and in chapter 7, 7:12. And in the book of Psalms:

Glory and honor You have placed upon Him, for You have made Him a blessing forever. (Psalms 21:5-6)

The subject is the Lord.

[2] It can be seen from this what blessing God means in the Word: that it is to attribute all blessing to Him, to pray for Him to bless, and to thank Him for blessing, as can be seen from the following passages:

(Zacharias's) mouth was opened... and he spoke, blessing God. (Luke 1:64, 68)

(Simeon) took (the infant Jesus) up in his arms and blessed God... (Luke 2:28, 30-31)

I will bless Jehovah who has given me counsel. (Psalms 16:7)

...bless (Jehovah's) name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. (Psalms 96:1-3)

Blessed be the Lord from day to day... Bless God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. (Psalms 68:19, 26)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.