The Bible

 

Genesis 1

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1 In the beginning of God's preparing the heavens and the earth --

2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,

3 and God saith, `Let light be;' and light is.

4 And God seeth the light that [it is] good, and God separateth between the light and the darkness,

5 and God calleth to the light `Day,' and to the darkness He hath called `Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- Day one.

6 And God saith, `Let an expanse be in the midst of the waters, and let it be separating between waters and waters.'

7 And God maketh the expanse, and it separateth between the waters which [are] under the expanse, and the waters which [are] above the expanse: and it is so.

8 And God calleth to the expanse `Heavens;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day second.

9 And God saith, `Let the waters under the heavens be collected unto one place, and let the dry land be seen:' and it is so.

10 And God calleth to the dry land `Earth,' and to the collection of the waters He hath called `Seas;' and God seeth that [it is] good.

11 And God saith, `Let the earth yield tender grass, herb sowing seed, fruit-tree (whose seed [is] in itself) making fruit after its kind, on the earth:' and it is so.

12 And the earth bringeth forth tender grass, herb sowing seed after its kind, and tree making fruit (whose seed [is] in itself) after its kind; and God seeth that [it is] good;

13 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day third.

14 And God saith, `Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a separation between the day and the night, then they have been for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years,

15 and they have been for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth:' and it is so.

16 And God maketh the two great luminaries, the great luminary for the rule of the day, and the small luminary -- and the stars -- for the rule of the night;

17 and God giveth them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

18 and to rule over day and over night, and to make a separation between the light and the darkness; and God seeth that [it is] good;

19 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day fourth.

20 And God saith, `Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and fowl let fly on the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.'

21 And God prepareth the great monsters, and every living creature that is creeping, which the waters have teemed with, after their kind, and every fowl with wing, after its kind, and God seeth that [it is] good.

22 And God blesseth them, saying, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl let multiply in the earth:'

23 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day fifth.

24 And God saith, `Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind:' and it is so.

25 And God maketh the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, and God seeth that [it is] good.

26 And God saith, `Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over fish of the sea, and over fowl of the heavens, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that is creeping on the earth.'

27 And God prepareth the man in His image; in the image of God He prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.

28 And God blesseth them, and God saith to them, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over fish of the sea, and over fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that is creeping upon the earth.'

29 And God saith, `Lo, I have given to you every herb sowing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is] the fruit of a tree sowing seed, to you it is for food;

30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to every creeping thing on the earth, in which [is] breath of life, every green herb [is] for food:' and it is so.

31 And God seeth all that He hath done, and lo, very good; and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day the sixth.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10238

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10238. And thou shalt put waters therein. That this signifies the truths of faith, through which there is purification in the natural, is evident from the signification of “waters,” as being the truths of faith (see n. 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323); and from the signification of the “laver,” as being the natural (of which above, n. 10235). He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, will fail to comprehend many passages in the Word; as what is signified by the statement that “unless a man is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). They who by “water” in this passage understand nothing but water, believe that the water of baptism is that by which man is regenerated; when yet the water contributes nothing to regeneration; but the truth of faith and the good of love; for water merely washes away the uncleanness of the body, and by no means the evils of the heart.

[2] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know what baptism signifies; for he believes that this external rite saves man, when yet this external thing effects nothing; but the internal thing that is signified, which is regeneration by means of the truths of faith. For they who are of the church are distinguished by baptism from all others in the whole world, because they can be regenerated by means of the truths of faith, but not those who are outside the church, seeing that within the church is the Word, in which are the truths of faith.

[3] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know what is meant by “the waters that were above the expanse, and the waters that were under the expanse” (Genesis 1:6-10), when yet by “the waters above the expanse” are signified the truths of faith in the internal man; and by “the waters under the expanse,” the truths of faith in the external man; for the subject treated of in that chapter is the new creation of the man of the Most Ancient Church, thus his regeneration.

[4] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know either what is signified by “waters” in Johns:

Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:13).

The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers on the hillsides, and I will set fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters (Isaiah 41:17-18).

They shall not thirst, He shall cause the waters to flow out of the rock for them; and He shall cleave the rock that the waters flow out (Isaiah 48:20-21).

And very frequently elsewhere. But see what has been previously said and shown on this subject; as, That purification from evils and falsities is effected by means of the truths of faith (n. 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229): As also regeneration (see the places ci ted in n. 9959) That “baptism” signifies regeneration by means of the truths of faith (n. 4255, 5120, 9089): That purification is effected in the natural (n. 3147, 9572): And also regeneration (see the places cited in n. 9325 at the end).

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8480

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8480. And men made a residue of it until the morning. That this signifies the abuse of good Divine, in that they desired to acquire it from themselves, is evident from the signification of “making a residue of it until the morning,” as being to be solicitous about the acquisition of good of themselves (of which above, n. 8478), and consequently the abuse of good Divine. It is termed “abuse,” when there arises what is alike in ultimates, but from a contrary origin. Good arises from a contrary origin, when it does so from man, and not from the Lord; for the Lord is good itself, consequently He is the source of all good. The good which is from Him has in it what is Divine; thus it is good from its inmost and first being; whereas the good which is from man is not good, because from himself man is nothing but evil; consequently the good which is from him is in its first essence evil, although in the outward form it may appear like good. The case herein is like that of flowers painted upon a tablet, as compared with the flowers that grow in a garden. These flowers are beautiful from their inmosts; for the more interiorly they are opened, the more beautiful they are; whereas the flowers painted on a tablet are beautiful only in the outward form, and as to the inward one are nothing but mud and a mixture of earthy particles lying in confusion, as the Lord also teaches when He says of the lilies of the field that “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29).

[2] Such is the case with the good that is from man in comparison with the good that is from the Lord. A man cannot know that these goods are so different from each other, because he judges from outward things; but the angels well perceive whence comes the good with a man, and consequently what is the nature of it. The angels who are with a man are in good from the Lord, and as it were dwell therein; but they cannot be in the good that is from a man; they remove themselves from it as far as they can, because inmostly it is evil. Good from the Lord has heaven in it, for this good is the form of heaven in an image, and in its inmost it stores up the Lord Himself, because in all the good that proceeds from the Lord there is a semblance of Himself, and consequently a semblance of heaven; whereas in the good that is from a man there is a semblance of the man, and as from himself a man is nothing but evil, there is a semblance of hell in it. So great is the difference between good from the Lord, and good from man.

[3] Good from the Lord is with those who love the Lord above all things and the neighbor as themselves; but good from man is with those who love themselves above all things and despise the neighbor in comparison with themselves. These are they who have care for the morrow, because they trust in themselves; but the former are they who have no care for the morrow, because they trust in the Lord (see above, n. 8478). They who trust in the Lord continually receive good from Him; for whatsoever happens to them, whether it appears to be prosperous or not prosperous, is still good, because it conduces as a means to their eternal happiness. But they who trust in themselves are continually drawing evil upon themselves; for whatever happens to them, even if it appears to be prosperous and happy, is nevertheless evil, and consequently conduces as a means to their eternal unhappiness. These are the things which are signified by the command that they should make no residue of the manna till the morning, and that what was left bred worms and stank.

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