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 #9596

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9596. Of fine twined linen, and blue, and crimson, and scarlet double-dyed. That this signifies the spiritual and celestial things from which are these truths, is evident from the signification of “fine twined linen,” as being truths from a celestial origin (see n. 9469); from the signification of “blue” [hyacinthinum] as being the celestial love of truth (n. 9466); from the signification of “crimson,” as being the celestial love of good (n. 9467); and from the signification of “scarlet double-dyed,” as being spiritual good, or the good of truth (n. 9468). Such is the order in which spiritual and celestial things, or truths and goods, follow with the man, and with the angel, who is in the middle or second heaven. For first is truth from a celestial origin, which is signified by “fine linen;” next is the love or affection of truth, which is signified by “blue;” afterward is the consequent love or affection of good, which is signified by “crimson;” and lastly is spiritual good, which is signified by “scarlet double-dyed.”

[2] As spiritual and celestial things follow in this order, therefore fine twined linen is here mentioned first; but in the case of the veil, which was between the Habitation and the ark, or between the holy and the holy of holies-see verse 31 of this chapter-it is mentioned in the last place. The reason why in the veil the fine twined linen is mentioned last, is that the veil signifies the intermediate that unites the inmost heaven with the middle heaven, and therefore in this intermediate it must be the last, so that, for the sake of conjunction, it may be the first in what follows.

[3] But by “fine twined linen” is properly signified the understanding such as belongs to a spiritual man, or to an angel who is in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. The reason why the understanding is signified by “fine twined linen,” is that with the spiritual man a new will from the Lord has been implanted in his understanding (n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113); and as the understanding of the spiritual man is signified by “fine twined linen,” therefore also spiritual truth is signified thereby, because all truth belongs to the part of the understanding, and all good to the part of the will (n. 3623, 9300); for the understanding is the subject or containant, and truth belongs to it, and these two make a one. From all this it can also be seen that with those who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom the understanding is “the Habitation” in the close sense (n. 9296, 9297), and that it is described by the expanse of the curtains.

[4] From all this it can be known what is signified by “spreading out and stretching out the heavens” in Isaiah:

Jehovah that stretcheth out the heavens, that spreadeth out the earth, that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isaiah 42:5).

I, Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth out the heavens alone; that spreadeth out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).

I have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, My hands, have stretched out the heavens (Isaiah 45:12).

He who maketh the earth by His power, prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence stretcheth out the heavens (Jeremiah 51:15).

Jehovah, that stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zech. 12:1).

[5] That by “stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth” the same is here signified as by “stretching out and spreading out the habitation” by means of the curtains is manifest; and that this denotes to regenerate man, and thus to create or form a new understanding in which is a new will, which is the very heaven of the spiritual man, wherein the Lord dwells with this man. That it is regeneration, or the formation of a new understanding and therein of a new will, thus of a new man, which is signified by “stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth” is clear from the very explanation given in the above passages, for it is said, “that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; also, “that formeth the spirit of man within him.” That “heaven and earth” denote the internal and external church, see n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535; also that “the earth” in general denotes the Lord’s kingdom and church (n. 9334); and this is also plainly to be seen, for unless “the earth” had this signification, what could be meant by “spreading out the earth,” and by “laying the foundation of the earth,” and by “forming the spirit of man therein”?

[6] That by “stretching out the heavens, and spreading out the earth” the like is here signified as by “stretching out and spreading out the habitation” by means of the curtains is evident from other passages where it is stated more expressly, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22).

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch the curtains of thy habitations (Isaiah 54:2).

Jehovah covereth Himself with light as with a garment; He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain (Psalms 104:2).

From all this it is also evident what is signified by “the expanse” in the first chapter of Genesis:

God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it be to the waters a dividing between the waters. And God made the expanse, and divided between the waters that were under the expanse and the waters that were above the expanse. And God called the expanse heaven (Genesis 1:6-8).

In this first chapter is described the regeneration of the man of the celestial church; and his new will and understanding are described by “the expanse;” “the waters under the expanse, and above the expanse” denote the truths of the external and of the internal man (that “waters” denote truths, see n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323).

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