The Bible

 

Genesis 12

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1 And Jehovah saith unto Abram, `Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I shew thee.

2 And I make thee become a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.

3 And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground.'

4 And Abram goeth on, as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and Lot goeth with him, and Abram [is] a son of five and seventy years in his going out from Charan.

5 And Abram taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan; and they come in to the land of Canaan.

6 And Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite [is] then in the land.

7 And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.

8 And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah.

9 And Abram journeyeth, going on and journeying towards the south.

10 And there is a famine in the land, and Abram goeth down towards Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine [is] grievous in the land;

11 and it cometh to pass as he hath drawn near to enter Egypt, that he saith unto Sarai his wife, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that thou [art] a woman of beautiful appearance;

12 and it hath come to pass that the Egyptians see thee, and they have said, `This [is] his wife,' and they have slain me, and thee they keep alive:

13 say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister, so that it is well with me because of thee, and my soul hath lived for thy sake.'

14 And it cometh to pass, at the entering of Abram into Egypt, that the Egyptians see the woman that she [is] exceeding fair;

15 and princes of Pharaoh see her, and praise her unto Pharaoh, and the woman is taken [to] Pharaoh's house;

16 and to Abram he hath done good because of her, and he hath sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels.

17 And Jehovah plagueth Pharaoh and his house -- great plagues -- for the matter of Sarai, Abram's wife.

18 And Pharaoh calleth for Abram, and saith, `What [is] this thou hast done to me? why hast thou not declared to me that she [is] thy wife?

19 Why hast thou said, She [is] my sister, and I take her to myself for a wife? and now, lo, thy wife, take and go.'

20 And Pharaoh chargeth men concerning him, and they send him away, and his wife, an all that he hath.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1401

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1401. Genesis 12

1. And Jehovah said to Abram, Go away from your land, and from the place of your nativity and from your father's house, to the land which I will cause you to see.

2. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you will be a blessing.

3. And I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you, and in you will all the families of the ground be blessed.

4. And Abram went, as Jehovah had told him; and Lot went with him. And Abram was a son of seventy-five years when he went out of Haran.

5. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their acquisitions that they had acquired, and [every] soul which they had gained in Haran. And they came out to go into the land of Canaan; and they came into the land of Canaan.

6. And Abram went through the land as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak-grove of Moreh. And the Canaanite was at that time in the land.

7. And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, To your seed will I give this land; and there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.

8. And he removed from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, Bethel being towards the sea and Ai towards the east. 1 And there he built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

9. And Abram travelled, going on and travelling, towards the south.

10. And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine in the land was serious.

11. And it happened, when he drew near to come into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon.

12. And it will be, when the Egyptians see you they will say, This is his wife, and they will slay me and let you live.

13. Say, now, you are my sister, so that it may go well for me for your sake, and my soul may live because of you.

14. And it happened, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.

15. And Pharaoh's princes saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house.

16. And he treated Abram well for her sake; and he had flocks and herds, and asses and menservants, and maidservants and she-asses, and camels.

17. And Jehovah struck Pharaoh with great plagues, and his house, because of Sarai, 2 Abram's wife.

18. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?

19. Why did you say, She is my sister? I might have taken her to be my wife (mulier). And now, behold your wife, take her and go.

20. And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him, and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

CONTENTS

Narratives drawing on true history begin here, of which every detail is representative and each word carries a spiritual meaning. The things stated in this chapter regarding Abram represent the Lord's state from earliest childhood to youth. Since the Lord was born in the same way as any other, He also developed from a state that was obscure to one that had more light. 'Haran' is the first state, which is obscure; 'Shechem' is the second; 'the oak-grove of Moreh' is the third; 'the mount with Bethel on the west side, and Ai on the cast' is the fourth; 'from there towards the south into Egypt' is the fifth.

Footnotes:

1. literally, Bethel from the sea (an idiom for from the west) and Ai from the east

2. literally, because of the word (or matter) of Sarai

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