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Genesis 27

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1 And it cometh to pass that Isaac [is] aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calleth Esau his elder son, and saith unto him, `My son;' and he saith unto him, `Here [am] I.'

2 And he saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have become aged, I have not known the day of my death;

3 and now, take up, I pray thee, thy instruments, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt for me provision,

4 and make for me tasteful things, [such] as I have loved, and bring in to me, and I do eat, so that my soul doth bless thee before I die.'

5 And Rebekah is hearkening while Isaac is speaking unto Esau his son; and Esau goeth to the field to hunt provision -- to bring in;

6 and Rebekah hath spoken unto Jacob her son, saying, `Lo, I have heard thy father speaking unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring for me provision, and make for me tasteful things, and I do eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.

8 `And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to that which I am commanding thee:

9 Go, I pray thee, unto the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I make them tasteful things for thy father, [such] as he hath loved;

10 and thou hast taken in to thy father, and he hath eaten, so that his soul doth bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob saith unto Rebekah his mother, `Lo, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, and I a smooth man,

12 it may be my father doth feel me, and I have been in his eyes as a deceiver, and have brought upon me disesteem, and not a blessing;'

13 and his mother saith to him, `On me thy disesteem, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take for me.'

14 And he goeth, and taketh, and bringeth to his mother, and his mother maketh tasteful things, [such] as his father hath loved;

15 and Rebekah taketh the desirable garments of Esau her elder son, which [are] with her in the house, and doth put on Jacob her younger son;

16 and the skins of the kids of the goats she hath put on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck,

17 and she giveth the tasteful things, and the bread which she hath made, into the hand of Jacob her son.

18 And he cometh in unto his father, and saith, `My father;' and he saith, `Here [am] I; who [art] thou, my son?'

19 And Jacob saith unto his father, `I [am] Esau thy first-born; I have done as thou hast spoken unto me; rise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'

20 And Isaac saith unto his son, `What [is] this thou hast hasted to find, my son?' and he saith, `That which Jehovah thy God hath caused to come before me.'

21 And Isaac saith unto Jacob, `Come nigh, I pray thee, and I feel thee, my son, whether thou [art] he, my son Esau, or not.'

22 And Jacob cometh nigh unto Isaac his father, and he feeleth him, and saith, `The voice [is] the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.'

23 And he hath not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of Esau his brother, and he blesseth him,

24 and saith, `Thou art he -- my son Esau?' and he saith, `I [am].'

25 And he saith, `Bring nigh to me, and I do eat of my son's provision, so that my soul doth bless thee;' and he bringeth nigh to him, and he eateth; and he bringeth to him wine, and he drinketh.

26 And Isaac his father saith to him, `Come nigh, I pray thee, and kiss me, my son;'

27 and he cometh nigh, and kisseth him, and he smelleth the fragrance of his garments, and blesseth him, and saith, `See, the fragrance of my son [is] as the fragrance of a field which Jehovah hath blessed;

28 and God doth give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine;

29 peoples serve thee, and nations bow themselves to thee, be thou mighty over thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother bow themselves to thee; those who curse thee [are] cursed, and those who bless thee [are] blessed.'

30 And it cometh to pass, as Isaac hath finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob is only just going out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother hath come in from his hunting;

31 and he also maketh tasteful things, and bringeth to his father, and saith to his father, `Let my father arise, and eat of his son's provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'

32 And Isaac his father saith to him, `Who [art] thou?' and he saith, `I [am] thy son, thy first-born, Esau;'

33 and Isaac trembleth a very great trembling, and saith, `Who, now, [is] he who hath provided provision, and bringeth in to me, and I eat of all before thou comest in, and I bless him? -- yea, blessed is he.'

34 When Esau heareth the words of his father, then he crieth a very great and bitter cry, and saith to his father, `Bless me, me also, O my father;'

35 and he saith, `Thy brother hath come with subtilty, and taketh thy blessing.'

36 And he saith, `Is it because [one] called his name Jacob that he doth take me by the heel these two times? my birthright he hath taken; and lo, now, he hath taken my blessing;' he saith also, `Hast thou not kept back a blessing for me?'

37 And Isaac answereth and saith to Esau, `Lo, a mighty one have I set him over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and [with] corn and wine have I sustained him; and for thee now, what shall I do, my son?'

38 And Esau saith unto his father, `One blessing hast thou my father? bless me, me also, O my father;' and Esau lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.

39 And Isaac his father answereth and saith unto him, `Lo, of the fatness of the earth is thy dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above;

40 and by thy sword dost thou live, and thy brother dost thou serve; and it hath come to pass when thou rulest, that thou hast broken his yoke from off thy neck.'

41 And Esau hateth Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau saith in his heart, `The days of mourning [for] my father draw near, and I slay Jacob my brother.'

42 And the words of Esau her elder son are declared to Rebekah, and she sendeth and calleth for Jacob her younger son, and saith unto him, `Lo, Esau thy brother is comforting himself in regard to thee -- to slay thee;

43 and now, my son, hearken to my voice, and rise, flee for thyself unto Laban my brother, to Haran,

44 and thou hast dwelt with him some days, till thy brother's fury turn back,

45 till thy brother's anger turn back from thee, and he hath forgotten that which thou hast done to him, and I have sent and taken thee from thence; why am I bereaved even of you both the same day?'

46 And Rebekah saith unto Isaac, `I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these -- from the daughters of the land -- why do I live?'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3470

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3470. And he took for a woman Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. That this signifies the adjunction of natural truth from another source than from genuine truth itself, is evident from the signification of a “woman,” as being truth adjoined to good (concerning which see above, where Sarah and Rebekah are treated of, n. 1468, 1909, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507, 2904, 3012, 3013, 3077); but the subject here treated of is natural truth adjoined to natural good; and from the representation of “Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,” as being truth from another source than genuine truth itself. For the Hittites were among the upright Gentiles in the land of Canaan, among whom Abraham dwelt, and from whom he bought the cave of Machpelah for a sepulchre (Genesis 23); and by whom is there represented a spiritual church among the Gentiles (n. 2913, 2986); and because this church is not in truth from the Word, by the same is signified truth not from genuine truth itself. For the nation that represents a church, signifies also the truth and good such as belongs to that church; a church being a church from truth and good; so that when a church is mentioned, truth and good are understood; and when truth and good are mentioned, a church is understood.

[2] The case herein is this: Until it has been reformed, the natural good of truth is not spiritual good, that is, the good of faith and the good of charity. As just stated (n. 3469) natural good is from parents; but spiritual good is from the Lord; and therefore in order that a man may receive spiritual good, he must be regenerated; and while this is taking place there are first adjoined to him truths from another source than from genuine truth itself, which are such as do not adhere, but serve only as means for introducing genuine truths; and when these have been introduced, the truths not genuine are separated. The case herein is as it is with children, who first learn many things, even trifling ones, such as things relating to sports and the like; not that these may make them wise, but that they may prepare the way for the reception of useful things which are of wisdom; and when these have been received, the former are separated, and indeed cast away. Or as is the case with fruits, which are first filled with sour juice before they can receive sweet juice, the sour juice which is not genuine being the means of introducing the sweet, on the entrance of which the former is dispersed.

[3] Such also is the case with man’s natural when being regenerated, for natural good is such that of itself it is not willing to obey and serve rational good as a servant serves its master, but desires to command. But in order that it may be reduced to a state of compliance and service, it is harassed by states of vastation and temptation until its concupiscences decline; and then by the influx of the good of faith and of charity through the internal man from the Lord, the natural is tempered, until the good received hereditarily is by degrees extirpated, and a new good is implanted in its place, into which good the truths of faith are then insinuated, which are like new fibers inserted into the heart of man, through which fibers new juice is introduced, until a new heart has by degrees grown there.

[4] The truths which are first introduced cannot be from a genuine fountain, because evils and falsities are in the former or natural good; but they are such seeming truths, or such appearances of truths, as have a certain affinity with genuine truths, by which there is gradually given the opportunity and place for real genuine truths to insinuate themselves. Genuine good is like the blood in the arteries, or the juice in the fibers, and leads and applies truths into form. The good which is thus formed in the natural or external man is a general good, as it were woven or connected together of the particulars and singulars of spiritual good through the rational or internal man from the Lord, who alone forms and creates anew. Hence it is that in the Word the Lord is so often called the Former and Creator.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2065

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2065. I will bless her. That this signifies the multiplication of truth, is evident from the signification of “being blessed,” which is to be enriched with all good and truth (see Part First, n. 981, 1096, 1420, 1422). As it is here said to Sarah that God would bless her, the enrichment or multiplication of truth is signified; for by Sarah, as before shown, is represented and signified the truth of good, which is intellectual truth; and this truth and its multiplication are here treated of. (What intellectual truth is may be seen above, n. 1904)

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