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Arcana Coelestia #8483

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8483. '[And] Moses was incensed with them' means that [therefore] they were averse to God's truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'being incensed' or being angry - when said of Moses, who represents God's truth - as aversion to it, dealt with in 5034, 5798. The appearance is that the Lord is averse or turns away, but in reality it is man who turns away, 5798. The Word many times attributes to Jehovah anger and wrath, even fury, against people, when in fact Jehovah radiates pure love and pure mercy, and no anger whatever, towards a person. That way of speaking about Him in the Word is due to appearances; for when people are opposed to the Divine and as a result shut off from themselves the flow of love and mercy, they plunge themselves into the misery of punishment and into hell. This seems like lack of pity and like vengeance on the part of the Divine because of the evil they have done; but in fact there is nothing of the sort present in the Divine, only in evil itself. But see what has been shown already about these matters in 1857, 2447, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8214, 8223, 8226-8228, 8282. From all this it is evident that 'Moses was incensed with them' means that they were averse to God's truth.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1230

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1230. That 'Arpachshad' means knowledge cannot be confirmed so easily from the Word, but is clear from the train of thought in what comes before and after.

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