De Bijbel

 

Genesis 38

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1 En het geschiedde ten zelven tijde, dat Juda van zijn broederen aftoog, en hij keerde in tot een man van Adullam, wiens naam was Hira.

2 En Juda zag aldaar de dochter van een Kanaanietisch man, wiens naam was Sua; en hij nam haar, en ging tot haar in.

3 En zij werd bevrucht, en baarde een zoon, en hij noemde zijn naam Er.

4 Daarna werd zij weder bevrucht, en baarde een zoon, en zij noemde zijn naam Onan.

5 En zij voer nog voort, en baarde een zoon, en noemde zijn naam Sela; doch hij was te Chezib, toen zij hem baarde.

6 Juda nu nam een vrouw voor Er, zijn eerstgeborene, en haar naam was Thamar.

7 Maar Er, de eerstgeborene van Juda, was kwaad in des HEEREN ogen; daarom doodde hem de HEERE.

8 Toen zeide Juda tot Onan: Ga in tot uws broeders huisvrouw, en trouw haar in uws broeders naam, en verwek uw broeder zaad.

9 Doch Onan, wetende, dat dit zaad voor hem niet zoude zijn, zo geschiedde het, als hij tot zijns broeders huisvrouw inging, dat hij het verdierf tegen de aarde, om zijn broeder geen zaad te geven.

10 En het was kwaad in des HEEREN ogen, wat hij deed; daarom doodde Hij hem ook.

11 Toen zeide Juda tot Thamar, zijn schoondochter: Blijf weduwe in uws vaders huis, totdat mijn zoon Sela groot wordt; want hij zeide: Dat niet misschien ook deze sterve, gelijk zijn broeders! Zo ging Thamar heen, en bleef in haar vaders huis.

12 Als nu vele dagen verlopen waren, stierf de dochter van Sua, de huisvrouw van Juda; daarna troostte zich Juda, en ging op tot zijn schaapscheerders naar Timna toe, hij en Hira, zijn vriend, de Adullamiet.

13 En men gaf Thamar te kennen, zeggende: Zie, uw schoonvader gaat op naar Timna, om zijn schapen te scheren.

14 Toen legde zij de klederen van haar weduwschap van zich af, en zij bedekte zich met een sluier, en bewond zich, en zette zich aan den ingang der twee fonteinen, die op den weg naar Timna is; want zij zag, dat Sela groot geworden was, en zij hem niet ter vrouw was gegeven.

15 Als Juda haar zag, zo hield hij haar voor een hoer, overmits zij haar aangezicht bedekt had.

16 En hij week tot haar naar den weg, en zeide: Kom toch, laat mij tot u ingaan; want hij wist niet, dat zij zijn schoondochter was. En zij zeide: Wat zult gij mij geven, dat gij tot mij ingaat?

17 En hij zeide: Ik zal u een geitenbok van de kudde zenden. En zij zeide: Zo gij pand zult geven, totdat gij hem zendt.

18 Toen zeide hij: Wat pand is het, dat ik u geven zal? En zij zeide: Uw zegelring en uw snoer en uw staf, die in uw hand is; hetwelk hij haar gaf, en ging tot haar in; en zij ontving bij hem.

19 En zij maakte zich op, en ging heen, en legde haar sluier van zich af, en zij trok aan de klederen van haar weduwschap.

20 En Juda zond den geitenbok door de hand van zijn vriend, den Adullamiet, om het pand uit de hand der vrouw te nemen; maar hij vond haar niet.

21 En hij vraagde de lieden van haar plaats, zeggende: Waar is de hoer, die bij deze twee fonteinen aan den weg was? En zij zeiden: Hier is geen hoer geweest.

22 En hij keerde weder tot Juda, en zeide: Ik heb haar niet gevonden; en ook zeiden de lieden van die plaats: Hier is geen hoer geweest.

23 Toen zeide Juda: Zij neme het voor zich, opdat wij misschien niet tot verachting worden; zie, ik heb deze bok gezonden; maar gij hebt haar niet gevonden.

24 En het geschiedde omtrent na drie maanden, dat men Juda te kennen gaf, zeggende: Thamar, uw schoondochter, heeft gehoereerd, en ook zie, zij is zwanger van hoererij. Toen zeide Juda: Breng ze hervoor, dat zij verbrand worde!

25 Als zij voorgebracht werd, schikte zij tot haar schoonvader, om te zeggen: Bij den man, wiens deze dingen zijn, ben ik zwanger; en zij zeide: Beken toch, wiens deze zegelring, en deze snoeren, en deze staf zijn.

26 En Juda kende ze, en zeide: Zij is rechtvaardiger dan ik, daarom, omdat ik haar aan mijn zoon Sela niet gegeven heb. En hij bekende haar voortaan niet meer.

27 En het geschiedde ten tijde, als zij baren zou, ziet, zo waren tweelingen in haar buik.

28 En het geschiedde, als zij baarde, dat een de hand uitgaf; en de vroedvrouw nam dezelve, en zij bond een scharlaken draad om zijn hand, zeggende: Deze komt het eerst uit.

29 Maar het geschiedde, als hij zijn hand weder intoog, ziet, zo kwam zijn broeder uit; en zij zeide: Hoe zijt gij doorgebroken? op u is de breuke! en men noemde zijn naam Perez.

30 En daarna kwam zijn broeder uit, om wiens hand de scharlaken draad was; en men noemde zijn naam Zera.

   

Van Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #4822

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4822. And he called his name Er. That this signifies its quality, is evident from the signification of “calling a name,” as being quality (n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421), namely, the quality of the falsity of the church, of which just above (n. 4821). It is said “the quality of the falsity,” because falsities differ one from another, just as truths do, and to such a degree that their different kinds can scarcely be enumerated; and each kind of falsity has its own quality by which it is distinguished from another. There are general falsities which reign with the depraved in every church, and the falsity is varied with everyone in the church according to his life. The falsity which was in the Jewish Church, and which is here treated of, was falsity from the evil of the love of self, and of the derivative love of the world (see n. 4818).

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

Van Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #4818

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4818. And Judah saw there a daughter of a man, a Canaanite. That this signifies the affection of evil from the falsity of evil, is evident from the signification of a “daughter,” as being the affection of good (n. 2362), and in the opposite sense the affection of evil (n. 3024); and from the signification of a “man,” as being one who is intelligent, and in the abstract sense truth, but in the opposite sense one who is not intelligent, and falsity, as just above (n. 4816); and from the signification of a “Canaanite,” as being evil (n. 1573, 1574). From this it is evident that by a “daughter of a man a Canaanite” is signified evil which is from the falsity of evil. What evil from the falsity of evil is, will be shown below.

[2] Here something must first be said about the origins of the tribe of Judah, for they are described in this chapter. There are three origins of this tribe, or of the Jewish nation-one from Shelah, the son of Judah, by his Canaanite wife; another from Perez, and the third from Zerah, the sons of Judah by Tamar his daughter-in-law. That the whole Jewish nation was from these three sons of Judah is evident from the enumeration of the sons and grandsons of Jacob who came with him into Egypt (Genesis 46:12); and also from their classification according to families, in Moses:

The sons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites (Numbers 26:20; 1 Chron. 4:21);

this shows what the origin of that nation was, namely, that one third of them was from the Canaanite mother, and that two thirds of them were from the daughter-in-law; consequently that all were from an illegitimate connection, for marriages with the daughters of the Canaanites were strictly forbidden (as is evident from Genesis 24:3; Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3; 1 Kings 11:2; Ezra 9:1-15 10:1-44 d to lie with one’s daughter-in-law was a capital offense, as is evident in Moses:

If a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have wrought confusion; their bloods shall be upon them (Leviticus 20:12).

Judah’s referring this deed with his daughter-in-law to the levirate law in which an ordinance is made regarding the brother, but by no means regarding the father (as appears from verse 26 of this chapter), implies that his sons by Tamar should be acknowledged as the sons of Er his firstborn, who was born of the Canaanite mother, and who was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and was therefore caused to die (verse 7); for those who were born first to the husband’s brother were not his by whom they were conceived, but his whose seed they raised up, as is evident fromDeuteronomy 25:5-6, and also from verses 8 and 9 of this chapter. Moreover, those who were born of Tamar were born of fornication; for Judah thought when he went unto her that she was a harlot (verses 15-16, 21). This shows whence and of what quality was the origin of the Jewish nation, and that they spoke falsely when they said, “We were not born of fornication” (John 8:41).

[3] What this origin involves and represents is plain from what follows, namely, that their interiors were of such a quality, or had such an origin. Judah’s marrying a Canaanite involves an origin from the evil which is from the falsity of evil, for this is signified in the internal sense by “a daughter of a man, a Canaanite;” his lying with his daughter-in-law involves and represents damnation from falsified truth from evil, for everywhere in the Word whoredom signifies the falsification of truth (n. 3708). Evil from the falsity of evil is evil of life from false doctrine which has been hatched by the evil of the love of self (that is, by those who are in this evil), and confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word. Such is the origin of evil with the Jewish nation, and such is its origin with some in the Christian world, especially with those who in the Word are meant by Babylon. This evil is of such a nature that it closes every way to the internal man, insomuch that nothing of conscience can be formed therein; for the evil which a person does from false doctrine, he believes to be good, because he believes it to be true; and therefore he does it freely and with delight, as allowable. Thus heaven is so closed to him that it cannot be opened.

[4] The quality of this evil may be shown by an example. With those who from the evil of the love of self believe that Jehovah has chosen a single nation only, and that all the rest of mankind are relatively slaves, and so vile that they may be killed at pleasure or be cruelly treated—as the Jewish nation believed, and at this day the Babylonish nation also believes—and confirm this belief from the sense of the letter of the Word, then whatever evil they do from this false doctrine and others built upon this as a foundation, is evil from the falsity of evil, and destroys the internal man, preventing any conscience from ever being formed therein. These are they spoken of in the Word who are said to be “in bloods,” for they are in cruel rage against the whole human race which does not adore their articles of faith, and thus themselves, and does not offer its gifts upon their altars.

[5] Take another example: with those who from the evil of the love of self and of the world believe that there must be someone as the Lord’s vicar on earth, who has the power of opening and shutting heaven, and thus of ruling over the minds and consciences of all, and who confirm this falsity from the sense of the letter of the Word, whatever of evil they do from this belief is evil from the falsity of evil, which in like manner destroys the internal man with those who from this evil claim for themselves this power, and in this way rule; and this evil is destructive to such a degree that they no longer know what the internal man is, nor that anyone has conscience, consequently they no longer believe that there is any life after death, nor that there is a heaven or a hell, no matter how they may speak of these things.

[6] This evil, as regards its quality, cannot be distinguished by men in the world from other evils, but in the other life it is known by the angels as in clear day; for evils and falsities are manifest in that life as to their distinctions of quality and origin, which are innumerable; and according to the genera and species of these also are the distinctions of the hells. Concerning these innumerable differences man knows scarcely anything; he merely believes that evil exists, but what its quality is he does not know, and this for the sole reason that he does not know what good is, and this because he does not know what charity is; for if he had known the good of charity he would have known also the opposites or evils, with their distinctions.

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