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2 Mose 14

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1 Und Jehova redete zu Mose und sprach:

2 Sprich zu den Kindern Israel, daß sie umkehren und sich lagern vor Pi-Hachiroth, zwischen Migdol und dem Meere; vor Baal-Zephon, ihm gegenüber, sollt ihr euch am Meere lagern.

3 Und der Pharao wird von den Kindern Israel sagen: Verwirrt irren sie im Lande umher, die Wüste hat sie umschlossen.

4 Und ich will das Herz des Pharao verhärten, daß er ihnen nachjage; und ich will mich verherrlichen an dem Pharao und an seiner ganzen Heeresmacht, und die Ägypter sollen erkennen, daß ich Jehova bin. Und sie taten also.

5 Und es wurde dem König von Ägypten berichtet, daß das Volk entflohen wäre; da verwandelte sich das Herz des Pharao und seiner Knechte gegen das Volk, und sie sprachen: Was haben wir da getan, daß wir Israel aus unserem Dienste haben ziehen lassen!

6 Und er spannte seinen Wagen an und nahm sein Volk mit sich.

7 Und er nahm sechshundert auserlesene Wagen und alle Wagen Ägyptens, und Wagenkämpfer auf jedem derselben.

8 Und Jehova verhärtete das Herz des Pharao, des Königs von Ägypten, und er jagte den Kindern Israel nach; und die Kinder Israel zogen aus mit erhobener Hand.

9 Und die Ägypter jagten ihnen nach, alle osse, Wagen (O. alle Wagenrosse) des Pharao und seine eiter und seine Heeresmacht, und erreichten sie, als sie sich am Meere gelagert hatten, bei Pi-Hachiroth, vor Baal-Zephon.

10 Und als der Pharao nahte, da hoben die Kinder Israel ihre Augen auf, und siehe, die Ägypter zogen hinter ihnen her; und die Kinder Israel fürchteten sich sehr und schrieen zu Jehova.

11 Und sie sprachen zu Mose: Hast du uns darum, weil in Ägypten keine Gräber waren, weggeholt, um in der Wüste zu sterben? Warum hast du uns das getan, daß du uns aus Ägypten herausgeführt hast?

12 Ist dies nicht das Wort, das wir in Ägypten zu dir geredet haben, indem wir sprachen: Laß ab von uns, daß wir den Ägyptern dienen? denn besser wäre es uns, den Ägyptern zu dienen, als in der Wüste zu sterben.

13 Und Mose sprach zu dem Volke: Fürchtet euch nicht! stehet und sehet die ettung Jehovas, die er euch heute schaffen wird; denn die Ägypter, die ihr heute sehet, die werdet ihr hinfort nicht mehr sehen ewiglich.

14 Jehova wird für euch streiten, und ihr werdet stille sein. (O. sollt schweigen)

15 Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Was schreiest du zu mir? rede zu den Kindern Israel, daß sie aufbrechen.

16 Und du, erhebe deinen Stab und strecke deine Hand aus über das Meer und spalte es, daß die Kinder Israel mitten in das Meer hineingehen auf dem Trockenen.

17 Und ich, siehe, ich will das Herz der Ägypter verhärten, und sie werden hinter ihnen herkommen; und ich will mich verherrlichen an dem Pharao und an seiner ganzen Heeresmacht, an seinen Wagen und an seinen eitern.

18 Und die Ägypter sollen erkennen, daß ich Jehova bin, wenn ich mich verherrlicht habe an dem Pharao, an seinen Wagen und an seinen eitern.

19 Und der Engel Gottes, der vor dem Heere Israels herzog, brach auf und trat hinter sie; und die Wolkensäule brach auf von vorn (W.- von vor ihnen) und stellte sich hinter sie.

20 Und sie kam zwischen das Heer der Ägypter und das Heer Israels, und sie wurde dort Wolke und Finsternis, und erleuchtete hier die Nacht; und so nahte jenes diesem nicht die ganze Nacht.

21 Und Mose streckte seine Hand aus über das Meer, und Jehova trieb das Meer durch einen starken Ostwind hinweg, die ganze Nacht, und machte das Meer trocken, (Eig. zu trockenem Lande) und die Wasser wurden gespalten.

22 Und die Kinder Israel gingen mitten in das Meer hinein auf dem Trockenen, und die Wasser waren ihnen eine Mauer zur echten und zur Linken.

23 Und die Ägypter jagten ihnen nach und kamen hinter ihnen her, alle osse des Pharao, seine Wagen und seine eiter, mitten ins Meer.

24 Und es geschah in der Morgenwache, da schaute Jehova in der Feuer- und Wolkensäule auf das Heer der Ägypter und verwirrte das Heer der Ägypter.

25 Und er stieß die äder von seinen Wagen und ließ es fahren mit Beschwerde. Und die Ägypter sprachen: Laßt uns vor Israel fliehen, denn Jehova streitet für sie wider die Ägypter!

26 Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Strecke deine Hand aus über das Meer, daß die Wasser über die Ägypter zurückkehren, über ihre Wagen und über ihre eiter.

27 Da streckte Mose seine Hand aus über das Meer, und das Meer kehrte beim Anbruch des Morgens zu seiner Strömung zurück; und die Ägypter flohen ihm entgegen; und Jehova stürzte die Ägypter mitten ins Meer.

28 Und die Wasser kehrten zurück und bedeckten die Wagen und die eiter der ganzen Heeresmacht des Pharao, die hinter ihnen her ins Meer gekommen waren; es blieb auch nicht einer von ihnen übrig.

29 Und die Kinder Israel gingen auf dem Trockenen mitten durch das Meer, und die Wasser waren ihnen eine Mauer zur echten und zur Linken.

30 So rettete Jehova Israel an selbigem Tage aus der Hand der Ägypter, und Israel sah die Ägypter tot am Ufer des Meeres.

31 Und Israel sah die große Macht, (W. Hand) die Jehova an den Ägyptern betätigt hatte; und das Volk fürchtete Jehova, und sie glaubten an Jehova und an Mose, seinen Knecht.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #4236

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4236. 'And Jacob said [when he saw them], This is God's camp' means heaven. 'God's camp' means heaven, for the reason that 'an army' means truths and goods, 3448, and goods and truths are arranged by the Lord in conformity with heavenly order. Hence the arrangement of them like armies when arrayed is meant by 'an encampment', and the heavenly order itself, which is heaven, by 'a camp'. This camp or order is such that it cannot in any way be broken apart by hell, despite the constant effort from hell to break it apart. This also is why this order, which is heaven, is referred to as 'a camp', and why truths and goods, that is, angels, who are arranged in conformity with that order are called 'armies'. From all this it is now evident how 'God's camp' comes to mean heaven. It is that actual order, and so heaven itself, which was represented by the encampments of the children of Israel in the wilderness; and their actual dwelling together there according to their tribes was referred to as 'the camp'. The Tabernacle pitched in the middle and around which they encamped represented the Lord Himself. Regarding the children of Israel's encampment in this manner, see Numbers 1:1-end, and 33:2-56; and regarding their encampment around the Tabernacle according to their tribes - Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun to the east; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin to the west; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north; and the Levites in the middle next to the Tabernacle - Numbers 2:2 and following verses.

[2] The tribes' means all goods and truths in their entirety, see 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060. Consequently when Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to tribes and the Spirit of God came upon him, he delivered the utterance,

How good your tabernacles are, O Jacob; your dwelling-places, O Israel! They are like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river. Numbers 24:2-3, 5-6.

It is quite plain that this prophecy did not mean the people named Jacob and Israel but that it was the Lord's heaven which was represented. This also is why in other places in the Word their ordered settlements in the wilderness, or encampments according to tribes, are called camps, and in those places 'a camp' in the internal sense means heavenly order and 'encampment' an arrangement in conformity with that order, that is to say, with the order in which goods and truths exist in heaven - as in Leviticus 4:12; 8:17; 13:46; 14:8; 16:26, 28; 24:14, 23; Numbers 3; 4:4 and following verses; 5:2-4; Numbers 9:17-end; 10:1-10, 28; 11:31-32; 12:14-15; 31:19-24; Deuteronomy 23:9-14.

[3] The meaning of 'God's camp' as heaven may also be seen in Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars gathered back their shining; and Jehovah gave voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly many; for that which executes His word is uncountable. Joel 2:10-11.

In Zechariah,

I will encamp by My house with an army set against anyone passing through and against anyone leaving, so that the oppressor passes over them no more. Zechariah 9:8.

In John,

Gog and Magog went up over the breadth 1 of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city; but fire came down 2 from God and consumed them. Revelation 20:9.

'Gog and Magog' stands for people whose worship is external separated from internal - worship that has become idolatrous, 1151. 'The breadth of the earth' stands for truth possessed by the Church - 'breadth', or a plain, meaning truth that constitutes doctrinal teaching, 2450, and 'earth' the Church, 556, 662, 1066, 1067, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355. 'The camp of the saints' stands for heaven or the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church.

[4] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary sense, so too does the word 'camp'. In this case it means evils and falsities, and consequently hell, as in David,

Though the evil pitch camp against me, my heart will not fear. Psalms 27:3.

In the same author,

God has scattered the bones of those encamping against you; 3 you have put them to shame, for God has rejected them. Psalms 53:5.

The camp of Asshur in which the angel of Jehovah smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand, Isaiah 37:36, does not have any other meaning, nor likewise does the camp of the Egyptians, Exodus 14:19-20.

Voetnoten:

1. literally, the plain

2. The Latin means went up, but the Greek means came down, which Swedenborg has in another place where he quotes this verse.

3. The Latin means me, but the Hebrew means you.

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

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Arcana Coelestia #3355

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3355. In the internal sense 'an earthquake' is an alteration of the state of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the earth' as the Church, dealt with in 566, 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, and from the meaning of 'a quake' as an alteration of state, here an alteration as regards the things that constitute the Church, namely good and truth. This is also evident from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

It will happen, that he who is fleeing from the sound of the terror will fall into the pit, and he who is climbing out of the middle of the pit will be caught in the snare, for the floodgates from on high have been opened and the foundations of the earth have been made to tremble, the earth has been utterly shattered. The earth has been made to quake thoroughly, the earth staggers like a drunken man, it sways to and fro like a hut, and heavy upon it is its transgression, and it will fall and not rise again. And it will be on that day, that Jehovah will visit the host of the height on high and the kings of the ground on the ground. Isaiah 24:18-21.

Here it is quite evident that 'the earth' is the Church, for the subject is a Church whose 'foundations' are said to 'have been made to tremble', while the Church itself, having been 'shattered' and 'made to quake', 'staggers' and 'sways to and fro' when good and truth are not known any longer. 'The kings of the ground' are truths, in this case falsities, upon which visitation will take place. As regards 'kings' meaning truths and in the contrary sense falsities, see 1672, 2015, and as regards 'the ground' being similar in meaning to 'the earth', namely the Church, though there is a difference, see 566, 1068.

[2] In the same prophet,

I will make a man (homo) more rare than pure gold, and a man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make heaven quake and the earth will quake out of its place, at the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth and in the day of His fierce anger. Isaiah 13:12-13.

Here also, the subject being Judgement Day, 'the earth' plainly stands for the Church which is said to 'quake out of its place' when it undergoes a change of state - 'place' meaning state, see 1273-1275, 1377, 2625, 2837. In the same prophet,

Is this the man who, making the earth quake, making the kingdoms quake, makes the world into a wilderness and destroys its cities? Isaiah 14:16-17.

This refers to Lucifer. 'The earth' stands for the Church, which is said 'to quake' when it lays claim to all things as its own. For 'kingdoms' means the truths accepted by the Church, see 1672, 2547.

[3] In Ezekiel,

It will be on that day, that Gog will come over the land of Israel. My wrath will come up in My anger and in My zeal. In the fire of My wrath I will say, Surely on that day there will be a great earthquake on Israel's ground. Ezekiel 38:18-20.

'Gog' stands for external worship that has been separated from internal and so made idolatrous, 1151. 'Israel's land' or 'ground' stands for the spiritual Church, 'an earthquake' for an alteration of its state. In Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining. Joel 2:10.

This also refers to Judgement Day. 'The earth quaked' stands for an altered state of the Church, 'the sun and moon' for the good of love and the truth of faith, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, which are said to be 'darkened' when goods and truths are not acknowledged any longer. 'The stars' stands for cognitions of good and truth, 2495, 2849. In David,

The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook and trembled because He was angered. Psalms 18:6-7.

'The earth trembled and quaked' stands for the Church when its state has become perverted.

[4] In John,

When he opened the sixth seal I looked again, and behold, a great earthquake took place, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became like blood, and the stars in the sky fell to the earth. Revelation 6:12-13.

Here 'an earthquake', 'the sun', 'the moon', and 'the stars' have a similar meaning to that which they have above in Joel. In the same book,

At that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth part of the city fell, and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand people. 1 Revelation 11:13.

From all these places it is evident that 'an earthquake' means nothing other than an alteration of the state of the Church, and that 'the earth' has no other meaning in the internal sense than the Church. And since 'the earth' is the Church it is clear that 'the new heaven and the new earth' which are to take the place of the previous heaven and earth, Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1, means nothing other than a new Church, internal and external, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end).

Voetnoten:

1. literally, seven thousand names of people

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