De Bijbel

 

2 Mose 22

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1 Wenn jemand einen Ochsen oder Schaf stiehlt und schlachtet es oder verkauft es, der soll fünf Ochsen für einen Ochsen wiedergeben und vier Schafe für ein Schaf.

2 Wenn ein Dieb ergriffen wird, daß er einbricht, und wird drob geschlagen, daß er stirbt, so soll man kein Blutgericht über jenen lassen gehen.

3 Ist aber die Sonne über ihm aufgegangen, so soll man das Blutgericht gehen lassen. Es soll aber ein Dieb wiedererstatten. Hat er nichts, so verkaufe man ihn um seinen Diebstahl.

4 Findet man aber bei ihm den Diebstahl lebendig, es sei Ochse, Esel oder Schaf, so soll er's zwiefältig wiedergeben.

5 Wenn jemand einen Acker oder Weinberg beschädiget, daß er sein Vieh lässet Schaden tun in eines andern Acker, der soll von dem Besten auf seinem Acker und Weinberge wiedererstatten.

6 Wenn ein Feuer auskommt und ergreift die Dornen und verbrennet die Garben oder Getreide, das noch stehet, oder den Acker, so soll der wiedererstatten, der das Feuer angezündet hat.

7 Wenn jemand seinem Nächsten Geld oder Geräte zu behalten tut, und wird demselbigen aus seinem Hause gestohlen: findet man den Dieb, so soll er's zwiefältig wiedergeben.

8 Findet man aber den Dieb nicht, so soll man den Hauswirt vor die Götter bringen, ob er nicht seine Hand habe an seines Nächsten Habe gelegt.

9 Wo einer den andern schuldiget um einigerlei Unrecht, es sei um Ochsen oder Esel oder Schaf oder Kleider oder allerlei, das verloren ist, so sollen beider Sachen vor die Götter kommen. Welchen die Götter verdammen, der soll's zwiefältig seinem Nächsten wiedergeben.

10 Wenn jemand seinem Nächsten einen Esel oder Ochsen oder Schaf oder irgend ein Vieh zu behalten tut, und stirbt ihm, oder wird beschädiget, oder wird ihm weggetrieben, daß es niemand siehet,

11 so soll man's unter ihnen auf einen Eid bei dem HERRN kommen lassen, ob er nicht habe seine Hand an seines Nächsten Habe gelegt; und des Guts HERR soll's annehmen, daß jener nicht bezahlen müsse.

12 Stiehlt es ihm aber ein Dieb, so soll er's seinem HERRN bezahlen.

13 Wird es aber zerrissen, so soll er Zeugnis davon bringen und nicht bezahlen.

14 Wenn es jemand von seinem Nächsten entlehnet, und wird beschädiget oder stirbt, daß sein HERR nicht dabei ist, so soll er's bezahlen.

15 Ist aber sein HERR dabei, so soll er's nicht bezahlen, so er's um sein Geld gedinget hat.

16 Wenn jemand eine Jungfrau beredet, die noch nicht vertrauet ist, und beschläft sie, der soll ihr geben ihre Morgengabe und sie zum Weibe haben.

17 Weigert sich aber ihr Vater, sie ihm zu geben, so soll er Geld darwägen, wieviel einer Jungfrau zur Morgengabe gebührt.

18 Die Zauberinnen sollst du nicht leben lassen.

19 Wer ein Vieh beschläft, der soll des Todes sterben.

20 Wer den Göttern opfert, ohne dem HERRN allein, der sei verbannet,

21 Die Fremdlinge sollst du nicht schinden noch unterdrücken; denn ihr seid auch Fremdlinge in Ägyptenland gewesen.

22 Ihr sollt keine Witwen und Waisen beleidigen.

23 Wirst du sie beleidigen, so werden sie zu mir schreien, und ich werde ihr Schreien erhören;

24 so wird mein Zorn ergrimmen, daß ich euch mit dem Schwert töte und eure Weiber Witwen und eure Kinder Waisen werden.

25 Wenn du Geld leihest meinem Volk, das arm ist bei dir, sollst du ihn nicht zu Schaden dringen und keinen Wucher auf ihn treiben.

26 Wenn du von deinem Nächsten ein Kleid zum Pfande nimmst, sollst du es ihm wiedergeben, ehe die Sonne untergehet.

27 Denn sein Kleid ist seine einige Decke seiner Haut, darin er schläft. Wird er aber zu mir schreien, so werde ich, ihn erhören; denn ich bin gnädig.

28 Den Göttern sollst du nicht fluchen und den Obersten in deinem Volk sollst du nicht lästern.

29 Deine Fülle und Tränen sollst du nicht verziehen. Deinen ersten Sohn sollst du mir geben.

30 So sollst du auch tun mit deinem Ochsen und Schaf. Sieben Tage laß es bei seiner Mutter sein, am achten Tage sollst du mir's geben.

31 Ihr sollt heilige Leute vor mir sein: darum sollt ihr kein Fleisch essen, das auf dem Felde von Tieren zerrissen ist, sondern vor die Hunde werfen.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #9320

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9320. 'For you shall utterly destroy them' means that evils must be completely removed. This is clear from the meaning of 'destroying' - when it has reference to evils and falsities, meant by the nations of the land of Canaan and their gods - as removing. The reason why 'destroying' means removing is that those governed by goodness and truth never destroy those ruled by evil and falsity, but merely move them away. This they do because good, not evil, governs their actions, and good comes from the Lord, who never destroys anyone. Those ruled by evil however and consequently by falsity try to destroy, and so far as they can they do destroy those governed by good. This they do because evil rules their actions. But since, when they try to do so, they make their attack on good which comes from the Lord, thus on what is of God, they destroy themselves, that is, they hurl themselves into damnation and into hell. Such is the law of order. And why it is such, see 4299, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989, 8137, 8146, 8265, 8945, 8946.

[2] The reason why the Israelites and Jews were to destroy the nations of the land of Canaan was that they themselves represented spiritual and heavenly realities, while the nations represented hellish and devilish things, which can never exist together with those realities since they are opposites. The reason why they were allowed to destroy the nations was that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church, so that the Lord was not present among them either except through things of a representative nature, 4307. For they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substances, that is, in the worship that represented goodness and truth but not goodness and truth themselves. People like this are allowed to destroy, kill, and consign to slaughter and complete destruction. But people who are interested in outward forms and at the same time in their inner substance are not allowed to do those things, since their actions must be governed by good, and good comes from the Lord.

[3] The fact that the Jews and Israelites were such is declared explicitly by Moses,

Do not say in your heart, when Jehovah your God has thrust out the nations before you, Because of my righteousness Jehovah has brought me in to possess this land. It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart; for you are a stiff-necked people. Deuteronomy 9:4-6.

And elsewhere,

They are a nation from whom counsel has perished, nor is there intelligence in them. From the vine of Sodom comes their vine, and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison, they have clusters of bitterness. The poison of snakes (draco) is their wine, and the cruel poison of asps. Is not this hidden away with Me, sealed up in My treasuries? Deuteronomy 32:28, 32-34.

'The vine' in the internal sense means the Church, 1069, 5113, 6375, 6376, 9277; 'grapes' and 'clusters' mean the internal forms and the external forms of that Church's good, 1071, 5117, 6378; and 'wine' means that Church's internal truth, 1071, 1798, 6377. From this one may see what is meant by the assertions that their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah, that their grapes are grapes of poison and clusters of bitterness, and that their wine is the poison of snakes and the cruel poison of asps. The fact that all this was known to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, is meant by the remarks about its being hidden away with Him and sealed up in His treasuries.

[4] In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth. John 8:44.

This is why they are called a wicked and adulterous generation, Matthew 12:39, as well as a brood of vipers, Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7. That they were like this is also described by the Lord in His parables in Matthew 21:33-45; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 14:16-24; 20:9ff.

Regarding that nation, that it was the worst nation; that in their worship they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substance; that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church; but that nevertheless they were able to represent the internal realities of the Church, see 3398, 3479, 3480, 3732 (end), 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288-4290, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4429, 4433, 4444, 4500, 4503, 4680, 4815, 4818, 4820, 4825, 4832, 4837, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4899, 4903, 4911-4913, 5057, 5998, 6304, 6832, 6877, 7048, 7051, 7248, 7401, 7439, 8301, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8814, 8819, 8871, 8882, 9284.

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

Van Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #4288

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4288. These same verses which have been explained so far also have regard to the Jewish and Israelitish nation which is called 'Jacob' in the Word, as stated and shown above in 4279. In the sense which is being called the internal historical the words 'Let me go, for the dawn is coming up' mean that the genuine representative role would depart from the descendants of Jacob before they entered into the representatives connected with the land of Canaan. The nature of that nation has been shown above, namely that among them no internal worship existed, only external worship; that is to say, they had become cut off from the heavenly marriage, and therefore no Church could be established among that nation, only that which was a representative of the Church, see 4281.

[2] But one must know what a representative Church is and what a representative of the Church is. A representative Church exists when internal worship is present within external, but a representative of the Church when no internal worship exists even though external does so. In both cases they observe very similar external practices, that is to say, they follow similar ordinances, laws, and commands. But in the representative Church external things correspond to internal so that they make one, whereas in a representative of the Church that correspondence does not exist because external things are either devoid of internal or else at variance with them. In the representative Church celestial and spiritual love is supreme, but in a representative of the Church bodily and worldly love is supreme. Celestial and spiritual love constitutes the internal itself, but when no celestial or spiritual love exists, only bodily and worldly, that which is external devoid of what is internal exists. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood was a representative Church, but that which was established among the descendants of Jacob was merely a representative of the Church. But to make the difference between the two quite plain, let it be illustrated by examples.

[3] In the representative Church Divine worship took place on mountains because 'mountains' meant celestial love, and in the highest sense the Lord, 795, 1430, 2722, 4210; and when they held worship on mountains they were in their own holy place because they were at the same time abiding in celestial love. In the representative Church Divine worship also took place in groves because 'groves' meant spiritual love, and in the highest sense the Lord in regard to that love, 2722; and when they held worship in groves they were in their own holy place because they were at the same time abiding in spiritual love. When they held Divine worship in the representative Church they used to turn their faces towards the rising of the sun because 'the rising sun' too meant celestial love, 101, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643. And when they looked up at the moon they were again filled with holy reverence because 'the moon' meant spiritual love, 1529-1531, 2495, 4060. And the same applied when they looked up at the starry sky because this meant the angelic heaven or the Lord's kingdom. In the representative Church they had tents or tabernacles in which they held Divine worship, and this was holy worship because 'tents' or 'tabernacles' means the holiness of love and of worship, 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312. And countless other examples could be mentioned.

[4] In the representative of the Church Divine worship did indeed take place at first on mountains and also in groves. The practice also existed then of turning to face the rising of the sun, as well as that of beholding the moon and the stars. There was likewise worship in tents or tabernacles. But because their external worship was devoid of internal - that is, they were governed by bodily and worldly love and not by celestial and spiritual, and so worshipped the actual mountains or groves, and also the sun, moon, and stars, as well as their tents or tabernacles - those practices, which had been holy in the Ancient Church, were now made idolatrous by those belonging to a representative of the Church. They were therefore restricted to the same place and practices for them all, that is to say, to the mountain on which Jerusalem and at length Zion stood, where from the temple they beheld the rising of the sun, and also to one tent for them all, called the tent of meeting, and ultimately to the ark in the temple. They were restricted to these things to the end that a representative of the Church might come into being when they practiced what was outwardly holy. Otherwise they would have rendered holy things unholy.

[5] From these examples one may see what the difference is between a representative Church and a representative of the Church. In general, one may see that members of the representative Church communicated with the three heavens, and that they did so in things of an interior kind, for which external ones could serve as the foundation on which they rested. But those who belonged to a representative of the Church did not communicate with heaven in things of an interior kind. Yet the external things to which those people were limited were nevertheless able to serve as the foundation for interior ones. The Lord's Providence in a miraculous manner enabled this to be so, for the reason that some kind of communication might be established between heaven and mankind through what was a semblance of the Church. For without any communication of heaven with mankind by means of some kind of Church the human race would perish. But what the communication is like when it takes place through external things devoid of any correspondence with internal ones cannot be stated briefly. In the Lord's Divine mercy a statement is to be made about this later on.

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