A Bíblia

 

Exodus 16

Estude

   

1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness:

3 and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

4 Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

5 And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;

7 and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your murmurings against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

8 And Moses said, [This shall be], when Jehovah shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that Jehovah heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah.

9 And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before Jehovah; for he hath heard your murmurings.

10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud.

11 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God.

13 And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the camp.

14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness a small round thing, small as the hoar-frost on the ground.

15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is it? For they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, It is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat.

16 This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them that are in his tent.

17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

18 And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

19 And Moses said unto them, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was wroth with them.

21 And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

23 And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Jehovah: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not become foul, neither was there any worm therein.

25 And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto Jehovah: to-day ye shall not find it in the field.

26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

27 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none.

28 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

29 See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers [made] with honey.

32 And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before Jehovah, to be kept throughout your generations.

34 As Jehovah commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

35 And the children of Israel did eat the manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat the manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

   

Comentário

 

Spoil of gold, silver, and cattle

  

'Spoil of gold, and silver, and cattle' signifies falsified truths.

(Referências: Arcana Coelestia 3242; Numbers 31)

Das Obras de Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia # 3242

Estudar Esta Passagem

  
/ 10837  
  

3242. 'And the sons of Midian, Ephah and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah' means the derivatives from the third division. This becomes clear from the representation of 'Midian' as those governed by the truth of faith, to be dealt with below; and since those governed by the truth of faith are 'Midian', it follows that 'sons' are derivatives from it. With regard to those governed by the truth of faith the position is that no one is admitted into the Lord's kingdom except him with whom the good of faith is present since the good of faith is the life of faith. The life of faith remains, but not the doctrine of faith except insofar as it makes one with life. Nevertheless people governed by the truth of faith, that is, who profess faith and refer to it as the essential thing because they have been taught that it is, but who, in spite of that teaching have goodness of life, that is, who are Christians in their hearts and not just on their lips, are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom. For anyone can easily be made to believe that faith is the essential thing if such an idea is handed on to him by teachers and at an early age he becomes steeped in that way of thinking. He is also made to believe because those who are reputed to be very learned, even church-leaders, say the same, some of whom are afraid to talk about the good of life because when life is the criterion they stand condemned, and also - in addition - because matters of faith, when they display themselves, are perceptible, whereas matters of charity are less so. Those therefore who are governed by the truth of faith, and yet also by the good of life are called Midian. But the truths which govern their lives are 'the sons of Midian'.

[2] Just as those in whom the truth of faith is joined to the good of that faith are meant by Midian so also in the contrary sense Midian means those under the influence of falsity because the good of life is lacking in them - as becomes clear from the following: In Isaiah,

A drove of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:6.

This refers to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. 'Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah' stands for matters of doctrine. Matters of doctrine concerning good are meant by 'gold', those concerning truth by 'frankincense'; and both by 'the praises of Jehovah'. From this also it is evident what 'Ephah' means. 'The Midianites' who pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to Ishmaelites, and to Potiphar in Egypt, Genesis 37:28, 36, means people governed by truth coupled to simple good, as will in the Lord's Divine mercy be seen later on when those verses are dealt with.

[3] As regards 'Midian' also meaning those under the influence of falsity because the good of life is lacking in them, this may be seen from what is said about Midian in Moses,

The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian with deceptions in their hand came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. Numbers 22:4, 7, and following verses.

In the good sense 'Moab' stands for people with whom natural good exists and who easily allow themselves to be misled, but in the contrary sense stands for those who adulterate goods, 2468. 'Midian' in the good sense, as has been stated, stands for those who are governed by truth coupled to simple good, and so who are easily led to believe things, but in the contrary sense, as here, stands for those who falsify truths. Falsifications are meant by 'deceptions in their hand', and deeds which are the product of falsities by their sending to Balaam to act against the children of Israel, who are the goods, and from these the truths, of faith.

[4] The acts of whoredom committed by the sons of Israel with Midianite women which brought about the plague that Phinehas checked by running through with his spear the Midianite woman and the Israelite man in the brothel, Numbers 25:6-8, and following verses, has a similar meaning, for acts of whoredom represented falsifications of truth, 2466, 2729. And because falsifications of truth are what are meant in the internal sense by acts of whoredom, therefore by command twelve thousand of the children of Israel assailed them, killed their kings, all the males, and the women they had taken captive who had had carnal knowledge of a man, and divided the booty among themselves, Numbers 25:16-17; 31:1-end. The reason why 'twelve thousand' were involved was that 'twelve' means all things of faith, 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), by means of which falsities are destroyed. 'The kings' they killed are falsities, as also are 'the males', 'the women who had had carnal knowledge of a man' are affections for falsity, and 'the booty' which consisted of gold, silver, and cattle, are truths that have been falsified. From this it is evident that every single thing mentioned there is representative of the punishment and destruction of falsity by means of truths.

[5] The same is meant by the facts related about the Midianites in the Book of Judges,

Because the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah they were given into the hand of Midian for seven years.

On account of Midian the children of Israel made dens for themselves in the mountains, also caves, and strongholds. And whenever Israel put in seed, Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east came up and destroyed the produce of their land.

After that they were liberated by Gideon by means of the three hundred who had lapped water with their tongue like a dog, whereas those who had sunk down on their knees to drink had been sent home.

Further references to them, in addition to these, are made in Genesis 6 Chapters-8.

Here too every single detail is representative of the falsification of truth, and on that account of punishment even to the point of their being destroyed by the kind of things meant by 'lapping water with their tongue like a dog'. But what each detail means in the internal sense would take too long to explain here. All this will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with in its proper place. In Habakkuk,

He looked and scattered the nations, and the mountains of time were dissolved, and the hills of old sank down. Below Aven I saw the tents of Cushan, the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Habakkuk 3:6-7.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'The tents of Cushan' stands for a religion raised up out of evil, 'the curtains of the land of Midian' for a religion raised up out of falsity.

  
/ 10837  
  

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