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Genesis 48

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1 Pärast seda sündmust öeldi Joosepile: 'Vaata, su isa on haige!' Siis ta võttis oma kaks poega enesega, Manasse ja Efraimi.

2 Ja Jaakobile anti teada ning öeldi: 'Näe, su poeg Joosep tuleb sinu juurde!' Iisrael võttis siis jõu kokku ning tõusis voodis istukile.

3 Ja Jaakob ütles Joosepile: 'Kõigeväeline Jumal ilmutas ennast mulle Luusis Kaananimaal, ja õnnistas mind

4 ning ütles mulle: Vaata, ma teen sind viljakaks ja paljuks ja teen sinust rahvaste hulga ja annan selle maa sinu soole pärast sind igaveseks omandiks.

5 Ja nüüd olgu su kaks poega, kes sulle Egiptusemaal on sündinud, enne kui ma tulin sinu juurde Egiptusesse, minu omad: Efraim ja Manasse olgu minu omad nagu Ruuben ja Siimeongi.

6 Aga su järeltulijad, kes sulle pärast neid sünnivad, olgu sinu päralt ja neid nimetatagu nende vendade nime järgi nende pärisosades.

7 Kui ma Mesopotaamiast tulin, suri mul Raahel Kaananimaal, tee peal, kui veel tükk maad oli minna Efratasse. Ja ma matsin tema Efrata tee äärde, see on Petlemma.'

8 Kui Iisrael nägi Joosepi poegi, siis ta küsis: 'Kes need on?'

9 Ja Joosep vastas oma isale: 'Need on mu pojad, keda Jumal mulle siin on andnud!' Siis ta ütles: 'Too nad minu juurde, et ma neid õnnistaksin!'

10 Aga Iisraeli silmad olid vanadusest tuhmid ja ta ei näinud enam. Siis Joosep viis nad tema juurde ja tema andis neile suud ning süleles neid.

11 Ja Iisrael ütles Joosepile: 'Ei oleks uskunud, et saan näha su nägu, aga vaata, Jumal on mind lasknud näha ka su järglasi.'

12 Siis Joosep võttis nad ära tema põlvilt ja kummardas silmili maha.

13 Ja Joosep võttis nad mõlemad, Efraimi oma paremale käele, Iisraelist vasakule poole, ja Manasse oma vasakule käele, Iisraelist paremale poole, ja viis nad tema juurde.

14 Aga Iisrael sirutas oma parema käe ja pani Efraimi pea peale, kes oli noorem, ja oma vasaku käe Manasse pea peale; ta pani oma käed ristamisi, sest Manasse oli esmasündinu.

15 Ja ta õnnistas Joosepit ning ütles: 'Jumal, kelle palge ees mu isad Aabraham ja Iisak on rännanud, Jumal, kes on olnud mu karjane kogu mu elu kuni tänapäevani,

16 ingel, kes mind on päästnud kõigest kurjast, õnnistagu neid poisse; neid nimetades nimetatagu minu nime ja mu isade Aabrahami ja Iisaki nime! Ja nad siginegu rohkesti keset maad!'

17 Aga kui Joosep nägi, et ta isa oma parema käe asetas Efraimi pea peale, siis ta pani seda pahaks ja haaras kinni oma isa käest, et seda Efraimi pea pealt tõsta Manasse pea peale.

18 Ja Joosep ütles oma isale: 'Mitte nõnda, mu isa, sest see on mu esmasündinu! Pane oma parem käsi tema pea peale!'

19 Aga ta isa keeldus ja ütles: 'Ma tean, mu poeg, ma tean, ka tema peab saama rahvaks ja temagi peab olema suur! Ometi peab ta noorem vend saama temast suuremaks ja selle sugu olema rahvarohke!'

20 Ja ta õnnistas neid sel päeval, öeldes: 'Sinu nimel õnnistatagu Iisraelis, öeldagu: Jumal tehku sind Efraimi ja Manasse sarnaseks!' Nõnda seadis ta Efraimi Manassest ettepoole.

21 Ja Iisrael ütles Joosepile: 'Vaata, ma suren, aga Jumal on teiega ja viib teid tagasi teie isade maale.

22 Ja ma annan sulle ühe mäeseljandiku rohkem kui su vendadele, mille olen mõõga ja ammuga võtnud emorlastelt.'

   

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Abraham

  
Représentation d'Abraham, by Joseph Villiet

Abraham (or Abram, as he was named in the beginning of his story) was the ancestor of all the Children of Israel, through his son Isaac, and of the Arabs, through his son Ishmael.

Abraham represents the Divine good or love. His story foreshadows the life of Jesus, and our spiritual lives, too.

His life can be usefully seen as being divided into three periods. The first period includes the unknown early years from his birth in Ur, and his later move to Haran with his father Terah. The second section starts with Abram's being called by Jehovah to go to Canaan. It includes the adventures he had there, and continues until the events of the 17th chapter of Genesis where he is said to be 99 years old, rich, and powerful - but without a son by his wife Sarai. Once again the Lord appears to him, promises that his progeny will become a great nation, institutes the rite of circumcision, and changes his name to Abraham, adding the "ah" sound from Jehovah. The third and last period of his life sees the birth of Isaac, the death of Sarah (whose name was also changed), and the finding of a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's relatives back in Mesopotamia. Abraham is said to be 175 years old when he dies, as recorded in the 25th chapter of Genesis.

What we are here interested in is the deep representation of Abraham because he prophesies or foreshadows the inmost part of Jesus' life after He is born to Mary centuries after the man Abraham lived on the earth. Abraham represents the Divine good or love. The internal sense of the Word tells us that God himself provided the life into an ovum within Mary, so she could provide a natural body and a natural heredity from the Jewish religion, while the soul of Jesus was kept as a direct possessor of divine life. During Jesus' early life, probably up to adolescence, Jesus lived out those representative actions of Abraham in the innermost parts of his mind and spirit. Abraham as he pastured his sheep and ran his large household had no idea at all that this was true, and early in Jesus' life He didn't realize it either. There must have been perceptions as Jesus grew up, witness his visit to the temple when He was 12, but not a complete understanding until He was fully grown. And further, it isn't only Abraham. When Abraham dies, the representation attaches to Isaac, who represents the rational level of the mind, and then to both Jacob and Esau who represent the natural mind as to truth and good in the mind respectively. And then the trials of the twelve tribes, the kings, and all the sayings of the prophets become that same representation. So Jesus could say to the two disciples that He met on the road to Emmaus, "O fools and slow of heart... and beginning at Moses and all the Prophets He expounded to them in all the scriptures all the things concerning Himself." (The following references are chronologic as Abraham gets older, and are in biblical sequence.) And furthermore, the progress of mental and spiritual life in each one of us is a dim and finite image of that represented by Abraham's life if, that is, we are trying to follow the Lord's laws and precepts to love one another. We too have within us a journey to the land of Canaan, a hardworking sojourn in Egypt, a struggle in the wilderness, and a Saul, a David, and an Ahab. We have our home-grown Amalekites and Philistines. The whole of the Old Testament is a picture of how our spiritual life works.

In Genesis 20:7, Abraham signifies celestial truth, or doctrine from a celestial origin. (Arcana Coelestia 2533)

In Genesis 12:4, As ABRAHAM he represents the Lord as to His Human and Divine Essence; as ABRAM he represents the Lord as to His human essence only. (Arcana Coelestia 1426)

In Genesis 17:5, The name was changed by adding the letter H, so that the Divine Human could he represented, for H is the only letter which involves the Divine: it means I AM, or BEING. (Arcana Coelestia 1416[2])

(Referenser: Genesis 17, 25)