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Exodus第16章

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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.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#6125

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6125. 'In exchange for horses' means factual knowledge supplied from the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'horses' as ideas forming the understanding, dealt with in 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and since they are spoken of in connection with Egypt, which means factual knowledge, 'horses' here are factual knowledge supplied from the understanding. But what factual knowledge supplied from the understanding is must be stated. There is an understanding part and there is a will part in the human mind, and these are situated not only in his internal man but also in his external. The human understanding is developing and growing from early childhood through to manhood, and it consists in a discernment of things gained from experience and formal knowledge, also a discernment of causes from effects as well as of consequences from a chain of causes. Thus the understanding part consists in a comprehension and perception of such things as are part of everyday life, public and private. An inflowing of light from heaven brings it into existence, and for that reason everyone's understanding is capable of being made more perfect. Understanding is given to everyone in accordance with his effort to make use of what he knows, in accordance with the life he leads, and in accordance with his individual character; no one lacks it provided he is of sound mind. A person is given it to the end that he may have freedom of choice, that is, have the freedom to choose good or evil. Unless he possesses an understanding like the one just described, he has no power of his own to make that choice; thus nothing could possibly be made his own.

[2] In addition to this it should be recognized that the understanding part of a person's mind is that which receives what is spiritual, so that it is the recipient of spiritual truth and good. For no good at all, that is, no charity, nor any truth at all, that is, any faith, can be instilled into anyone if he does not have that understanding part; but they are instilled in the measure that he does have it. This also explains why a person is not regenerated by the Lord until adult life when he does possess an understanding. Till then the good of love and the truth of faith fall like seed into utterly infertile soil. But once a person has been regenerated his understanding serves the function of enabling him to see and perceive what good is and from this what truth is. For the understanding converts things belonging to the superior light of heaven into those belonging to the inferior light of the natural world, as a consequence of which the former are then seen within the latter in the same way as a person's inner affections are seen in his face when it lacks all pretence. And because the understanding serves that function, many places in the Word where the spiritual side of the Church is referred to refer also to its power of understanding, a matter which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with elsewhere.

[3] From all this one may now see what is meant by factual knowledge supplied from the understanding, namely known facts which lend support to the things a person grasps and perceives with his understanding, whether those things are bad or good. Such facts are what are meant in the Word by 'horses from Egypt', as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help, and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and on horsemen because they are extremely strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel and do not seek Jehovah. For Egypt is man (homo), not God; and his horses are flesh, not spirit. Isaiah 31:1, 3.

'Horses from Egypt' stands for factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding.

[4] In Ezekiel,

He rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that ha might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does this be rescued? Ezekiel 17:15.

'Horses from Egypt' again stands for factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding, which knowledge is resorted to in matters of faith, though there is no belief in the Word, that is, in the Lord, apart from what that knowledge provides. Thus no belief ever comes to exist, for within a perverted understanding a negative attitude reigns.

[5] The destruction which such factual knowledge underwent is represented by the drowning of Pharaoh's horses and chariots in the Sea Suph; and since that knowledge is meant by 'horses' and false matters of doctrine by 'chariots', his horses and chariots are mentioned so many times in the description of that event, see Exodus 14:17-18, 27, 26, 28. And the Song of Moses and Miriam consequently contains these words,

Pharaoh's horse went, also his chariot, also his horsemen, into the sea; but Jehovah made the waters of the sea come back over them. Sing to Jehovah, for He has highly exalted Himself; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. Exodus 15:19, 21.

[6] Similar factual knowledge is also meant by the things required before-hand for a king over Israel, in Moses,

If they desire a king, from among their brothers shall a king be set over them. Only let him not multiply horses for himself nor lead the people back into Egypt in order to multiply horses. Deuteronomy 17:15-16.

'A king' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4789, 4966, 5044, 5068, thus as regards intelligence since this comes, when it is genuine, from Divine Truth. The need for intelligence to be acquired through the Word, which is Divine Truth, and not through factual knowledge taken from one's own understanding is meant by the injunction that the king should not multiply horses or lead the people back into Egypt in order to multiply horses.

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