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Exodus第12章

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1 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

2 Let this month be to you the first of months, the first month of the year.

3 Say to all the children of Israel when they are come together, In the tenth day of this month every man is to take a lamb, by the number of their fathers' families, a lamb for every family:

4 And if the lamb is more than enough for the family, let that family and its nearest neighbour have a lamb between them, taking into account the number of persons and how much food is needed for every man.

5 Let your lamb be without a mark, a male in its first year: you may take it from among the sheep or the goats:

6 Keep it till the fourteenth day of the same month, when everyone who is of the children of Israel is to put it to death between sundown and dark.

7 Then take some of the blood and put it on the two sides of the door and over the door of the house where the meal is to be taken.

8 And let your food that night be the flesh of the lamb, cooked with fire in the oven, together with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants.

9 Do not take it uncooked or cooked with boiling water, but let it be cooked in the oven; its head with its legs and its inside parts.

10 Do not keep any of it till the morning; anything which is not used is to be burned with fire.

11 And take your meal dressed as if for a journey, with your shoes on your feet and your sticks in your hands: take it quickly: it is the Lord's Passover.

12 For on that night I will go through the land of Egypt, sending death on every first male child, of man and of beast, and judging all the gods of Egypt: I am the Lord.

13 And the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are: when I see the blood I will go over you, and no evil will come on you for your destruction, when my hand is on the land of Egypt.

14 And this day is to be kept in your memories: you are to keep it as a feast to the Lord through all your generations, as an order for ever.

15 For seven days let your food be unleavened bread; from the first day no leaven is to be seen in your houses: whoever takes bread with leaven in it, from the first till the seventh day, will be cut off from Israel.

16 And on the first day there is to be a holy meeting and on the seventh day a holy meeting; no sort of work may be done on those days but only to make ready what is necessary for everyone's food.

17 So keep the feast of unleavened bread; for on this very day I have taken your armies out of the land of Egypt: this day, then, is to be kept through all your generations by an order for ever.

18 In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day, let your food be unleavened bread till the evening of the twenty-first day of the month.

19 For seven days no leaven is to be seen in your houses: for whoever takes bread which is leavened will be cut off from the people of Israel, if he is from another country or if he is an Israelite by birth.

20 Take nothing which has leaven in it; wherever you are living let your food be unleavened cakes.

21 Then Moses sent for the chiefs of Israel, and said to them, See that lambs are marked out for yourselves and your families, and let the Passover lamb be put to death.

22 And take some hyssop and put it in the blood in the basin, touching the two sides and the top of the doorway with the blood from the basin; and let not one of you go out of his house till the morning.

23 For the Lord will go through the land, sending death on the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the two sides and the top of the door, the Lord will go over your door and will not let death come in for your destruction.

24 And you are to keep this as an order to you and to your sons for ever.

25 And when you come into the land which the Lord will make yours, as he gave his word, you are to keep this act of worship.

26 And when your children say to you, What is the reason of this act of worship?

27 Then you will say, This is the offering of the Lord's Passover; for he went over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he sent death on the Egyptians, and kept our families safe. And the people gave worship with bent heads.

28 And the children of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had given orders to Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 And in the middle of the night the Lord sent death on every first male child in the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power to the child of the prisoner in the prison; and the first births of all the cattle.

30 Then Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and a great cry went up from Egypt; for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

31 And he sent for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Get up and go out from among my people, you and the children of Israel; go and give worship to the Lord as you have said.

32 And take your flocks and your herds as you have said, and be gone; and give me your blessing.

33 And the Egyptians were forcing the people on, to get them out of the land quickly; for they said, We are all dead men.

34 And the people took their bread-paste before it was leavened, putting their basins in their clothing on their backs.

35 And the children of Israel had done as Moses had said; and they got from the Egyptians ornaments of silver and of gold, and clothing:

36 And the Lord had given the people grace in the eyes of the Egyptians so that they gave them whatever was requested. So they took away all their goods from the Egyptians.

37 And the children of Israel made the journey from Rameses to Succoth; there were about six hundred thousand men on foot, as well as children.

38 And a mixed band of people went with them; and flocks and herds in great numbers.

39 And they made unleavened cakes from the paste which they had taken out of Egypt; it was not leavened, for they had been sent out of Egypt so quickly, that they had no time to make any food ready.

40 Now the children of Israel had been living in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the armies of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt.

42 It is a watch-night before the Lord who took them out of the land of Egypt: this same night is a watch-night to the Lord for all the children of Israel, through all their generations.

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the law of the Passover: no man who is not an Israelite is to take of it:

44 But every man's servant, whom he has got for money, may take of it, when he has had circumcision.

45 A man from a strange country living among you, and a servant working for payment, may not take part in it.

46 It is to be taken in one house; not a bit of the flesh is to be taken out of the house, and no bone of it may be broken.

47 All Israel is to keep the feast.

48 And if a man from another country is living with you, and has a desire to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all the males of his family undergo circumcision, and then let him come near and keep it; for he will then be as one of your people; but no one without circumcision may keep it.

49 The law is the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from a strange country who is living with you.

50 So the children of Israel did as the Lord gave orders to Moses and Aaron.

51 And on that very day the Lord took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#3812

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3812. 'Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh' means joined together as regards truths and as regards goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'you are my bone and my flesh' as a being joined together. The ancients were accustomed to speak of people who belonged to the same house, or to the same family, or who were related in some other way, as 'my bone and my flesh', see 157. This is why those words mean a being joined together. The reason it is as regards truths and as regards goods is that all spiritual joining together is effected by them, and all natural joining together has reference to them. Furthermore by 'bone and flesh' is meant a person's proprium - 'bone' the understanding side of the proprium, 'flesh' the will side of it. 'Bone' accordingly means the proprium as regards truth since truth belongs to the understanding, while 'flesh' means the proprium as regards good since good belongs to the will, see 148, 149.

[2] As regards the proprium in general there are two kinds, the first being the hellish proprium, the second the heavenly. The hellish proprium is acquired by a person from hell, the heavenly from heaven, that is, from the Lord through heaven. For all evil and all falsity from evil enter in from hell, and all good and all truth from good do so from the Lord. People know this from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in a million believes it. Consequently a person appropriates - that is, makes his own - evil entering in from hell; but good entering in from the Lord does not move him and cannot therefore be said to have a place in him. The reason why a person does not believe that evil enters in from hell and good from the Lord is that he is governed by self-love, a love which carries such unbelief with it and which goes so far as to be highly indignant when that person is told that everything comes into him from somewhere else. This then is why a person's entire proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047. But the belief that evil is from hell and good from the Lord exists with him when he is not governed by self-love but by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord; for this love carries such belief with it. So it is that a person receives from the Lord the heavenly proprium referred to in 155, 164, 731, 1023, 1044, 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891.

[3] In both senses this proprium is meant by 'bone and flesh'. Consequently 'bones' in the Word means truth and in the contrary sense falsity, and 'flesh' good and in the contrary sense evil. As regards truth being meant by 'bones', this may be seen from the following places: In Isaiah,

Jehovah will guide you all the time, and will satisfy your soul in arid places, and will render your bones free, so that you are like a watered garden. Isaiah 58:11.

'Rendering bones free' stands for bringing life to the understanding side of the proprium, that is, enlightening it with intelligence. Hence the statement 'so that you are like a watered garden' - 'a garden' meaning intelligence, see 100, 108, 1588. In the same prophet,

Then you will see, and your heart will be joyful, and your bones will flourish like the grass. Isaiah 66:14.

'Bones flourishing like the grass' has a similar meaning.

[4] In Jeremiah,

[Her] Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bodies 1 were ruddier than gem stones, polished like sapphire. 2 Their form is darker than black; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has stuck to their bone; it has dried up; it has become like wood. Lamentations 4:7-8.

'Nazirite' stands for a celestial man, 3301. 'Brighter than snow and whiter than milk' stands for his possession of celestial truth. And because this truth derives from the love of good, it is said that 'their bodies were ruddier than gem stones'. 'Brightness' and 'whiteness' have reference to truth, 3301, 'ruddiness' to good, 3300, 'gem stones' to truths stemming from good, 114. 'Their skin stuck to their bone' describes a changed state as regards the celestial things of love, which is to say, that there was no flesh on the bones, that is, there was no longer any good, for in that case all truth comes to be like skin which sticks to the bone, dries up, and becomes like wood.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Tell a parable against the house of rebellion, and say to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water into it; gather the pieces of it into it - every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice of the bones by taking the choice of the flock, and let there be a hearth of bones under it. Let the bones also be cooked in the midst of it. Ezekiel 24:3-5, 10.

'The pot' stands for violence offered to good and truth, which is why it is called 'the city of bloodshed' in verse 6. 'The pieces', 'the good piece, the thigh and the shoulder' gathered into it are pieces of flesh, which are items of good. 'The choice of the bones' with which the pot was filled stands for truths, 'the hearth of bones' for the affection for truth. 'Let the bones be cooked in the midst of it' stands for violence offered to them. Anyone may see that this parable conceals arcana that are Divine, and also that these can in no way be known unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by 'a pot', by 'pieces, the thigh and the shoulder', by 'the choice of the bones', by 'a hearth of bones', and by 'cooking'. In Micah,

Is it not for you to know judgement - you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear their skin from upon them and their flesh from upon their bones; who have eaten the flesh of My people and flayed their skin from upon them and broken their bones in pieces, and divided them as into a pot and like flesh into the middle of the cauldron? Micah 3:1-3.

Here the meaning is similar.

[6] In Ezekiel,

He brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones. He said to me, Will these bones live? He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovih to these bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit into you that you may live. I will lay sinews upon you and cause flesh to come over you and cover you with skin, and I will put spirit within you so that you may live. I prophesied, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and behold, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above, but there was no spirit in them. And spirit entered into them, and they were alive again and stood upon their feet. Ezekiel 37:1 and following verses.

This refers in general to the re-establishment of the Church among gentiles, and in particular to the regeneration of the individual. 'Dry bones' stands for the understanding side of the proprium, which is lifeless until it receives the life of good from the Lord. The latter life is what quickens it or brings life to it. The flesh which the Lord causes to come up over the bones is the will side of the proprium, which is called the heavenly proprium, and so means good. 'Spirit' means the Lord's life, and when this flows into a person's good which he seems to himself to will and perform from his proprium, the good is in that case made alive, and from that good the truth also; and out of the dry bones a human being is made.

[7] In David,

All my bones have been disconnected; my heart has become like wax. I can count all my bones. They have divided my garments among them, and for my clothing have cast lots. Psalms 22:14, 17-18.

This refers to the Lord's temptations as regards Divine Truths, which, being the Lord's own, are consequently called 'my bones', and as regards Divine Good, which, being the Lord's own, is consequently called 'my heart'. For 'heart' means good, see 3313, 3635. And because 'bones' means those truths, 'counting' them is wishing to get rid of them by means of reasonings and falsities. This is also the reason for the statement immediately following about their dividing garments and casting lots for clothing, for 'garments' also means truths, though a more external variety, 297, 1073, 2576. 'Dividing garments and casting lots for clothing' has the same meaning as it does also in Matthew 27:35. In the same author,

Let my soul exult in Jehovah, let it be glad in His salvation. Let all my bones say, Who is like You? Psalms 35:9-10.

'Bones' in the spiritual sense clearly means the understanding side of the proprium. In the same author,

You shall cause me to hear joy and gladness; the bones You have broken will be exultant. Psalms 51:8.

'The bones which You have broken will be exultant' stands for a re-creation by means of truths following temptations.

[8] Because 'bone' meant the understanding side of the proprium, or the proprium as regards truth, and in the highest sense meant Divine Truth, which was the Lord's Proprium, it was therefore required at the Passover not to break any bone of the paschal lamb. This is referred to in Moses as follows,

It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not bring any of the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone in it. Exodus 12:46.

And elsewhere in Moses,

They shall not leave any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it. Numbers 9:12.

'Not breaking a bone' stands in the highest sense for not offering violence to Divine truth, and in the representative sense for not offering violence to the truth connected with any good at all, for the nature of good and the form it takes depend on truths, and truth is the mainstay of good, as the bones are of the flesh.

[9] The fact that the Word, which is Divine truth itself, gives life to the dead was represented by the revival and the standing on his feet of the man who, having been cast into the grave of Elisha, touched his bones, 2 Kings 13:21. Elisha represented the Lord as regards Divine truth or the Word, see 2762.

'Bones' in the contrary sense means falsity which springs from the proprium, as is evident from the following places: In Jeremiah,

At that time they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their tombs, and they will spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served. Jeremiah 8:1-2.

In Ezekiel,

I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Ezekiel 6:5.

In Moses,

God who brought him out of Egypt has as it were the strength of a unicorn. He will eat up the nations, his enemies, and will break their bones, and smash their weapons. Numbers 24:8.

In the second Book of Kings,

King Josiah broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of people. He took the bones out of the graves and burned them on the altar to render it unclean. He sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned the bones of people on them. 2 Kings 23:14, 16, 20.

In Moses,

The soul which has touched on the surface of the field anyone slain with the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre, will be unclean for seven days. Numbers 19:16, 18.

[10] Since 'bones' means falsities, and 'sepulchres' evils containing them, and since hypocrisy is evil which on the outside looks like good but is inwardly rotten from things that are false and unholy, the Lord therefore says the following in Matthew,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make yourselves like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and of all uncleanness. So too do you outwardly appear just to men (homo) but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:27-28.

From all these quotations it is now evident that 'bones' means the understanding side of the proprium either as regards truth or else as regards falsity.

脚注:

1. literally, bones

2. literally, sapphire their polishing

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