圣经文本

 

Genesis第20章

学习

   

1 And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Truly you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife.

4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, will you put to death an upright nation?

5 Did he not say to me himself, She is my sister? and she herself said, He is my brother: with an upright heart and clean hands have I done this.

6 And God said to him in the dream, I see that you have done this with an upright heart, and I have kept you from sinning against me: for this reason I did not let you come near her.

7 So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house.

8 So Abimelech got up early in the morning and sent for all his servants and gave them word of these things, and they were full of fear.

9 Then Abimelech sent for Abraham, and said, What have you done to us? what wrong have I done you that you have put on me and on my kingdom so great a sin? You have done to me things which are not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, Why did you do this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because it seemed to me that there was no fear of God in this place, and that they might put me to death because of my wife.

12 And, in fact, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife:

13 And when God sent me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, Let this be the sign of your love for me; wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.

14 Then Abimelech gave to Abraham sheep and oxen and men-servants and women-servants, and gave him back his wife Sarah.

15 And Abimelech said, See, all my land is before you; take whatever place seems good to you.

16 And he said to Sarah, See, I have given to your brother a thousand bits of silver so that your wrong may be put right; now your honour is clear in the eyes of all.

17 Then Abraham made prayer to God, and God made Abimelech well again, and his wife and his women-servants, so that they had children.

18 For the Lord had kept all the women of the house of Abimelech from having children, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#2556

学习本章节

  
/10837  
  

2556. 'Also she is truly my sister' means that rational truth possessed such a relationship. This is clear from the representation of 'Sarah when a sister' as rational truth, dealt with in 2508, and also from what follows next where the subject is the birth of the rational and its consequent relationship. In general it should be kept in mind that all things which exist with a truly rational, that is, regenerate, person - all that constitutes his affections, his perceptions, and his thoughts - are interconnected as in blood-relationships and relationships by marriage; for those things have been arranged in such a way that they mutually regard one another as families do which make up one house, and this in a most clear and distinct manner. Consequently when they reappear they do so in accordance with the relationships in which they exist. This ordered relationship with one another they receive from heaven - that is, from the Lord by way of heaven - flowing into them. With a person who is truly rational, that is, regenerate, everything has been arranged into order such as exists in heaven; and this ordered arrangement of everything within him comes as a result of heaven flowing into him. From that ordered arrangement within him a person possesses a power of thought, deduction, judgement, and reflection, which is so marvellous that it surpasses all human knowledge and wisdom, infinitely surpassing the conclusions which by analysis human effort draws from these sources. The reason these facts have not been known up to now is that people have not believed that all the things which constitute their affections, perceptions, and thoughts flow in - evil ones from hell, decent ones from heaven. Thus these have a connection with the things that are outside of them; yet the fact of the matter is that man, as regards his spirit, is joined to those outside of him in such a way that if he were deprived of that connection he would not remain alive for a single instant. This may also be recognized from the consideration that anything unconnected cannot possibly exist, and that anything unconnected perishes in an instant.

  
/10837  
  

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