Arcana Coelestia#2496
2496. Genesis 20
1. And Abraham travelled from there towards the land of the south, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
2. And Abraham said of 1 Sarah his wife, She is my sister; and Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Behold, you will die because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married to a husband.
4. And Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, Lord, will You kill even a righteous nation?
5. Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she herself also said, He is my brother. In the uprightness of my heart and in the blamelessness of my hands have I done this.
6. And God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that in the uprightness of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not allow you to touch her.
7. And now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and will pray for you, and you will live. And if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and everyone who is yours.
8. And in the morning Abimelech rose up early and called all his servants and spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were very much afraid.
9. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us, and what sin have I committed against you, that you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom? Deeds which ought not to be done you have done to me.
10. And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you see, that you have done this thing?
11. And Abraham said, Because I said, Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife.
12. And also she is truly my sister, my father's daughter but not my mother's daughter; and she became my wife.
13. And it happened, when God caused 2 me to depart from my father's house, that I said to her, This is your kindness which you may do for me: at every place we come to, say for me, He is my brother.
14. And Abimelech took flocks and herds, and men servants and women servants, and gave to Abraham; and he restored to him Sarah his wife.
15. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; dwell in that which is good in your eyes.
16. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand-pieces of silver to your brother; behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you, and with all; and she was vindicated.
17. And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his women servants, and they gave birth.
18. For Jehovah had completely closed every womb of Abimelech's house because of the matter of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
CONTENTS
In Chapter 12 above the subject was Abraham's sojourn in Egypt, which meant the instruction that the Lord received in factual knowledge when He was still a boy. In the present chapter the subject is Abraham's sojourn in Gerar, where Abimelech was. This sojourning in a similar way means instruction received by the Lord, but now it is in matters of doctrine regarding charity and faith. Dealt with in particular here is the origin of the doctrine of charity and faith; that is to say, that this doctrine is spiritual deriving from a celestial origin but is not from the rational.
脚注:
1. The Latin preposition here (ad), like the Hebrew ('el) which it translates, usually means to or towards.
2. This verb is plural; see 2559.
Genesis第20章
1
Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.
2
Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3
But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Behold, 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. He said, "Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation?
5
Didn't he tell me, 'She is my sister?' She, even she herself, said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this."
6
God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn't allow you to touch her.
7
Now therefore, restore the man's wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don't restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours."
8
Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared.
9
Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!"
10
Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you have done this thing?"
11
Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife's sake.'
12
Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13
It happened, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'"
14
Abimelech took sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife, to him.
15
Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you. Dwell where it pleases you."
16
To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. In front of all you are vindicated."
17
Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.
18
For Yahweh had closed up tight all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
