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Genesis第39章

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1 And Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Putiphar an eunuch of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of the Ismaelites, by whom he was brought.

2 And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in all things: and he dwelt in his master's house,

3 Who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found favour in the sight of his master, and ministered to him: and being set over all by him, he governed the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to him:

5 And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake, and multiplied all his substance, both at home, and in the fields.

6 Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold.

7 h And after many days his mistress 'cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me.

8 But he, in no wise consenting to that wicked act, said to her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his own house:

9 Neither is there any thing which is hot in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife : how then can I do this wicked thing, and I sin against my God?

10 With such words as these day by day, both the woman was importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery.

11 Now it happened on it certain day, that Joseph went into the house, and was doing some business without any, man with him:

12 And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with me. But he leaving the garment in her hand, fled, and went out.

13 And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and herself disregarded,

14 She called to her the men of her house, and said to them: See, he hath brought in a Hebrew, to abuse us: he came in to me, to lie with me : and when I cried out,

15 And he heard my voice, he left the garment that I held, and got him out.

16 For a proof therefore of her fidelity, she kept the garment, and shewed it to her husband when he returned home:

17 And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou best brought, came to me to abuse me.

18 And when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I held, and fled out.

19 His master hearing these things, and giving too much credit to his wife's words, was very angry.

20 And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king's prisoners were kept, and he was there shut up.

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison:

22 Who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were kept in custody: and whatsoever was done was under him.

23 Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him: for the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#4866

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4866. 'Because she had covered her face' means that interior things were hidden from them. This is clear from the representation of 'Tamar' as the representative Church, dealt with in 4829, 4831; from the meaning of 'covering' as being hidden; and from the meaning of 'the face' as internal things, dealt with in 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4326, 4796-4799. From this it is evident that 'she covered her face' means that the interior things of the Church were hidden from them. Regarding these, see above in 4859, 4865.

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

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#4859

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4859. 'And covered herself with a veil' means the truth was rendered obscure. This is clear from the meaning of 'covering oneself (that is, covering one's face) with a veil' as concealing and so rendering obscure truth which pretended to spring from good, as immediately above in 4858. Tamar did this so that she might become joined to Judah. For when brides first approached their bridegrooms they used to cover themselves with a veil, as one reads of Rebekah doing when she came to Isaac, Genesis 24:65, by which appearances of truth were meant, see 3207. 'A wife' means truth and 'a husband' good; but because truth as it really is does not show itself before it is joined to its good, therefore - to represent this reality - brides used to cover themselves with a veil when seen for the first time by their husbands. Here Tamar acted in a similar way, for she supposed that Shelah, Judah's son, should be her husband. But because she had not been given to him she then supposed that his father should perform the duty of a husband's brother instead. Therefore she covered herself with a veil as a bride would do. She did not cover herself as a whore would have done, though Judah supposed that this was what she was because in those times whores were likewise accustomed to cover their faces, as is evident from verse 15. The reason Judah supposed she was that kind of woman was that the Jewish nation, which is there meant by 'Judah', rated the internal truths of the representative Church as low as a whore. Therefore Judah was joined to her as though she were a whore; but Tamar's joining to him was not like that. Because internal truths could not be seen by that nation in any other way than this, the words used here 'she covered herself with a veil' therefore mean that truth was rendered obscure. The fact that the truth of the Church has been rendered obscure to members of that nation is also represented at the present day in their synagogues when they cover themselves with shawls or veils.

[2] Something similar was also represented by the skin on Moses' face shining when he came down from Mount Sinai, so that he covered himself with a veil every time he spoke to the people, Exodus 34:28-end. Moses represented the Word that is called the Law, see Preface to Chapter 18; and that is why sometimes the expression 'the Law and the Prophets' is used, as in Matthew 5:17; 11:13; 22:36, 40, and sometimes 'Moses and the Prophets', as in Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27, 44. The skin shining on his face represented the inner reality of the Word, for 'the face' means that which is internal, 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 4797; for being spiritual, that inner reality dwells in the light of heaven. The veiling of his face every time he spoke to the people represented the fact that for members of that nation internal truth was covered and thus was rendered obscure so that they would not be exposed to any light at all from it.

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