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Genesis第20章

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1 And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;

2 and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, `She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.

3 And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, `Lo, thou [art] a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken -- and she married to a husband.'

4 And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, `Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay?

5 hath not he himself said to me, She [is] my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He [is] my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.'

6 And God saith unto him in the dream, `Yea, I -- I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her;

7 and now send back the man's wife, for he [is] inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'

8 And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly;

9 and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, `What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.'

10 Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, `What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?'

11 And Abraham saith, `Because I said, `Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;

12 and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;

13 and it cometh to pass, when God hath caused me to wander from my father's house, that I say to her, This [is] thy kindness which thou dost with me: at every place whither we come, say of me, He [is] my brother.'

14 And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;

15 and Abimelech saith, `Lo, my land [is] before thee, where it is good in thine eyes, dwell;'

16 and to Sarah he hath said, `Lo, I have given a thousand silverlings to thy brother; lo, it is to thee a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee;' and by all this she is reasoned with.

17 And Abraham prayeth unto God, and God healeth Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bear:

18 for Jehovah restraining had restrained every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#2531

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2531. 'Therefore I did not allow you to touch her' means that the rational was not consulted at all. This is clear from the meaning of 'allowing to touch' as consulting - as is also the meaning of 'coming near her', verse 4 above, in 2519 - and from the meaning of 'Sarah as a sister', to whom the pronoun 'her' refers here, as the rational, dealt with in 1495, 2508

[2] So that more may be known about the nature of the doctrine of faith, that it is spiritual from a celestial origin, it should be recognized that such doctrine is Divine truth from Divine good, and so is wholly Divine. That which is Divine is beyond comprehension since it surpasses all understanding, even that of angels. Nevertheless this Divine, which in itself is beyond comprehension, is able to flow in by way of the Lord's Divine Human into man's rational. And when it flows into his rational, the way it is received there is determined by the truths that are there. Thus it is received in varying ways, differently from one person to another. To the extent therefore that the truths residing with a person are more genuine, the Divine flowing in is also received more perfectly, and the understanding part of his mind is enlightened.

[3] Present within the Word of the Lord there are truths themselves, but in its literal sense there are truths which have been adapted to the mental grasp of those whose worship is external, while in its internal sense there are truths adapted to those who are internal people, that is, who as regards doctrine and at the same time as regards life are like angels. Their rational is as a result enlightened to such an extent that this enlightenment is compared to the brightness of the stars and of the sun, in Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43. This shows how important it is to know and receive interior truths. People can indeed know these truths, but none can possibly receive them except those who are governed by love to the Lord or by faith in Him. For as the Lord is Divine Good, so He is Divine Truth, and therefore doctrine itself, for everything included in the doctrine of true faith has regard to the Lord. It also has regard to the heavenly kingdom and the Church, and to the things that constitute the heavenly kingdom and the Church. But all these are His and are the intermediate ends by means of which the final end, that is, the Lord, is regarded.

[4] That the Lord is doctrine itself as regards truth and good, thus that it is He alone who is regarded in doctrine, He Himself teaches in John,

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6-7.

Here 'the way' means doctrine, 'the truth' everything that constitutes doctrine, 'the life' good itself which is the life of truth. And that love to Him or faith in Him is that which receives, He also teaches in John,

His own did not receive him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13.

'The born of God' are those in whom love and, from this, faith are present.

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