IBhayibheli

 

民数記 1

Funda

1 エジプトを出た次の年の二一日に、はシナイの荒野において、会見の幕屋で、モーセに言われた、

2 「あなたがたは、イスラエルの人々の全会衆を、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調査し、そのすべての男の名の数を、ひとりびとり数えて、その総数を得なさい。

3 イスラエルのうちで、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者を、あなたとアロンとは、その部隊にしたがって数えなければならない。

4 また、すべての部族は、おのおの父祖のの長たるものを、ひとりずつ出して、あなたがたと協力させなければならない。

5 すなわち、あなたがたに協力すべき人々の名は、次のとおりである。ルベンからはシデウルのエリヅル。

6 シメオンからはツリシャダイのシルミエル。

7 ユダからはアミナダブのナション。

8 イッサカルからはツアルのネタニエル。

9 ゼブルンからはヘロンのエリアブ。

10 ヨセフのたちのうち、エフライムからはアミホデのエリシャマ、マナセからはパダヅルのガマリエル。

11 ベニヤミンからはギデオニのアビダン。

12 ダンからはアミシャダイのアヒエゼル。

13 アセルからはオクランのパギエル。

14 ガドからはデウエルのエリアサフ。

15 ナフタリからはエナンのアヒラ」。

16 これらは会衆のうちから選び出された人々で、その父祖の部族のつかさたち、またイスラエルの氏族のかしらたちである。

17 こうして、モーセとアロンが、ここに名を掲げた人々を引き連れて、

18 一日に会衆をことごとく集めたので、彼らはその氏族により、その父祖のにより、その名の数にしたがって二十歳以上のものが、ひとりびとり登録した。

19 命じられたように、モーセはシナイの荒野で彼らを数えた。

20 すなわち、イスラエルのルベンのたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の男の名の数を、ひとりびとり得たが、

21 ルベンの部族のうちで、数えられたものは四万六人であった。

22 またシメオンたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の男の名の数を、ひとりびとり得たが、

23 シメオン部族のうちで、数えられたものは五万人であった。

24 またガドたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

25 ガド部族のうちで、数えられたものは四万五五十人であった。

26 ユダたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

27 ユダ部族のうちで、数えられたものは七万人であった。

28 イッサカルたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

29 イッサカル部族のうちで、数えられたものは五万人であった。

30 ゼブルンのたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

31 ゼブルンの部族のうちで、数えられたものは五万七人であった。

32 ヨセフのたちのうち、エフライムのたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

33 エフライムの部族のうちで、数えられたものは四万五人であった。

34 マナセたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

35 マナセ部族のうちで、数えられたものは三万人であった。

36 ベニヤミンのたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

37 ベニヤミンの部族のうちで、数えられたものは三万五人であった。

38 ダンたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

39 ダン部族のうちで、数えられたものは六万人であった。

40 アセルのたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

41 アセルの部族のうちで、数えられたものは四万一人であった。

42 ナフタリたちから生れたものを、その氏族により、その父祖のによって調べ、すべて戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者の名の数を得たが、

43 ナフタリ部族のうちで、数えられたものは、五万三人であった。

44 これらが数えられた人々であって、モーセとアロンとイスラエルのつかさたちとが数えた人々である。そのつかさたちは十二人であって、おのおのその父祖ののために出たものである。

45 そしてイスラエルの人々のうち、その父祖のにしたがって数えられた者は、すべてイスラエルのうち、戦争に出ることのできる二十歳以上の者であって、

46 その数えられた者は合わせて十万五十人であった。

47 しかし、レビびとは、その父祖の部族にしたがって、そのうちに数えられなかった。

48 すなわち、モーセに言われた、

49 「あなたはレビの部族だけは数えてはならない。またその総数をイスラエルの人々のうちに数えあげてはならない。

50 あなたはレビびとに、あかしの幕屋と、そのもろもろの器と、それに附属するもろもろの物を管理させなさい。彼らは幕屋と、そのもろもろの器とを持ち運び、またそこで務をし、幕屋のまわりに宿営しなければならない。

51 幕屋が進む時は、レビびとがこれを取りくずし、幕屋を張る時は、レビびとがこれを組み立てなければならない。ほかの人がこれに近づく時は殺されるであろう。

52 イスラエルの人々はその部隊にしたがって、おのおのその宿営に、おのおのその旗のもとにその天幕を張らなければならない。

53 しかし、レビびとは、あかしの幕屋のまわりに宿営しなければならない。そうすれば、主の怒りはイスラエルの人々の会衆の上に臨むことがないであろう。レビびとは、あかしの幕屋の務を守らなければならない」。

54 イスラエルの人々はこのようにして、すべてモーセ命じられたように行った。

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9809

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

9809. 'So that they may serve Me in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord. This is clear from the representation of 'the priestly office' in the highest sense as all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour. And the moving force behind whatever He does as the Saviour is Divine Love, thus Divine Good since all good is an aspect of love. So it is also that in the highest sense 'the priestly office' means the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love. There is Divine Good and there is Divine Truth. Divine Good exists within the Lord, and so is His Essential Being (Esse), which in the Word is called Jehovah. But Divine Truth is an emanation from the Lord, and so is the Coming-into-being (Existere) from that Essential Being; this is meant in the Word by God. And since that which is the Coming-into-being from Himself is nonetheless Himself, the Lord is also Divine Truth, which is what is Divine and His in the heavens. For the heavens are a coming-into-being from Him, because the angels there are recipients of what is Divine and His, celestial angels being recipients of the Divine Good which emanates from Him, but spiritual angels recipients of the Divine Truth springing from that Good. All this helps to make clear what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the priestly office, and what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the royal office, namely the Divine Good of His Divine Love by the priestly office, and the Divine Truth springing from that Good by the royal office.

[2] The truth that the priestly office represented the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, thus all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour, is clear from the following declarations in the Word: In David,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies as Your footstool. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of Your enemies. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a priest for ever, after the manner 1 of Melchizedek. The Lord is on Your right hand; He struck kings on the day of His anger. He has judged among the nations, He has filled [the places] with dead bodies, He has stricken [one who was] head over much land. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. Psalms 110:1-7.

These declarations show what the Lord as a priest, consequently what the priestly office within the Lord represented, namely the whole work of saving the human race. For the subject in this Psalm is the Lord's conflicts with the hells when He was in the world. Through those conflicts He acquired for Himself a power over the hells that was almighty and Divine, by means of which He saved the human race and also today saves all who accept Him. This very salvation, because the Divine Good of Divine Love is the moving force behind the accomplishment of it, is the reason why it says in reference to the Lord, 'You are a priest for ever, after the manner of Melchizedek'. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, which the Lord was called because He had become [the One in whom there was] righteousness and consequently salvation, as accords with what has been shown in 9715.

[3] But since the declarations in this Psalm each contain arcana which have to do with the Lord's conflicts when He was in the world, and those arcana cannot be revealed without the internal sense, let a brief explanation of them be supplied. Jehovah said to my Lord means that the subject is the Lord when He was in the world. 'Lord' here is used to mean the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in Matthew 22:43-45; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-44. Sit at My right hand means the almighty power of Divine Good, exercised through Divine Truth, the Lord being Divine Truth at that time, and Divine Truth being that with which He entered into and won the battle. For the meaning of 'sitting at the right hand' as a state of power, and in reference to the Divine as almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933, 6948, 7518, 7673, 8281, 9133; and the fact that all the power which good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.

[4] Till I make Your enemies as Your footstool means until the time when the evils which exist in and spring from the hells have been subdued and made subject to His Divine power. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion means the power at that time received from celestial good, 'Zion' meaning this good, see 2362, 9055. Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies means that this good has dominion over evils. Evils are enemies because they are contrary to what is Divine, especially to the Lord. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power means the Divine Truths engaging in conflict then. In the beauty of holiness means which spring from Divine Good. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth means conception from Divine Good itself, from which He had Divine Truth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent means what is sure and certain.

[5] You are a priest for ever means the Divine Good of Divine Love within Him. After the manner of Melchizedek means that His Divine Human is of a like nature. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, thus Jehovah who has become Righteousness through conflicts and victories, 9715. The Lord is on Your right hand means Divine Truth from Him at that time, through which almighty power is exercised, as above. He struck kings on the day of His anger means the destruction of falsities then, 'the day of anger' being the time when He fought against evils and destroyed them. 'Kings' are truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. He has judged among the nations means the dispersion of evils; for 'nations' are forms of good and in the contrary sense evils, 1259, 1260, 1849, 6005. He has filled [the places] with dead bodies means the resulting spiritual death, which is a total deprivation of truth and good. He has stricken [one who was] head over much land means casting hellish self-love down into the hells, and the damnation of that love. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head means the endeavour to rise up from there by means of reasonings about truths. This is the meaning which those in heaven perceive within these words when that Psalm is read by someone in the world.

[6] Since the priestly office was representative of the Lord's whole work of salvation which was motivated by Divine Love, the performance of all the worship of God furthermore belonged to the office of the priest. Acts of worship at that time consisted first and foremost in offering burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs, in setting the loaves on the table of the Presence, in keeping the lamps alight day by day, and in offering incense, and consequently in expiating or making atonement for the people and forgiving sins. In addition to all this their office consisted, when they were at the same time prophets, in explaining God's law and in teaching. The fact that all these duties were performed by Aaron and his sons is clear from the description in Moses of the establishment of the priesthood; and all those duties, it is self-evident, were representative of the Lord's acts of salvation. All this also explains why the portions of the sacrifices and minchahs that were Jehovah's, that is, the Lord's, were given to Aaron, likewise various kinds of first fruits as well as tithes, see Exodus 29:1-36; Leviticus 7:35-36; 23:15-22; 27:21; Numbers 5:6-11; 18:8-20, 25-end; Deuteronomy 18:1-4. The firstborn were also given; but in place of all the firstborn of human beings stood the Levites, who were given as a gift to Aaron, see Numbers 1:47; 3:9, because they were Jehovah's, Numbers 3:12-13, 40-45.

[7] Because the Lord as regards His whole work of salvation was represented by the high priest, and the actual work of salvation by his office, which is called the priestly office, no inheritance and portion among the people was given to Aaron and his sons; for it says that Jehovah God is their inheritance and portion, Numbers 18:20. Nor was any given to the Levites, because they belonged to Aaron, Numbers 26:58-63; Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1-2. For the people represented heaven and the Church; but Aaron and his sons, and the Levites, represented the good of love and faith, which composes heaven and the Church, and so represented the Lord, who is the source of that good. Therefore He gave over the land to the people as an inheritance, but not to the priests, for the Lord is present in people, but not among them as an individual person.

[8] Something similar is implied by the following words in Isaiah,

You will be called the priests of Jehovah, you will be spoken of as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of the gentiles, and in their glory you will glory. Isaiah 61:6.

'Eating the wealth of the gentiles' stands for making forms of good one's own, 'glorying in their glory' for having the benefit of truths, and so for the joy and happiness which those forms of good and truths give. As regards the meaning of 'the gentiles' or 'the nations' as forms of good, see 1259, 1260, 4574, 6005; and as regards that of 'glory' as truth from the Divine, 9429.

[9] Various places in the Word mention 'kings and priests', also 'kings, princes, priests, and prophets' in a series. But in these places truths in their entirety are meant in the internal sense by 'kings', and leading truths by 'princes'; forms of good in their entirety are meant by 'priests', and doctrinal teachings by 'prophets', as in the Book of Revelation,

Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests. Revelation 1:6; 5:10.

In Jeremiah,

The house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. Jeremiah 2:26.

In the same prophet,

On that day the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish, and the priests will be dumbfounded and the prophets left wondering. Jeremiah 4:9.

In the same prophet,

At that time they will bring out 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. Jeremiah 8:1.

In the abstract sense, separate from actual persons, truths in their entirety are meant by 'kings', see 1672, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148; leading truths by 'princes', 1482, 2089, 5044; forms of good by 'priests', 1728, 2015 (end), 3670, 6148; and doctrinal teachings derived from and concerning all these by 'prophets', 2534, 7269. The Lord's kingship furthermore is meant by His name Christ, Anointed One, or Messiah, and His priesthood by the name Jesus; for Jesus means Saviour or Salvation, regarding which the following is stated in Matthew,

The angel appearing to Joseph in a dream said to him, You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21.

Since this 2 belonged to the priestly office the high priest's duty of expiating or making atonement for people's sins had the same representation, Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30.

[10] Since evil cannot possibly be combined with good, because each repels the other, various kinds of acts of purification were ordained for Aaron and his sons whenever they served in the priestly office, whether at the altar or in the tent of meeting. It was also ordained for example that the high priest should not marry anyone other than a virgin; he was not allowed to marry a widow, divorced woman, or prostitute, Leviticus 21:13-15. If any of Aaron's sons who were unclean had eaten from the holy offerings they should be cut off, Leviticus 22:2-9. None of Aaron's seed who had a defect should offer bread, Leviticus 21:17-21. The high priest should not use a razor on his head, nor tear his clothes, nor defile himself with any dead body, not even for his father or mother, nor go out of the sanctuary, Leviticus 21:10-12. These and many other laws, as has been stated, were laid down because the high priest represented the Lord and His Divine Goodness, and the nature of good is such that no evil can be combined with it. For good recoils from evil, and evil has a horror of good, as hell has of heaven; therefore it is impossible for them to be joined to each other.

[11] As regards truth however, its nature is such that it can be combined with falsity, but not falsity that has evil in it, only that which has good in it. That is, it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with very young children or older boys and girls who are still at the age of innocence, or with upright gentiles who are uninformed; and it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with all who are confined to the literal sense of the Word and to teachings derived from it and yet have the good of life as their end in view. For this good, if it is the end in view, dispels from falsity all inclination towards evil, and uses it in such a way that it makes it look to outward appearance like truth.

Imibhalo yaphansi:

1. The Latin means according to My word but the Hebrew means after the manner of, which Swedenborg has in some other places where he quotes this verse.

2. i.e. the work of salvation

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

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

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1327

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

1327. 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth' means the state of this Ancient Church, that internal worship started to perish. This is clear from the fact that the phrase used is 'the lip of the whole earth' and not, as previously in verse 7, the lip of those who started to build a city and a tower. 'The face of the whole earth' means the state of the Church since 'the earth' is the Church, as shown already in 662, 1066. The story of the Churches after the Flood is as follows: There were three Churches which receive specific mention in the Word - the first Ancient Church which took its name from Noah, the second Ancient Church which took its name from Eber, and the third Ancient Church which took its name from Jacob, and subsequently from Judah and Israel.

[2] As regards the first Ancient Church, that called Noah, this was the parent so to speak of those that followed, and as is usually the case with Churches in their earliest phases, it was more untarnished and innocent, as is also clear from verse 1 of this chapter which says that it had one lip, that is, one doctrine. That is to say, everyone regarded charity as the essential. But in the course of time, as usually happens to Churches, that Church also started to decline, chiefly because many people started to divert worship to themselves so as to set themselves above others, as is clear from verse 4 above - 'they said, Let us build ourselves a city and a tower, and its head in heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves'. In the Church such people were inevitably like some fermenting agent, or like firebrands that start a fire. When the danger of profaning what is holy was consequently near at hand, referred to in 571, 582, the state of this Church was, in the Lord's Providence, altered. That is to say, its internal worship perished but its external worship remained, which here is meant by the statement that 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth'. From this it is also clear that the kind of worship called Babel was not prevalent in the first Ancient Church but in those that followed when people started to be worshipped in place of gods, especially after they had died. This was the origin of so many pagan deities.

[3] The reason internal worship was allowed to perish and external remain was to prevent what is holy being profaned. The profanation of what is holy carries eternal condemnation with it. Nobody is able to profane what is holy unless he possesses cognitions of faith and also acknowledges them. Anyone who does not possess them cannot acknowledge them, still less profane them. It is internal things which may be profaned, for it is in internal things, not external, that holiness resides. The situation is similar with someone who does evil but does not have evil in mind. The evil he does cannot be attributed to him any more than to someone who does not deliberately intend evil, or to anyone devoid of rationality. Thus anyone who does not believe in the existence of a life after death, but who nevertheless has external worship, cannot profane the things that belong to eternal life because he does not believe that they exist. The situation is different with those who do know and acknowledge them.

[4] This too is why a person is allowed rather to live engrossed in lusts and pleasures, and so to isolate himself from internal things, than to enter into a knowledge and acknowledgement of internal things and so profane them. The Jews of today therefore are allowed to immerse themselves in avarice so that in this way they may be removed from an acknowledgement of internal things, for they are the kind of people who, if they acknowledged them, would inevitably profane them. Nothing does more to isolate a person from internal things than avarice, for this is the lowest of all earthly desires. The same applies to many inside the Church, and to gentiles outside, though gentiles, least of all people, are able to profane anything. This then is the reason for the statement here that 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth', and the reason why these words mean that the state of the Church was altered, that is to say, its worship became external, having no internal worship within it.

[5] The same situation was represented and meant by the Babylonish captivity into which the Israelites, and later on the Jews, were carried away. This is spoken of in Jeremiah as follows,

And there will be a nation and a kingdom that will not serve the king of Babel, and who will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babel. With the sword and famine and pestilence I will visit this people, until I have consumed it by his hand. Jeremiah 27:8 and following verses.

'Serving the king of Babel and putting its neck in his yoke' is being utterly deprived of the knowledge and acknowledgement of the good and the truth of faith, and so of internal worship.

[6] The point is clearer still in the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah to all the people in this city, your brethren who did not go out with you into captivity, thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, Behold, I am sending on them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs. Jeremiah 29:16-17.

'Remaining in the city and not going out to the king of Babel' represented and meant people who possessed the cognitions of internal things, that is, of the truths of faith, and who profaned them - people on whom, it is said, He was sending 'the sword, famine, and pestilence', which are forms of punishment for profanation, and whom He was making 'like rotten figs'.

[7] That 'Babel' means people who deprive others of all knowledge and acknowledgement of truth was also represented and meant by the following words in the same prophet,

I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babel, and he will carry them off to Babel, and will smite them with the sword. And I will give over all the wealth of this city, and all its labour, and all its precious things; and I will give all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them and seize them. Jeremiah 20:4-5.

Here 'all its wealth, all its lab our, all its precious things, all the treasures of the kings of Judah' means in the internal sense cognitions of faith.

[8] In the same prophet,

With the families of the north I will bring the king of Babel against this land and against its inhabitants, and against all those nations round about, and I will utterly destroy them and make them into a ruin, a hissing, and everlasting wastes. And this whole land will be a waste. Jeremiah 25:9, 11.

Here 'Babel' is used to describe the vastation of the interior things of faith, that is, of internal worship. Indeed, as shown already, anyone whose worship is worship of self possesses no truth of faith. He destroys and lays waste, and leads off into captivity, everything that is true. This is why Babel is also called 'a destroying mountain' in Jeremiah 51:25.

For more concerning Babel, see what has been stated already in 1182.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

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