A Baby Boy is Born: Moses

Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
When she saw that he was a fine child,
she hid him for three months.
But when she could hide him no longer,
she got a papyrus basket for him
and coated it with tar and pitch.
Then she placed the child in it
and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
His sister stood at a distance
to see what would happen to him.

Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe,
and her attendants were walking along the river bank.
She saw the basket among the reeds
and sent her slave girl to get it.
She opened it and saw the baby.
He was crying, and she felt sorry for him.
"This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter,
"Shall I go and get one oft he Hebrew women
to nurse the baby for you?"

"Yes, go," she answered.
And the girl went and got the baby's mother.
Pharaoh's daughter said to her,
"Take this baby and nurse him for me,
and I will pay you."
So he woman took the baby and nursed him.
When the child grew older,
she took him to Pharaoh's daughter
and he became her son.
She named him Moses, saying,
"I drew him out of the water."

(Exodus 2:1-10)
 

AC 2505 - Abraham & Sarah, His Wife and His Sister

AC 2505

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife,
She is my sister;
and Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
(Genesis 20:2)

"Abraham said," signifies the Lord's thought; "
of Sarah his wife," signifies spiritual truth
conjoined with the celestial;
"she is my sister,"
signifies rational truth; "
and Abimelech king of Gerar sent,"
signifies the doctrine of faith
 ("Abimelech" signifies
the doctrine of faith that looks to rational things);
"and took Sarah,"
signifies the affection of consulting the rational.

AC 2511

The things contained in this verse
involve the Lord's first thought
respecting the doctrine of faith,
as to whether it would be well
to consult the rational or not.
The reason why the first thought
was of such a character
is that the Lord progressed
according to all Divine order;
and whatever was of the human
into which He was born,
and which He derived from the mother,
must necessarily be put off
in order that He might put on the Divine;
thus also this human thought, namely,
as to whether the rational was to be consulted
in regard to the doctrinal things of faith.

Joseph Makes a Promise to Jacob

Now the Israelites settled in Egypt
in the region of Goshen.
They acquired property there
and were fruitful and in creased greatly in number.
Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years,
and the years of his life
were a hundred and forty-seven.
When the time drew near for Israel to die,
he called for his son Joseph and said to him,
"If I have found favor in your eyes,
put your hand under my thigh and promise
that you will show me kindness and faithfulness.
Do not bury me in Egypt,
but when I rest with my fathers,
carry me out of Egypt
and bury me where they are buried."

"I will do as you say," he said.

"Swear to me," he said.
Then Joseph swore to him,
and Israel worshiped
as he leaned on the top of his staff.

(Genesis 47:27-31)

AC 2500 - Abraham Journeys; AC 2504 - Spiritual Things of Faith

AC 2500

Abraham Journeyed from there
toward the land of the south.
(Genesis 20:1)

That this signifies the Lord's progression
in the goods and truths of faith,
is evident from the signification of "journeying,"
as being to progress;
and from the signification of the "land of the south,"
as being the good and truth of faith.
It has already been stated concerning Abraham,
in the twelfth chapter, that he
"journeyed, going and journeying toward the south,"
when he went into Egypt;
by which was signified in the internal sense
that the Lord when a child
progressed into goods and truths
in respect to the memory-knowledge of knowledges;
and here it is said that he journeyed
"toward the land of the south,"
by which there is signified a further
and more interior progression,
which is into goods and truths
in respect to the doctrine of faith;
on which account it is here said
the "land" of the south,
because "land" in its proper sense
signifies the church,
for the sake of which is doctrine.

AC 2504 [2]

The spiritual things of faith
are all the truths which are from good,
that is, from a celestial origin.
Whatever is derived from the celestial
is a spiritual thing of faith.

Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brothers

Then Joseph could no longer control himself
before all his attendants,
and he cried out,
"Have everyone leave my presence!"
So there was no one with Joseph
when he made himself known to his brothers.
And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him,
and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
Joseph said to his brothers,
"I am Joseph!  Is my father still living?"
But his brothers were not able to answer him,
because they were terrified at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers,
"Come close to me."
When they had done so, he said,
"I am your brother Joseph,
the one you sold into Egypt!
And now, do not be distressed
and do not be angry with yourselves
for selling me here,
because it was to save lives
that God sent me ahead of you.
For two years now there has been famine in the land,
and for the next five years
there will not be plowing and reaping.
But God sent me ahead of you
to preserve for you a remnant on earth
and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
He made me father to Pharaoh,
lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
Now hurry back to my father and say to him,
"This is what your son Joseph says:
God has made me lord of all Egypt.
Come down to me; don't delay.
You shall live in the region of Goshen
and be near me --
you, your children and grandchildren,
your flocks and herds, and all you have.
I will provide for you there,
because five years of famine are still to come.
Otherwise you and your household
and all who belong to you
will become destitute.'"

(Genesis 45:1-11)

AC 2477 - Adopting a Principle; AC 2480 - Affection Gives Life

AC 2477

. . . whatever is adopted as a principle,
no matter what it may be,
can be confirmed by innumerable things,
until at length,
to the man who has confirmed himself,
it appears entirely true
even though false;
and that men can be more easily persuaded of falsity
than of a truth.

AC 2480

It is the affection itself which gives life --
the affection of evil
which give life to falsities,
and the affection of good
which give life to truths.
Everyone thinks from affection,
and no one without affection.

 

Joseph Is Put in Charge of Egypt

The plan seemed good to Pharaoh
and to all his officials.
So Pharaoh asked them,
"Can we find anyone like this man,
one in whom is the spirit of God?"

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,
"Since God has made all this known to you,
there is no one so discerning and wise as you.
You shall be in charge of my palace,
and all my people are to submit to your orders.
Only with respect to the throne 
will I be greater than you."

So Pharaoh said to Joseph,
"I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger
and put it on Joseph's finger.
He dressed him in robes of fine linen
and put a gold chain around his neck.
He had him ride in a chariot
as his second-in-command,
and men shouted before him, "Make way!"
Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

(Genesis 41:37-43)

AC 2468 - "Moab" and "Ammon"

AC 2468

. . . they denote those who are in an external worship
which appears in a manner holy,
but who are not in internal worship;
and who readily learn as being goods and truths
the things that belong to external worship,
but reject and despise those of internal worship

Such worship and such religion
fall to the lot of those
who are in natural good,
but despise others in comparison with themselves.

Joseph

Now Israel loved Joseph
more than any of his other sons,
because he had been born to him in his old age;
and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.
When his brothers saw
that their father loved him more than any of them,
they hated him
and could not speak a kind word to him.

Then they got Joseph's robe,
slaughtered a goat
and dipped the robe in the blood.
They took the ornamented robe back to their father . . ..

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.
Potiphar, an Egyptian
who was one of Pharaoh's officials,
the captain of the guard,
bought him from the Ishmaelites
who had taken him there.

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
When his master saw that the Lord was with him
and that the Lord gave him success
in everything he did,
Joseph found favor in his eyes
and became his attendant.
Potiphar put him in charge of his household,
and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
From the time he put him in charge of his household
and of all that he owned,
the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian
because of Joseph.

When she (Potiphar's wife) saw
that he had left his cloak in her hand
and had run out of the house,
she called her household servants.
. . . She kept his cloak beside her
until his master came home.
Then she told him this story . . .

Joseph's master took him and put him in prison,
the place where the king's prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison,
the Lord was with him;
He showed him kindness and granted him favor
in the eyes of the prison warden.
So the warden put Joseph in charge
of all those held in the prison,
and he was made responsible
for all that was done there.
The warden paid no attention to anything
under Joseph's care,
because the Lord was with Joseph
and gave him success in whatever he did.

(Genesis 37:3-4,31-32; 39:1-5,13-14,16-17, 20-23)

AC 2466 - Adulteries and Whoredoms

AC 2466 [2]

. . . contaminations of good
and perversions of truth
are described in the Word
by adulteries and whoredoms . . . 

Jacob Arrives Near Shechem

After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,
he arrived safely at the city of Shechem n Canaan,
and camped within sight of the city.
For a hundred pieces of silver,
he bought from the sons of Hamor,
the father of Shechem,
the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.
here he set up an altar
and called it El Elohe Israel.

(Genesis 33:18-20)

AC 2461 - If One Loves Something, Does That Makes it Good?

Ac 2461

. . . such as the good is,
such are the affections that are derived from it.
Even spurious and impure good has its affections,
for all are affected
by the things which they deem to be good,
of whatever kind these may be,
for they are the objects of their love.

Jacob Leaves Laban

Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying,
"Jacob has taken everything our father owned
and has gained all this wealth
from what belonged to our father."
And Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude toward him
was not what it had been.

Then the Lord said to Jacob,
"Go back to the land of your fathers
and to your relatives,
and I will be with you."

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels,
and he drove all his livestock ahead of him,
along with all the goods
he had accumulated in Paddan Aram,
to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

When Laban had gone to shear his sheep,
Rachel stole her father's household gods.
Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean
by not telling him he was running away.
So he fled with all he had,
and crossing the River,
he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

(Genesis 31:1-3, 17-21)

AC 2454 - Good Is Life According to Doctrine

AC 2454 [5]

Truth is said to turn itself away from good,
and to look to doctrinal things,
when the man of the church
no longer has at heart
what kind of a life he lives,
but what kind of a doctrine he possesses;
when yet it is a life according to doctrine
that makes a man of the church,
but not doctrine separate from life;
for when doctrine is separated from life,
then because good, which is of the life,
is laid waste,
truth, which is of doctrine,
is also laid waste,
that is, becomes a pillar of salt . . ..

Ishmael's Descendants

This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael,
whom Sarah's maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian,
bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael,
listed in the order of their birth:
Nebaioth the first born of Ishmael,
Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah.
These are the sons of Ishmael,
and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers
according to their settlements and camps.
Altogether, Ishmael lived
a hundred and thirty-seven years.
He breathed his last and died,
and he was gathered to his people.
His descendants settled in the area
from Havilah to Shur,
near the border of Egypt,
as you go toward Asshur.
And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

(Genesis 25:12-18)

AC 2441 - The Sun, Moon and Stars

AC 2441 [5]

Immediately after the affliction of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven.
(Matthew 24: 29)

'The sun' is not used to mean the sun,
nor 'the moon' the moon,
nor 'stars' the stars,
but 'the sun' is used to mean love and charity,
'the moon' faith derived from these,
and 'the stars' knowledges of good and truth,
which are said to have been darkened,
to lose their light,
and to fall from heaven
when the acknowledgement of the Lord,
and love to Him and charity towards the neighbor,
cease to exist any longer.
And when these have become non-existent
self-love together with falsities deriving from it
take possession of man;
for the one thing results
as a consequence of the other.

Isaac Is Born

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said,
and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.
Sarah became pregnant
and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
at the very time God had promised him.
Abraham gave the name Isaac
to the son Sarah bore him.
When his son Isaac was eight days old,
Abraham circumcised him,
as God commanded him.
Abraham was a hundred years old
when his son Isaac was born to him.

(Genesis 21:1-5)

AC 2434 - "Face"

AC 2434

The term "face is of frequent occurrence in the word,
and there signifies the interiors . . .;
when the face is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord,
it signifies Mercy, Peace, Good . . ..

Abraham Feeds Three Visitors

The Lord appeared to Abraham
near the great trees of Mamre
while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent
in the heat of the day.
Abraham looked up
and saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them,
he hurried from the entrance of his tent
to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

He said, "If I have found favor in your eye, O Lord,
do not pass your servant by.
Let a little water be brought,
and then you may all wash your feet
and rest under this tree.
Let me get you something to eat,
so you can be refreshed and then go on your way --
now that you have come to your servant."

"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah.
"Quick," he said,
"get three seahs of fine flour and knead it
and bake some bread."

Then he ran to the heard and selected
a choice, tender calf
and gave it to a servant,
who hurried to prepare it.
He then brought some curds and milk
and the calf that had been prepared,
and set these before them.
While thy ate,
he stood near them under a tree.

(Genesis 18:1-8)
 

AC 2429 - The Ratio Between Good and Truth

AC 2429 [2-3]

The truth present with someone
is altogether as is the good with him.
Where there is little good there is little truth.
They are present in the same ratio
and are of the same degree,
or as people say,
they march in step with each other.
This may indeed seem a paradox
but it is nevertheless the truth.
Good is the actual essence of truth,
and truth without its essence is not truth.
Although it looks as though it were,
it is no more than something that merely resounds,
and is like an empty vessel. 

For anyone to have the truth within him
he must not only know it,
but also acknowledge it and have faith in it.
When he does 
he possesses truth for the first time,
for in that case
it has an influence on him and remains.
It is different when he merely knows the truth
but does not acknowledge it and have faith in it.
In that case he does not have the truth within him,
as applies to many who are governed by evil.
They can know of truths,
sometimes better than anybody else,
but they nevertheless do not possess it.
Indeed their possession of it
is so much the less
because at heart they deny it.