324、此处论述的主题是独立于教会发展起来的教义,或异端邪说;后来一个新教会兴起,被称为“以挪士”。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]324. Genesis 4
1. And the human knew{*1} Eve, his wife, and she conceived and delivered Cain. And she said, "I have acquired a man: Jehovah."{*2} 2. And she went on to deliver his brother Abel; and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was one who cultivated the ground.
3. And it happened at the end of some days that Cain brought forward some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to Jehovah.
4. And Abel, too, brought forward some of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And Jehovah looked on Abel and on his offering.
5. But Cain and his offering he ignored. And anger kindled strongly in Cain, and his face fell.
6. And Jehovah said to Cain, "Why has anger kindled in you? And why has your face fallen?
7. If you do well, will it not raise you up? And if you do not do well, sin lies at your door. And [Abel] longs for you, but you rule him."
8. And Cain said to Abel his brother ...{*3} And it happened when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9. And Jehovah said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's guardian?"
10. And he said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.
11. And now, a curse on you from the ground, which opened its mouth, receiving your brother's blood from your hand!
12. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you. A wanderer and fugitive you will be on the earth."
13. And Cain said to Jehovah, "My wickedness is too great to be taken away.
14. Look, you have thrown me out today, off the face of the ground. And I will be hidden from your face and will be a wanderer and fugitive on the earth. And it will come about that anyone who finds me will kill me."
15. And Jehovah said to him, "Therefore anyone who kills Cain will suffer sevenfold vengeance." And Jehovah put a mark on Cain, that no one who found him should strike him.
16. And Cain went out from before Jehovah; and he lived in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden.
17. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and delivered Enoch. And [Cain] was building a city, and he named the city after his son, Enoch.
18. And Irad was born to Enoch. And Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.
19. And Lamech took two wives to himself, the name of one being Adah and the name of the other Zillah.
20. And Adah delivered Jabal; he was the father of the tent dweller, and of livestock.{*4} 21. And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of everyone playing the harp and the organ.{*5} 22. And Zillah in turn delivered Tubal-cain, who trained every artisan in bronze and iron. And Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah.
23. And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, "Listen to my voice, wives of Lamech, and with your ears perceive what I say, because I killed a man for my wound and a little child for my bruise.{*6} 24. For Cain will be avenged seven times, and Lamech seventy-seven times."
25. And the human knew his wife again, and she delivered a son and called his name Seth, "Because God has restored other seed for me in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."{*7} 26. And to Seth in turn a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah.
324. Summary
THE subject here is religious positions developed independently of the church, or in other words, heresies. A new church raised up later, called Enosh, is also treated of.
Footnotes:
{*1} (in the text of Genesis 4:1). The verb "know" here and in verses 17, 25 means to have sexual intercourse with. It is a literal translation of the Latin verb here (cognoscere), which in turn is a literal translation of the Hebrew verb (יָדַע [yāḏa‘]). [LHC]
{*2} (in the text of Genesis 4:1). The Hebrew here is associating the verb קָנָה (qānā), "get," with the name קַיִן (qayin), "Cain." In the Hebrew, there is an ambiguous particle (אֶת ['eṯ]) before "Jehovah." Most translators take the particle as a preposition meaning "with," but Swedenborg takes it in its other possible function: as indicator of a direct object, which sets "Jehovah" in apposition with "a man." The result is the translation here, "I have acquired a man: Jehovah." Contrast the New Revised Standard Version: "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord." [LHC]
{*3} (in the text of Genesis 4:8). The clause "And Cain said to Abel his brother" appears incomplete, in both Hebrew and Latin. [LHC]
{*4} (in the text of Genesis 4:20). Jabal is obviously not the father of livestock, but of those who own livestock. The Hebrew extends the sense of the first clause to the second by a figure of speech called zeugma (or, more specifically, protozeugma), an unequal linking of sentence elements. The passage may also be seen as an example of ellipsis, the purposeful omission of a word or words for rhetorical or poetic effect. However, see the inner meaning of this figure of speech, as explained by Swedenborg in 415 (and see also the discussion in note 1 in 415). [SS]
{*5} (in the text of Genesis 4:21). The instrument referred to as an organ here is probably a set of pipes through which the player blows. In 419 Swedenborg describes an organ as midway between a stringed and a wind instrument, so perhaps he is thinking of a reed organ, which is blown but has a stringlike reed that vibrates. [LHC, LSW]
{*6} (in the text of Genesis 4:23). Lamech is saying that he takes something more than the "eye for an eye" vengeance later sanctioned in Exodus 21:23-25, Leviticus 24:19-20, Deuteronomy 19:21, and mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 5:38. That is, Lamech has killed a man for simply wounding him and a child for merely bruising him. The same extreme vindictiveness is also expressed in the next verse: "For Cain will be avenged seven times, and Lamech seventy-seven times." It is possible that the Hebrew original incorporates an old boasting-song, here taken as a reflection of the increased arrogance of the generations of Cain (von Rad 1972, 111). [LHC, RS]
{*7} (in the text of Genesis 4:25). The Hebrew original that underlies this verse associates the verb שִׁית (šîṯ), "put" (here represented by "restored"), with the name שֵׁת (šēṯ), "Seth." [LHC]
Potts(1905-1910) 324
324. THE CONTENTS Doctrines separated from the church, or heresies, are here treated of; and a new church that was afterwards raised up, called "Enosh."
Elliott(1983-1999) 324
324.
Latin(1748-1756) 324
324. CONTENTAAgitur de doctrinis separatis ab Ecclesia, seu haeresibus, et de exsuscitata postmodum Ecclesia nova, dicta 'Enosh.'