240. But that "naked" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth because without the will of good, is evident from the passages in the Word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which will be cited below. This is what "naked" and "nakedness" signify, because "garments" signify truths that are of the understanding, and he that is without truths is also without good, for all spiritual good is procured by means of truths; without truths, or except by means of truths, there is no spiritual good; spiritual good is charity. "Naked" and "nakedness" signify lacking in, or the lack of, intelligence and love, thus of the understanding and will of good; also for the reason that garments cover the body and flesh, and "body" and "flesh" signify good, therefore "garments" signify the things that cover good.

[2] There is the understanding of truth, and the understanding of good; the understanding of truth is the understanding of such things as are of faith, and the understanding of good is the understanding of such things as are of love and charity. There is also the will of truth and the will of good; the will of truth is with those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom; but the will of good with those who are of His celestial kingdom. The latter, because they are in love to the Lord, and from this in mutual love, which is to them charity towards the neighbor, have truths inscribed on their hearts, and thence do them; and what proceeds out of the heart is out of the will of good, "heart" meaning the will of good. But those who are in love towards the neighbor, which love is charity, have truths inscribed not on their hearts but on the memory, and therefore on the intellectual mind, and what proceeds therefrom out of the affection is the will of truth. Thus it is that spiritual angels are distinguished from celestial angels. The latter appear naked in heaven, but the former clothed. Celestial angels appear naked because they have no need of the memory to retain truths, nor of understanding therefrom to comprehend them, because they have them inscribed on the heart, that is, on the love and will, and thence see them. But spiritual angels appear clothed because they have truths inscribed on the memory and thence on the understanding, and truths of the memory and of the understanding therefrom correspond to garments; they therefore all appear clothed according to their intelligence. (That angels are thus clothed, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182.) From this it can be seen what "naked" signifies in both senses, namely, in the one sense it signifies those who are in celestial good, but in the other those who are not in good because not in truths.

[3] But these things can be better seen from the passages in the word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which now follow. In Isaiah:

Jehovah said to the prophet, Put off the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy shoe from upon thy foot. And he did so. Then Jehovah said, Like as My servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, lads and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks bare, the nakedness of Egypt (Isaiah 20:2-4).

What of the church and of heaven lies hidden in these words no one can see unless he knows their spiritual sense; for in every particular of the Word there is something of the church and of heaven, because the Word is spiritual; this shall therefore be explained. By "prophet" the doctrine of the church is here meant; "putting off the sackcloth from his loins," or presenting the loins naked, means to disclose filthy loves; the customary "sackcloth" of the prophet here means the breeches that cover, and "the loin" signify such loves; "putting off the shoe from upon his foot," or unshoeing the soles of the foot, signifies to disclose the filthy things of nature; that "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away," means that the perverted rational will confirm evils and falsities by means of knowledges [scientifica] and by means of fallacies; "lads and old men" means by means of all things both general and particular; "naked and barefoot" means that they are deprived of all truth and all good; "buttocks bare" means the evils of self-love; "the nakedness of Egypt" means falsities therefrom. From this it is clear what things of the church and of heaven are here treated of, namely, that the perverted rational, which is the rational that denies God and attributes all things to nature, confirms itself by means of knowledges [scientifica] and fallacies, until it is destitute of all the understanding of truth and the will of good.

(That "prophet" in the Word means doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534, 7269;

That the "loins" signify loves in both senses, n. 3021, 4280, 5059;

That "feet" signify the natural things with man, and "the soles of the feet" the things that are in ultimates, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952;

That "shoes" signify these same things in respect to their covering, n. 1748, 2162, 4835, 6844;

That "the king of Assyria" signifies the rational in both senses, n. 119, 1186;

That "Egypt" signifies the faculty of knowing [scientificum] of the natural man, in both senses, good and bad, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296, 9340, 9391.

That "Cush" signifies the fallacies of the senses, n. 1163, 1164, 1166)

[4] In Ezekiel:

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, and I washed thee, and I clothed thee. But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot, and thou hast not remembered the things ¹ of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur. And thou hast multiplied thy whoredom even unto Chaldea. Moreover, thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms. Therefore they shall stone thee with stones, and shall cut thee in pieces with swords; and shall burn up thine houses with fire (Ezekiel 16:6).

Jerusalem is here treated of, by which the church in respect to doctrine is meant, and these and many other expressions in the same chapter describe what the church was in its beginning, and what it became when it turned away from good and from truth. What the church was when it was established by the Lord, thus what it was in the beginning, is described by these words, "When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, I washed thee and clothed thee." "To cover the nakedness" signifies to remove the evils of the will and the falsities of the understanding; "to wash" signifies to purify from evils, and "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths. But what the church became when it turned away from good and truth is described by what follows; "thou didst trust in thy beauty" signifies intelligence from one's own [ex proprio], and that this gave delight; "committing whoredom" signifies that thus it was imbued with falsities; "committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur," signifies falsifications confirmed by knowledges [scientifica] and by things rational therefrom; "multiplying whoredom even unto Chaldea" signifies even to the profanation of truth. This shows what is signified by "Moreover thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms," namely, that the church through falsities and falsifications was deprived of all the understanding of truth. "They shall stone thee with stones" signifies that the church will die through falsities; "they shall cut thee in pieces with swords" signifies that the church will utterly die through the falsifications of truth; and "they shall burn up thy houses with fire" signifies that it will wholly perish through infernal loves, "houses" meaning all things with man, and "fire" meaning infernal love. From this it is clear what is contained in these words relating to heaven and the church, and that this can be seen only from the spiritual sense. (That "to wash" signifies to purify from evils and falsities, see Arcana Coelestia 3147[1-10], 10237, 10240, 10243; that "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; that "beauty" signifies intelligence, n. 3080, 4985, 5199, here intelligence from one's own [ex proprio]. That "to commit whoredom" means to become imbued with falsities, see above, n. 141; that "Egypt" means the faculty of knowing [scientificum]; and "Asshur" the rational, see just above. That "Chaldea" is the profanation of truth, Arcana Coelestia 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326; that "to stone with stones" signifies to die through falsities, n. 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799; that "sword" signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it, n. 2799, 4499, 7102; therefore "to cut in pieces with swords" means to die utterly through falsifications of truth. That "fire" signifies infernal love, n. 1861, 5071, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and that "house" signifies the whole man, and the things which are with him, thus that are of his understanding and will, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150. From this it is clear what is signified by "they shall burn up thy houses with fire.")

[5] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms and her adulteries; lest I strip her naked, and make her as the wilderness, as a land of dryness, and let her die with thirst; and on her sons I will not have compassion, because they are the sons of whoredoms (Hosea 2:2-4).

Here also the church fallen into falsities and evils is treated of; "the mother with whom they should strive" signifies the church; "whoredoms" and "adulteries" signify falsities and evils therefrom; "to make her as the wilderness, and as a land of dryness," signifies to be without good and truth; "to let her die with thirst" signifies a total lack of truth; "her sons whom I will not have compassion on" signify all the falsities thereof in general, and they are therefore called "sons of whoredoms." (That "mother" signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897; that "wilderness" signifies where there is no good, because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; "a land of dryness" signifies where there is no truth, because "water" signifies the truth of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238; that "to cause to die with thirst" signifies to perish from the lack of truth, n. Arcana Coelestia 8568[1-10] end. That "sons" signify the affections of truth and truths in general, n. 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6779, 9055; thus, in the opposite sense, the affections of falsity and falsities in general. From this it can be seen what is signified by "stripping her naked," namely, that the church will be without good and truth.)

[6] In Lamentations:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore all that honored her hold her vile, because they have seen her nakedness (Lamentations 1:8).

In Ezekiel:

Oholah, which is Samaria, committed whoredom with the Egyptians and with the sons of Asshur; these uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and daughters, and her they finally slew with the sword; therefore will I give thee into the hand of those whom thou hatest, that they may deal with thee in hatred, and take away all thy labor, and leave thee naked and bare, that the nakedness of thy whoredoms may be uncovered (Ezekiel 23:4, 8-10, 18, 28-29).

In this chapter Samaria, which is called "Oholah," and Jerusalem, which is called "Oholibah," are treated of, and by both the church is signified. "Samaria," where the sons of Israel were, signifies the church in which there are not truths but falsities, and "Jerusalem" the church where there are not goods but evils. What is signified by "committing whoredom with the Egyptians, and with the sons of Asshur," and by "slaying her daughters and sons with the sword," was explained above. From this it is clear that "leaving her naked and bare" signifies without truth and good.

[7] In Isaiah:

The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will make naked their buttocks (Isaiah 3:17).

"The daughters of Zion" signify the celestial church and the things of that church, but here that church perverted. "The crown of their head which shall be made bald" signifies intelligence of which the church shall be deprived; and "the buttocks which shall be made naked" signify the love of evil and falsity.

[8] In Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods; it is all full of lies and rapine, because of the multitude of her whoredoms. I will uncover thy skirts upon thy faces; and will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy disgrace (Nahum 3:1, 4-5).

"The city of bloods" signifies the doctrine of falsity which offers violence to the good of charity.

[9] In Habakkuk:

Woe unto him that maketh his companion drink, also making him drunken; that thou mayest look on their nakednesses; drink thou also, that thy foreskin may be uncovered (Habakkuk 2:15-16).

"To make a companion drink, and drunken," signifies to so imbue one with falsities that he does not see the truth; "to look on nakednesses" means so that falsities which are of the understanding and evils which are of the will are seen; "that the foreskin may be uncovered" means so that filthy loves are seen. (That "to drink" is to be instructed in truths, see Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; in the contrary sense, therefore, it means to be imbued with falsities. That "to be made drunken" means to become insane from falsities, thus not to see truths, n. 1072; that "the foreskin" signifies corporeal and earthly loves, n. 4462, 7045) From this it can be seen what is signified by:

Noah's drinking wine and becoming drunken, so that he lay naked in the midst of his tent, and that Ham laughed at the nakedness of his father; but Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness, and turned away their faces that they might not see the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:21-23).

(But these things may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are treated of.)

[10] In Lamentations:

O daughter of Edom, the cup shall pass over unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shall be made naked (Lamentations 4:21).

Here, "being drunken and made naked" signify the like as above. (But who those are who are meant by "Edom," see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3322, 8314.) In Isaiah:

Daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea, sit upon the earth. Take the millstone, and grind meal; uncover thy locks, uncover the thigh, pass through the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy reproach shall be seen (Isaiah 47:1-3).

By "the daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea" those are meant who profane the goods and truths of the church. "To grind meal" means to falsify truths; "to uncover the locks and the thigh" means to be deprived of the intelligence of truth and of the will of good; the like is meant by "passing through the rivers," and "uncovering nakedness."

[11] Because "nakedness" signified the deprivation of the understanding of truth and of the will of good, it was commanded:

That Aaron and his sons should not ascend by steps upon the altar, that their nakedness be not discovered thereon (Exodus 20:26);

Also that they should make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness, and that these should be upon them when they went in unto the tent of meeting, and when they came near to the altar, and that otherwise they should bear iniquity and die (Exodus 28:42-43).

From this it is clear what is signified by the words in the following verse of this chapter: "I counsel thee to buy of Me white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest." Also in the following passages of this book, of Revelation:

Blessed is he that is wakeful and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and his shame be seen (Revelation 16:15).

[12] Moreover, "the naked" in the Word mean those also who are not in truths and thence not in good, being ignorant of truths and yet longing for them. This is the case with those within the church when those who teach are in falsities, and with those outside of the church who do not have the Word and consequently do not know truths and thence know nothing about the Lord. Such are meant in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Is not this the fast that I choose, To break bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:6-7).

In Ezekiel:

He giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:7);

and in Matthew:

I was naked, and ye clothed Me not (Matthew 25:43).

"To cover with a garment," and "to clothe," signify to instruct in truths. (That "garments" are truths, see above, n. 195. That "naked" signifies also the good of innocence, see Arcana Coelestia 165, 8375, 9960; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 179, 180, 280.)

Footnotes:

7910. 'In all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread' means that in their interiors, where good is, truth must be made their own. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwellings' as parts of the mind, thus aspects of intelligence and wisdom, dealt with in 7719, consequently the interiors since intelligence and wisdom reside there, and also good; and from the meaning of 'eating unleavened bread' as making truth one's own, dealt with several times above. As regards the fact that people's interiors are the place where they make things their own, and the fact that the interiors are where good is, it should be recognized that with those who rely on the Lord, that is, who lead a life of faith and charity, good resides in their interiors; and the more deeply it resides in them, the purer and more heavenly that good is. But in their exteriors truth resides; and the more external its seat is, the more bereft of good that truth is. The reason for this is that so far as his interiors are concerned a person is in heaven, the innermost of them being close to the Lord; but so far as his exteriors are concerned he is in the world. Thus it is that the truths of faith enter by an external route, but good by an internal one, 7756, 7757, and thus it also is that people's interiors, where good is, are the place where they make truth their own.

3869. 'For Jehovah has heard' means in the highest sense providence, in the internal sense the will of faith, in the interior sense obedience, in the external sense the sense of hearing - faith in the will which is received from the Lord alone being meant here. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing'. As regards 'hearing' meaning the sense of hearing, this needs no explanation; but that 'hearing' in the interior sense means obedience and in the internal sense faith in the will, this is clear from the many places in the Word that are referred to below. The same is clear also from the nature of the sense of hearing when compared with that of sight. Sight in the interior sense means the understanding and in the internal sense faith in the understanding, see 3863; and the reason why it has these meanings is that the essential nature of things comes to be seen by means of one's internal sight and with the aid of this comes to be grasped by a kind of faith, though such as exists only in the understanding. When however things that are heard penetrate to the interior parts they too are converted into something similar to sight, for things that are heard are then seen interiorly. Consequently that which is meant by the sense of sight is also meant by the sense of hearing; that is to say, that which is of the understanding and also that which is of faith is meant. But the sense of hearing at the same time convinces a person that the thing is true, for it has an influence not only on the understanding part of a person's mind but also on the will part, and so reaches more interiorly. That is to say, it reaches the will and causes that person to will that which he sees. This is why 'hearing' means the understanding of a thing and at the same time obedience, and why in the spiritual sense it means faith in the will.

[2] It is because these two - obedience, and faith in the will - lie thus within 'hearing' that these attributes are also meant in everyday speech by the phrases hearing, listening to, and paying attention to; for a person who 'hears' is one who is obedient, and 'listening to' somebody also means obeying him. For those entities which exist interiorly within something are sometimes included within the actual expressions a person uses when he speaks. These occur there because it is a person's spirit which thinks and which grasps the meaning of the expressions used by others when they speak; and his spirit is in a way in contact with spirits and angels among whom the first beginnings of verbal expressions exist. What is more, the whole range of man's experience is such that whatever enters in through the ear and eye, or hearing and sight, passes into his understanding, through the understanding into the will, and from the will into deed. So it is with the truth of faith. This first becomes the truth of faith present within knowledge, then the truth of faith within the will, and finally the truth of faith in deed, and so finally charity. Faith within knowledge or the understanding is meant by 'Reuben', as has been shown; faith in the will by 'Simeon'; and faith in the will when it becomes charity by 'Levi'.

[3] As regards 'hearing' in the highest sense meaning providence, this may become clear from what has been stated above in 3863 about 'seeing' in the highest sense meaning foresight, for the Lord's foresight is a seeing from eternity to eternity that a thing is so, whereas His providence is a governing that that thing should be so and a bending of a person's freedom towards good insofar as He foresees that that person is going to allow himself in freedom to be bent towards it, see 3854.

[4] That 'Jehovah heard', the phrase from which Simeon received his name, in the interior sense means obedience, and in the internal sense faith in the will acquired from the Lord alone, is evident from very many places in the Word, such as the following: In Matthew,

Behold, a voice from the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. Matthew 17:5.

'Hearing Him' stands for possessing faith in Him, and obeying His commandments, and so possessing faith in the will. In John,

Truly, truly, I say to you, that the hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice. John 5:25, 28.

'Hearing the voice of the Son of God' stands for possessing faith in the Lord's words, and willing them. People who possess faith that is part of the will receive life, and that is why the words 'those who hear will live' are used.

[5] In the same gospel,

The one entering by the door is the shepherd of the sheep; to him the gate-keeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:2-3, 16, 27.

'Hearing the voice' plainly stands for obedience resulting from faith that is part of the will. In the same gospel,

Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. John 18:37.

Here the meaning is similar. In Luke,

Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded if someone rose from the dead. Luke 16:29, 31.

'Hearing Moses and the Prophets' stands for knowing things contained in the Word and possessing faith in it, and so also willing those things. For possessing faith without willing is seeing but not hearing, whereas possessing faith together with willing is seeing and hearing. This is why both - seeing and hearing - are mentioned together in various places throughout the Word, seeing meaning that which is portrayed through 'Reuben' and hearing that which is portrayed through 'Simeon', since the two are joined together like brother to brother.

[6] The fact that seeing and hearing are referred to jointly is clear from the following places: In Matthew,

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because those who see do not see, and those who hear do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says, By hearing you will hear and not understand, and seeing you will see and not discern. This people's heart has become gross, and with ears they have heard in a dull manner, and their eyes they have closed, lest perhaps they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and with their heart understand. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Matthew 13:13-17; John 12:40; Isaiah 6:9.

In Mark,

Jesus said to the disciples, Why do you discuss the fact that you have no loaves? Are you still without understanding and do not understand? Do you still have your heart hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? Mark 8:17-18.

[7] In Luke,

To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but for everyone else in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear. Luke 8:10.

In Isaiah,

The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be opened. Isaiah 35:5.

In the same prophet,

Then on that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of thick darkness and out of darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Isaiah 29:18.

In the same prophet,

Hear, you deaf, and look and see, you blind. Isaiah 42:18.

In the same prophet, Bring forth the blind people, who will have eyes, and the deaf, who will have ears. Isaiah 43:8.

In the same prophet,

The eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. Isaiah 32:3.

In the same prophet, Let your eyes be looking at your teachers, and let your ears hear the word. Isaiah 30:20-21.

In the same prophet,

He who stops his ear lest it hears of blood, and shuts his eyes lest they see evil, will dwell on the heights. Isaiah 33:15-16.

In Ezekiel,

Son of man, you are dwelling in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but they do not see, who have ears to hear but they do not hear. Ezekiel 12:2.

In these places both seeing and hearing are mentioned because one follows the other. That is to say, faith in the understanding, meant by 'seeing', is followed by faith in the will, meant by 'hearing'. Otherwise it would have been sufficient to mention only one. From this it is also evident why one son of Jacob was named from the expression 'seeing' and the other from 'hearing'.

[8] The origin of 'seeing' meaning faith within knowledge or the understanding, and 'hearing' faith within obedience or the will rests in correspondences in the next life and in meaningful signs based on these. People who have understanding and faith resulting from that understanding belong to the province of the eye, and those who are obedient and have faith resulting from that obedience belong to the province of the ear. The truth of this will be seen from what, in the Lord's Divine mercy, is going to be shown at the ends of chapters concerning the Grand Man and the correspondence with it of everything in the human body.

[9] So it is then that 'the eye' in the internal sense means the understanding, see 2701, and 'the ear' obedience. And in the spiritual sense 'the ear' means faith resulting from obedience, or faith in the will, as is also clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Even so, you have not heard, even so, you have not known; even so, from that time your ear has not opened itself. Isaiah 48:8.

In the same prophet,

The Lord Jehovih will arouse my ear to hear like those who are being taught. The Lord Jehovih opened my ear, and I was not rebellious. Isaiah 50:4-5.

In the same prophet,

Attend diligently to Me, and eat what is good, that your soul may delight in fatness; incline your ear and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live. Isaiah 55:2-3.

In Jeremiah,

To whom am I to speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot listen. Jeremiah 6:10.

In the same prophet,

This I commanded them, saying, Hear My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. But they did not hear, nor did they incline their ear. Jeremiah 7:23-24, 26

In the same prophet,

Hear, O women, the word of Jehovah, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth. Jeremiah 9:20.

In the same prophet,

You did not incline your ear, and you did not obey Me. Jeremiah 35:15.

In Ezekiel,

Son of man, all My words that I have spoken to you, receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. Ezekiel 3:10.

In the same prophet,

I will bring My zeal against you, and they will deal with you in fury. Your nose and your ears they will remove Ezekiel 23:25.

'Removing nose and ears' stands for removing the perception of truth and good, and the obedience that goes with faith. In Zechariah,

They refused to pay attention, and fumed a stubborn shoulder, and made their ears heavy so that they might not hear, and set their heart adamant, so that they might not hear the law. Zechariah 7:11-12.

[10] In Amos,

Thus said Jehovah, As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the children of Israel in Samaria be rescued, on the corner of a bed and on the end of a couch. Amos 3:12.

'Rescuing two legs' stands for rescuing the will for good, 'a piece of an ear' for rescuing the will for truth. It may be seen that 'a piece of an ear' has this meaning, as has been stated, solely from correspondences in the next life and from the meaningful signs based on these, with which the internal sense of the Word and also the ritual observances in the Israelitish and Jewish Church are in accordance. This explains why, when Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated for their specific function, Moses was commanded among other things to take some of the ram's blood and to put it on the tip of Aaron's ear and on the tips of the ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the large toes of their right feet, Exodus 29:20. This ritual act represented the will anointed by faith, into which also as priest he was to be initiated. Anyone can recognize that this ritual act was holy since it was Jehovah who commanded Moses to perform it, and so also that putting blood on the tip of the ear was holy. But what holy thing was meant cannot be known except from the internal sense of the things in the Word, which at this point is that the holiness of faith when applied to the will must be preserved.

[11] The meaning of 'the ear' as obedience, and in the internal sense as faith resulting from that obedience, is even more plainly evident from the ritual that was to be observed when a slave did not wish to go free, described in Moses as follows: If a slave or servant-girl did not wish to go free,

His master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever. Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17.

'Piercing his ear with an awl at the doorpost' stands for serving and obeying for ever. In the spiritual sense it stands for having no wish to understand what is true, only a wish to be obedient to it. This, compared with an understanding of what is true, is not freedom.

[12] Since the obedience of faith is meant in the internal sense by 'the ears', and being obedient by 'hearing', one may see what is meant by the following words spoken by the Lord many times, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear, Matthew 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35; Revelation 2:7, 11, 29; 3:13, 22.

[13] As regards 'hearing' in the highest sense meaning providence and 'seeing' foresight, this is clear from the following places in the Word in which eyes and also ears are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord; as in Isaiah,

Incline Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see. Isaiah 37:17.

In Daniel,

Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes ¹ and see our devastations. Daniel 9:18.

In David,

O God, incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Psalms 17:6.

In the same author,

Incline to me Your ear, and save me. Psalms 71:2.

In the same author,

Turn an ear to my prayers, on account of Your truthfulness; answer me, on account of Your righteousness. Psalms 143:1.

In Jeremiah,

O Jehovah, You heard my voice; do not hide Your ear at my sighing, at my cry. Lamentations 3:56.

In David,

O Jehovah, do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; incline to me Your ear; in the day I cry answer me. Psalms 102:2.

[14] It is well known that Jehovah does not have ears or eyes as man does but that some attribute which may be ascribed to the Divine is meant by the ear and the eye, namely infinite will and infinite understanding. Infinite will is providence, and infinite understanding foresight; and it is these that are meant in the highest sense by ear and eye when these are attributed to Jehovah. These considerations now show what is meant in each sense [of the Word] by 'Jehovah heard', the phrase from which 'Simeon' received his name.

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