10329. 'See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah' means those in whom the good of love is present, among whom the Church is to be established. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling by name' as choosing such persons, that is to say, ones who are suitable, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Bezalel' as those in whom the good of love is present. The reason why these are represented here by Bezalel is that he came from the tribe of Judah, and this tribe means those in whom celestial good is present, which is the good of love to the Lord, and in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, it means the good of celestial love. For this meaning of Judah and his tribe, see 3654, 3881, 6363, 6364, 8770. But what Uri and Hur, Bezalel's father and grandfather, represent is clear from the manner in which celestial good is begotten. It is begotten by teachings that present what is true and good on a celestial level. So those teachings are meant by these two men, 'Hur' representing teachings that present the truth, see 9424.

[2] People who keep their minds fixed solely on the literal sense of the Word, which they do more resolutely in the historical sections than in the prophetical parts, may be astonished when they are told that such things are meant by the names of those two men; but people who are acquainted with the essential nature of the Word will not be astonished. For in every detail the Word has a spiritual content. Within the actual names of persons and places that are mentioned in the Word there would be nothing spiritual if they did not serve to mean things of the Church and of heaven; for those things are spiritual. From this it follows that the two names used here likewise mean spiritual things.

Names in the Word serve to mean spiritual things or realities, see 1224, 1264, 1888, 4442, 5095, 5225, 6516.

Names do not pass into heaven, only the realities meant by them, 1876, 10216, 10282.

[3] The reason why 'calling by name' in the spiritual sense means choosing such persons as are suitable is that the word 'name' considered without reference to an actual person means the essential nature of something, as becomes clear from places in the Word in which 'name' occurs.

'Name' means the essential nature of something, see 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3004-3011, 3421, 6674, 6887, 8274, 8882, 9310.

The verb 'call' without the noun 'name' has a similar meaning, 3421, 3659, while 'calling by name' means choosing, 8773.

[4] Two men are named here who were called by Jehovah to carry out the work that Moses was commanded on Mount Sinai - Bezalel from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan. 'Bezalel' means those in whom the good of celestial love is present, 'Aholiab' those in whom the good and truth of faith exist. Those in whom the good of celestial love is present are in the inmost part of heaven and the Church, whereas those in whom the good and truth of faith exist are in the last and lowest part of them. Thus these two men mean all persons in their entirety among whom the Church may be established; for the first and the last, or the inmost and the outermost, mean all persons or all things. For the subject in what immediately follows is the Church that is to be established; and this is why these two, by whom are meant all among whom the Church could be established, are mentioned by name. For the meaning of the first and the last as all persons and all things, see 10044; and for that of Aholiab from the tribe of Dan as those in whom the good of faith exists, and so who are in the last and lowest part of heaven or the Church, see in what follows below.

From all this it now evident that 'I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah' means those in whom the good of love is present, among whom the Church is to be established.

4442. 'And Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak to him' means consultation regarding the truth of that Church. This is clear from the representation of 'Hamor, Shechem's father' as the truth known to the Ancients, dealt with in 4430, 4431; from the representation of 'Jacob' as the external Ancient Church, dealt with just above in 4439; and from the meaning of 'speaking to him' as consultation. Consequently these words mean consultation regarding the truth of that Church. Anyone who does not know that names in the Word mean spiritual entities will be amazed to learn that these words 'Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak to him' mean consultation by the truth of the Church among the Ancients with the truth which was suited to the Ancient Church that was to be established among Jacob's descendants. But no one who knows what the internal sense of the Word is like will be amazed; nor indeed will those who from books by the Ancients have acquainted themselves with the literary style customary among them. For the Ancients commonly presented entities as if conversing with one another, such as wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and the like. They also commonly gave these entities names by which such things were meant. The gods and demigods of the people of old were nothing other, and neither were the personalities whom they invented to link those entities together into a historical tale.

[2] The philosophers of old received this customary style from the Ancient Church which had been spread throughout much of the Asiatic world, 1238, 2385; for those who belonged to the Ancient Church linked together entities that were holy by means of representatives and meaningful signs. The Ancient Church however received the same by word of mouth from the most ancient people who lived before the Flood, 920, 1409, 1977, 2896, 2897; and these people received it from heaven since they had communication with heaven, 784, 1114-1125. For such representatives and meaningful signs occur in the first heaven, which is the lowest of the three heavens. This explains why the Word was written in that kind of style. But in contrast to the writings of the men of old the Word has this peculiar feature, that the separate entities in a continuous chain represent the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself; that the actual historical details are also such; and what is more, that they are real correspondences, these being continuous, extending through the three heavens from the Lord.