458. And palms in their hands.- That this signifies that they are in the good of life according to those truths, is evident from the signification of a palm, as denoting the good of truth, or spiritual good, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of hands, as denoting power, and thence all ability in man; see above (n. 72, 79). Therefore their having palms in their hands signifies that the good of truth was in them, or that they were in the good of truth. The good of truth, when possessed by any one, is the good of life, for truth becomes good by a life in agreement with it, previously it is not good in anyone. For when truth is in the memory only and thence in the thought, it is not good, but it becomes good when it enters into the will, and thence into act, the will itself being that which transforms truth into good. This is evident from this fact, that what a man wills, he calls good, and what he thinks, he calls truth. For the interior will of man, which is the will of his spirit, is the receptacle of his love. For what a man loves from his spirit, he wills, and what he thence wills, this he does; wherefore the truth which is of his will is also of his love, and whatever pertains to his love, he calls good. From these things it is evident how good in man is formed by means of truths, and that all good, which is good in man, is good of the life. It is supposed that there is a good also of the thought, although it be not of the will, because a man can think that this or that is good; nevertheless it is not good there, but truth. To think what is good, is truth, and also to know and thence to think what is good are classed amongst truths; but if a man so loves that truth which is in the thought as to will, and from willing, to do it, then, because it is of the love, it becomes good.

[2] This may be illustrated by the following example. There were certain spirits, who, in the life of the body, believed charity to be the essential of the church, and consequently essential for salvation, and not faith alone, and yet the same spirits had not lived a life of charity, for they merely thought and concluded that it was so. But it was told them, that merely to think, and thence believe, that charity saves, was the same thing as believing that faith alone saves, if a man does not will and act; they were therefore rejected. Hence it was evident, that merely to think good, and not to will and do it, does not constitute good in any one. The case would be the same if a man knew truths and goods themselves, and merely from thought protested his belief in them, if he did not give his life to them by willing and doing them. These things are said, in order that it may be known that the good of truth, or spiritual good, when it is really in any one, is the good of life. This therefore, is what is signified by the palms in their hands.

[3] Because spiritual good was signified by palms, therefore in the temple built by Solomon, in addition to other things there were sculptured palms, as mentioned in the first book of Kings:

Solomon "carved all the walls of the house round about with the carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without," also upon the two doors (6:29, 32).

The walls of the house signify the ultimate things of heaven and of the church. Ultimates are effects proceeding from interior things, and the doors signify entrance into heaven and the church; the cherubim upon them signify celestial good, which is the good of the inmost heaven. Palms signify spiritual good, which is the good of the second heaven; and flowers, spiritual-natural good, which is the good of the ultimate heaven. Thus, these three things signify the goods of the three heavens in their order. But in the highest sense, cherubim signify the Divine Providence of the Lord, and also guardianship; palms, the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, and flowers, His Divine Intelligence. For Divine Good united to the Divine Truth, proceeding from the Lord, in the third or inmost heaven, is received as Divine Providence; in the second or middle heaven, as Divine Wisdom; and in the first or ultimate heaven, as Divine Intelligence. Similar things are signified by cherubs and palms in the new temple, in Ezekiel:

[4] In the new temple cherubim and palm trees were made, so that a palm tree was between cherub and cherub; and every cherub had two faces. From the ground unto above the door were made cherubim and palm trees, and on the walls and upon the doors (41:18-20, 25, 26).

The new temple here mentioned signifies the new church which was to be established by the Lord at His coming into the world. For the description of the new city, the new temple, and new earth, signifies all things pertaining to the new church, and thence to the new heaven, which are described by pure correspondences. Because the feast of tabernacles signified the implantation of good by means of truths, therefore it was commanded that they should take of the fruit of the tree of honour, branches of palm trees and the bough of a thick tree and willows of the brook, and should rejoice before Jehovah seven days (Leviticus 23:39, 40). The fruit of the tree of honour signifies celestial good; palms signify spiritual good, or the good of truth; the bough of a thick tree, scientific truth with its good; and the willows of the brook, the lowest goods and truths of the natural man, which belong to the sensual externals. Thus, those four things signify all goods and truths in their order, from primaries to ultimates in man.

[5] Because palms signify spiritual good, from which spiritual good all joy of heart springs, spiritual good being the very affection or love for spiritual truth, therefore by means of palms in their hands they used anciently to testify joy of heart, and also that they acted from good. This was signified by the circumstance that many who came to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel" (John 12:12, 13).

[6] The palm also signifies spiritual good, or the good of truth, in the following passages:

In David:

"The just shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They that are planted in the house of Jehovah shall shoot forth in the courts of our God" (Psalm 92:12, 13).

The just signify those who are in good, for by the just in the Word are meant those who are in the good of love, and by the holy, those who are in truths from that good, as may be seen above (n. 204). Hence it is said concerning the just, that he shall flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon, for the fructification of good with him is meant by he shall flourish like a palm tree, and the multiplication of truth thence by he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, the palm signifying spiritual good, the cedar the truth of that good, and Lebanon the spiritual church. The house of Jehovah in which they are planted, and the courts in which they shall shoot forth, signify heaven and the church, the house of Jehovah, the internal church, and the courts, the external church. Planting takes place in the interiors of man, where the good of love and of charity are, and shooting forth, in the exteriors of man, where the good of life is.

[7] In Joel:

"The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field are withered; because joy is withered away from the sons of man" (1:12).

These words describe the desolation of truth and good in the church, and consequently the desolation of all joy of heart, that is, of spiritual joy. For the vine signifies the spiritual good and truth of the church; the fig tree, natural good and truth thence; and the pomegranate, sensual truth and good, which is the ultimate of the Natural. The palm signifies joy of heart from spiritual good; and the apple tree, the same from natural good thence. The trees of the field said to be withered, signify that there are no perceptions of good and cognitions of truth; and because spiritual joy, and natural joy thence, are signified by the palm tree and the apple tree, it is therefore said also, "joy is withered away from the sons of man." The sons of man, in the Word, mean those who are in truths from good; and joy signifies spiritual joy, which can exist only from good by means of truths. Who cannot see that the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the palm, the apple tree, and the trees of the field, are not here meant? For how would it concern the Word, or the church, if those trees had been dried up and withered?

[8] In Jeremiah:

"One heweth wood out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. He decks it with silver and with gold; he fastens it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. It is compact as the palm tree (10:3, 4, 5).

These words describe natural good separated from spiritual, which is good from the proprium, but considered in itself it is not good, but the delight of desire arising chiefly from the love of self and of the world, which is perceived as good. How man forms this in himself, so that it appears as good, and persuades himself that it is good, is described by wood which one heweth out of the forest, and by the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. Wood signifies good, in the present case, good of such a quality; forest signifies the Natural; here the Natural separated from the Spiritual. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe, signifies that which is from the proprium, and from man's own intelligence; the confirmation thereof by means of truths and goods from the Word, which are thus falsified, is described by its being decked with silver and gold; silver denoting truth from the Word, and gold denoting good from the Word. The coherence resulting from confirmations from the proprium, is described by its being fastened with nails and with hammers, that it move not; its thence appearing like good formed by means of truths is signified by its being compact as the palm.

[9] Again, in Moses:

"They came to Elim, where were twelve fountains of waters, and three score and ten palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters" (Exodus 15:27; Num. 33:9).

These historical circumstances also contain a spiritual sense, for a spiritual sense is in all the historical parts of the Word. Their coming to Elim signifies a state of enlightenment and affection, and thus of consolation after temptations; twelve fountains of waters signify that they then had truths in perfect abundance; seventy palm trees signify that similarly they had the goods of truth; and their encamping by the waters signifies that truths are arranged by means of good after temptations. This passage may be seen further explained in the Arcana Coelestia 8366-8370).

[10] Because Jericho signifies the good of truth, therefore that city was called "the city of palm trees" (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 3:13). The reason of this was that all the names of places and of cities in the Word signify such things of heaven and of the church, as are called spiritual things; and Jericho signifies the good of truth. On account of this signification of Jericho, the Lord also, in the parable concerning the Samaritan, said, that he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30), which signifies progression by truths to good. For Jerusalem signifies truth of doctrine, and Jericho, the good of truth, which is the good of life, and which was also manifested to the man wounded by thieves.

[11] And because Jericho signified that good, therefore Joshua when he was by Jericho saw a man standing with his sword drawn in his hand, and he said to Joshua,

"Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so" (Joshua 5:13, 15).

Therefore when the sons of Israel had taken Jericho by bearing the ark around it, "they put the silver and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron," found there, "into the treasury of the house of Jehovah" (Joshua 6:24).

[12] From these references it is evident why Jericho was called the city of palm trees. Moreover, in the spiritual world, great numbers of palm trees are seen in the paradises where the angels are who are in spiritual good or in the good of truth, from which fact also it is evident that the palm signifies the good of truth; for all of the things seen in that world are representative of the state of life and of the affections, thus of good and truth with the angels.

878. 'He put out his hand' means his own power. 'And he took hold of it, and brought it in to himself into the ark' means that self was the source of the good he did and of the truth he thought. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power. Here therefore his own power from which he acts is meant. Indeed 'putting out his hand and taking hold of the dove and bringing it in to himself' is attaching and attributing to himself the truth meant by the dove. That 'the hand' means power, and also the exercise of power, and resulting self-confidence, is clear from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

I will visit upon the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Asshur, for he has said, By the power of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. Isaiah 10:12-13.

Here 'hand' clearly stands for his own power to which he attributed what he had done, on account of which visitation was made on him.

[2] In the same prophet,

Moab will stretch out his hands in the midst of him as swimmer does to swim, but He will lay low his pride together with the powerfulness ¹ of his hands. Isaiah 25:11.

'Hands' stands for his own power resulting from projection of self above others, and so from pride. In the same prophet,

Their inhabitants were shorn of power, ² they were dismayed and filled with shame. Isaiah 37:27.

'Shorn of power' ² stands for having no power. In the same prophet,

Will the clay say to its potter, What are you making? or your work [say], He has no hands? Isaiah 45:9.

'He has no hands' stands for no power to it. In Ezekiel,

The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity, and the hands of the people of the land will be all atremble. Ezekiel 7:17.

Here 'the hands' stands for power. In Micah,

Woe to those devising iniquity and working out evil upon their beds, which they carry out at morning light, and because they make their own hand their god! Micah 2:1.

'Hand' stands for their own power which they trust in as their god. In Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will be wholly withered, and his right eye utterly darkened. Zechariah 11:17.

[3] Since 'hands' means powers, men's evils and falsities are throughout the Word therefore called 'the works of their hands'. Evils come from the will side of man's proprium, falsities from the understanding side. The fact that this is the source of evils and falsities becomes quite clear from the nature of the human proprium, that it is nothing but evil and falsity. That this is the nature of the proprium see what has been stated already in 39, 41, 141, 150, 154, 210, 215. Because 'the hands' in general means power, the Word therefore frequently attributes hands to Jehovah, or the Lord. And in those contexts 'hands' in the internal sense means omnipotence, as in Isaiah, Jehovah, Your hand has been lifted up. Isaiah 26:11. 'Hand' stands for Divine power. In the same prophet,

Jehovah stretches out ³ His hand, they are all destroyed. Isaiah 31:3.

'Hand' stands for Divine power. In the same prophet,

Over the work of My hands command Me. My hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:11-12.

'Hands' stands for Divine power. In the Word regenerate people are often called 'the work of Jehovah's hands'. In the same prophet,

My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured out the heavens. Isaiah 48:13.

'Hand' and 'right hand' stand for omnipotence.

[4] In the same prophet,

Has My hand been shortened, that it cannot redeem? Is there no power in Me to deliver? Isaiah 50:2.

'Hand' and 'power' stand for Divine power. In Jeremiah,

You did bring Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm. Jeremiah 32:17, 21.

'Power' in verse Jeremiah 32:17 and 'hand' in verse Jeremiah 32:21 stand for Divine power. It is quite often stated that 'they were brought out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm': in Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, On the day I chose Israel and lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I lifted up My hand to them, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Ezekiel 20:5-6, 23.

In Moses,

Israel saw the great work ⁴ which Jehovah did on the Egyptians. Exodus 14:31.

[5] All these quotations plainly show that 'the hand' means power. Indeed so much was the hand the symbol of power that it also became its representative, as is clear from the miracles performed in Egypt, when Moses was commanded to stretch out his rod or his hand and they were accomplished -

Moses stretched out his hand and there was hail all over Egypt. Exodus 9:22-23.

Moses stretched out his hand and there was darkness. Exodus 10:21-22.

Moses stretched out his hand and rod over the Sea Suph and it was dried up, and he stretched out his hand and it returned. Exodus 14:11, 27. ⁵

No mentally normal person can believe that any power resided in Moses' hand or rod. Rather, because the lifting up and stretching out of the hand symbolized Divine power, that action also became its representative in the Jewish Church.

[6] The same applies to Joshua's stretching out his javelin, described as follows,

Jehovah said, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai, for I will give it into your hand. When Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand, they entered the city and took it. And Joshua did not draw back the hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Joshua 8:18-19, 26.

This also makes clear the nature of the representatives which comprised the external features of the Jewish Church. Consequently the Word is such that details recorded in its external sense do not give the appearance of being representatives of the Lord and His kingdom, such as the reference in these quotations to Moses or Joshua stretching out his hand, and all other details recorded there. In these it is never evident that such things are being represented as long as the mind is fixed solely on the historical details of the letter. From this it is also evident how far the Jews had receded from a true understanding of the Word and of the religious practices of their Church by focusing the whole of their worship purely on things of an external nature, even to the extent of attributing power to Moses' rod and to Joshua's javelin, when in fact these had no more power in them than a piece of wood. Yet because they did symbolize the Lord's omnipotence, which was at the time understood in heaven, signs and miracles were accomplished when by command they stretched out their hand or rod. Something similar happened when Moses on the hilltop held up his hands. When he did so Joshua was winning, but when he dropped them he was losing. So they held his hands up for him. Exodus 17:9-13.

[7] It was similar with the laying on of hands when men were being consecrated, as the people did to the Levites, Numbers 8:9-10, 12, and as Moses did to Joshua when the latter was to succeed him, Numbers 27:18, 23 - the purpose being to confer power. And this is why in our own times the ceremonies of ordination and of blessing are accompanied by the laying on of hands. To what extent the hand meant and represented power becomes clear from the following references in the Word to Uzzah and Jeroboam,

Of Uzzah it says that he reached out (his hand) to the Ark of God and took hold of it, and as a consequence died. 2 Samuel 6:6-7.

'The Ark' represented the Lord, and so everything holy and heavenly. 'Uzzah reached out to the Ark' represented man's own power, which is his proprium. And because the proprium is unholy the word 'hand' is left out but nevertheless understood. It is left out to prevent angels perceiving anything so profane as his touching with his hand that which was holy. And because he 'reached out' he died.

[8] In reference to Jeroboam,

It happened, when he heard the saying of the man of God which he cried out against the altar, that Jeroboam reached out his hand from above the altar saying, Lay hold of him. And his hand which he reached out against him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. He said to the man of God, Entreat now the face ⁶ of Jehovah your God, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God entreated the face ⁶ of Jehovah and his hand was restored to him, and became as it was before. 1 Kings 13:4-6.

Here similarly 'reaching out his hand' means man's own power, or proprium, which is unholy. He was willing to violate what was holy by stretching out his hand against the man of God, as a consequence of which his hand was dried up. Yet because he was an idolater and therefore not able to profane, as stated already, his hand was restored. The fact that 'the hand' means and represents power becomes clear from representatives in the world of spirits. In that world a bare arm sometimes comes into sight possessing so much strength that it can break bones to bits and crush their inner marrow to nothing at all. It consequently strikes so much terror as to cause heart-failure. It really does possess such strength.

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