Arcana Coelestia # 7523
7523. 'And there will be on man and on beast' means the products of interior and exterior evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'man' as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the desire for evil; and 'beast' is similar in meaning. But when 'man' and 'beast' are mentioned together, 'man means interior affection or desire and 'beast' exterior; regarding both, see 7424. Interior good or else interior evil, which is meant by 'man', is that connected with intentions or ends in view, for intentions or ends in view are at a person's core, whereas exterior good or else exterior evil, which is meant by 'beast', is that connected with thought and consequently, if nothing stands in the way, with action. Exterior good is meant by 'beast' because a person is in respect of his external or natural man no different from a beast; for he is endowed with similar desires and also cravings, as well as appetites and senses. And interior good is meant by 'man because it is in respect of his internal or spiritual man that a person is a human being, on which internal level he is endowed with affections for what is good and true such as exist with the angels in heaven, and because he controls his natural or animal man, which is 'a beast', by means of that internal man. Regarding the meaning of 'beast' as the affection for good and in the contrary sense the desire for evil, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198.
[2] These things are what are meant by 'man and beast' in the following places too: In Jeremiah,
My anger and My wrath have been poured out on this place, on man and on beast. Jeremiah 7:20
In the same prophet,
I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Jeremiah 21:6.
In the same prophet,
It will make her land a desolation, so that none may dwell in it; both man and beast have scattered themselves, they have gone away. Jeremiah 50:3.
In Ezekiel,
When a land has sinned against Me by committing great transgression, I will cut off from it man and beast. Ezekiel 14:13, 19, 21.
In the same prophet,
I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast, and make it a waste. Ezekiel 25:13.
In Zephaniah,
I will consume man and beast, I will consume the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the surface of the earth. Zephaniah 1:3.
[3] 'Man and beast' stands for interior and exterior good in the following places: In Jeremiah,
I have made the earth, man and beast, by My great strength. Jeremiah 27:5.
In the same prophet,
Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:17.
In the same prophet,
A desolation will the earth be, so that man and beast are not there. Jeremiah 32:43.
In the same prophet,
In the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that have been devastated, there is no man and inhabitant, and there is no beast. Jeremiah 33:10; 51:62.
In David,
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgements a great deep; You preserve man and beast, O Jehovah. Psalms 36:6.
It was because 'man and beast' meant such things that the firstborn of the Egyptians died, not only of men but also of beasts, Exodus 12:29, and that the firstborn were consecrated [to Jehovah], not only of men but also of beasts, Numbers 18:15, and also that the king of Nineveh, following sacred religious practice, commanded that not only man but also beast should fast and also be clothed in sackcloth, Jonah 3:7-8.
Leviticus 1
1
Yahweh called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying,
2
"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
3
"'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
4
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5
He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
6
He shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces.
7
The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire;
8
and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar;
9
but its innards and its legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall burn the whole on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
10
"'If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep, or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish.
11
He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
12
He shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat. The priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar,
13
but the innards and the legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall offer the whole, and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
14
"'If his offering to Yahweh is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
15
The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar;
16
and he shall take away its crop with its filth, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes.
17
He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
