3186. 'Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads' means infinite fruitfulness of the affection for truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'sister', who is Rebekah, as the affection for truth, dealt with in 3077, 3179, 3182, and from the meaning of 'may you become thousands of myriads' as infinite fruitfulness. Here 'thousands of myriads' means that which is infinite because the subject is the Lord in whom every single thing is infinite. With man the situation is that goods are not fruitful with him and truths are not multiplied until truth and good have become joined together in his rational, that is, until he has been regenerated. For at that point fruits or offspring from the rightful or heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth, come into being. Prior to this the goods which he puts into practice, it is true, look like goods, and truths like truths; but these are not genuine, since the soul which is good that has innocence from the Lord within it is not present in them. Thus they do not stir any affection in him nor do they bring him happiness. The affection that accompanies love and charity, together with happiness, is the soul, and that affection is imparted by the Lord to a person when being regenerated.

[2] 'A thousand' meaning much, also that which is infinite - see 2575 - 'a myriad' means that which is even more, and 'thousands of myriads' that which is even more again, as also elsewhere. In Moses,

When the Ark came to rest he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel. Numbers 10:36.

Here also 'the myriads of thousands' means that which is infinite because it has reference to the Lord, who is Jehovah here. In the same author,

Jehovah dawned from Seir upon them, He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. Deuteronomy 33:2.

'Myriads' again stands for that which is infinite. In David,

The chariots of God are myriads of thousands of peacemakers. Psalms 68:17.

'The chariots of God' stands for things which belong to the Word and to doctrine drawn from it, 'myriads of thousands' for infinite things present there. In John,

I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, numbering myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands. Revelation 5:11.

This stands for the fact that they were countless.

2575. 'Behold, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother' means an infinite abundance of rational truth joined to [celestial] good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a thousand' as much and countless, here, as infinite, or an infinite abundance, since the expression has reference to the Lord, a meaning dealt with below; from the meaning of 'silver' as rational truth, dealt with in 1551, 2048; and from the meaning of 'a brother' as celestial good joined to rational truth, like a brother to a sister, 2524, 2557. From this it is evident that 'I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother' means an infinite abundance of rational truth joined to [celestial] good. The reason this abundance was granted to good, meant by 'a brother', but not to truth, is that truth derives from good, not good from truth. Regarding that infinite abundance, see 2572.

[2] That 'a thousand' in the Word means much and countless, and infinite when it has reference to the Lord, is evident from the following places: In Moses,

I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth generations of those who hate Me; and showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:5-6; 34:7; Deuteronomy 5:9-10.

And in Jeremiah,

Jehovah shows mercy to thousands and He repays the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them. Jeremiah 32:18.

In these two places 'thousands' does not mean a definite number but that which is infinite, for the Lord's mercy, being Divine, is infinite. In David,

The chariots of God are myriad on myriad, thousands on thousands; ¹ the Lord is within them, Sinai within holiness. Psalms 68:17.

Here 'myriads' and 'thousands' stand for things that are countless.

[3] In the same author,

A thousand will fall at your side, and a myriad at your right hand; it will not come near you. Psalms 91:7.

Here also 'a thousand' and 'a myriad' stand for things that are countless, and as it has reference to the Lord, who is meant by 'David' in the Psalms, those numbers stand for all who are His enemies. In the same author,

Our garners are full, yielding food and still more food; our flocks bring forth a thousand, and ten thousand in our streets. Psalms 144:13.

Here also 'a thousand', and 'ten thousand' or a myriad, stand for things that are countless. In the same author,

A thousand years in Your eyes are but as yesterday when it is past. Psalms 90:4.

'A thousand years' stands for that which is outside time, thus for eternity, which is infinity of time. In Isaiah,

One thousand at the rebuke of one, at the rebuke of five will you flee until you are left like a flagstaff on top of a mountain. Isaiah 30:17.

Here 'one thousand' or a chiliad stands for a large indefinite number, 'five' for few, 649. In Moses,

May Jehovah the God of your fathers add to you, as you are, a thousand times, and may He bless you. Deuteronomy 1:11.

Here 'a thousand times' stands for things that are countless, as in everyday speech in which also a thousand is an expression for many, as when one speaks of things being said thousands of times, or done in thousands of ways. Similarly in Joshua,

One man of you will chase a thousand, for Jehovah your God fights for you. Joshua 23:10.

[4] Being a definite calculable number, the word 'thousand' when used in prophetical parts, especially when these are linked together as historical descriptions, appears to mean a thousand. But in fact it means people who are many or countless - an unspecified number. For historical descriptions are of such a nature that they restrict people's ideas to the most immediate and proper meanings that the words possess, as they also do with the names that occur there, when in fact numbers in the Word, like names also, mean real things, as may become clear from what has been shown already concerning numbers in 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252. This explains why some people suppose that the thousand years referred to in Revelation 20:1-7 means a thousand years or periods of time, for the reason, as has been stated, that prophecies are declared in that book through historical descriptions. But in fact 'a thousand years' there means nothing else than that which is large and indeterminate, and elsewhere infinity of time, or eternity.

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