619. But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.- That this signifies exterior delight, is evident from the signification of the mouth, as denoting what is exterior, for the subject here treated of is the little book, and the eating of it up; by the little book is signified the Word, and by eating it up are signified perception and exploration, whence by the mouth, which first receives, is meant the external of the Word; and from the signification of "sweet as honey," as denoting the delight of natural good. The reason why the external of the Word was sweet as honey, that is, thus delightful, was, that it is of such a nature as to be capable of application to any love whatever, and to any principle thence conceived; and these can be confirmed by it. The reason why the external of the Word, which is the sense of the letter is such, is that many things therein are written according to appearances with the natural man, and many appearances, if not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those therefore who love to live for the body and the world, use the external of the Word by means of those appearances to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was especially the case with the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter maintained that belief, which they also retain to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and were therefore a holy nation; they believed that their Jerusalem, and its temple, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were of themselves holy, not knowing or being willing to know, that the holiness of all those things consisted solely in the fact that they represented Divine things proceeding from the Lord, which are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think them to be holy of themselves, and not from the Divine things which they represented, was to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. The case was similar in regard to their faith concerning the Messiah, which was, that He would be king of the world, and raise them above all the nations and peoples in the whole world; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which were to them as sweet as honey in the mouth. For this reason those things that are in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are truths themselves, and these are not according to appearances; as for example, that that nation was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not a chosen nation; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the church of the Lord, and doctrine concerning Him and concerning the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices, represented the Lord and the holy things proceeding from Him, and that their holiness was from this and no other source. These are the truths stored up interiorly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense. These truths they deny, because, as stated, they falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter, and therefore they are undelightful to them like food that is bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book should be in the mouth sweet as honey, because honey signifies the delight of natural good. That honey signifies that delight is evident from the following passages.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein. And when he had spread it before me, it was written before and behind; and there were written thereon lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. And he said unto me, Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And then he said unto me, Go unto the house of Israel, and speak my words unto them" (2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These words involve things similar to those in the Apocalypse. The command given to the prophet Ezekiel to eat the roll of the book, involves the same thing as the command to John to eat the little book, that is to say, exploration as to how the Divine Truth which is in the Word is as yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church. For as the prophet Ezekiel and John represented the doctrine of truth and the Word, exploration was therefore made with them. The reason why this was done by eating a book is, that to eat signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate to oneself, as shown above; and when exploration was made as to the manner in which the Word was as yet perceived, it is then said to the prophet Ezekiel, that, he should go unto the house of Israel and speak the words of God unto them, also to the prophet John, that he must prophesy, that is, as yet teach the Word in the church; and this because in his mouth the book was perceived to be as sweet as honey, that is, because the Word as to the sense of the letter, is yet delightful, though only so for the reason that this sense can be used in favour of any principle of falsity whatever, and of any loves of evil whatever, and thus serve to confirm the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life, which, when separated, are merely delights of the loves of the body and of the world, whence arise principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name God with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (7:14, 15).

That these words are spoken of the Lord may be seen proved in Matthew (1:23). Any one may see that butter and honey there mentioned do not mean butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding [to them], for it follows, "that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," and this is not known by eating butter and honey. But by butter is signified the delight of spiritual good, and by honey, the delight of natural good, consequently the spiritual Divine and the natural Divine of the Lord are signified by these, thus His interior and exterior Human. That the Lord's Human is what is meant is evident from its being said that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and that it is Divine, is evident from the words, "and shall call his name God with us," to call a name denoting quality, here Divine quality, for he was to be called God with us.

[5] Butter and honey also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

"Butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

Those left in the land mean those who are interiorly and also exteriorly good from the Lord, consequently those who receive good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefore of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural, is signified by butter and honey.

[6] Thus also in Job:

"He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter" (20:16, 17).

These things are said concerning hypocrites, who speak well and smoothly concerning God, their neighbour, and also heaven and the church, when nevertheless they think quite differently; and because they can thus cunningly devise how to captivate the minds of others, although in their heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That these have no delight in natural good or spiritual good, is meant by, He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, rivers denoting those things that pertain to intelligence, and the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, those that pertain thence to the affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. All the delight of life which remains to eternity is the delight of spiritual good and truth, and thence of natural good and truth, whereas hypocritical delight is a natural delight separated from spiritual delight, but this delight, in another life, is turned into what is direfully infernal. That butter and honey in this passage also do not mean butter and honey, is evident, for where in the world are flowings of torrents of honey and butter found?

[7] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of milk and honey. And since milk signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey, the delight of natural good, and these delights are enjoyed by those who are of the church of the Lord, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Num. 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6). That the land of Canaan in the Word means the church was shown above (n. 29, 304:59, 431:9). And the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; the church is formed in these by the Lord. For the church is in man, and not outside of him, consequently, not with those who do not possess those goods; these goods with their delights are signified by milk and honey.

[8] That in the land of Canaan there was also much honey at that period, because the church of the Lord was there then, is evident from the First Book of Samuel, where it is said, that they came into a wood where were honey upon the faces of the ground, and a stream of honey, and that the eyes of Jonathan were opened from tasting of the honey (14:25-27, 29). The reason why Jonathan's eyes were opened by his tasting of the honey was, that honey corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good imparts intelligence and enlightens, consequently Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as is said in Isaiah, that he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For correspondences at that time manifested their effect, since all things of the Israelitish church existed from correspondences, by which things celestial and spiritual were represented and signified.

[9] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of oil and honey in the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

"He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:13).

These words occur in the song of Moses, in which the subject treated of is the church in its beginning and afterwards in its progression, and at length at its end. Those who formed the Ancient Church are described by these words, but not those who constituted the Israelitish Church, for the latter were evil from the beginning even to the end, as is evident from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness. But the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by their fathers, was that which the Lord caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed with the increase of the fields. That the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love, with their delights, were imparted to them by means of truths, from which their intelligence was derived, and according to which was their life, is signified by, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock, honey denoting the delight of natural love, oil the delight of spiritual love, and the rock, and the stone of the rock, truth from the Lord. That oil signifies the good of love and of charity, may be seen above (n. 375), and that rock and stone signify truth from the Lord (n. 411, 443).

[10] So in David:

"I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them" (Psalm 81:16).

The fat of wheat also signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey out of the rock, the delight of natural good by means of truths from the Lord, as above. It must be observed, that natural good is not good, unless it be also spiritual good. For all good inflows through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind, so far he receives good. There must be both, or both sides, in order to constitute good; wherefore natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, which nevertheless is perceived by man as good. Since there must be both therefore in the passages quoted, and in those still to be quoted, mention is made of butter and honey, milk and honey, fat and honey, and also of oil and honey; and butter, milk, fat and oil, signify the good of spiritual love, and honey, the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and needlework; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; whence thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set before idols for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. It is said of the Ancient Church, that she was decked with gold and silver, which signifies, the love of good and truth with the men of the church. The raiment of fine linen, silk, and needlework, signifies the cognitions of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth; fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin, silk, truth from a spiritual origin, and needlework, truth from a natural origin, which is called scientific [truth]. By eating fine flour, honey, and oil, are signified the perception of truth and good natural and spiritual, and the appropriation of them; to eat denoting to be appropriated, fine flour denoting truth, honey, natural good, and oil spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. By becoming exceedingly beautiful and prospering into a kingdom, is signified to become intelligent and wise, so as to constitute a church from these, beauty denoting intelligence and wisdom, and a kingdom signifying a church. But concerning the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said, that they placed the fine flour, honey, and oil, before images of a male, or of idols, for an odour of rest, that is, that they turned the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] Again, in the same prophet:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (27:17).

This is spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also by Tyre are signified the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church; by oil and honey are signified things similar to those above. The meaning in the spiritual sense of Judah, and the land of Israel, also of wheat of Minnith and pannag, and balsam, also of the trading of Tyre, may be seen explained above (n. 433:22).

[13] Again, in Moses:

"A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and the vine, and the fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil, olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

These things are said concerning the land of Canaan, by which is understood the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and thence in truths; but the details of this verse are explained above (n. 374:7, 403:11), where it is shown, that oil and honey signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] So in David:

"The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:9, 10).

In the same,

"I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my palate! [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:102, 103).

The judgments of Jehovah signify the truths and goods of worship; therefore it is said, "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether"; just being used in reference to the good of life and worship therefrom. And as good is also signified by gold and fine gold, it is therefore said, that they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold, gold denoting celestial good, fine gold, spiritual good, while desirable denotes what is of affection and love. Since the goods with which a man is affected are also delightful, therefore it is said, that they are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb, and that the words of the Lord are sweet to the palate and [sweeter] than honey to the mouth, sweet denoting what is delightful, honey, natural good, the droppings of the honeycomb, natural truth, and because honey signifies natural good, and the mouth the external, therefore it is said [sweeter] than honey to my mouth; as in the Apocalypse, that the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth.

[15] So in Luke:

Jesus said to His disciples, when they believed that they saw a spirit, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat it before them" (24:39, 41-43).

From this series of words regarded in their spiritual sense it is evident, that honeycomb and honey signify natural good, for the Lord showed His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even as to its Natural and Sensual. This is signified by the hands and feet, and by the flesh and bones, which they saw and felt; the hands and feet, signify the ultimate of man, called the Natural, the flesh signifies its good, and the bones signify its truth. For everything in the human body corresponds to spiritual things, the flesh to the good of the natural man, and the bones to its truths. More may be seen concerning this correspondence in Heaven and Hell 87-102). The Lord also proved this by eating of the broiled fish and also of the honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, the broiled fish signifying the truth of the good of the natural and sensual man, and the honeycomb, the good of truth of the same, therefore the Lord by being touched (palpationem) showed and proved that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, was made Divine; and [this He showed too] by eating, in that He ate in their presence a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.

[16] Since honey signifies the good of the natural man, therefore also John the Baptist

"had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The reason of this was, that John the Baptist represented the same as Elias, therefore also it was said, that Elias should come, by whom was meant John. Elias represented the Lord as to the Word, or the Word which is from the Lord; and similarly John. And because the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, therefore John was sent before to preach concerning the coming of the Lord, according to the predictions of the Word. And because John represented the Word, therefore the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, were represented by John, by his clothing, and also by his food, that is, by having his raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern girdle about his loins. For camel's hair signifies the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exteriors of the Word, and the leathern girdle about his loins, their external bond and connection with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. Similar things are signified by locust and wild honey; by locust, is signified the truth of the natural man, and by wild honey, its good. Whether we speak of the truth and good of the natural man, or of natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, or natural sense, it is the same thing, for John represented this by his clothing and food.

[17] The reason why neither leaven, nor honey, was used in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11), was, that leaven signifies the falsity of the natural man, and honey, the delight of the good of the natural man, and, in the opposite sense, the delight of his evil, which also is like leaven when it is mingled with those things that signify things of a holy interior nature. For natural delight derives its all from the delights of the love of self and the love of the world. And because the Israelitish nation was in those delights more than other nations, therefore it was forbidden them to use honey in their sacrifices. More may be seen concerning the signification of honey, as denoting the delight of the good of the natural man, in the Arcana Coelestia 5620, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530).

[18] It is recorded of Samson, that, after he had rent the young lion, and taken a wife from the nation of the Philistines, he found "a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion" (Judges 14:8). This circumstance signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented. It was on this account that the Philistines were called the uncircumcised, and this name signifies that they were without spiritual love and charity, and were only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Such faith, because it destroys the good of charity, was represented by the young lion, which attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces; but Samson, because he was a Nazarite, and by his Nazariteship represented the Lord as to His ultimate Natural, rent the lion in pieces, and afterwards found in his carcase a swarm of bees and honey, which signified, that after such faith is dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. Similar things were represented and signified by the rest of the acts related of Samson in the Book of Judges. For nothing is written in the Word which does not represent and signify such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and these can be understood only from the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and thence from the spiritual sense of the Word.

434. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.- That this signifies the light of truth from that love, and that all who are therein are in heaven and come into heaven, is plain from the signification of the tribe of Reuben, which denotes those who are in the light of truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of twelve thousand, as denoting, all things and all persons, concerning which see above (n. 430); here all who are in the light of truth from the good of love to the Lord, and this love is signified by the tribe of Judah, as shown just above (n. 433:1); and from the signification of the sealed, as denoting, those who are in heaven and come into heaven, concerning also which see above (n. [427:2], 433). It has been previously shown, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented, and thence signify in the Word, all things of the church, that each tribe signifies some universal essential of it, and that Judah signifies love to the Lord, but Reuben light from that love, will be seen in what follows.

[2] Reuben, and therefore the tribe named from him, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to foresight or foreknowledge; in the internal sense, spiritual faith and the understanding of truth; and in the external sense, sight. And because Reuben in the internal sense, signifies faith and the understanding, he also signifies the light of truth, for faith exists from the light of truth, from which the understanding is enlightened; for where the light of truth is, there are understanding and faith.

[3] Reuben or his tribe has a signification similar to that of the apostle Peter. For the twelve apostles, like the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all things of the church, and each apostle some universal essential of it. And because Peter has a representation similar to that of Reuben, he was therefore the first of the apostles, as Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob. That Peter signifies truth in the light, and also faith, may be seen above (n. 9, 411:12-15).

[4] Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob, and the tribe called after him is therefore named first in many passages of the Word, because he was the first-begotten, and the first-begotten in the Word signifies truth from good, or, what is the same thing, truth in the light, and therefore faith from charity. For truth, and that which pertains to faith, appears to man to be first, for it enters by the hearing into the memory, and is called forth thence into the thought; and what a man thinks, this he sees and perceives by interior sight, and that which is first perceived and seen is first, but only apparently, not actually. Good is actually the first-begotten, or the first thing of the church, because truth exists from good, for good forms itself in truths, and by means of truths renders itself visible, therefore truth is good in form. Truth is consequently said to be from good, and faith from charity, for that which is from anything is that thing in an image, and viewed in itself it is good formed and born; this therefore in the spiritual sense of the Word is the first-begotten. Moreover, with infants, the good of innocence is the first thing imparted by the Lord, and from this a man first becomes man. And because good is of love, and because man does not reflect upon his love, but upon his thought from the memory, and since good possesses no quality until formed into truths, and as apart from quality nothing is perceived, therefore it is not known that good is the first, and the first-begotten. For good is first formed by the Lord in man, and is brought forth by means of truths, in which good is in its own form and effigy.

[5] Moreover it must be known that the truths which a man receives from the Word, and from doctrine and preaching from it, during his infancy and childhood, appear indeed to be truths, yet are not truths with him; they are only like shells without kernels; or like the form of body and face without soul and life. They do not become truths before they are received in the will, for then they are first received by a man, and begin to live in him. For the will is the man himself, and all good is of the will, and all truth is of the understanding thence. From these things the reason is clear why the tribe of Judah, which signifies the good of love to the Lord, is named first, and afterwards the tribe of Reuben, which signifies truth in the light, from that good.

[6] It is to be noted, that all the light in which truth appears is from the light of heaven and this is from the Lord. The light of heaven is from the Divine Good of His Divine Love. The light of heaven is the Divine Good in form. These two in heaven are one, and are received by the angels as one. They must also be received by man as one, in order that he may have communion with angels. But these things are fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia, to this effect, that when man is being regenerated, truth is in the first place and good in the second, not actually but apparently, but that when he is regenerated, good is in the first place and truth in the second, actually and perceptibly (n. 3324, 3325, 3330, 3336, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4245, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6273, 8516, 10110); consequently good is the first and last of regeneration (n. 9337). Because truth appears to be in the first place, and good in the second, when man is being regenerated, or what is the same, when he is becoming a church, therefore it was a matter of controversy among the ancients, whether the truth of faith or the good of charity is the first-begotten of the church (n. 367, 2435). The good of charity is the first-begotten of the church actually, but the truth of faith only apparently (n. 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 8042, 8080). The first-begotten, in the Word, also signifies that primary thing of the church, to which is attributed priority and superiority (n. 3325). The Lord is therefore called the First-begotten, because in Him and from Him is all the good of love, of charity, and of faith (n. 3325).

[7] Because truth is apparently in the first place, therefore Reuben was the first-begotten, and was named from "sight" (visus), as is evident in Moses:

"Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, because Jehovah hath seen my affliction; now therefore my man (vir) ¹ will love me" (Genesis 29:32).

Although these are historical facts, they nevertheless contain a spiritual sense. For each and all things in the Word are from the spiritual world, because from the Lord, and when these things were sent down out of heaven into the natural world, they were clothed with a corresponding natural sense, such as is the sense of the letter of the Word. Therefore the nativities of the sons of Jacob signify spiritual nativities, which describe how good and truth are born with man while he is being regenerated by the Lord. Hence by "Leah conceived and bare a son," is signified spiritual conception and birth; she called his name Reuben, signifies its quality; by she said, Jehovah hath seen, is signified in the highest sense, foresight, in the internal sense, faith, in the interior sense, understanding, and in the external sense, sight, in the present case, faith from the Lord; by "my affliction," is signified the state of arriving at good; now therefore my man (vir) will love me, signifies good of truth thence. But these words are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3860-3866).

In the original tongue, Reuben signifies sight, and sight, in the spiritual sense, signifies faith and the understanding of truth, and, in the highest sense, the Divine foresight. This is evident from what is said in the Arcana Coelestia concerning the signification of seeing and sight, where it is shown that sight in the highest sense, which treats of the Lord, signifies foresight (n. 2807, 2837, 2839, 3686, 3854, 3863, 10428). Sight in the internal sense signifies faith, because spiritual sight is sight from faith, and those things which pertain to faith are seen in the spiritual world (n. 897, 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 5400, 10705). To see also signifies to understand and perceive truth (n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 10705). Internal sight is the understanding, and this sees by means of the eyes of the body; the sight of the understanding is from the light of heaven (n. 1524, 3138, 3167, 4408, 5114, 6608, 8707, 9128, 9399, 10569).

[8] That Reuben signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident from the mandrakes which he found in the field, and gave to his mother, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my man (vir)? and wilt thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee this night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; because hiring, I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a son" Issachar (Genesis 30:14-18).

He who does not know what mandrakes signify, also what Reuben, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel represented, cannot possibly understand why such things happened, and are recorded in the Word. But that in the sense of the letter the Divine does not appear is evident for the reason that it is in the Word where everything is Divine. The Divine contained in these words is plain from the spiritual sense, in which mandrakes signify the marriage of good and truth. Reuben represents truth from good; Jacob, the church as to truth. Leah and Rachel represent the church as to good, but Leah represents the external church, and Rachel, the internal. By the mandrakes, found by Reuben, is therefore signified the marriage (conjugiale) which exists between truth and good. It is this marriage between truth and good in the internal or spiritual man which makes the internal church, and because that truth which makes the external church is the first in the external or natural man, therefore the mandrakes were found by Reuben, who represented truth from good. They were first given to his mother, Leah, who represented the external church, but they were given by Leah to Rachel, who represented the internal church, in order that Leah might lie with Jacob. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3940-3952).

[9] Because Reuben represented truth from good, or faith from charity, therefore, also, he exhorted his brethren not to kill Joseph, wishing to deliver him out of their hand; and he grieved exceedingly when Joseph was not found in the pit (Genesis 37:21, 22, 29, 30). This is explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4731-4738, and n. 4761-4766).

[10] Because Reuben or his tribe signified truth from good, or faith from charity, therefore the camp of that tribe in the wilderness was towards the south, and the camp towards the south was called the camp of Reuben (Num. 2:10-16). For the encampments of the tribes of Israel represented the arrangement of the angelic societies in heaven; and the angelic societies dwell in the quarters according to their states as to good and truth (see above, 422:1-4). In the southern quarter dwell those who are in the light of truth from good; and as the tribe of Reuben represented truth from good or truth in light, therefore it encamped on the south.

[11] Because truth from good, which the tribe of Reuben represented, is in the natural man, therefore an inheritance beyond Jordan was given to the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:1 to end; Deuteronomy 3:12-20; Joshua 13:1 to end, and chap. 18:7). For the land of Canaan represented, and thence signifies the church in the Word. The region beyond Jordan signified the external church, the region on this side Jordan, the internal church, and the river Jordan the limit between them. And truth from good, or faith from charity, makes the church; truth from good in the natural man, the external church; and because the tribe of Reuben represented this attribute of the church, therefore an inheritance beyond Jordan was allotted to this tribe. Why inheritances beyond Jordan were also given to the tribe of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, will be explained in what follows.

[12] The conjunction of each church, that is to say the external and internal, which is like the conjunction of the natural and spiritual man, was represented, and, in the spiritual sense, is described by the altar which the sons of Reuben, of Gad, and of Manasseh built near the Jordan, and about which there was a strife between these tribes and the rest; but it was said that that altar should be for a witness that, although they dwelt beyond Jordan, they should still serve Jehovah in common with the rest; therefore they called the altar "A witness between us that Jehovah is God" (Josh. 22:9 to end). For Jordan signified the medium between the external and internal of the church. The land of Canaan on this side Jordan, signified the internal church, and the land beyond Jordan, the external church which was also represented by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, whose inheritances were allotted there; and that altar signified the common worship of each church, and thus conjunction.

[13] That Reuben signifies truth in the natural man is evident also from the prophecy of Deborah and Barak in the Book of Judges:

"In the divisions of Reuben they are great, statutes of the heart; Wherefore sittest thou among the baggage to hear the shrill bleatings of the flocks? In the divisions of Reuben, where there are great searchings of heart, Gilead thou dwellest in the passage of Jordan" (5:15-17).

No one can understand these words unless what the prophecy treats of be known, and also the signification of the divisions of Reuben, of baggage, of the bleatings of the flocks, and of Gilead. The subject is the church among the Israelites, in a state of vastation. The divisions of Reuben signify all things, both truths and goods, in the natural man; baggage signifies the cognitions and scientifics there; the bleatings of the flocks signify the perceptions and thoughts thereof; and Gilead signifies the natural man. When these things are known it will be evident that the meaning in the spiritual sense is, that when the church is destroyed, the natural man, with that which is contained therein, is separated from the spiritual man, although it ought on the contrary to be conjoined with it; and when it is conjoined, then truths from good exist there, by means of which a combat against falsities from evil takes place; for the natural man must fight against these from the spiritual man. Statutes of the heart and searchings of heart, signify those truths from good, which are in the natural man from the spiritual. For the heart signifies the good of love, while statutes and searchings of the heart denote all those things that are determined and arranged in the natural man from good in the spiritual. These things are said of Reuben, because his tribe dwelt beyond Jordan in Gilead, and did not join with Deborah and Barak when they fought against Sisera, but only the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun; for Sisera, in the spiritual sense, means falsity from evil destroying the church.

[14] Reuben signifies the light of truth, and therefore the understanding of the Word, in Moses,

"Let Reuben live, and not die; yet shall his men be a number" (Deuteronomy 33:6).

Reuben here means the understanding of the Word, enlightened by light from heaven; and because there are few who receive enlightenment, it is therefore said, "Yet shall his men be a number," number signifying, fewness and a few.

[15] That Reuben signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident from the opposite sense, in which he is also mentioned. In that sense, Reuben signifies truth separated from good, or faith separated from charity. And truth apart from good is not truth, except merely in regard to the expression and sound, for it is a scientific residing in the memory of the natural man, that is to say, only in the entrance to the man, and not within him in his life. The memory of the natural man is merely the entrance to him, nor does truth become truth with him until he wills it and does it, for then it first enters and receives life; previous to this, light from heaven does not flow in and enlighten. The case is similar with faith separated from charity, for truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[16] That Reuben, in the opposite sense, signifies faith separated from charity, is evident from his adultery with Bilhah his father's concubine; concerning this it is written as follows in Moses:

"And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in the land" Ephrath-Bethlehem, "that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it" (Genesis 35:22).

Ephrath-Bethlehem signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good, or in faith from charity. To separate the good of charity from the truths of faith, is signified by the adultery of Reuben. For truth is profaned when it is not united with its own good, which is the good of charity, since it is then united with the love of self and of the world, which is adulteration. All adulteries also, of which many kinds are recounted in Leviticus (18:6-23), correspond to the adulterations of good and truth. That the adultery committed by Reuben corresponds to faith separated from charity, has been made known and testified to me from things heard and seen in the spiritual world, where such a sphere of adultery is perceived to go forth from those who have separated charity from faith in doctrine and in life.

[17] Because this also was signified by Reuben, therefore the primogeniture was taken away from him by his father, and given to Joseph and his sons. That it was taken from Reuben is evident from these words of his father:

"Reuben my first-born, thou art my strength and the beginning of my might, excellent in eminence and excellent in worth. Unstable as water thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, then thou profanedst [it]; he went up to my couch" (Genesis 49:4).

Here, by Reuben my first-born, is signified faith, which is apparently in the first place, or truth born from good. Thou art my strength, and the beginning of my might, signifies that good has power (potentia) by means of it and truth its primary power. By excellent in eminence and excellent in worth, is signified that glory and authority (potestas) are therefrom. By unstable as water, is signified that it is not so with faith separated from charity, and by thou shalt not excel, is signified that such faith has neither glory nor authority. Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, signifies because the truth of faith separated from the good of charity forms a filthy union; then thou profanedst [it], signifies conjunction with the love of self and of the world, and consequently with evil, which is profane. He went up to my couch, signifies the contamination of spiritual good in the Natural. But these things are fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6341-6350).

[18] That the primogeniture was therefore given to the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, is meant by these words of his father Israel to Joseph:

"Now thy two sons, born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon shall be mine" (Genesis 48:5).

And in the [First] Book of Chronicles:

Reuben "is the first-born, but because he polluted his father's bed, his primogeniture was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel" (5:1, 2).

For Ephraim in the Word has a signification similar to that of Reuben, namely, the understanding of truth, and truth in light. It is said Ephraim and Manasseh shall be the sons of Israel, even as Reuben and Simeon, because Reuben signifies the understanding of truth, and Simeon, the will of truth; and Ephraim and Manasseh signify similar things. From these things it is now evident, what universal essential of the church is signified in the Word by Reuben.

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