9182. When a man shall persuade a virgin who is not betrothed. That this signifies good not conjoined with truth, is evident from the signification of “persuading,” when said of a man and a virgin, as being to entice to conjunction; from the signification of “a man” [vir] as being truth (see n. 3134, 7716, 9007); from the signification of “a virgin,” as being the church as to good (n. 3081, 4638), thus the good which is the church; and from the signification of “to be betrothed,” as being conjunction. It shall here be briefly stated what is the cause and the origin of the law relating to unlawful conjunction that is here treated of. All the laws delivered to the sons of Israel have their cause in heaven, and their origin in the laws of order there. All the laws of order in heaven are from the Divine truth and good which proceed from the Lord, consequently they are the laws of the good of love and truth of faith. The conjunction of good and truth in heaven is called the heavenly marriage, and this is represented in marriages on earth, and is also signified by “marriages” in the Word. From this it is plain what is involved in unlawful conjunctions, and also in scortations and adulteries. In these two verses an unlawful conjunction is treated of which is afterward either made lawful or is dissolved. The unlawful conjunction which afterward is made lawful, is the subject treated of in this verse; and the unlawful conjunction which afterward is dissolved, is the subject treated of in the following verse.

[2] Unlawful conjunction is that which is not made from conjugial affection; but from some other affection, as the affection of beauty, the affection of gain, or the affection of personal rank; and also which is made from lasciviousness. In the beginning these conjunctions are unlawful, because that which conjoins is external, and not at the same time internal. Nevertheless, a lawful conjunction may afterward be effected from them as means, which takes place when the minds are conjoined; and on the other hand no conjunction may result from them, as is the case when the minds are disjoined. That this is so, is generally known in the world.

[3] Lawful conjunction, which is that of minds, is effected when both are in the like good and truth; for good and truth make a man’s life; moral and civil good and truth, the life of the external man; and spiritual good and truth, the life of the internal man. Be it known that a man’s life is from no other source than good and truth, for all that a man loves is called good, and all that he believes is called truth; or, what is the same, all that a man wills is called good, and all that he understands is called truth. From this it is evident that a lawful conjunction is effected when the husband is in truth, and the wife is in the corresponding good, for in this way the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth, is represented in the pair. From this it is that conjugial love descends from this marriage (see n. 2727-2759, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835).

[4] From these as premises it can be known how the case is with the conjunctions treated of in this verse and the following one. Betrothals before marriage have been in use from ancient times, and represented the first conjunction, which is that of the internal man apart from the external. The subsequent marriages themselves represented the second conjunction, which is that of the internal man with the external; for during man’s regeneration by means of the goods and truths of faith, the internal man is first regenerated, and afterward the external, because the latter is regenerated by the former (n. 3286, 3321, 3493, 3882, 8746).

[5] From this it is evident what is signified in the Word by “betrothing” and by “being betrothed,” and also what by “bridegroom” and “bride;” namely, by “betrothing” is signified the conjunction of truth and good in the internal man; by “bridegroom” (where the Lord and the church are treated of) is signified good; and by “bride,” truth: as in Isaiah.

In Jeremiah:

I remembered for thee the mercy of thy youth, the love of thy betrothals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown (Jeremiah 2:2);

speaking of the Ancient Church and of its being set up by the Lord; “the love of betrothals” denotes the affection of spiritual life, which is from the truths of faith and the good of love; and the state of desire, when as yet they were in ignorance and in want of these things, is signified by “going after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.”

[6] In Hosea:

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animal of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and the war; and I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions (Hos. 2:18-19).

The setting up of a new church is here treated of; “to make a covenant with the wild animal of the field, with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth,” denotes the conjunction of the Lord through the internal and external good and truth in a man. That “a covenant” denotes conjunction, see n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778; “the wild animal of the field” denotes life from good (n. 841, 908); “the bird” denotes the life of truth (n. 40, 745, 776, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441); “the creeping thing of the earth” denotes the goods and truths of the external and sensuous man (n. 746, 909); “to break the bow, and the sword, and the war,” denotes to destroy the doctrine and the forces of falsity; “the bow” denotes the doctrine of falsity (n. 2686, 2709); “the sword,” falsity fighting against truth (n. 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102); “the war,” the combat itself, or spiritual combat (n. 1664, 2686, 8273), and “to break” these denotes to destroy them.

[7] “To betroth in righteousness and in judgment” denotes to be conjoined with the Lord in good and truth; “to betroth” denotes to conjoin with one’s self; “righteousness” is predicated of good, and “judgment” of truth (n. 2235); “to betroth in mercy and in compassions,” denotes doing so from love toward those who are in good, and in love toward those who are in truths; the Lord’s “mercy” is predicated as being directed toward those who are in need of good and who yet long for it; and His “compassions,” toward those who are in ignorance of truth and who yet long for it. From all this it is evident that “betrothal” denotes the conjunction of good and truth with a man by the Lord. Everyone can see that such things are here signified; for it is clear even to the perception from merely natural light that Jehovah does not make a covenant with the wild animal of the field, with the bird, and with the creeping thing of the earth; but with those who are in the good and truth of faith, thus with the good and truth in the man; consequently that such things are hidden in this prophecy.

[8] And in Malachi:

Judah hath dealt treacherously, for he hath profaned the holiness of Jehovah, in that he hath loved, and hath betrothed to himself, the daughter of a strange god (Malachi 2:11);

“to betroth the daughter of a strange god” denotes to be conjoined with the evil of falsity; “a strange god” denotes falsity (n. 4402, 4544, 7873).

[9] That where the Lord and the church are treated of, the “bridegroom” denotes good, and the “bride” truth, may be seen in Isaiah:

Jehovah hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom putteth on his headdress, and as a bride adorneth herself with her vessels (Isaiah 61:10).

I saw the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:2).

The angel said, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb’s wife (Revelation 21:9); where “the bride” denotes the church.

[10] In Matthew:

Jesus said unto the disciples of John, Can the sons of the wedding mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast (Matthew 9:15, andLuke 5:34-35);

those are called “sons of the wedding” who are in the truths of the church, and receive good, for the good which is from the Lord is “the bridegroom;” that “the sons of the wedding do not mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them” denotes that they are in a blessed and happy state, thus with the Lord, when they are in truths conjoined with their good; “they shall fast when the bridegroom is taken away from them” denotes that they are in an unhappy state when good is no longer conjoined with truths; this state is the last state of the church, but the former is its first state.

[11] The like is signified in Matthew 25:1-12 by the bridegroom whom the ten virgins went forth to meet; for the virgins who had oil in their lamps denote those who have good in their truths, but those who had no oil in their lamps denote those who have no good in their truths (see n. 4638; and that “oil” denotes the good of love, n. 886, 3728, 4582).

[12] In John:

John said, I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice (John 3:28-29);

“the bride” denotes the truth of faith of the church; and “the bridegroom” the good of love of the church, both from the Lord; thus they denote the man of the church with whom good has been conjoined with truths. From all this it is also plain what is meant in the internal sense by the “joy” and the “voice of the bridegroom and of the bride” in Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11; Revelation 18:23; namely, heaven and the happiness resulting from the conjunction of good and truth with man and angel.

2799. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. That this signifies the good of love and the truth of faith, is evident from the signification of “fire,” as being the good of love (see n. 934); and from the signification of a “knife,” as being the truth of faith. That the knife used upon the victims in the sacrifices signified the truth of faith, may be seen from the signification of a “sword” or “little sword” in the Word; for instead of “knife” it is said “little sword.” Both have the same signification, but with the difference that the knife used for sacrifices signified the truth of faith, but a sword truth combating; and as a knife is rarely mentioned in the Word, for a secret reason to be mentioned presently, we may show what a “sword” signifies. A “sword” in the internal sense signifies the truth of faith combating, and also the vastation of truth; and in the opposite sense falsity combating, and the punishment of falsity.

[2] I. That a “sword” signifies the truth of faith combating, may be seen from the following passages.

In David:

Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One, prosper in Thy glow and Thy majesty, ride upon the word of truth, and Thy right hand shall teach Thee wonderful things (Psalms 45:3-4); where the Lord is treated of, the “sword” denoting truth combating. In the same:

Let the merciful exult in glory, let them sing upon their beds; let the high praises of God be in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand (Psalms 149:5-6).

In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath called Me from the womb; from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of My name, and He hath made My mouth like a sharp sword, and hath made Me a polished arrow (Isaiah 49:1-2);

a “sharp sword” denotes truth combating; and a “polished arrow,” the truth of doctrine (see n. 2686, 2709). In the same:

Asshur shall fall by the sword not of a man; and the sword not of man shall devour him; and he shall flee before the sword, and his young men shall become tributary (Isaiah 31:8);

“Asshur” denotes reasoning in Divine things (n. 119, 1186); the “sword not of a man, and not of man,” falsity; the “sword before which he shall flee,” truth combating.

[3] In Zechariah:

Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee; I who have bent Judah for Me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim, and have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Javan, and I will make thee as the sword of a mighty man, and Jehovah shall be seen over them, and His arrows shall go forth as the lightning (Zech. 9:12-14).

The “sword of a mighty man” denotes truth combating.

In John:

In the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like unto the Son of man; He had in His right hand seven stars; out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was as the sun shining in his strength (Revelation 1:13, 16).

Again:

These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword; I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth (Revelation 2:12, 16).

The “sharp two-edged sword” manifestly denotes truth combating, which was therefore represented as a “sword going out of the mouth.”

[4] In the same:

Out of the mouth of Him that sat upon the white horse proceeded a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and they were slain by the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which came forth out of His mouth (Revelation 19:15, 21); where it is manifest that the “sword out of His mouth” is truth combating. (That He who sat upon the white horse is the Word, and thus the Lord who is the Word, may be seen above, n. 2760-2763.) Hence it is that the Lord says in Matthew:

Think not that I came to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).

Also in Luke:

Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his garment, and buy a sword; they said, Lord, behold here are two swords; and Jesus said, It is enough (Luke 22:36-38); where nothing else is meant by a “sword” than the truth from which and for which they would combat.

[5] In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground; and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the war out of the land; and will make them to lie down securely (Hos. 2:18); where the Lord’s kingdom is treated of; by “breaking the how, the sword, and the war,” is signified that there is no combat there respecting doctrine and truth.

In Joshua:

Joshua lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold there stood a man over against him, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he said to Joshua, I am prince of the army of Jehovah; and Joshua fell on his face to the earth (Josh. 5:13-14).

This was when Joshua entered with the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan, by which is meant the entrance of the faithful into the Lord’s kingdom. Truth combating, which is of the church, is the “drawn sword in the hand of the prince of the army of Jehovah.”

[6] But that by “little swords” or “knives” is signified the truth of faith, may be seen from the fact that they were used not only in the sacrifices, but also in circumcision. For use in circumcision they were of stone, and were called “little swords of flint,” as is manifest in Joshua:

Jehovah said unto Joshua, Make thee little swords of flint, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him little swords of flint, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins (Josh. 5:2-3).

That circumcision was a representative of purification from the love of self and the world, may be seen above (n. 2039, 2632); and as this purification is effected by the truths of faith, therefore little swords of flint were used (n. 2039, 2046 at the end).

[7] II. That a “sword” signifies the vastation of truth, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? Desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; who will comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets (Isaiah 51:19-20);

“famine” denotes the vastation of good; and the “sword” the vastation of truth; to “lie at the head of all the streets,” is to be deprived of all truth. (That a “street” is truth may be seen above, n. 2336; and what vastation is, at n. 301-304, 407-408, 410-411) In the same:

I will number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because I called, and ye did not answer; I spake, and ye did not hear (Isaiah 65:12).

[8] In the same:

By fire and by the sword will Jehovah judge all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be many (Isaiah 66:16).

The “slain of Jehovah” denote those who are vastated.

In Jeremiah:

Spoilers are come upon all the hillsides in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the one end of the land; even to the other end of the land no flesh hath peace; they have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns (Jeremiah 12:12-13).

The “sword of Jehovah” plainly denotes the vastation of truth. In the same:

They have lied against Jehovah, and said, It is not He, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword nor famine; and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them (Jeremiah 5:12-13).

[9] In the same:

I will visit upon them; the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine (Jeremiah 11:22).

In the same:

When they offer burnt-offering and meat-offering I will not accept them; for I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovih, behold the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, and ye shall not have famine (Jeremiah 14:12-13).

In the same:

The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence (Jeremiah 32:24, 36).

In the same:

I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers (Jeremiah 24:10).

[10] In these passages by “the sword, the famine, and the pestilence” vastation is described; by the “sword” the vastation of truth, by the “famine” the vastation of good, and by the “pestilence” a wasting away even to consumption.

In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber’s razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head, and upon thy beard; and take thee balances to weigh, and divide them. A third part shalt thou burn with fire in the midst of the city; a third part thou shalt smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. A third part shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw out a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:1-2, 12, 17).

Here the vastation of natural truth is treated of, which is thus described. In the same:

The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him (Ezekiel 7:15).

[11] In the same:

Say to the land of Israel, Thus said Jehovah, Behold I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the just and the wicked. Because I will cut off from thee the just and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath, it shall not return any more. The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said Jehovah, Say a sword, a sword, it is sharpened and also furbished; it is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning. Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih to the sons of Ammon, and to their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is furbished to devour because of the lightning, whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee (Ezekiel 21:3-5, 8-10, 28-29).

Nothing else is here signified by the “sword” than vastation, as is manifest from the particulars in the internal sense.

[12] In the same:

The king of Babel shall break down thy towers with his swords; by reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; by reason of the noise of the rider, and of the wheel, and of the chariot, thy walls shall shake; with the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets (Ezekiel 26:9-11).

What Babel is, may be seen above (n. 1326); and that it vastates (n. 1327).

In David:

If he turn not, God will whet His sword, He will bend His bow, and make it ready (Psalms 7:12).

In Jeremiah:

I said, Ah Lord Jehovih surely deceiving Thou hath deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; and the sword hath reached even to the soul (Jeremiah 4:10).

[13] In the same:

Declare ye in Egypt, and make it to be heard in Migdol, Stand forth and prepare thee, for the sword shall devour round about thee (Jeremiah 46:14).

A sword is upon the Chaldeans, and upon the inhabitants of Babel, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men; a sword is upon her boasters, and they shall be foolish; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed; a sword is upon her horses, and upon her chariots, and upon all the mixed multitude that is in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed; a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up (Jeremiah 50:35-38);

a “sword” manifestly denotes the vastation of truth, for it is said, “a sword is upon the wise men, upon the boasters, upon the mighty men, upon the horses and the chariot, and upon the treasures,” and that “drought is upon the waters, and they shall be dried up.”

[14] In the same:

We have given the hand to Egypt, to Asshur, to be satisfied with bread. Servants have ruled over us, there is none to deliver us out of their hand; we got our bread with our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lam. 5:6, 8-9).

In Hosea:

He shall not return into the land of Egypt, and Asshur he shall be his king, because they refused to return to Me, and the sword shall hang over his cities, and shall consume his bars, and shall devour them, because of their counsels (Hos. 11:5-6).

In Amos:

I have sent among you the pestilence in the way of Egypt, I have slain your young men with the sword, with the captivity of your horses (Amos 4:10);

“in the way of Egypt” denotes the memory-knowledges which vastate, when they reason from them on Divine things; the “captivity of the horses” denotes the intellectual faculty deprived of its endowment.

[15] III That a “sword” in the opposite sense signifies falsity combating, may be seen in David:

My soul lieth in the midst of lions, the sons of men are set on fire; their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).

Behold they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips, for who doth hear? (Psalms 59:7).

In Isaiah:

Thou art cast forth out of thy sepulchre as an abominable branch, as the raiment of the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot (Isaiah 14:19); where Lucifer is treated of.

In Jeremiah:

In vain have I smitten your sons, they received no correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: have I been a wilderness unto Israel? (Jeremiah 2:30-31).

[16] In the same:

Go not forth into the field, and walk not in the way, for there is the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side (Jeremiah 6:25-26).

In the same:

Take the cup of the wine of fury, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it; and they shall drink, and reel, and be mad because of the sword that I will send among you. Drink ye and be drunken, and spew and fall, and rise no more because of the sword (Jeremiah 25:15-16, 27).

In the same:

Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put that handle the shield, and the Ludim that handle and bend the bow. For that is a day of the Lord Jehovih of Armies, a day of vengeance; and the sword shall devour, and be satisfied, and shall be drunken with their blood (Jeremiah 46:9-10).

[17] In Ezekiel:

They shall strip thee of thy garments, and take the jewels of thy glory, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and they shall bring up an assembly against thee; and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords (Ezekiel 16:39-40); where the abominations of Jerusalem are treated of.

In Zechariah:

Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock; the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened (Zech. 11:17).

In Hosea:

Against me have they thought evil; their princes shall fall by the sword, because of the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt (Hos. 7:15-16).

[18] In Luke:

There shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people; for they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all the nations; and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations (Luke 21:23-24); where the Lord is speaking of the consummation of the age; and in the sense of the letter, of the dispersion of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem; but in the internal sense, of the last state of the church. By “falling by the edge of the sword,” is signified that there is no longer any truth, but mere falsity; by “all nations” are signified evils of every kind, among which they should be led captive; that “nations” are evils may be seen above (n. 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868); also that “Jerusalem” is the church (n. 2117), which is thus “trodden down.”

[19] IV. That a “sword” also signifies the punishment of falsity, is evident in Isaiah:

In that day Jehovah with His hard, and great, and strong sword, will visit upon leviathan the long serpent, and upon leviathan the crooked serpent, and will slay the whales that are in the sea (Isaiah 27:1); where those are treated of who by reasonings from sensuous things and from memory-knowledges enter into the mysteries of faith; the “hard and great and strong sword” denotes the punishments of the falsity therefrom.

[20] Where we read that they were “given over to the edge of the sword and slain by it,” sometimes both man and woman, boy and old man, ox and herd, and ass, in the internal sense the punishment of the condemnation of falsity is signified (as in Josh. 6:21; 8:24-25; 10:28, 30, 37, 39; 11:10-12, 14; 13:22; 19:47; Judges 1:8, 25; 4:15-16; 18:27; 20:37; 1 Samuel 15:8, 11; 2 Kings 10:25 and other places). Hence it was commanded that a city which should worship other gods should be smitten with the sword, be utterly destroyed, and be burnt up with fire, and be a heap forever (Deuteronomy 13:13, 15-17); the “sword” denoting the punishment of falsity; and “fire” the punishment of evil. The angel of Jehovah standing in the way against Balaam with a drawn sword (Numbers 22:31) signified the truth which resisted the falsity in which Balaam was; and for that reason also he was killed with a sword (Numbers 31:8).

[21] That a “sword” in the genuine sense signifies truth combating, and in the opposite sense falsity combating, also the vastation of truth, and the punishment of falsity, has its origin from the representatives in the other life; for when anyone there speaks what he knows to be false, there then immediately come down over his head as it were little swords, and strike terror; and besides, truth combating is represented by things that have a point, like swords; for indeed truth without good is of this nature, but when together with good it has a rounded form and is gentle. From this origin it comes to pass that whenever a “knife,” or “spear,” or “little sword,” or “sword” is mentioned in the Word, to the angels there is suggested truth combating.

[22] But the reason that a knife is seldom mentioned in the Word, is that there are evil spirits in the other life who are called “knifers,” at whose side there appear knives hanging; for the reason that they have such a brutal nature that they wish to cut everyone’s throat with the knife. Hence it is that “knives” are not mentioned, but “little swords” or “swords;” for as these are used in combats, they suggest the idea of war, and thus of truth combating.

[23] As it was known to the ancients that a little sword, a little lance, and a knife signify truth, the nations to whom this came by tradition were accustomed to pierce and lacerate themselves with little swords, little lances, or knives, at the time of their sacrifices, even to blood; as we read of the priests of Baal:

The priests of Baal cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and little lances, even till the blood gushed out (1 Kings 18:28).

That all the weapons of war in the Word signify things which belong to spiritual combat, and each one something specific, may be seen above (n. 2686).