560. And stings were in their tails, signifies craftiness in deceiving by means of them. This is evident from the signification of "stings," as being craftiness and shrewdness in persuading as to falsities; it follows therefore that they had in them the power to hurt men, for one who deceives craftily and shrewdly is especially harmful. The stings were "in their tails," because they deceive by means of knowledges [scientifica] sensually perceived, knowledges both from the Word and from the world, which are what human learning consists of; they deceive by knowledges from the Word by explaining it sensually according to the letter, and not according to its interior sense; they deceive by knowledges from the world by using them for confirmation. It is to be known that sensual men are more crafty and shrewd than others, and thus in acutely deceiving; for as spiritual men possess intelligence and prudence, so those who are sensual and in falsities possess malice and craftiness, for all malice has its seat in evil, as all intelligence has its seat in good.

[2] It is believed in the world that those who are crafty and shrewd are also prudent and intelligent; but craftiness and malice are not prudence and intelligence, but viewed in themselves are insanity and folly; for such remove themselves from eternal happiness and cast themselves into eternal misery, and this is not the part of the prudent and intelligent but of the insane and foolish. Moreover, with such all things of heavenly and angelic wisdom are in dense darkness, and where that wisdom is thick darkness there is folly. That sensual men are crafty and shrewd can be seen from those who are in the hells, where all are merely natural and sensual; it can hardly be believed by anyone how much craftiness and shrewdness these possess (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 576-581, where the malice and wicked devices of the infernal spirits are treated of).

[3] That "stings" signify craftiness can be seen without confirmation from the Word, for in common discourse the craftiness in speech by which men are deceived are called sharp points, and the talk itself is called sharp. But "stings" signify particularly interior falsities, which are such as cannot be dispelled, because they are from the knowledges and fallacies of the senses. That such falsities are signified by "stings" (or sharp points) can be seen from representatives in the spiritual world, where interior falsities are represented in various ways by sharp things, like the points of swords, the points of arrows, and things pointed in various forms, and this when they are intended to hurt; for this reason it is also forbidden there to exhibit such things to view, for spirits when they see them become furious to inflict injury.

[4] These falsities are signified by "sharp instruments" in Amos:

Behold the days will come upon you in which they will draw you out with barbs, and your posterity with fishhooks (Amos 4:2).

"To draw out with barbs" signifies to lead away from truths by knowledges [scientifica] from the Word and from the world falsely applied; and "to draw out with fishhooks" signifies to lead away from truths by the fallacies of the senses, from which the sensual man reasons.

[5] And in Moses:

If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom ye let remain of them shall be thorns in your eyes and pricks in your sides (Numbers 33:55).

The "inhabitants of the land whom they were to drive out," signify the evils and falsities of religion and of doctrine; for these were signified in an abstract sense by the nations of the land of Canaan. Therefore "they shall be thorns in your eyes" signifies the harm that will be done by malignant falsities to the truths of the church, and "pricks in your sides" signify the harm that will be done by malignant falsities to the goods of the church, "eyes" signifying in the Word the understanding of truth, and "sides" the things of charity, consequently goods.

1343. That 'Eber' was a nation, the Hebrew nation, which took its name from 'Eber' as its forefather, and which means the worship in general of the second Ancient Church, is clear from the references to him in the historical sections of the Word. Because a new form of worship began with that nation, all those were called Hebrews whose worship was similar to it. Their worship was like that re-established at a later time among the descendants of Jacob, its chief features being that they called their God Jehovah and held sacrifices. The Most Ancient Church was of one mind in acknowledging the Lord and calling Him Jehovah, as is clear also from the early chapters of Genesis and elsewhere in the Word. The Ancient Church, that is, the Church after the Flood also acknowledged the Lord and called Him Jehovah, especially those who possessed internal worship and were called 'the sons of Shem'. The remainder whose worship was external also acknowledged Jehovah and worshipped Him. But when internal worship became external, and still more when it became idolatrous, and when each nation started to have its own god to worship, the Hebrew nation retained the name of Jehovah and called their own God Jehovah. In this they were different from all other nations.

[2] Along with external worship, Jacob's descendants in Egypt, including Moses himself, lost knowledge even of this fact, that their God was called Jehovah. Consequently they had first of all to be taught that Jehovah was the God of the Hebrews, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as becomes clear from the following in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, You and the elders of Israel shall go in to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now let us go, pray, a three days' journey into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Exodus 3:18.

In the same author,

Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah that I should hearken to His voice to send Israel away? I do not know Jehovah, and moreover I will not send Israel away. And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, pray, a three days' journey into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Exodus 5:2-3.

[3] The fact that Jacob's descendants lost in Egypt, along with the worship, even the name of Jehovah becomes clear from the following in Moses,

Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I tell them? And God said to Moses, I Am Who I Am. And He said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I Am has sent me to you. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this is My name for ever. Exodus 3:13-15.

[4] From this it is evident that even Moses did not know it and that they were distinguished from everyone else by the name of Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews. Hence also Jehovah is elsewhere called the God of the Hebrews,

You shall say to Pharaoh, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to you. Exodus 7:16.

Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus said Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. Exodus 9:1, 13.

Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, Thus said Jehovah the God of the Hebrews Exodus 10:3.

In Jonah,

I am a Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven. Jonah 1:9.

And also in Samuel,

The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting and said, What does the noise of this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? And they learned that the Ark of Jehovah had come to the camp. The Philistines said, Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Acquit yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you be slaves to the Hebrews. 1 Samuel 4:6, 8-9.

Here also it is evident that nations were distinguished from one another by the gods whose names they called on, and that the Hebrew nation was distinguished by that of Jehovah.

[5] The fact that sacrifices were the second essential feature of the worship of the Hebrew nation is also evident from the words from Exodus 3:18; 5:2-3, quoted above, as well as from the fact that the Egyptians abhorred the Hebrew nation on account of this form of worship, as is clear from the following in Moses,

Moses said, It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing to Jehovah our God what is abhorrent to the Egyptians; behold, we would be sacrificing what is abhorrent to the Egyptians in their eyes; will they not stone us? Exodus 8:26.

Consequently the Egyptians also abhorred the Hebrew nation so much that they refused even 'to eat bread' with them, Genesis 43:32. From this it is also evident that not merely the descendants of Jacob constituted the Hebrew nation but everybody who possessed that kind of worship. This also was why in Joseph's day the land of Canaan was called the land of the Hebrews,

Joseph said. By theft I have been taken away out of the land of the Hebrews. Genesis 40:15.

[6] The fact that sacrifices took place among the idolaters in the land of Canaan becomes clear from many references, for they used to sacrifice to their gods - to the baals and to others What is more, Balaam, who came from Syria where Eber had lived, that is, where the Hebrew nation had originated, before Jacob's descendants entered the land of Canaan, not only offered sacrifices but also called his God Jehovah. As to the fact that Balaam came from Syria where the Hebrew nation had originated, see Numbers 23:7; that he offered sacrifices, Numbers 22:39-40; 23:1-3, 14, 29; that he called his God Jehovah, Numbers 22:18, and elsewhere in those chapters. And Genesis 8:20 speaks of Noah offering burnt offerings to Jehovah - though this is not true history but made-up history - for 'burnt offerings' means the holiness of worship, as may be seen in that story. These considerations now show what 'Eber' or 'the Hebrew nation' means.