9659. And there shall be eight planks, and their bases of silver. That this signifies support in every way by good, and through the truth which is from good, is evident from the signification of “eight,” as being in every way, of which in what follows; from the signification of “planks,” as being the good which supports (see n. 9634); and from the signification of “bases of silver,” as being support through the truth which is from good (n. 9643).

[2] That “eight” denotes in every way is because by this number is signified the same as by “two,” and by “four,” for it arises from these multiplied together, and by “two” and “four” is signified conjunction to the full (n. 5194, 8423, 8877), and from this also what is full (see n. 9103), and consequently in every way; for that which is in fullness is also in every way. By “eight” is also signified what is full and in every way, from the fact that by a “week” is signified an entire period from beginning to end (n. 2044, 3845); consequently by “the eighth day” is signified a full state, from which there is afterward made a new beginning. From this it was that male children were circumcised when eight days old (Genesis 17:12; 21:4); for by “circumcision” was signified purification from filthy loves by means of the truth of faith (n. 2039, 2046, 2799, 3412-3413, 4462); the foreskin corresponded to the defilement of good by these loves (n. 4462, 7045, 7225); and “the sword of stone,” with which the circumcision was performed, signified the truth of faith by means of which purification is effected (n. 2039, 2046, 2799, 7044).

[3] What is full and in every way is also signified by “eight” after “seven,” in Micah:

When Asshur shall come into our land, and shall tread our palaces, then shall we set over him seven shepherds and eight princes of men. And they shall feed on the land of Asshur with the sword; and He shall deliver us from Asshur (Micah 5:5-6);

“Asshur” denotes reasoning about the goods and truths of the church from man’s own intelligence; total or complete deliverance from the falsity thence, is signified by the “eight princes of men who shall destroy;” the “princes of men” denote the primary truths of good.

[4] That “eight” denotes what is full, and in every way, is also plain from experience concerning the admission and reception of societies into heaven (as may be seen above, n. 2130). The societies that were first received appeared up to twelve in number, and afterward eight; for those who are admitted and received into heaven are those who have been purified from earthly things, and therefore from the loves of them, and who have afterward been instructed; by the number “eight” was then signified what is full.

[5] The like is signified by “eight” in other parts of the Word, as by the porch of the gate from the house being “eight ells,” and by there being “eight steps” to the house, in Ezekiel 40:9, 31, 41. A new house is there treated of, by which is signified a New Church of the Lord; the truths which lead to good, and from good to truths, are signified by the porch and by the steps.

[6] He who knows not that in the Word numbers infold realities, is bound to get the idea that where the tabernacle, the temple of Solomon, and afterward a new house, and a new temple, and a new earth, are described in Ezekiel, the measurements and numbers have no real meaning, and therefore no holiness, although in the Word not a syllable is void of meaning. Let him who has intelligence consider the measurements and numbers in Ezekiel, from chapter 40 to chapter 48, and the measurements and numbers given by John in the Revelation, chapter 21, where also it is said that “the angel measured the wall of the New Jerusalem a hundred forty and four cubits,” and that “this measure is that of a man, that is, of an angel” (verse 17); also in another passage: “He that hath intelligence, let him compute the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred and sixty-six” (Revelation 13:18); besides those given in many other passages. (That all the numbers mentioned in the Word signify real things, see n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5291, 5335, 5708, 6175, 7973; and in the places where it has been shown what is signified by some numbers in particular.)

4462. To give our sister to a man that hath a foreskin. That this signifies unless they made the truth and good of the church to consist in representatives, and would recede from the things which these signify, is evident from the signification of the “foreskin,” as being an external representative-a sign that they were of the church; and therefore it was usual to speak of circumcision and the foreskin when a distinction was to be made between those who were of the church and those who were not. For “circumcision” signifies recession from filthy loves, namely, from the love of self and of the world, and accession to heavenly loves, which are love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, thus accession to the church. Hence it is that by these words is signified accession to their religiosity, and consequently that like them they should make the truth and good of the church consist in representatives by receding from the internal things which are signified, for otherwise they would not be like them, according to the words that follow: “In this will we consent to you, if ye be as we.” (That circumcision is a sign of purification from filthy loves, see n. 2039, 2632; and that they who are in these loves were called “uncircumcised,” n. 2049, 3412, 3413.)

[2] Scarcely anyone at this day knows what is the specific signification of circumcision, and therefore this must be told. The genitals in both sexes signify the things which belong to the conjunction of good and truth; nor do they merely signify these things, but also actually correspond to them. It has been shown at the end of the chapters that all man’s organs and members have a correspondence with spiritual things in heaven, and consequently so have the organs and members allotted to generation. These correspond to the marriage of good and truth; and from this marriage descends conjugial love (see n. 2618, 2727-2729, 2803, 3132, 4434). As the foreskin covers the genital, in the Most Ancient Church it corresponded to the obscuration of good and truth, but in the Ancient Church to their defilement. For with the man of the Most Ancient Church, who was an internal man, good and truth could be obscured but not defiled; whereas with the man of the Ancient Church, being a comparatively external man, good and truth could be defiled, because it is external things—that is, external loves—which defile. For this reason they who were of the Most Ancient Church knew nothing of circumcision, but only they who were of the Ancient Church.

[3] From this church circumcision spread to many nations; and it was not enjoined upon Abraham and his descendants as anything new, but merely as a discontinued rite that was to be restored; and it became to his posterity a sign that they were of the church. But that nation neither knew nor desired to know what this rite signified, for they made their religiosity consist in mere representatives, which are external matters, and therefore they included all the uncircumcised in one general condemnation, although circumcision was only a sign representative of purification from the love of self and of the world. Those who are purified from this love are the spiritually circumcised, and are said to be “circumcised in heart,” as in Moses:

Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God in all thy heart, and in all thy soul (Deuteronomy 30:6).

In the same:

Ye shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and shall no longer harden your neck (Deuteronomy 10:16).

And in Jeremiah:

Break up your fallow ground, and take away the foreskin of your heart (Jeremiah 4:3-4).

[4] But they who are in the loves of self and of the world are called “the uncircumcised,” in spite of the fact that they had been circumcised; as in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come in which I will visit upon everyone that is circumcised in the foreskin, upon Egypt, and upon Judah, and upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all that are cut off at the corner, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart (Jeremiah 9:25-26);

this passage shows that many other nations were circumcised, for it is said, “I will visit upon everyone that is circumcised in the foreskin,” so that as already stated this was not a new rite, or restricted to the descendants of Jacob as a mark of distinction. The Philistines were not circumcised, and therefore it is they who are usually meant by “the uncircumcised” (1 Samuel 14:6; 17:26, 36; 31:4; 2 Samuel 1:20, and in other places).