The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms # 150
150. Internal Meaning of Ezekiel, Chapter 27
1-2 Further concerning the church in respect to knowledges [cognitiones] of truth, which is Tyre. (2)
3-9 The Ancient Church had knowledges of truth and good of every kind and species, and by means of them it had intelligence. (2)
10-11 Truths that protected that church. (2)
12-13 Acquisitions and communications of all the knowledges. (2)
14-20 Knowledge [scientia], intelligence, and wisdom by means of them.
21-23 Divine worship from them. (2)
24-25 Truths and goods of every kind and thus everything of the church acquired by means of them. (2, 17)
26-29 Through natural knowledges [scientiae] they have perished. (2)
Much
Intellectual things -- ideas, knowledge, facts, even insight and understanding -- are more separate and free-standing than emotional things, and it's easier to imagine numbering them as individual things. Our loves and affections tend to be more amorphous -- they can certainly be powerful, but would be harder to measure. Using words like “much,” “many,” myriad” and “multitude” to describe a collection of things gives the sense that there is an exact number, even if we don't know what it is and don't want to bother trying to count. These words, then, are used in the Bible in reference to intellectual things -- our thoughts, knowledge and concepts. Words that indicate largeness without the idea of number -- “great” is a common one -- generally refer to loves, affections and the desire for good. Here's one way to think about this: Say you want to take some food to a friend who just had a baby. That's a desire for good (assuming you're doing it from genuinely good motives). To actually do it, though, takes dozens of thoughts, ideas, facts and knowledges. What does she like to eat? What do you have to cook? What do you cook well? Can you keep it hot getting to her house? Is it nutritious? Does she have any allergies? So one good desire can bring a multitude of ideas into play.
