4599. “在以得塔那边支搭帐棚” 表其内层事物. 这从 “支搭帐棚”, “塔那边” 和 “以得” 的含义清楚可知: “支搭帐棚” 是指在神圣之物上的发展, 在此是指朝向内层事物的发展, “帐棚” 表示神圣之物 (参看414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391节); “塔那边” 是指进入内层事物, 如下文所述; “以得” 是指状态的性质, 也就是说, 在神圣之物上朝向内层事物发展的性质. 自古时起, 这塔就具有这种含义, 但由于除了约书亚记 (15:21) 外, 在圣言中, 它没有在别的地方被提及, 所以这一点无法像其它名字那样从相关经文得以证实. “塔那边” 之所以表示朝向内层事物, 是因为更内层的事物由巍峨和高耸的物体来表示, 如大山, 小山, 塔, 屋顶等等. 原因在于, 从通过外在感官所感知到的尘世属世物体形成其观念的心智将内层事物看为比其它东西更高的物体 (2148节).

“塔” 表示内层事物, 这一点也可从圣言的其它经文看出来, 如以赛亚书:

我所亲爱的有葡萄园, 在肥美的山冈上. 他把它围起来, 清除石头, 栽种上等的葡萄树, 在园子当中建了一座塔. (以赛亚书 5:1-2)

“葡萄园” 表示属灵教会; “上等的葡萄树” 表示属灵良善; “在园子当中所建的塔” 表示真理的内层事物. 主在马太福音中的比喻也一样:

有一个做家主的人栽了一个葡萄园, 周围圈上篱笆, 里面挖了一个压酒池, 建了一座塔, 把它租给佃户, 就出外去了. (马太福音 21:33; 马可福音 12:1)

以西结书:

亚发人和你的军队都在你四围的墙上, 歌玛底人 (或译勇士) 在你的塔楼中, 他们把自己的盾, 挂在四周的城墙上, 成全你的美丽. (以西结书 27:11)

这论及推罗, 推罗表示对良善与真理的认知, 或那些拥有这些认知的人. “在其塔楼中的歌玛底人 (或译勇士)” 表示对内层真理的认知.

弥迦书:

耶和华要在锡安山作王治理他们, 从今直到永远; 你这羊群的塔楼, 锡安女子的山冈啊, 都必归于你了, 从前的王国, 就是耶路撒冷女子的王国必将归回. (弥迦书 4:7-8)

这描述了主的属天国度. “锡安山” 描述了它的至内在部分, 也就是对主之爱; “锡安女子的山冈” 表示它的直接衍生物, 也就是相爱, 这爱在灵义上被称为对邻之仁; “羊群的塔楼” 描述了其良善的内层真理; “耶路撒冷女子的王国” 表示一个属灵-属天国度由此而存在. 诗篇:

因你的判断, 锡安山应当欢喜, 犹大的女子应当快乐. 你们要绕着锡安山走, 数点她的塔楼. (诗篇 48:11, 12)

此处 “塔楼” 表示保卫构成爱与仁之物的内层真理.

路加福音:

凡不背着自己十字架跟从我的, 也不能作我的门徒. 你们哪一个想盖一座塔, 不先坐下算计花费, 能盖成不能呢? 或哪一个王去和别的王打仗, 岂不先坐下酌量, 能用一万兵去会那领二万兵来攻打他的吗? 这样, 你们无论什么人, 若不撇下一切所有的, 就不能作我的门徒. (路加福音 14:27-28, 31, 33)

凡不知道圣言内义的人必以为主在此通过打比方说话, “盖一座塔” 和 “打仗” 并没有别的意思. 殊不知, 在圣言中, 一切比方都具有属灵含义, 都是代表; “盖一座塔” 表示获得为人的自我获取内层真理; “打仗” 表示凭这些真理争战. 因为此处论述的主题是那些属于教会的人所经历的试探, 他们在此被称为主的 “门徒”. 他们必须背的 “十字架” 表示这些试探; “若不撇下一切所有的, 就不能作我的门徒” 表示若不靠着主, 他们凭自己, 或自己的东西绝不会得胜. 所有这些事就是这样连贯起来的; 但是, 若没有内层意义, 仅仅将涉及塔和打仗的事理解为简单的比方, 那它们就连贯不起来了. 由此可见, 是什么样的光从内义流出.

那些陷入爱自己, 爱世界之人的内层, 因而他们用来争战并巩固他们那种宗教信仰的虚假, 也以反面意义上的 “塔” 来表达, 如以赛亚书:

到那日, 人的高傲必降为卑, 惟独耶和华被尊崇; 因为万军之耶和华必有一日, 要攻击一切骄矜高傲的, 和一切自高的, 他必降为卑; 要攻击黎巴嫩所有高而昂的香柏树, 和巴珊所有的橡树, 又攻击所有的高山, 和所有耸峙的山冈, 攻击每一个高塔, 和每一道坚固的城墙. (以赛亚书 2:11-15)

此处以 “香柏树”, “橡树”, “高山”, “山冈”, “塔” 和 “城墙” 来描述这些爱的内层和外层: “塔” 描述了内层虚假; 因而又以高耸的事物来描述内层事物. 然而, 区别在于: 那些陷入邪恶与虚假的人自以为高, 在他人之上; 而那些处于良善与真理的人则自以为小, 在他人之下 (马太福音 20:26, 27; 马可福音 10:44). 尽管如此, 良善与真理仍被描述为高耸之物, 因为在天上, 它们更接近至高者, 也就是主. 在圣言中, “塔” 论及真理, 而 “山” 论及良善.

1093. That 'cursed be Canaan' means that external worship separated from internal turned itself away from the Lord is clear from the meaning of 'Canaan' and from the meaning of 'being cursed'. That 'Canaan' is external worship separated from internal is clear from what has been stated already about Canaan, also from his being called 'cursed'; and from what follows about his being 'a slave of slaves'. And being a slave both to Shem and to Japheth cannot mean anything other than something separated from the Church itself, such as worship that is wholly external. This is clear from the meaning of 'being cursed' as turning oneself away, for the Lord in no way curses anybody, or is even angry. Instead it is man who brings the curse upon himself by turning himself away from the Lord. On these points see what has been shown already in 223, 245, 592. The Lord is as far from cursing or being angry with anyone as the sky is from the earth. Who can believe that the Lord, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, who with wisdom rules the universe, and so who is infinitely superior to all [human] weaknesses, is angry with such pitifully worthless dust, that is, with human beings who scarcely know anything of what they do and who of themselves are incapable of anything other than evil? With the Lord therefore anger is never present, only mercy.

[2] That arcana are contained here can be seen merely from the consideration that even though it was Ham who saw his father's nakedness and pointed it out to his brothers, he was not cursed but his son Canaan, who was not his only son nor even the firstborn but the fourth in line, as is clear from Chapter 10, verse 6 later on, where the sons of Ham are mentioned as being Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. It can in addition be seen from the Divine Law that no son was to bear his father's iniquity, as is clear in Ezekiel,

The soul that has sinned will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son. Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 14:16; 2 Kings 14:6.

And the same can also be seen from the consideration that this iniquity of merely seeing his father's nakedness and pointing it out to his brothers seems too slight for all of his descendants ever to have been cursed on that account. From these considerations it is clear that arcana are contained here.

[3] The reason Ham is not mentioned here but Canaan is that Ham means faith separated from charity in the spiritual Church, which cannot be cursed because in that Church faith has holiness present within it because truth is present there. And although there is no faith when there is no charity, it is still possible - since it is by means of the cognitions of faith that a person is regenerated - for separated faith to be allied to charity, and in this way to be in some sense 'a brother' or may become one. This was why Canaan was cursed and not Ham. Furthermore the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were for the most part people such as made all worship consist in external things, the Jews there as much as the gentiles. These are the arcana contained here, but for which Canaan would never have been substituted for Ham. That external worship separated from internal turns itself away and so brings a curse on itself is quite clear from the fact that people whose worship is external have no regard for anything other than worldly, bodily, and earthly things. Thus they look downwards, and immerse their minds (animus) and life in those things; such will be dealt with a little further on.