701. As the ark is called "the ark of the covenant" it is also to be confirmed from the Word that it was called "the ark of the covenant" because the law was in it, and the "law," which in a broad sense means the Word, signifies the Lord in relation to Divine truth, which is the Word, thus Divine truth or the Word which is from the Lord and in which is the Lord; for all Divine truth proceeds from Him, and when this is received by man conjunction with the Lord is effected, and this conjunction is what is signified by "covenant." How conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord is effected, shall also be told in a few words. The Lord continually flows into all men with light that enlightens, and with the affection of knowing and understanding truths, also for willing and doing them; and as that light and that affection continually flow in from the Lord, it follows that man becomes rational to the extent that he receives of that light, and he becomes wise and is led by the Lord so far as he receives of that affection. That affection with its light draws to itself and conjoins to itself the truths that man from infancy has learned from the Word, from doctrine out of the Word, and from preaching; for every affection desires to be nourished by the knowledges that are in harmony with it. From this conjunction man's spiritual love or affection is formed, through which he is conjoined to the Lord, that is, through which the Lord conjoins man to Himself.

[2] But in order that that light and that affection may be received, freedom of choice has been given to man, and as that freedom is from the Lord, it is also a gift of the Lord with man and is never taken away from him; for that freedom belongs to man's affection or love, and consequently also to his life. From freedom a man can think and will what is evil, and can also think and will what is good. So far, therefore, as from that freedom, which belongs to his love and thence to his life, man thinks falsities and wills evils, which are the opposites of the truths and goods of the Word, so far he is not conjoined to the Lord; but so far as he thinks truths and wills goods, which are from the Word, so far he is conjoined to the Lord, and the Lord makes those truths and goods to be of his love, and thence of his life. From this it is evident that this conjunction is reciprocal, namely, of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord; such is the conjunction that is meant in the Word by "covenant."

[3] He greatly errs who believes that man is incapable of doing anything for his own salvation because the light to see truths and the affection of doing them, as well as the freedom to think and will them, are from the Lord, and nothing of these from man. Because these appear to man to be as if in himself, and when they are thought and willed to be as from himself, man ought, because of that appearance, to think and will them as if from himself, but at the same time acknowledge that they are from the Lord. In no other way can anything of truth and good or of faith and love be appropriated to man. If one lets his hands hang down and waits for influx he receives nothing, and can have no reciprocal conjunction with the Lord, thus he is not in the covenant. That this is so is clearly evident from this, that the Lord in a thousand passages in the Word has taught that man must do good and must not do evil, and this the Lord would by no means have said, unless something had been given to man by which he has ability to do, and unless that which has been given to man might seem to him to be as if his own, although it is not his. Because this is so the Lord speaks thus in John:

I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hear My voice and open the door I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).

[4] That "covenant" signifies conjunction with the Lord through the reception of Divine truth by the understanding and will, or by the heart and soul, that is, by love and faith, and that this conjunction is effected reciprocally, can be seen from the Word where "covenant" is mentioned. For from the Word it is evident:

1. That the Lord Himself is called a "covenant," because conjunction with Him is effected by Him through the Divine that proceeds from Him.

2. That the Divine proceeding, which is Divine truth, thus the Word, is the covenant, because it conjoins.

3. That the commandments, judgments, and statutes commanded to the sons of Israel were to them a covenant, because through these there was then conjunction with the Lord.

4. And further, that whatever conjoins is called a "covenant."

[5] As to the first: That the Lord Himself is called a "covenant," because conjunction with Him is effected by Him through the Divine that proceeds from Him, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

I Jehovah have called Thee in righteousness, and I will take hold of Thine hand and will guard Thee, and I will give thee for a covenant of the people and for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

This is said of the Lord, who is called "a covenant of the people and a light of the nations," because a "covenant" signifies conjunction, and "light" Divine truth; "peoples" mean those who are in truths, and "nations" those who are in goods (See above, n. 175, 331, 625); "to call Him in righteousness" signifies to establish righteousness by separating the evil from the good and by saving the good and condemning the evil; "to take hold of the hand and to guard" signifies to do this from Divine Omnipotence, which the hells cannot resist; Jehovah's doing this means that it is done by the Divine in the Lord.

[6] In the same:

I have given Thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth and to inherit the wasted heritages (Isaiah 49:8).

This, too, is said of the Lord; and "to give for a covenant of the people" signifies that there may be conjunction with Him and by Him; "to restore the earth" signifies the church; and "to inherit the wasted heritages" signifies to restore the goods and truths of the church that have been destroyed.

[7] In David:

I have made a covenant with My chosen, and I have sworn to David My servant, even to eternity will I establish thy seed, to eternity will I keep for him My mercy, and My covenant shall be steadfast for Him (Psalms 89:3, 4, 28).

"David" here means the Lord in relation to His royalty (See above, n. 205), and he is called "chosen" from good, and "servant" from truth; "to make a covenant and swear to him" signifies the uniting of the Lord's Divine with His Human, "to make a covenant" meaning to become united, and "to swear" meaning to confirm it; "even to eternity will I establish thy seed" signifies the eternity of Divine truth from Him; "to eternity will I keep for him My mercy" signifies the eternity of Divine good from Him; "My covenant shall be steadfast" signifies the union of the Divine and Human in Him. This becomes the sense of these words when, instead of David, the Lord in relation to the Divine Human and its royalty is understood, respecting which this is said in the sense of the letter, because in that sense David is treated of, with whom there was no eternal covenant.

[8] In the second book of Samuel:

The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to me; and He shall be as light in the morning when the sun riseth, without clouds; from the brightness after rain cometh grass out of the earth. Is not my house firm with God? For He hath set for me a covenant of eternity, to order over all and to keep (2 Samuel 23:3-5).

This is said by David; and "the God of Israel" and "the rock of Israel" mean the Lord in relation to Divine truth; what is signified by "He shall be as light in the morning when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds, from the brightness after rain cometh grass out of the earth," may be seen above n. 644. This describes Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, from which is all germination of truth and fructification of good. "Is not my house firm with God?" signifies the church conjoined with the Lord through the Divine truth, "the house of David" meaning the church; "for He hath set for me a covenant of eternity" signifies that from the union of His Human with the Divine He has conjunction with the men of the church; "to order over all and to keep" signifies from which He rules over all things and all persons, and saves such as receive.

[9] In Malachi:

Ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant may be with Levi. My covenant with him was of life and of peace, which I gave to him with fear, that he might fear Me. The law of truth was in his mouth, and perversity was not found in his lips. But ye have turned aside out of the way, ye have caused many to stumble in the law, ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi (Malachi 2:4-6, 8).

"The covenant of Jehovah with Levi" signifies in the highest sense the union of the Divine with the Human in the Lord, and in a relative sense, the Lord's conjunction with the church; for by "Levi" as by "David" the Lord is meant, but "Levi" means the Lord in relation to Divine good, which is the priesthood of the Lord, and "David" in relation to Divine truth, which is the royalty of the Lord. That the Lord is meant by "Levi" is evident from its being said, "the law of truth was in his mouth, and perversity was not found in his lips," "the law of truth" signifying Divine truth from Divine good, and "lips" the doctrine of truth and instruction; and afterwards it is said:

The priest's lips shall keep knowledge; and they shall seek the law from His mouth, for He is the angel of Jehovah of Hosts (Malachi 2:7).

"A covenant of life and of peace" signifies that union and that conjunction (of which just above) from which the Lord Himself became life and peace, from which man has eternal life, and peace from the infestation by evils and falsities, thus by hell. What is signified by "His fear" may be seen above n. 696. Those who live contrary to Divine truth are meant by "ye have turned aside out of the way, ye have caused many to stumble in the law, ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi;" "to turn aside out of the way and to stumble in the law" signifies to live contrary to Divine truth, and "to corrupt the covenant of Levi" signifies to corrupt conjunction with the Lord.

[10] In the same:

Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple; and the angel of the covenant whom ye desire (Malachi 3:1).

It is evidently the Lord's coming that is here proclaimed. The Lord is here called "Lord" from Divine good, and "the angel of the covenant" from Divine truth (as may be seen above, n. 242, 433, 444, where the rest of the passage is explained). From this it can be seen that "covenant," in reference to the Lord, means either Himself or the union of His Divine with the Human in Him, and in reference to those who are in heaven and in the church it means conjunction with Him through the Divine that proceeds from Him.

[11] Secondly, That the Divine proceeding, which is Divine truth, thus the Word, is the covenant, because it conjoins, can be seen from the following passages. In Moses:

Moses came down out of Mount Sinai, and told the people all the words of Jehovah and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah in a book. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do and will hearken. And Moses took half of the blood of the burnt-offerings, and sprinkled upon the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant that Jehovah hath concluded with you upon all these words. And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet as it were a work of sapphire stone (Exodus 24:3, 4, 7, 8, 10).

That Divine truth which with us is the Word is a covenant, is evident from all these particulars regarded in the internal or spiritual sense; for Moses, who said these things to the people, represented the law, that is, the Word, as can be seen from various places where it is said, "Moses and the prophets," and elsewhere "the law and the prophets;" thus "Moses" stands for the law, and the law in a broad sense signifies the Word, which is Divine truth. The same may also be evident from this, that "Mount Sinai" signifies heaven, from which is Divine truth; likewise from this, that "the book of the covenant, which was read before the people," signifies the Word; also that the "blood," half of which was sprinkled upon the people, also signifies Divine truth, which is the Word, and as this conjoins, it is called "the blood of the covenant." Again, since all conjunction through Divine truth is conjunction with the Lord, "the God of Israel," who is the Lord, was seen by Moses, Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders. What was "under His feet" was seen, because when "the Lord" means the Word, "His feet" mean the Word in its ultimates, that is, in the sense of its letter, for the sons of Israel did not see the Word interiorly; "as it were a work of sapphire stone" signifies to be transparent from internal truths, which are the spiritual sense of the Word. (But this may be seen explained in detail in Arcana Coelestia 9371-9412.)

[12] Of what nature the conjunction is that is signified by "covenant" can be seen from what has been set forth, namely, that it is like the covenants commonly made in the world, that is, on the part of one and on the part of the other; in like manner the covenants that the Lord makes with men must be on the part of the Lord and on the part of men; they must be on the part of both that there may be conjunction. The things on the Lord's part are stated in the preceding chapter, namely:

That He will bless their bread and their waters, that He will take away their diseases, and that they shall possess the land of Canaan from the Sea Suph even to the river Euphrates (Exodus 23:25-31).

Here "to bless the bread and the waters" signifies in the internal spiritual sense the fructification of good and the multiplication of truth, "bread" signifying every good of heaven and the church, and "waters" all the truths of that good; "to take away diseases" signifies to remove evils and falsities which are from hell, for these are diseases in the spiritual sense; "to possess the land from the Sea Suph to the river Euphrates" signifies the church in all its extension, which those have from the Lord who are conjoined to Him through Divine truth. But the things that must be on man's part are recounted in the three preceding chapters, and in brief are meant in the passage cited above by "the words and judgments of Jehovah" that Moses coming down from Mount Sinai declared to the people, to which the people, with one voice said, "All the words that Jehovah hath spoken we will do and will hearken." It was for this reason that Moses divided the blood of the burnt offerings, and half of it, which was for the Lord, he left in the bowls, but the other half he sprinkled upon the people.

[13] That the conjunction of the Lord with men is effected through Divine truth is also meant by "blood" in the Gospels:

Jesus took the cup, saying, Drink ye all of it; this is My blood, that of the new covenant (Matthew 26:27, 28; Mark 14:23, 24; Luke 22:20).

This blood is called "the blood of the new covenant," because "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and "covenant" signifies conjunction. (That "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, received by man, may be seen above, n. 329, 476; and that "to drink" signifies to receive, to make one's own, and thus be conjoined, may also be seen above, n. 617.)

[14] Likewise in Zechariah:

By the blood of thy covenant I will send forth thy bound out of the pit wherein is no water (Zechariah 9:11).

This is said of the Lord, who is plainly treated of in this chapter; and "the blood of the covenant" means, as above, the Divine truth, by which there is conjunction with the Lord. Who are meant by "those bound in the pit wherein is no water" can be seen above n. 537.

[15] As the Lord called His blood, meaning the Divine truth proceeding from Him, "the blood of the new covenant," it shall be said briefly what is meant by "the old covenant" and "the new covenant." "The old covenant" means conjunction through such Divine truth as was given to the sons of Israel, which was external, and therefore representative of internal Divine truth. They had no other Divine truth, because they could not receive any other, for they were external and natural men, and not internal or spiritual, as can be seen from the fact that such as knew anything about the Lord's coming had no other thought of Him than that He was to be a king who would raise them above all the peoples in the whole world, and thus establish a kingdom with them on the earth, and not in the heavens and therefrom on the earth with all who believe on Him. "The old covenant," therefore, was a conjunction through such Divine truth as is contained in the books of Moses and is called "commandments, judgments, and statutes," in which, nevertheless, there lay inwardly hidden such Divine truth as is in heaven, which is internal and spiritual. This Divine truth was disclosed by the Lord when He was in the world; and as through this alone there is conjunction of the Lord with men, therefore this is what is meant by "the new covenant," also by "His blood," which is therefore called "the blood of the new covenant." "Wine" has a similar meaning.

[16] This "new covenant," which was to be entered into with the Lord when He should come into the world, is sometimes treated of in the Word of the Old Covenant. Thus in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not as the covenant which I made with your fathers, for they have made My covenant void. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days; I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it upon their heart, and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me for a people; neither shall they teach anymore a man his companion, a man his brother, saying, Know ye Jehovah, for all shall know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest of them (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

That Jehovah, that is, the Lord, "was to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and house of Judah" does not mean that it was to be made with the sons of Israel and with Judah, but with all who from the Lord are in the truths of doctrine and in the good of love to the Lord. That these are meant in the Word by "the sons of Israel" and by "Judah" may be seen above n. 433; that "the days come" means the Lord's coming is evident. That there would then be conjunction with the Lord through Divine truth, internal and spiritual, is meant by the words, "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it upon their heart." This signifies that they would then receive Divine truth inwardly in themselves; for spiritual Divine truth is received by man inwardly, thus otherwise than with the sons of Israel and the Jews, who received it outwardly; for when a man receives Divine truth inwardly in himself, that is, makes it to be of his love and thus of his life, truth is known from the truth itself, because the Lord flows into His own truth with man, and teaches him; this is what is meant by the words, "they shall no more teach a man his companion, and a man his brother, saying, Know ye Jehovah, for all shall know Me, from the least even to the greatest." The conjunction itself thereby effected, which "the new covenant" signifies, is meant by "I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me for a people."

[17] In the same:

They shall be to Me for a people, and I will be to them for God, and I will give them one heart and one way, to fear Me all the days; and I will make with them an eternal covenant that I will not turn Me back from after them, that I may do them good; and My fear will I put into their heart that they may not depart from with Me (Jeremiah 32:38-40).

This, too, is said of the Lord and of the new covenant with Him; conjunction thereby is meant by "I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for a people," and is further described by this, that "He would give to them one heart and one way, to fear Him all the days," and that "He would not turn Himself back from after them, and that He would put fear into their heart that they might not depart from with Him;" "one heart and one way to fear Me" signifies one will of good and one understanding of truth for worshiping the Lord; and as the conjunction is reciprocal, that is, a conjunction of the Lord with them and of them with the Lord, it is said that He will not turn Him back from after them "that I may do them good, and they will not depart from with Me." From this it is clear what is signified by "the eternal covenant" that He will enter into with them, namely, conjunction through spiritual Divine truth, which truth, when received, constitutes the life of man, and from it comes eternal conjunction.

[18] In Ezekiel:

I will raise up over them one shepherd who shall feed them, My servant David. I Jehovah will be to them for God, and My servant David a prince in the midst of them. Then will I make with them a covenant of peace, I will cause the evil wild beast to cease that they may dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests (Ezekiel 34:23-25).

This also is said of the Lord; and "David," who shall feed them and who shall be a prince in the midst of them, means the Lord in relation to the Divine truth, who is called a servant from serving; conjunction with the Lord through the Divine truth is meant by "the covenant" which He will make with them; this is called "a covenant of peace," because man by conjunction with the Lord has peace from the infestation of evil and falsity from hell; therefore also it is added, "I will cause the evil wild beast to cease, that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests," "evil wild beast" meaning falsity and evil from hell, and "to dwell securely in the wilderness and to sleep in the forests" signifying that they shall be safe everywhere from all infestation from falsity and evil.

[19] In the same:

My servant David shall be a king over them, that they all may have one shepherd. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be a covenant of eternity with them; and I will give them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them to eternity, and My habitation with them; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me for a people (Ezekiel 37:24, 26, 27).

Here also by "David" the Lord is meant, for it is evident that David was not to come again to be their king and shepherd; but the Lord is called "king" from Divine truth, for this is the royalty of the Lord, while Divine good is His priesthood; and the Lord is called "shepherd," because He will feed them with Divine truth, and thereby lead to the good of love, and thus to Himself; and because from this there is conjunction it is said, "I will make with them a covenant of peace, a covenant of eternity." What "a covenant of peace" signifies has been told just above, also that "I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me for a people," means conjunction. The "sanctuary" that He will set in the midst of them, and the "habitation" that will be with them, signify heaven and the church, that are called a "sanctuary" from the good of love, and a "habitation" from the truths of that good, for the Lord dwells in truths from good.

[20] In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and war from the earth; and I will make them to lie down securely; and I will betroth thee to Me forever (Hosea 2:18, 19).

This treats of the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. It is clear that the Lord would not then make a covenant with the wild beast of the field, with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth, therefore these signify such things as are with man; "the wild beast of the field" signifying the affection of truth and good, "the bird of the heavens" spiritual thought, and "the creeping thing of the earth" the knowledge [scientificum] of the natural man. (What the rest signifies may be seen above, n.650.) This makes evident that the covenant the Lord will make is a spiritual covenant, or a covenant through spiritual truth, and not a covenant through natural truth such as was made with the sons of Israel; this latter was "the old covenant," the former was "the new covenant."

[21] As "the law" that was promulgated by the Lord from Mount Sinai meant in a broad sense the Word, so also the tables on which that law was written are called "tables of the covenant" in Moses:

I went up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you. At the end of forty days and forty nights Jehovah gave to me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11).

These "tables," that is, the law written upon them, mean the Divine truth, through which there is conjunction with the Lord, and because of that conjunction they are called "the tables of the covenant;" and as all conjunction, like a covenant, is effected from the part of one and the part of the other, thus in turn on the one side and on the other, so there were two tables, and these were of stone; they were of stone because "stone" signifies the Divine truth in ultimates (See Arcana Coelestia 643[1-4], 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). For the same reason the ark in which these tables were placed was called "the ark of the Covenant," and with the sons of Israel this was the most holy thing of their worship, as has been shown in the preceding article.

[22] Thirdly, That the commandments, judgments, and statutes commanded to the sons of Israel were to them a covenant, because through these there was then conjunction with the Lord, can be seen from the following passages. In Moses:

If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments and do them, I will have respect unto you, and will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you. But if ye reject My statutes, so that ye do not all My commandments, whilst ye make My covenant void, I will do to you the opposite (Leviticus 26:3, 9, 15seq.).

The statutes and commandments that were to be observed and done are set forth in the preceding chapter, and the goods they were to enjoy if they kept those commandments and statutes, and afterwards the evils that would come upon them if they did not keep them are set forth in this chapter. But the goods they were to enjoy were earthly and worldly goods, so too were the evils, because they were earthly and natural men, and not celestial and spiritual men, and consequently they knew nothing about the goods that affect man inwardly or the evils that afflict him inwardly; nevertheless the externals they were bound to observe were such as inwardly contained celestial and spiritual things, through which there is conjunction itself with the Lord; and as these were perceived in heaven, therefore the externals that the sons of Israel were to observe were called a "covenant." (But what the conjunction was of the Lord with the sons of Israel through these means may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.248.)

[23] "Covenant" has a like meaning in the following passages. In Moses:

Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words, for upon the mouth of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel (Exodus 34:27).

In the same:

Keep the words of this covenant and do them, ye that stand here this day, your heads, your tribes, your officers, and every man of Israel, to pass over into the covenant of Jehovah and into His oath which Jehovah thy God maketh with thee this day, that He may establish thee this day for a people, and that He may be to thee for God; not with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but also with everyone who is not here with you this day (Deuteronomy 29:9, 10, 12 -15).

In the second book of Kings:

King Josiah sent and gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem; and the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, also the priests and the prophets, and the whole people from small even to great; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah; and the king stood by the pillar, and made the covenant before Jehovah to go after Jehovah and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all the heart and with all the soul, to establish all the words of this covenant written upon this book; and all the people stood in the covenant (2 Kings 23:1-3).

So, too, in other passages (Jeremiah 22:8, 9; 33:20-22; 50:5; Ezekiel 16:8; Malachi 2:14; Psalms 78:37; 50:5, 16; 103:17, 18; 105:8, 9; 106:45; 111:5, 9; Deuteronomy 17:2; 1 Kings 19:14). In all these passages "covenant" is mentioned, and by it the externals that the sons of Israel were to observe are meant.

[24] But as regards the covenant that the Lord made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this was not the same as the covenant He made with the posterity of Jacob, but it was a covenant on the part of the Lord that their seed should be multiplied, and to their seed the land of Canaan should be given, and on the part of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that every male should be circumcised. That the covenant with the posterity of Jacob was different is evident in Moses:

Jehovah our God made with us a covenant in Horeb; Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us (Deuteronomy 5:2, 3).

Regarding the former covenant it is written in Moses:

Jehovah brought Abraham forth abroad, and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars; and He said to him, So shall thy seed be. And He said to him, Take to thee ¹ a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. And he divided them in the midst, and he laid each part over against the other, but the birds divided he not. And the sun went down and it became very dark; and behold a furnace of smoke and a torch of fire passed through between the pieces. In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham ² saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates (Genesis 15:5-18).

And afterwards:

I will give My covenant between Me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly. I, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be for a father of a multitude of nations, and I will make thee fruitful; and I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. This is My covenant that ye shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after thee. Every male shall be circumcised to you; he who is not circumcised in the flesh of the foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples, he hath made void My covenant. And My covenant will I set up with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to thee (Genesis 17:1-21).

From this it is clear what kind of a covenant was entered into with Abraham, namely, that "his seed should be multiplied exceedingly, and that the land of Canaan should be given to his seed for a possession." The commandments, judgments, and statutes themselves by which the covenant was to be established are not mentioned, but still they are signified by "the heifer, she-goat, and ram of three years old," and by "the turtle-dove and young pigeon," for these animals signify such things as belong to the church, and "the land of Canaan" itself signifies the church. And because the Lord foresaw that the posterity of Abraham from Jacob would not keep the covenant, there appeared to Abraham "a furnace of smoke and a torch of fire passing through between the pieces;" "a furnace of smoke" signifying the dense falsity, and "the torch of fire" the direful evil into which the posterity of Jacob would come. This is confirmed also in Jeremiah 33:18-20. "Abraham divided the heifer, the she-goat, and the ram, and laid each part over against the other," according to the ritual of covenants between two parties. (But this may be seen fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 1783-1862.)

[25] The covenant was made by circumcision because circumcision represented the purification from the loves of self and of the world which are bodily and earthly loves, and the removal of these; therefore also the circumcision was made with a little knife of stone, which signified the truth of doctrine, by which all purification from evils and falsities and their removal is effected. (But the particulars recorded in that chapter respecting this covenant are explained in Arcana Coelestia 1987-2095; and respecting circumcision, n. 2039 at the end, 2046 at the end, 2632, 2799, 4462, 7044, 8093.) But as "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," mean in the internal sense the Lord, so "their seed" signify all who are of the Lord's church, which church is meant by "the land of Canaan," which their seed was to inherit.

[26] There was also a covenant entered into with Noah:

That men should no more perish by the waters of a flood, and that a bow should be in the cloud for a sign of that covenant (Genesis 6:17, 18; 9:9, 17).

Conjunction of the Lord through Divine truth is involved also in that covenant, as can be seen from the explanation of the above in the Arcana Coelestia 659-675, 1022-1059. That "the bow in the cloud," or the rainbow, here signifies regeneration, which is effected by Divine truth and a life according to it, and that consequently that bow was taken for a sign of the covenant, may also be seen in the same work (n. 1042).

[27] Fourth, That further, whatever conjoins is called a covenant; as the Sabbath in Moses:

The sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath in their generations, the covenant of an age (Exodus 31:16).

The Sabbath was called "the covenant of an age," because the "Sabbath" signified in the highest sense the union of the Divine with the Human in the Lord, and in a relative sense the conjunction of the Lord with heaven and the church, and in a universal sense the conjunction of good and truth, which conjunction is called the heavenly marriage. Therefore "the rest on the Sabbath day" signified the state of that union and of that conjunction, since by that state there is peace and rest to the Lord, and thereby peace and salvation in the heavens and on the earth. (That this is the signification of "the Sabbath" and "the rest," then, can be seen in Arcana Coelestia 8494, 8495, 8510, 10356, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730.)

[28] Again, the salt in the sacrifices is called "the salt of the covenant" in Moses:

Thou shalt not cause the salt of the covenant of thy God to cease upon thine offering, upon all thine offering thou shalt offer salt (Leviticus 2:13).

The salt upon the offering is called "the salt of the covenant," because "salt" signifies the desire of truth for good, whereby the two are conjoined. (On this signification of "salt" see Arcana Coelestia 9207.)

[29] A wife is called "the wife of a covenant" in Malachi:

Jehovah hath been a witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant (Malachi 2:14).

A wife is here called "the wife of the covenant" from her conjunction with her husband, but "wife" here signifies the church, and "the wife of youth" the Ancient Church, against which the Jewish Church is said to have dealt treacherously. Because these were both representative churches, and in this respect alike, and thus were conjoined, it is said, "though she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant."

[30] "A covenant with the stones of the field" is spoken of in Job:

Thou shalt not be afraid of the wild beast of the field, for with the stones of the field is thy covenant, and the wild beast of the field shall be at peace with thee (Job 5:22, 23).

"A covenant with the stones of the field" signifies conjunction with the truths of the church, for "stones" signify truths, "field" the church, and "covenant" conjunction; "the wild beast of the field" signifies the love of falsity, of which wild beast "thou shalt not be afraid," and which "shall be at peace," when there is conjunction with the church through truths.

[31] Again, "a covenant with wild beasts and birds" is spoken of in Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hosea 2:18).

And in Moses:

God said unto Noah, Behold I establish My covenant with you and with every living soul that is with you, the bird, the beast, and every wild beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, even every wild beast of the earth (Genesis 9:9, 10).

"A covenant with beast, wild beast, bird and creeping thing of the earth," signifies conjunction with such things with man as are signified by these, for "beast" signifies the affection of good, "wild beast" the affection of truth, "bird" the thinking faculty, and "creeping thing of the earth" the knowing faculty which lives from these affections.

[32] "A covenant with death" is spoken of in Isaiah:

Ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we have made vision. Your covenant with death shall be abolished, and your vision with hell shall not stand (Isaiah 28:15, 18).

"To make a covenant with death" signifies conjunction through falsity from hell, from which man dies spiritually; "to make a vision with hell" signifies divination from hell as if prophetic. From the passages here cited in series it can be seen that "covenant," where the Lord is treated of, signifies conjunction through Divine truth. There is, indeed, a conjunction with Him through the good of love; but because the Lord flows in with man through good into truths, whereby man has the affection of truth, and receives the Lord's good in truths, from which he acknowledges, confesses, and worships the Lord, thence the good of love conjoins through truth, comparatively as the heat of the sun in the time of spring and summer conjoins itself with the fructifications of the earth.

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4844. 'Remain a widow in your father's house' means the alienation of this Church from the Jewish Church. This becomes clear from the fact that Judah's wish was that by doing this she would go away and not return to him any more. He did, it is true, say that she should remain there until Shelah his son was grown up; nevertheless he had it in mind not to give her to Shelah his son, for he said to himself, 'In case he also dies, like his brothers'. He gave further proof of his intentions by his actions, as is evident from verse 14 - 'Tamar saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife'. From all this it is evident that the words used here mean that he alienated her from himself. That is, the meaning in the internal sense is that he alienated the Church representative of spiritual and celestial things - the Church represented by 'Tamar', 4811, 4831 - from the Jewish Church represented by 'Judah'. The two could not be in agreement with each other because Judaism was not a representative Church, only a representative of the Church, 4307, 4500; for it acknowledged what was external but not that which was internal.

[2] 'A widow' also means the truth of the Church without its good; for in the representative sense 'a wife' means truth and 'a husband' good, 4823, 4843, and therefore 'a wife without a husband' means the truth of the Church without its good. This being so, when it is said in reference to Tamar that she should remain in the house of her father, the meaning is that the truth of the Church would be alienated, and also that it would not find acceptance in his house, even as the Jewish nation could not accept it because not good but evil was present among that nation.

[3] A widow is referred to many times in the Word; but anyone unacquainted with the internal sense inevitably thinks that 'a widow' means a widow. In the internal sense 'a widow' means the truth of the Church without good, that is, people who have truth that is without good but who nevertheless have a desire for good, who consequently love to be led by good; for 'a husband' means good which ought to take the lead. In the Ancient Church people like these were meant in the good sense by 'the widowed', whether they were women or men. For the Ancient Church distinguished the neighbour to whom charity was to be performed into many separate classes. Some were called the poor, some the wretched and afflicted, some the bound and in prison, some the blind and the lame, and others strangers, orphans, and widows. It performed different charitable works, whichever were appropriate to the character each class possessed. The teachings of that Church showed them what those works were, for that Church had no other teachings than these. Therefore whenever those living in those times either taught or wrote, they did so in conformity with these teachings, so that when they spoke of 'widows' they meant none but the kind of persons among whom truth existed without good but who nevertheless had a desire to be led to good.

[4] From this it is also evident that the teachings of the Ancient Church were ones that had to do with charity and the neighbour, and that all its religious knowledge and factual knowledge existed to enable people to know what was meant spiritually by external things. For the Church was representative of spiritual and celestial things, and therefore it was these spiritual and celestial things, represented and meant by that Church, that people came to know about through the Church's teachings and through its factual knowledge. But those teachings and factual knowledge have become at the present day completely wiped out, so completely indeed that there is no knowledge of their having existed. For their place has been taken by teachings to do with faith which, if widowed and separated from those to do with charity, have virtually nothing to teach. For teachings to do with charity show what good is, but those to do with faith show what truth is. Teaching what truth is without what good is amounts to walking like someone blind, it being good that is the teacher and leader, truth the one that is taught and led. Between the two kinds of teaching there is a vast difference, as great as that between light and darkness. If the darkness is not lightened by means of the light, that is, if truth is not lightened by good, or faith by charity, it is nothing but darkness. For this reason no one knows intuitively, nor consequently by perception, whether truth is the truth; he knows it only from what he was taught and what he absorbed in childhood and substantiated in adult years. This also explains why Churches are so much at variance with one another, one giving the name truth to that which another calls falsity, and are never in agreement.

[5] The meaning in the good sense of 'widows' as people who have truth existing without good but who nevertheless have a desire to be led by good may be seen from places in the Word where widows are mentioned, as in David,

Jehovah who executes judgement for the oppressed, who gives bread to the starving, Jehovah who sets the bound free; Jehovah who opens the blind [eyes]; Jehovah who lifts up the bowed down; Jehovah who loves the righteous; Jehovah who guards sojourners, upholds the orphan and the widow. Psalms 146:7-9.

This refers, in the internal sense, to those whom the Lord furnishes with truths and leads to good. But some of them are called the oppressed, some the starving, while others are called the bound, the blind, the bowed down, sojourners, orphans and widows, each name appropriate to the character of the ones to whom it is applied. No one however can know what each particular nature is except from the internal sense; but the teachings of the Ancient Church showed what any particular nature was. Here, as in many other places, sojourner, orphan, and widow are referred to jointly because 'a sojourner' means those who wish to be furnished with the truths of faith, 1463, 4444, 'an orphan' those with whom good exists without truth but who have a desire to be led to good by means of truth, and 'a widow' those with whom truth exists without good and who have a desire to be led to truth by means of good. These three are referred to jointly here and elsewhere in the Word because in the internal sense they form a single group, for all three together mean those who wish to be taught and to be led to good and truth.

[6] In the same author,

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows, is God in the habitation of His holiness. Psalms 68:5.

'The orphans' stands for those with whom, like young children, the good that goes with innocence is present but no truth as yet. The Lord is said to be 'a father' of these because He leads them like a father; He leads them by means of truth into good, that is to say, into the good constituting life or wisdom. 'The widows' stands for those who as adults know the truth but are not as yet doing good. The Lord is said to be 'a judge' of these because He leads them; He leads them by means of good into truth, that is to say, into the truth constituting intelligence. For by 'a judge' a leader is meant. Good without truth, meant by 'an orphan', is made into good filled with wisdom by means of teaching about truth; and truth without good, meant by 'a widow', is made into truth filled with intelligence by means of a life of good.

[7] In Isaiah,

Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, to turn aside the poor from judgement and to carry off into judgement the wretched of My people, so that widows may be their spoil and so that they may make orphans their prey. Isaiah 10:1-2.

Here 'the poor', 'the wretched', 'widows', and 'orphans' do not mean those who are literally so but those who are spiritually such. Now because in the Jewish Church, as in the Ancient, everything was representative, so also was doing good to orphans and widows, for doing good to these represented in heaven charity towards those who are orphans and widows in the spiritual sense.

[8] In Jeremiah,

Do judgement and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor; and do not defraud the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, and do not use force, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3.

Here also 'the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow' means those who are spiritually such. In the spiritual world or heaven they do not know who a sojourner, orphan, or widow is, for the condition of such persons there is not the same as what it had been in the world. When therefore these words are read by man, angels perceive the spiritual or internal meaning they possess.

[9] Similarly in Ezekiel,

Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power, ¹ have in you been intent on shedding blood; in you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have dealt with the sojourner by means of oppression; in you they have defrauded the orphan and the widow. Ezekiel 22:6-7.

Also in Malachi,

I will draw near to you to judgement, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against those who swear falsely, and against oppressors of the hireling in his wages, of the widow and the orphan, and [against] those who turn aside the sojourner, and do not fear Me. Malachi 3:5.

Similarly in Moses,

You shall not press down a sojourner or oppress him. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do indeed afflict him, and if he indeed cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry, and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, so that your wives become widows, and your children orphans. Exodus 22:21-24.

[10] This, like every other commandment, judgement, and statute in the Jewish Church, was representative. Also, members of that Church were tied down to things of an external nature so that they would observe that command, and by means of their observance of it they represented the inner spirit of charity, even though they themselves had no charity, that is, they did not act from any inner affection. An inner spirit flowed from an affection to furnish with truths those who were without knowledge, and to lead those people to good by means of truths. If they had done this, members of the Jewish Church would have been doing good, in a spiritual sense, to the sojourner, orphan, and widow. But so that what was external might be kept going for the sake of what it represented, the curses declared on Mount Ebal included 'turning aside the judgement of the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow', Deuteronomy 27:19. 'Turning aside the judgement of these' stands for doing the reverse, that is, leading through teaching and life to falsity and evil. Also, because taking goods and truths away from others, and then making them one's own so as to enhance one's own position and gain, was included among curses, the Lord therefore said,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! for you devour widows' houses, and for a presence you make long prayers; on account of this you will receive greater condemnation. ² Matthew 23:14; Luke 20:47.

'Devouring widows' houses' stands for taking truths away from those who have a desire for them, and teaching them falsities.

[11] To leave for the sojourner, orphan, and widow that which remained in fields, olivegroves, and vineyards, Deuteronomy 24:19-22, was likewise representative. So too was the command that when they had finished paying the tithes of their produce in the third year, the people should give to the sojourner, orphan, and widow, so that they ate within their gates and were satisfied, Deuteronomy 26:12-13. It being the Lord alone who teaches a person and leads him to good and truth, it is said in Jeremiah,

Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and the widows will trust in Me. Jeremiah 49:10-11.

And in Moses,

Jehovah executes judgement for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him bread and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18.

'Bread' stands for the good of love, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, and 'clothing' for the truth of faith, 4545, 4763.

[12] It is recorded in 1 Kings 17:1-17 that Elijah was sent, when there was a famine because there was no rain in the land, to a widow in Zarephath. He asked her for a little cake, which she had to make for him first and give it to him; after that she was to make one for herself and her son. When she did so her jar of meal was not used up and her cruse of oil did not run dry. All this was representative, like everything else recorded about Elijah, and in general throughout the Word. 'A famine in the land because there was no rain' represented truth laid waste within the Church, 1460, 3364; 'a widow in Zarephath' those outside the Church who have a desire for truth; 'a cake which she had to make for him first' the good of love to the Lord, 2177, whom, from the very little she had, she was to love above herself and her son. 'The jar of meal' means truth derived from good, 2177, and 'the cruse of oil' charity and love, 886, 3728, 4582. 'Elijah' represents the Word, by means of which such things are effected, 2762.

[13] The same is also meant, in the internal sense, by the Lord's words in Luke,

No prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, while there was a great famine over the whole land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except to a woman - a widow - in Zarephath of Sidon. Luke 4:24-26.

That is, he was sent to those outside the Church who had a desire for truth. But 'widows' within the Church that had been laid waste, to whom Elijah was not sent, are those with whom no truth exists because no good does so; for where there is no good neither is there any truth. However much among those people truth seems to outward appearance like truth it is nothing more so to speak than a shell without any nut in it.

[14] Those among whom this kind of truth exists, also those among whom falsity exists, are meant by 'widows' in the contrary sense, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, the branch and the bulrush in one day. The old and the honourable in face is the head, and the prophet, the teacher of a lie, the tail. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over its young men, and He will not have compassion on its orphans and its widows. Isaiah 9:14-15, 17.

In Jeremiah,

I will winnow them with a winnowing-fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave, I will destroy My people; they have not turned from their ways. Their widows are increased to Me more than the sand of the seas. I will bring to them, against the mother of the young men, one who lays waste at midday. She who bore seven languishes; she has breathed her last. Her sun is going down while it is still day. Jeremiah 15:7-9.

In the same prophet,

Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our houses to foreigners. We have become orphans with no father; our mothers are widows. Lamentations 5:2-3.

[15] Because 'widows' meant those with whom no truth existed because no good did so, it was therefore shameful for Churches to be called widows, even those Churches governed by falsities springing from evil, as in John,

In her heart she said, A queen I sit, and I am no widow, and shall not see mourning. On account of this in one day will her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned with fire. Revelation 18:7-8.

This refers to Babel. A similar reference to Babel occurs in Isaiah,

Hear this, you lover of pleasures, sitting securely, saying in her heart, I am, and there is no one else like me; a widow I shall not sit, nor shall I know loss of children. But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day - loss of children and widowhood. Isaiah 47:8-9.

[16] From these quotations one may now see what is meant by 'a widow' in the internal sense of the Word. One may see that since 'a widow' represented and consequently meant the truth of the Church without its good - for 'a wife' meant truth and 'a husband' good - priests in the Ancient Churches, in which every single thing was representative, were therefore forbidden to marry any widow who was not a priest's widow, as the following in Moses declares,

The high priest shall take a wife in her virginity; a widow or a woman that has been put away or one defiled or a prostitute, these he shall not take, but a virgin of his own people shall he take as his wife. Leviticus 21:13-15.

And in the references to a new temple and a new priesthood in Ezekiel,

Priests the Levites shall not take as wives for themselves a widow or a woman that has been put away, but virgins from the seed of the house of Israel; but a widow who is the widow of a priest may they take. Ezekiel 44:22.

For 'the virgins' whom they were to marry represented and consequently meant the affection for truth, and 'the widow of a priest' the affection for truth from good, since 'a priest' in the representative sense is the good of the Church. For this reason also any widow [who was the daughter] of a priest and who had no children was allowed to eat some of the offerings or holy things, Leviticus 22:12-13.

[17] Those who belonged to the Ancient Church knew this meaning of 'a widow' from the teachings of the Church, for among them these teachings had to do with love and charity, which included countless matters which at the present day have become completely wiped out. From them they knew which particular kind of charitable act they were required to perform - that is, which service they ought to render towards the neighbour - for those who were called 'widows', for those who were called 'orphans', for those who were called 'sojourners', and so on. From their religious knowledge of truth and from factual knowledge they had a discernment and a knowledge of what the ritual observances of their Church represented and meant. The learned among them knew what it was that things on earth and in this world represented, for they recognized that the whole natural creation was a theatre representative of the heavenly kingdom, 2758, 2989, 2999, 3483. Such knowledge raised their minds up to heavenly things, and the teachings of their Church led the way to life. But after the Church turned aside from charity to faith, more so after it separated faith from charity, and made faith without charity and the works of charity the bringer of salvation, their minds could no longer be raised up by means of religious knowledge to heavenly things, nor be led by any means of the teachings of the Church to life. Indeed the decline has been so great that in the end scarcely anyone believes in a life after death, and scarcely anyone knows anything about heaven. Also, there is no belief at all in the existence of a spiritual sense of the Word which is not visible in the letter. In this way people's minds have become closed.

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