238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

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5943. 'And you will eat the fat of the land' means making the good there their own. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as being communicated, joined together, and made one's own, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3517 (end), 3832, 4745; and from the meaning of 'the fat of the land' - of Egypt - as the good within the natural. The meaning of 'fat' as that which is celestial or good is clear from many places in the Word, not only the fat found in an animal's body but also fat obtained from other sources, such as butter and oil; and other products with any fat in them - such as milk, honeys, or resins - also mean good in the measure that they have it in them.

[2] 'Fat' was representative of celestial good, thus of love received from the Lord, as is clear from the burnt offerings and sacrifices in these all the fat had to be burned on the altar, thereby providing 'an odour of rest to Jehovah'; and the children of Israel were forbidden because of this to eat fat. From these regulations, as from all the rest, it may be plain to see that the observances established among the Israelites were representative of celestial and spiritual realities and thus held what was holy within them. If this had not been so there would have been no Divine purpose at all behind the requirements to sacrifice all the fat of an animal, making this 'an odour of rest to Jehovah', or behind the Prohibition that forbade the eating of fat, and also of blood. It would surely be a stupid way of thinking about the Divine if one were to believe that He could take pleasure in fat or that Jehovah should make a requirement that did not conceal something deeper. Furthermore a person would be far too earthly - and bodily-minded if he had no interest at all in knowing the real meaning of such requirements; it would be a sign that he had no desire to know anything about the Word and eternal life.

[3] Regarding 'the fat' the following is stated in Moses,

You shall take all the fat covering the entrails, and the omentum over the liver, and the fat on the kidneys; and you shall burn them on the altar. Exodus 29:13, 22.

See also Leviticus 3:4-5, 9-10, 14-15; 4:8-9, 19, 26, 31, 35; 7:3-4. They were also required to sacrifice the fat on the breast, Leviticus 7:30-31. The phrase 'an odour of rest to Jehovah' occurs in the following places,

This is the bread of Jehovah's fire-offering for an odour of rest. Leviticus 3:16. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of Jehovah, and shall offer the fat for an odour of rest to Jehovah. Leviticus 17:6.

And elsewhere,

The fat of the firstborn of an ox and of a sheep must be burned on the altar as an odour of rest to Jehovah. Numbers 18:17.

'An odour of rest' means the pleasure gained from the good of love.

[4] As regards the non-eating of fat by the children of Israel, Let all the fat be for Jehovah. Therefore this is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your dwelling-places: You shall not eat any fat or any blood. Leviticus 3:16-17.

And elsewhere,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, You shall not eat any fat, neither of ox, nor sheep, nor she-goat. Everyone who eats the fat from a beast, from one offered as a fire-offering to Jehovah, that soul eating it will be cut off from his peoples. Nor shall you eat any blood Leviticus 7:23-26.

[5] Burnt offerings and sacrifices were the main form taken by Divine worship among those people, 923, 2180. For this reason worship is meant by 'burnt offerings and sacrifices' in general, while the essential nature of worship is meant by what was offered in sacrifice and by the whole procedure followed then. 'The fat and the burning of it' meant the very Divine celestial itself, namely the good of love received from the Lord, as may also be seen in the following places:

In Isaiah,

Jacob, you have not bought Me [sweet] cane with silver, and you have not satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; you have wearied Me so much with your sins. ¹ Isaiah 43:24.

'You have not bought [sweet] cane with silver' stands for, You have not acquired the truths of faith for yourself; and 'you have not satisfied Me with the fat of sacrifices' stands for, Nor [have you offered] the good of love.

[6] In David,

I will offer You burnt offerings of fat ones, with the incense of rams. Psalms 66:15.

'Burnt offerings of fat ones' stands for worship fired by love. In Moses,

When it will be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted, who ate the fat of their sacrifices, [who] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Deuteronomy 32:37-38.

This would have been said by gentiles who imagined that the gods were fed especially by such offerings. They were totally unaware of the fact that 'the fat of sacrifices' was what was celestial, or the good of love, within worship, and that 'the wine of a drink-offering' was the truth of faith derived from that good. These offerings, when they were made, stirred the affections of the angels and were therefore prescribed so that through representatives and correspondences heaven might be near to man.

[7] In David,

Jehovah will remember all your offerings, and will make your burnt offering fat. Psalms 20:3.

'Making a burnt offering fat' stands for making worship good. In Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of lees, ² of fat things full of marrow, of sedimentary lees. ³ He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from upon all faces. Isaiah 25:6, 8.

'A feast' stands for heaven and being joined to angels there through love and charity, 3596, 3832, 5161, 'fat things' being forms of the good of love and charity. In the same prophet,

Why do you spend money on that which is not bread, and your labour on that which does not satisfy? Attend diligently to Me and eat what is good, that your soul may delight itself in fatness. Isaiah 55:2.

[8] In Jeremiah,

I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and will give them gladness instead of their sorrow. And I will fill the soul of the priests with fat, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness. Jeremiah 31:13-14.

'Fat' plainly stands for what is good, for it is said that 'the soul will be satisfied' with it and it is referred to as 'Jehovah's goodness', meaning nothing else than what is celestial, which is received from Him. In David,

My soul will be satisfied as with fatness and fat, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips. ⁴ Psalms 63:5.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

You have crowned the year of Your goodness, and Your tracks drip with fatness. Psalms 65:11

In the same author,

The sons of man put their trust in the shadow of Your wings. They will be filled with the fat of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. Psalms 36:7-8.

In Isaiah,

Then Jehovah will give rain for your seed with which you will sow the land, and bread of the produce of the earth; and there will be fatness and wealthiness. Isaiah 30:23.

[9] In John,

All things fat and splendid have gone away, and you will find them no more. Revelation 18:14.

This refers to Babylon. 'All things fat and splendid have gone away' stands for the departure of all forms of the good of love and truth of faith. In Moses,

He caused him to suck honey out of the crag and oil out of the stony rock - butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams, the breed ⁵ of Bashan, and of goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you drink unmixed wine. Deuteronomy 32:13-14.

This refers to the spiritual Ancient Church, whose various kinds of good - meant by 'honey', 'oil', 'butter', 'milk', and 'fat' - are enumerated.

[10] Because 'fat' meant good, the word was also applied to the kinds of things that had no fat in them but nevertheless had good as their meaning, so that 'fat' and 'good' were so to speak one and the same. An example of this is the fat of wheat in the verses quoted immediately above, and similarly in David,

I would feed them with the fat of wheat. Psalms 81:16.

And elsewhere,

He is the one who makes peace your border, and with the fat of wheat He satisfies you. Psalms 147:14.

Also in Moses,

Because all the fat of the pure oil, and all the fat of the new wine and of the grain, which were the first fruits, were Jehovah's, they were given to Aaron. Numbers 18:12.

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