7430. This is the finger of God. That this signifies that the power was from the Divine, is evident from the signification of “the finger of God,” as being power from the Divine; that “finger” denotes power is because the fingers belong to the hands, and by “hands” is signified power (see n. 878, 4931-4937, 6344, 6424, 6948). That “finger” denotes power, is evident also from the following passages, in David:

When I behold the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast prepared (Psalms 8:3).

Jesus said, If I by the finger of God cast out demons, surely the kingdom of God is come unto you (Luke 11:20).

That Jesus took the deaf man who had an impediment in his speech apart from the people, and put His finger into his ears, and spat, and touched his tongue (Mark 7:32-33);

was also a representative of Divine power.

[2] That a finger represents power is plain also from the rites of the church among the Jews, in that blood should be put upon the thumb, and that the priest should sprinkle the blood with his finger, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

Thou shalt kill the ram, and put of the blood upon the thumb of the hand of Aaron and his sons, and upon the great toe of their right foot (Exodus 29:20).

The priest shall take of the blood of the guilt-offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. Afterward the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil which is upon the palm of his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before Jehovah; and of the rest of the oil, which is upon the palm of his hand, the priest shall put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot (Leviticus 14:14, 16-17).

Thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger (Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:6; 9:9).

[3] That all these things signified secrets of heaven and holy things, is evident from the fact that the Word is from the Divine, and is inspired as to every point [in the original] (Luke 16:17), thus also as to these details in Moses. That the “thumb” and the “finger” denote the power of good through truth, is here plain from the internal sense. Power is also signified by “finger” in David:

Blessed be Jehovah who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers war (Psalms 144:1);

And in Isaiah:

He shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and that which his fingers have made (Isaiah 17:8);

“altars” denote worship in general (n. 4541); “the work of the hands, and what the fingers have made” denote such things as are from what is man’s own, thus which are from his own power.

7430a. And Pharaoh’s heart was made firm. That this signifies obstinacy, see n. 7272.

7272. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. That this signifies obstinacy from the evil of falsity, is evident from the signification of “hardening,” as being obstinacy; that it denotes from the evil of falsity, is signified by the “heart of Pharaoh,” for by “heart” in the genuine sense is signified the good of celestial love (see n. 3313, 3887, 3889), and therefore in the opposite sense it denotes infernal evil; that it denotes the evil of falsity is because by Pharaoh are represented those who are in falsity. The evil of falsity is that which takes its origin from principles of falsity, such as, for example, that men would become holy through external things, as in the case of the Israelites and Jews through sacrifices, washings, sprinkling of blood; and that they would not become holy through charity and faith; and thus that they would be holy although they lived in hatred, revenge, robbery, cruelty, and the like. These evils are called “evils of falsity,” because they take their origin from principles of falsity.

[2] Take also as an example one who believes that faith alone saves, and that works of charity effect nothing for salvation; and also of one who believes that he may be saved even in the hour of death, howsoever he had lived during the whole course of his life, and from these principles lives without any charity, in contempt of others, in enmity and hatred against everyone who does not treat him with honor, in the desire of revenge, in the lust of depriving others of their goods, in unmercifulness, cunning, and deceit. These evils also are evils of falsity, because from falsity he has persuaded himself either that they are not evils, or that if they were evils, they would nevertheless be wiped away, provided that before breathing his last he should confess from apparent confidence the mediation of the Lord, and the wiping away of sins through the passion of His cross.

[3] Take also as an example those who in supplication approach dead men as saints, and thus adore them, and also their images; the evil of this worship is evil of falsity. They who do the evil of falsity, all believe that falsity is truth, and consequently that evil is either not evil, or is not condemnatory. In like manner those who believe that sins can be pardoned by men; and also those who believe that they can be introduced into heaven, in whatsoever sins they have been, that is, in whatsoever spiritual foulness and rottenness. In a word, the evils of falsity are as many as are the falsities of faith and of worship. These evils condemn, yet not so much as do the evils which originate in evil. The evils which originate in evil are those which are from cupidity rising up from the love of self and of the world.