Arcana Coelestia # 3242
3242. And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. That this signifies the derivations from the third class, can be seen from the representation of Midian, as being those who are in the truth of faith (concerning which below); and as those who are in the truth of faith are “Midian,” it follows that his “sons” are the derivations therefrom. With those who are in the truth of faith the case is this: No one is admitted into the Lord’s kingdom unless he is in the good of faith, for the good of faith is of the life, and the life of faith remains, but not the doctrine of faith, except insofar as it makes one with the life; nevertheless they who are in the truth of faith (that is, who profess faith and call it essential, because they have so learned) and yet are in the good of life (that is, who are Christians in heart and not in profession only), are in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. For anyone may easily be persuaded that faith is the essential when he has been so taught by his instructors and has imbibed this opinion in his childhood, and because they who are reputed most learned and the heads of the church say so, some of whom are afraid to speak of the good of life because their life condemns them; moreover the things that belong to faith flow in perceptibly, but not so those which belong to charity.
[2] They therefore who are in the truth of faith and yet in the good of life, are they who are called Midian;” and the truths according to which they live are the “sons of Midian;” and as those who are in the truth of faith conjoined with its good are “Midian,” so also in the opposite sense are those who are in falsity from not having the good of life, as can be seen from the following passages.
In Isaiah:
The abundance of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah (Isaiah 60:6); where the Lord’s spiritual kingdom is treated of. The “dromedaries of Midian and Ephah” denote doctrinal things; doctrinal things of good are “gold;” those of truth are “frankincense;” both are the “praises of Jehovah;” hence also it is manifest what “Ephah” signifies. (That by the “Midianites” who drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites, and into Egypt to Potiphar, Genesis 37:28, 36, are signified those who are in the truth of simple good, will be seen, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, in the explication of these verses hereafter.)
[3] That by “Midian” are also signified those who are in falsity because they have not the goods of life, can be seen from what is said concerning Midian in Moses:
The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, with the rewards of divination in their hand, went to Balaam, and spake to him the words of Balak (Numbers 22:4, 7, etc.).
In a good sense “Moab” denotes those who are in natural good and suffer themselves to be easily led astray; but in the opposite sense, those who adulterate goods (n. 2468). In a good sense “Midian” denotes those who are in the truth of simple good, as before said, and who thus allow themselves to be easily persuaded; in the opposite sense, as here, those who falsify truths. The falsifications are signified by “the rewards of divination in their hand;” and the deeds from these falsities, by their sending to Balaam in hostility to the sons of Israel, who denote the goods and derivative truths of faith.
[4] The like was signified by the whoredoms of the sons of Israel with the women of the Midianites, resulting in a plague, which was stayed by Phinehas thrusting his spear through the Midianitish woman and the man of Israel in the brothel (Numbers 25:6-8); for by whoredoms were represented the falsifications of truth (n. 2466, 2729). And because falsifications of truth are what in the internal sense are signified by whoredoms, therefore by command twelve thousand of the sons of Israel smote the Midianites, slew their kings, and every male, and the women whom they had led captive that had known a man, and divided the spoil among themselves (Numbers 25:16-17; 31:1-54 the end). The reason why there were twelve thousand, was that “twelve” signified all things of faith (n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130), by which falsities are destroyed; the “kings” whom they killed are falsities, and so is “every male;” the “women that had known a man” are the affections of falsity; the “spoil” (as gold, silver, cattle) are the truths that were falsified; from all which it is evident that each and all of the things there mentioned are representative of the punishment and destruction of what is false by means of truths.
[5] It is similar in regard to what is said of the Midianites in the book of Judges, namely, that the sons of Israel, because they did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, were given into the hand of Midian seven years; and that the sons of Israel, by reason of Midian, made for themselves caves in the mountains, and also dens, and fortified places; and when Israel had sown, that Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east came up and ravaged the produce of their land; and afterwards that they were delivered by Gideon with three hundred men who lapped water with the tongue like a dog, and that those were sent home who bowed upon the knees and drank, besides other particulars (chapters 6, 7, 8). Here also the things mentioned each and all are representative of the falsification of truth, and of punishment on this account, even to their being destroyed by such things as are signified by lapping water with the tongue like a dog; but what each particular signifies in the internal sense it would be too tedious to unfold here; yet of the Lord’s Divine mercy it shall be told in its place.
In Habakkuk:
He beheld, and dispersed the nations; and the eternal mountains 1 were scattered, the everlasting hills did bow. I saw the tents of Cushan under Aven, the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble (Hab. 3:6-7); where the advent of the Lord is treated of. The “tents of Cushan” denote a religiosity from evil; the “curtains of the land of Midian,” one from falsity.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. Literally, “the mountains of time.”
Numbers 31
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Avenge the children of Israel for the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."
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Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh's vengeance on Midian.
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Of every tribe one thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, you shall send to the war."
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So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
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Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
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They warred against Midian, as Yahweh commanded Moses; and they killed every male.
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They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword.
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The children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their livestock, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.
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All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.
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They took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of animal.
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They brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
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Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside of the camp.
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Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
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Moses said to them, "Have you saved all the women alive?
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Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh.
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Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
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But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
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"Encamp outside of the camp seven days: whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.
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As to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats' [hair], and all things made of wood, you shall purify yourselves."
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Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, "This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses:
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however the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
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everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that doesn't withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.
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You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into the camp."
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' [houses] of the congregation;
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and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.
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Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the cattle, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
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take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for Yahweh's wave offering.
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Of the children of Israel's half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, [even] of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the tabernacle of Yahweh."
31
Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32
Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
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and seventy-two thousand head of cattle,
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and sixty-one thousand donkeys,
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and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.
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The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep:
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and Yahweh's tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.
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The cattle were thirty-six thousand; of which Yahweh's tribute was seventy-two.
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The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred; of which Yahweh's tribute was sixty-one.
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The persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Yahweh's tribute was thirty-two persons.
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Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh's wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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Of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided off from the men who warred
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(now the congregation's half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
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and thirty-six thousand head of cattle,
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and thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
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and sixteen thousand persons),
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even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the tabernacle of Yahweh; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses;
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and they said to Moses, "Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.
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We have brought Yahweh's offering, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh."
51
Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all worked jewels.
52
All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to Yahweh, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.
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([For] the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.)
54
Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh.
