4264. Thirty milch camels and their colts, forty heifers and ten bullocks, twenty she-asses and ten foals. That this signifies things of service general and special, is evident from the signification of “camels and their colts,” and of “heifers and bullocks,” also of “she-asses and their foals” as being the things which are of the natural man (concerning which see above—as to camels, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145; bullocks, n. 1824, 1825, 2180, 2781, 2830; and she-asses, n. 2781). That the things which are of the natural man are relatively things of service, may also be seen above (n. 1486, 3019, 3020, 3167). Hence it is that by these animals are signified things of service general and special. As regards the number, of she-goats two hundred, of he-goats twenty, of ewes two hundred, of rams twenty, of camels and their colts thirty, of heifers forty, of bullocks ten, of she-asses twenty, and of their foals ten, these are arcana which cannot be opened without much explication and ample deduction; for all numbers in the Word signify actual things (n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252); and what they signify has been shown in the foregoing pages where they have occurred.

[2] I have sometimes wondered that when the speech of the angels fell down into the world of spirits, it fell also into various numbers; and also that where numbers were read in the Word, real things were understood by the angels. For number never penetrates into heaven, because numbers are measures of both space and of time, these being of the world and of nature, to which in the heavens correspond states and changes of states. The most ancient people, who were celestial men and had communication with angels, knew what was signified by every number, even by the compound ones; and from them their signification was handed down to their posterity, and to the sons of the Ancient Church. These are things which will hardly be credited by the man of the church at this day, who believes nothing to have been stored up in the Word more holy than what appears in the letter.

647. That these particulars have such a signification, as that the numbers “three hundred” “fifty” and “thirty” signify remains, and that they are few; and that “length” “breadth” and “height” signify holiness, truth, and good, cannot but appear strange to everyone, and very remote from the letter. But in addition to what was said and shown above concerning numbers (at verse 3 of this chapter, that a “hundred and twenty” there signify remains of faith), it may be evident to everyone also from the fact that they who are in the internal sense, as are good spirits and angels, are beyond all such things as are earthly, corporeal, and merely of the world, and thus are beyond all matters of number and measure, and yet it is given them by the Lord to perceive the Word fully, and this entirely apart from such things. And this being true, it may therefore be very evident that these particulars involve things celestial and spiritual which are so remote from the sense of the letter that it cannot even appear that there are such things. Such are celestial and spiritual things both in general and in particular. And from this a man may know how insane it is to desire to search into those things which are matters of faith, by means of the things of sense and knowledge [sensualia et scientifica]; and to be unwilling to believe unless he apprehends them in this way.