Leviticus 19
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And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
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Speak unto all the assembly of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Holy shall ye be, for I Jehovah your God am holy.
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Ye shall reverence every man his mother, and his father, and my sabbaths shall ye keep: I am Jehovah your God.
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Ye shall not turn unto idols, and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.
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And if ye sacrifice a sacrifice of peace-offering to Jehovah, ye shall sacrifice it for your acceptance.
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On the day when ye sacrifice it shall it be eaten, and on the morrow; and that which remaineth until the third day shall be burned with fire.
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And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an unclean thing: it shall not be accepted.
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And he that eateth it shall bear his iniquity; for he hath profaned the hallowed thing of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples.
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And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt not gather.
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And thy vineyard shalt thou not glean, neither shalt thou gather what hath been left of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am Jehovah your God.
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Ye shall not steal, and ye shall not deal falsely, and ye shall not lie one to another.
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And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
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Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, neither rob him. The wages of the hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
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Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
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Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the lowly, nor honour the person of the great; in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
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Thou shalt not go about as a talebearer among thy people; thou shalt not stand up against the life of thy neighbour: I am Jehovah.
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Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt earnestly rebuke thy neighbour, lest thou bear sin on account of him.
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Thou shalt not avenge thyself, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Jehovah.
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My statutes shall ye observe. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with another sort; thou shalt not sow thy field with seed of two sorts; and a garment woven of two materials shall not come upon thee.
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And if a man lie with a woman for copulation, and she is a bondwoman betrothed to a husband, but not at all ransomed, nor hath freedom been given to her, there shall be a chastisement: they shall not be put to death, for she was not free.
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And he shall bring his trespass-offering to Jehovah, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a trespass-offering.
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And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath done; and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
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And when ye come into the land and plant all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count its fruit as uncircumcised, three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of;
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and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy for praise to Jehovah;
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and in the fifth year shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may increase unto you the produce thereof: I am Jehovah your God.
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Ye shall eat nothing with the blood. -- Ye shall not practise enchantment, nor use auguries.
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-- Ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.
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And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.
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-- Do not profane thy daughter, to give her up to whoredom; lest the land practise whoredom, and the land become full of infamy.
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-- My sabbaths shall ye keep, and my sanctuary shall ye reverence: I am Jehovah.
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-- Turn not unto necromancers and unto soothsayers; seek not after them to make yourselves unclean: I am Jehovah your God.
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Before the hoary head thou shalt rise up, and shalt honour the face of an old man; and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
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And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not molest him.
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As one born among you shall the stranger who sojourneth with you be unto you; and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
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Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measure of length, in weight, and in measure of capacity:
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just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
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And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.
Apocalypse Explained # 863
863. For they are virgins, signifies for the reason that they are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth. This is evident from the signification of "virgins," as being affections of truth, which are called spiritual affections of truth. For there are natural affections of truth which exist in almost everyone, especially during childhood and youth. But natural affections of truth have reward as an end, at first reputation, and afterwards honor and gain. These are not the affections here meant by "virgins," but spiritual affections of truth are meant, which are such as have for their end eternal life and the uses of that life. Those who are in such affections love truths because they are truths, thus apart from the world's glory, honors, and gains; and those who love truths apart from such considerations love the Lord; for the Lord is with man in the truths that are from good. For that which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun is the Divine truth, and that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord; consequently he that receives truth from spiritual love because it is truth receives the Lord. Therefore of such it is said "these are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." Moreover, such are meant by the Lord in these words in Matthew:
The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found hideth, and in his joy goeth and selleth all things whatsoever he hath, and buyeth the field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man, a merchant, seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one precious pearl, went and sold all that he had, and bought it (Matthew 13:44-46).
"The treasure hidden in a field" and "the pearls" signify the truths of heaven and the church; and the "one precious pearl" signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord. The affection of truths because they are truths is meant by "the man went in his joy and sold all that he had, and bought the field" in which the treasure was hidden, also by "the merchant's going and selling all that he had, and buying the precious pearl."
[2] Those who are in the spiritual affection of truth are called "virgins" from the marriage of good and truth from which is conjugial love; for a "wife" is the affection of good, and a "husband" the understanding of truth; moreover, females and males are born such. Now because virgins love to be conjoined to men with whom is the understanding of truth, therefore they signify the affections of truth. (But on this see more fully in the work on Heaven and Hell 366-386, where "Marriages in the Spiritual World" are treated of.) This makes clear what "virgins" signify in the following passages in the Word.
In Lamentations:
The ways of Zion do mourn because they come not to the feast; all her gates are devastated, her priests moan, her virgins are sad, and she herself is in bitterness. The Lord hath cast down all my mighty in the midst of me; He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time for breaking my youths. The Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the virgin daughter of Zion. 1 Hear, I pray, all ye people, and behold my grief; my virgins and my youths have gone into captivity (Lamentations 1:4, 15, 18).
This describes the devastation of Divine truth in the church, "Zion" of which this is said signifying the church, where the Lord reigns by the Divine truth. "The ways of Zion do mourn" signifies that Divine truths are no longer sought; "no one comes to the feast" signifies that there is at that time no worship; "all her gates are desolated" signifies that there is no approach to truths; "her priests moan, her virgins are sad," signifies that affections of good and affections of truth are destroyed; "He hath cast down all my mighty in the midst of me" signifies that all power of truth against falsities has perished; "He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time" signifies its last state, when the Lord is about to come; "for breaking my youths" signifies when there is no longer any understanding of truth; "the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the virgin daughter of Zion" 1 signifies when all the truths of the Word are falsified; "my virgins and my youths have gone into captivity" signifies when all the affection of truth and the understanding of truth have perished by falsities.
[3] In the same:
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the earth; they keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their head; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have made their head to go down to the earth. What shall I testify unto thee, to what shall I liken thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? They have lain in the streets, the boy and the old man; my virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword (Lamentations 2:10, 13, 21).
These words, too, describe the devastation of Divine truth in the church, "the daughter of Zion" being the church in which the Lord reigns by Divine truth; grief on account of its devastation is described by "sitting on the earth," "the elders being silent," "casting up dust upon the head," "girding themselves with sackcloth," and "making the head to go down to the earth." "The elders of the daughter of Zion" signify those who have been in Divine truths; "the virgins of Jerusalem" signify those who have taught truths from the affection of truth; "they have lain in the streets, the boy and the old man," signifies that innocence and wisdom have been destroyed, together with Divine truths; "my virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword" signifies that all the affection of truth and all the understanding of truth have perished by falsities, "virgin" being the affection of truth, "youth" the understanding of truth, and "to fall by the sword" is to perish through falsities.
[4] In the same:
Our skins are become black like an oven because of the tempests of famine; the women in Zion have been ravished, the virgins in the cities of Judah; the princes have been hanged up by their hand; the faces of the elders have not been honored (Lamentations 5:10-12).
In this like things are involved. What is signified by "the women in Zion," "the virgins in the cities of Judah," and "the princes and old men," has been explained above (n. 540, 555, 655).
In Amos:
Behold the days shall come in which I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. In that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst (Amos 8:11, 13).
This describes the lack of Divine truth. That lack is meant by "famine" and by "thirst;" therefore it is said, "not a famine for bread nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the words of Jehovah." That the affection of truth and the understanding of truth will cease because of this lack is signified by "in that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst."
[5] In Isaiah:
Blush, O Zidon, the sea hath said, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, neither brought forth; I have not trained up youths, I have not brought up virgins (Isaiah 23:4).
"Zidon and Tyre" mean the church as to the knowledges of good and truth; and the "sea" and "the stronghold of the sea" mean the natural where such knowledges are. That none are reformed by those knowledges is signified by "I have not travailed, neither brought forth;" and that consequently there is no understanding of truth and no affection of truth is signified by "I have not trained up youths, I have not brought up virgins."
[6] In David:
God shut up His people to the sword, and was wroth with His inheritance. The fire hath devoured her youths, and her virgins are not wedded. Her priests have fallen by the sword (Psalms 78:62-64).
This, too, treats of the devastation of the church by falsities and evils. "God shut up His people to the sword, and was wroth with His inheritance," signifies that the church perished through falsities and evils, the "sword" signifies the destruction of truth by falsities, "to be wroth" destruction by evils, the "people" those of the church who are in truths, and "inheritance" those who are in goods, but here those who are in falsities and evils. "The fire hath devoured her youths" signifies that the love of self and thence the pride of self-intelligence have destroyed the understanding of truth; "her virgins are not wedded" signifies that the affections of truth have perished through non-understanding of truth; "her priests have fallen by the sword" signifies that the goods of the church, which are the goods of works, of charity, and of life, have been destroyed by falsities.
[7] In Moses:
Without shall the sword bereave, and from the chambers terror, both the youth and the virgin, the suckling with the old man (Deuteronomy 32:25).
"Without shall the sword bereave, and from the chambers terror," signifies that falsity and evil, which are from within, shall devastate both the natural and the rational man; "the youth and the virgin" signify the understanding of truth and the affection of it; "the suckling with the old man" signifies innocence and wisdom.
[8] In Jeremiah:
By thee I will scatter nations, and by thee I will destroy kingdoms; by thee I will scatter the horse and his rider; by thee I will scatter the chariot and him that is carried therein; by thee I will scatter the old man and the boy; by thee I will scatter the youth and the virgin; by thee I will scatter the shepherd and his flock; by thee I will scatter the husbandman and his team; by thee I will scatter the governors and the leaders (Jeremiah 51:20-23).
This is said of Jacob and Israel, by whom is meant in the highest sense the Lord, who was to destroy the evils and falsities that bore rule in the church about the time of His coming; the "nations" and "kingdoms" that He will scatter signify evils and falsities in general; "the horse and his rider" signify reasonings from falsities against truths; "the chariot and him who is carried therein" signify falsities of doctrine; "the old man and the boy" signify falsities confirmed and not confirmed; "the youth and the virgin" signify the understanding of falsity and the affection of it; "the shepherd and his flock" signify those who teach and those who learn; "the husbandman and his team" have a like signification; "governors and leaders" signify the principles of falsity and evil.
[9] In Ezekiel:
Jehovah said, Go through the midst of the city, and through the midst of Jerusalem. Slay to destruction the old man, the youth and the virgin, and the infant and the women; but come not against any man upon whom is the sign (Ezekiel 9:4, 6).
This describes the devastation of all things pertaining to the church; "Jerusalem" signifies the church; "the old man, youth, virgin, infant, and women," signify all things of the church, the "old man" wisdom, the "youth" intelligence, the "virgin" the affection of truth, the "infant" innocence, "women" good conjoined to truths; "to slay to destruction" signifies to destroy utterly. That these things did not happen, but were merely seen by the prophet when he was in the spirit, is evident from the preceding verses, in which the abominations of the house of Israel and Judah are set forth under various forms and objects; and as these things did not happen, but were merely seen, it is clearly evident that "old man, youth, virgin, infant, and women," have this signification. What is signified by "come not against any man upon whom is the sign" may be seen above n. 427.
[10] In Joel:
They have cast lots upon my people, and they have given a boy for a harlot, and have sold a girl for wine which they drank (Joel 3:3).
"To cast lots upon the people" signifies to disperse the truths of the church by falsities; "to give a boy for a harlot" signifies to falsify the truths of the Word; "to sell a girl for wine" signifies to falsify the goods of the Word; "which they drank" signifies becoming imbued with falsity.
[11] In Zechariah:
The streets of the city were filled with boys and girls playing in its 2 streets (Zechariah 8:5).
"Boys and girls" signify the truths and goods of innocence, such as are the truths and goods of the Word, which essentially constitute the church; "streets of the city" signify doctrinals, for which reason the ancients taught in the streets; and "to play in the streets" signifies to be glad and rejoice from doctrinals.
[12] In Jeremiah:
Again will I build thee, O virgin Israel; then shall the virgin be glad in her dance, and the young men and old men together (Jeremiah 31:4, 13).
"The virgin Israel" signifies the church from the affection of truth; "then shall the virgin be glad in the dance" signifies the gladness of heart of those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, since all spiritual gladness is from the affection of truth; and this is why the expressions "to play," "to dance," "to sing," and the like, are used in the Word in reference to virgins and girls.
[13] Because the church is a church from the spiritual affection of truth, which is the love of truth for the sake of truth, the following expressions are frequently used in the Word:
The virgin of Israel (Jeremiah 18:13; 31:4, 21; Amos 5:2);
The virgin daughter of Zion (2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22; Lamentations 1:4; 2:13);
The virgin daughter of my people (Jeremiah 14:17);
The virgin daughter of Zidon (Isaiah 23:12);
The virgin daughter of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:11);
Also the virgin daughter of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1).
In David:
They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the minstrels after, in the midst of virgins playing on timbrels (Psalms 68:24, 25).
This is said of the Lord, who is here meant by "my God" and "my King," and His coming is meant by "His goings in the sanctuary," "the singers, minstrels, and players on timbrels," signify all who are of the Lord's spiritual and celestial kingdom, "the virgins singing," those who are of His spiritual kingdom, and "the minstrels and players on timbrels" those who are of His celestial kingdom; they are called "virgins" from the affection of truth and good; and "to sing, to play on instruments and on timbrels" describes the gladness and joy of their heart, for instruments played by beating and by blowing depict the joy of those who are of the celestial kingdom; while stringed instruments and singing depict the gladness of those who are of the spiritual kingdom.
[14] In the same:
King's daughters are among thy precious ones; on thy right hand standeth the queen in the best gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter and see, incline thine ear. Then shall the king delight in thy beauty; for he is thy lord, therefore bow thyself down to him. The daughter of Tyre also with an offering, the rich of the people shall entreat thy faces. The king's daughter is all precious within, her clothing is inwrought with gold; she shall be brought unto the king in broidered work; the virgins that follow her, her companions, shall be brought unto him; with joy and exultation they shall be brought, they shall come into the king's palace (Psalms 45:9-15).
It is evident from the verses that precede (Psalms 45:2-8), and from those that follow (Psalms 45:16, 17), that this is said of the Lord. "King's daughters" signify the affections of Divine truth; "the queen that was at his right hand in the best gold of Ophir" signifies heaven and the church, which are in Divine truths from Divine good; "to hear, to see, and to incline the ear," which is said of the king's daughter, signifies to hearken, to perceive, and to obey, thus to understand, to do, and to be wise, from the Lord. That she will then be acceptable to the Lord is signified by "then shall the king delight in thy beauty," "beauty" is predicated of the affection of truth, for this is what constitutes the beauty of angels; "therefore bow thyself down to him" signifies worship from a humble heart. "And the daughter of Tyre shall send an offering" signifies worship by those who are in the knowledges of truth; "the rich of the people shall entreat thy faces" signifies adoration by those who are in intelligence from these knowledges; "the king's daughter is all glorious within" signifies the spiritual affection of truth, which is called "glorious" from abundance of truth, while "within" signifies what is spiritual; "her clothing is inwrought with gold" signifies investing truths formed from the good of love; "she shall be brought unto the king in broidered work" signifies the appearances of truth, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "the virgins that follow her, her companions," signify the spiritual-natural affections of truth which serve; "with joy and exultation they shall be brought, they shall come into the king's palace," signifies with heavenly joy into heaven, where the Lord is.
[15] Because "king's daughters" signified the spiritual affections of truth, and their "garments" signified truths in the ultimate of order, such as the truths of the Word are in the sense of its letter, therefore:
The king's daughters that were virgins were formerly clothed in robes of diverse colors, as is said of Tamar the daughter of David (2 Samuel 13:18).
In Zechariah:
How great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! Corn maketh the young men to grow, and new wine the virgins (Zechariah 9:17).
This, too, is said of the Lord; and "His goodness and beauty" mean the Divine good and the Divine truth. "Corn maketh the young men to grow, and new wine the virgins," signifies that the understanding of truth and the affection of truth are formed by good and truth from Him. It is evident from these passages that "virgins" signify in the Word the affections of truth, likewise from other passages (as Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 2:32; Joel 1:7, 8; Psalms 148:12; Judges 5:30).
[16] Because a "virgin" signified the affection of the genuine truth of the church, which is wholly in accord with the good of love, it was commanded:
That the high priest should not take to wife a widow, or one divorced, or one polluted, a harlot, but a virgin of his own people, lest he profane his seed (Leviticus 21:13-15; also Ezekiel 44:22).
The particulars of this may be seen explained above n. 768. It was because "virgin" signifies the affection of genuine truth, and her defilement signifies falsification of Divine truth, that to commit whoredom was so severely forbidden, that:
If anyone should entice a virgin and lie with her he should pay her a dowry to be a wife for himself; but if her father should refuse to give her he should weigh him silver according to the dowry of virgins (Exodus 22:16, 17; Deuteronomy 22:28, 29).
This may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 9181-9186.
[17] Because the affection of truth and the understanding of truth constitute a marriage, like that of a virgin espoused and married to a man, and these afterwards make one, like will and understanding, or affection and thought, or good and truth, in every man, and because diverse affections cannot be conjoined to one and the same thought, or diverse wills to one and the same understanding, or diverse truths of the church to one and the same good of love, without causing falsifications and dispersions of truth, so lying with a virgin who was betrothed was made a crime punishable with death, according to this command in Moses:
If a man lie in a city with a damsel that is a virgin betrothed to a man, both shall be stoned; but if in the field the man alone shall die, to the damsel there is no crime of death (Deuteronomy 22:23-27).
"Lying together in the city" signifies the adulteration of the good and truth of doctrine from the Word, for a "city" means doctrine, and "stoning" was a punishment for harm done to the truth of doctrine. But "lying together in the field" signifies the falsification of the truth of the church before it has been accepted as a doctrinal; and this is not the adulteration of its good, since a "field" means the church, in which truth at first is implanted and afterwards grows and at length becomes a matter of doctrine; and for this reason the man only should die. From this it can also be seen that "virginity" signifies the undefiled affection of truth (as in Leviticus 21:13; Deuteronomy 22:13-21; Ezekiel 23:3, 8.
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