7988. 'That all the hosts of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt' means that those with whom truth and good were present but who had been held back until then were released. This is clear from the meaning of 'going out of the land of Egypt' as being released and delivered from molestations, 'going out' self-evidently meaning being released, while 'the land of Egypt' means molestations, see 7278; and from the meaning of 'the hosts of Jehovah' as the truths and forms of good that the spiritual Church possesses, and so those with whom truth and good are present, dealt with in 3448, 7236. The fact that truths and forms of good are meant by 'the hosts of Jehovah' is clear in Daniel,

There came out one small-sized horn of the he-goat, and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the hosts of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. It drew itself up even towards the prince of the host. And the host was set over the continual [burnt offering] on account of the transgression, because it cast down truth to the earth. At that point I heard a holy one speaking, How long is both the sanctuary and the host being trodden down? He said to me, Up to the evening and morning, two thousand three hundred times; then the sanctuary will be made correct. Daniel 8:9-14.

Here it is plainly evident that 'the hosts' means truths and forms of good, for it says that [the hem] cast down to the earth some of the host and of the stars, and after this that it cast down truth to the earth, and that the host was to be trodden down up to the evening and morning, which is the Lord's Coming.

[2] Since truths and forms of good make up 'the hosts of Jehovah', angels are therefore called His 'hosts' in the first Book of Kings,

Micah the prophet said, I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and the entire host of heaven standing beside Him. 1 Kings 22:19.

And in David,

Bless Jehovah, His angels, powerful with strength; bless Jehovah, all His hosts, His ministers. Psalms 103:20-21.

Angels are called 'hosts' by virtue of the truths and forms of good present with them. Not only angels used to be referred to as the hosts of Jehovah but also the lights in the sky - the sun, moon, and stars. And they were referred to as such because 'the sun' was a sign of the good of love, 'the moon' a sign of the good of faith, and 'the stars' a sign of cognitions of goodness and truth. Reference to those lights as 'hosts' is evident in the Book of Genesis,

The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their hosts. Genesis 1:1.

Here 'hosts' is used to mean all the lights in the sky; but in the internal sense, in which the subject at that point is the new creation of a person, 'hosts' is used to mean truths and forms of good.

[3] Likewise in David,

Praise Jehovah, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts; praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all stars of light. Psalms 148:1, 3.

'Sun' means the good of love, and 'moon' the good of faith, see 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 4060, 4696, 5377, 7083; and 'stars' means cognitions of good and truth, 1808, 2120, 2495, 2849, 4697.

[4] One reason why 'sun, moon, and stars' means forms of good and truths is that in heaven the Lord is a Sun to those who are celestial and a Moon to those who are spiritual, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 4300, 4721 (end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173; and another reason is that angelic dwelling-places shine like stars, in keeping with the following in Daniel,

Then those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and into eternity. Daniel 12:9.

[5] Since angels, by virtue of truths and forms of good, are spoken of as 'the hosts of Jehovah', and also the sun, moon, and stars are called such, and since all truth and good come from the Lord, the Word refers to the Lord as Jehovah Zebaoth, that is, Jehovah of Hosts, 3448. And another reason why it refers to Him in this way is that He fights on a person's behalf against the hells.

From all this one may now see what 'the hosts of Jehovah' is used to mean in the internal sense. The children of Jacob who went out of Egypt were not such, though they represented them. This is evident from their life in Egypt, where they were unacquainted with Jehovah, even with His name before it was made known to Moses from the bramble bush, Exodus 3:13-16; and also they were calf-worshippers no less than the Egyptians were, as may be deduced from Exodus 32. And their life in the wilderness too shows that their character was such that they could not be led into the land of Canaan. Thus they were anything but the hosts of Jehovah.

4722. Verses 18-22 And they saw him from a distance; and before he drew near to them they plotted against him, to put him to death. And they said, a man to his brother, Behold, that dreamer ¹ is coming. So now come, and let us kill him, and let us throw him into one of the pits, and let us say, An evil wild animal has devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams are going to be. And Reuben heard it and rescued him out of their hands, and said, Let us not strike him, [as to his] soul. ² And Reuben said to them, Do not shed blood; throw him into this pit in the wilderness and do not lay a hand on him - so that he might therefore rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.

'They saw him from a distance' means the Lord's Divine Human perceived remotely. 'And before he drew near to them they plotted against him, to put him to death' means that they desired to annihilate the Divine Spiritual which proceeded from the Lord's Divine Human. 'And they said, a man to his brother' means the thoughts held mutually by them. 'Behold, that dreamer is coming' means those futile ideas. 'So now come, and let us kill him' means an annihilation of the essential teaching regarding the Lord's Divine Human. 'And let us throw him into one of the pits' means among falsities. 'And let us say, An evil wild animal has devoured him' means a lie invented out of a life of evil desires. 'And we shall see what his dreams are going to be' means that declarations concerning Him were by their reckoning false ones and were seen by them as such. 'And Reuben heard it' means the Church's confession of faith in general. 'And rescued him out of their hands' means deliverance. 'And said, Let us not strike him, [as to his] soul' means that it must not be annihilated because it is the life of religion. 'And Reuben said to them' means an exhortation. 'Do not shed blood' means not to do violence to what is holy. 'Throw him into this pit in the wilderness'' means that for the time being they should conceal it among their falsities. 'And do not lay a hand on him' means, and should not do any violence to it. 'So that he might therefore rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father' means so that it might lay claim to it for the Church.

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