727. A rod and staff signify power, and indeed the power of Divine Truth, chiefly for the reason that they were branches or boughs of trees, and these signify the knowledges of truth and good, which are the truths of the natural man; and as they were used to support the body, they signified power. This is yet more true with a rod of iron, because iron also signifies the truth of the natural man, and because of its hardness it signifies power that cannot be resisted. That rods and staves signify the power of Divine Truth is from correspondence. It is from this fact that the use of staffs, in the spiritual world - where all things that appear are correspondences - is representative of the power of those [who use them]; similarly in the Jewish church, which, like the ancient churches, was a representative church. This is why Moses wrought miracles and signs in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness, by stretching forth his staff. For instance, the waters smitten by the staff were turned into blood (Exodus 7:1-21). Frogs came up from the rivers and pools, over which the staff was stretched forth (Exodus 8:1, and following verses). From the dust smitten with the staff there came forth lice (Exodus 8:12, and following verses). When the staff was stretched out towards heaven there came thunders and hail (Exodus 9:23). Locusts came forth (Exodus 10:12, and following verses). The sea Suph (Red Sea), when the staff was stretched over it, was divided and afterwards returned (Exodus 14:16, 21, 26). From the rock in Horeb, smitten with the staff, waters came forth (Exodus 17:5, and following verses; Numbers 20:7-13). Joshua prevailed against Amalek when Moses lifted up his hand with the staff, and Amalek prevailed when Moses let it down (Exodus 17:9-12); also, fire went out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes which Gideon offered, when the angel of Jehovah touched them with the end of his staff (Judg. 6:21). These miracles were wrought by the stretching out of the staff, because the staff signified, from correspondence, the power of the Lord by means of Divine Truth; this power was treated of in the preceding article.

[2] That Divine Truth as to power is also signified in other parts of the Word by rods and staves, is evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Yea, when I shall walk in the shady valley I will fear no evil, thy rod and thy staff shall comfort me; thou wilt set before me a table in the presence of mine enemies; and thou wilt make fat my head with oil, my cup shall run over" (Psalm 23:4, 5).

To walk in a shady valley, signifies, in the spiritual sense, an obscure understanding, which does not see truths in their light, Thy rod and thy staff shall comfort me, signifies that spiritual Divine Truth, together with natural Divine Truth, shall protect, because these have power, rod denoting spiritual Divine Truth, staff natural Divine Truth, the two together meaning these as to the power of protecting; for to comfort means to protect. As rod and staff signify Divine truth as to power, these words follow: "Thou wilt set before me a table, thou wilt make fat my head with oil, my cup shall run over," this signifies spiritual nourishment through Divine Truth; for to set a table signifies to be spiritually nourished, to make fat the head with oil signifies through the good of love, while the cup signifies truth of doctrine from the Word, the cup being used here for wine.

[3] In Ezekiel:

"Thy mother was like a vine planted near the waters, whence she had rods of strength for sceptres of them that rule; but she lifted herself up in her stature among the interwoven boughs, therefore she was overturned in anger, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind withered up her fruit; the rods of her strength were broken off and dried up, the fire consumed them all. Now she is planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst; a fire hath gone out from the rod of her branches, and hath consumed her fruit, so that there is not in her a rod of strength, a sceptre of them that rule" (19:10-14).

This describes the desolation of all truth in the Jewish church; the princes, against whom the lamentation is taken up, signify truths, and the mother who became a lioness signifies the church; about these the above is said. Thy mother was like a vine planted near the waters, signifies that the spiritual church, from its establishment, had been instructed in truths, mother denoting the church in general, a vine the spiritual church, in particular, waters truths, while to be planted denotes to be established. Whence she had rods of strength for sceptres of them that rule, signifies that the church had Divine Truth in its power, and thus dominion over the falsities of evil which are from hell, rods of strength denoting Divine Truth as to power, and sceptres Divine Truth as to dominion; for the sceptres of kings were short staves, from a significative tree, here, from the vine. But she lifted herself up in her stature among the thick boughs, signifies the pride of [their] own intelligence from the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man; such pride is signified by She lifted herself up in her stature, and the knowledges of the natural man are signified by the interwoven boughs. She was overturned in anger, thrown to the ground, signifies its destruction by falsities of evils; the east wind withered her fruit, signifies the destruction of its good, the east wind signifying destruction, and fruit good; that good remaining from the Word with those who are in falsities of evil is meant; and its destruction is signified by the drying up of the fruit by an east wind. The rods of her strength were broken off and dried up, signifies that all Divine Truth was dissipated, consequently that the church had no power against the hells. The fire hath consumed them all, signifies pride from the love of self, which destroyed. Now she is planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst, signifies desolation, until there is no good of truth or truth of good left. A fire hath gone out from the rod of her branches, signifies pride in every particular of it; it hath consumed her fruit, signifies the consumption of good; so that there is not in her a rod of strength, a sceptre of them that rule, signifies the desolation of Divine Truth as to power and as to dominion, as above.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"Say ye, How is the staff of strength broken, the staff of beauty; come down from thy glory and sit in thirst, O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon; for the spoiler of Moab hath come up against thee, and hath destroyed thy strongholds" (Jeremiah 48:17, 18).

The daughter of Dibon signifies the external of the church, and thus the external of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, and the spoiler of Moab signifies its adulteration. This makes it clear what is signified by The staff of strength is broken, the staff of beauty - namely, that they no longer possessed Divine Truth in its power, which, as it is in the natural sense of the Word, is signified by the staff of strength, and in the spiritual sense by the staff of beauty, Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, signifies the deprivation and want of Divine Truth; to come down from glory denoting the deprivation thereof, glory meaning Divine Truth in light, and thirst the want of it; for the spoiler of Moab hath come up against thee, signifies the adulteration of the Word as to its literal sense; and hath destroyed thy strongholds, signifies the taking away of defence, a stronghold denoting defence against falsities and evils; the literal sense of the Word is that defence.

[5] In David:

"Jehovah shall send the staff of thy strength out of Zion" (Psalm 110:2).

The staff of strength here also signifies Divine Truth in its power, and Zion the church which is in love to the Lord, and is therefore called a celestial church.

[6] In Micah:

"Tend (pasce) thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine inheritance; they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead according to the days of an age" (7:14).

Tend thy people with thy rod, signifies the instruction of those who are of the church in Divine truths from the Word, to tend signifying to instruct; people mean those of the church who are in truths, and the rod means there the Word, because it is Divine Truth. The flock of heritage signifies those of the church who are in the spiritual things of the Word, which are the truths of its internal sense; they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead, signifies instruction in the goods of the church and in its truths from the natural sense of the Word.

[7] In Isaiah:

"He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the impious" (11:4).

Here also the rod of the mouth of Jehovah signifies Divine Truth or the Word in the natural sense; and the breath of his lips signifies Divine Truth or the Word in the spiritual sense, both of these destroying the falsities of evil in the church, which is signified by smiting the earth and slaying the impious. "To smite with a rod" (Micah 5:1), and "to pierce through with staves the head of the unfaithful" (Habak. 3:14), have a similar signification.

[8] In Moses:

"Israel sang a song" concerning the fountain in Beer; "O fountain, the princes digged, the chiefs of the people digged out, by [command of] the lawgiver with their staffs" (Numbers 21:17, 18).

The fountain in Beer here signifies doctrine from the Word, "Beer" in the original meaning a fountain; the princes who digged, and the chiefs of the people who digged, signify those who are intelligent, and wise from the Lord, who is meant by the lawgiver. The staves with which they digged and digged out, signify the understanding enlightened in Divine truths.

[9] In Zechariah:

"There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and a man in whose hand is a staff (scipio) by reason of the multitude of days" (8:4).

Old men and old women, signify those who are intelligent from doctrine and from affection for truth; the man in whose hand is a staff by reason of the multitude of days, signifies the wise who trust not to themselves but to the Lord alone; that these will be in the church, where there is the doctrine of genuine truth, is signified by In the streets of Jerusalem - Jerusalem denoting the church as to doctrine, and streets truths of doctrine, here genuine truths.

[10] In Jeremiah:

"Every man is become foolish by knowledge (scientia), every goldsmith is made ashamed by the graven image; the part of Jacob is not like these; but he is the Former of all things, and Israel is the staff of his inheritance, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name" (10:14, 16; chap. 51:19).

Every man is become foolish by knowledge, signifies by the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man separated from the spiritual; every goldsmith is made ashamed by the graven image, signifies by falsities from [their] own intelligence. But He is the Former of all things, signifies the Lord from whom is all understanding of truth; Israel is the staff of his inheritance, signifies the church that has Divine Truth, and its power against falsities; and because the subject here treated of is intelligence through Divine Truth, it is said, "Jehovah Zebaoth is his name." The Lord is called Jehovah Zebaoth from Divine truths in their whole extent, for Zebaoth means armies, and armies signify all the truths and goods of the church and heaven.

[11] When the sons of Israel murmured in the wilderness against Moses and Aaron on account of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, because they were swallowed up by the earth, it was commanded that

"the princes of the twelve tribes should place their staves in the tent of assembly, before the testimony; and when this was done, the staff of Aaron blossomed, and brought forth almonds" (Numbers 17:2-10).

This happened, because they murmured against Jehovah, that is, against the Lord, and indeed against Divine Truth, which is from Him; for Moses and Aaron represented the Lord as to the law, which is the Word; for this reason it was commanded that the princes of the twelve tribes should place their staves in the tent of assembly, before the testimony. For the twelve tribes, and in particular their princes, and also their twelve staves signified the truths of the church in their whole extent, while the tent of assembly represented and thus signified heaven, from which are the truths of the church; and the testimony represented the Lord Himself. The staff of Aaron blossomed and produced almonds, because his staff represented and thus signified truth from the good of love; and because truth from the good of love is the only truth that brings forth fruit, which is the good of charity, therefore it was his staff that blossomed, and brought forth almonds, almonds signifying that good, the same as the tribe of Levi, as may be seen above (n. 444). It must be observed that tribe (tribus) and staff (baculus) are expressed by the same word (as in Numbers 1:16; chap, 2:5, 7); therefore the twelve staves have a similar signification to that of the twelve tribes, namely, the Divine truths of the church in their whole extent. Concerning the twelve tribes, see above (n. 39, 430, 431, 657).

[12] As a staff signifies the power of Divine Truth, it signifies also the power to resist evils and falsities.

In Isaiah:

"Behold, the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the staff and the stay (scipio), the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet" (3:1, 2).

To remove the whole staff of bread and the whole staff of water, signifies here to take away all the good and truth of the church, and when these are taken away there is no longer any power to resist evils and falsities, so as to hinder their free entrance. Bread signifies the good of the church, water its truth, and staff good and truth as to their power to resist evils and falsities; the words therefore follow that the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, will also be removed, and the mighty man and the man of war signify truth fighting against evil and falsity, and the judge and prophet the doctrine of good and truth.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"Behold I break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, that they may eat bread by weight and in carefulness, and drink waters by measure and with astonishment" (4:16).

To break the staff of bread, signifies that good and truth shall fail in the church, for bread here signifies good and truth, therefore the words follow, "They shall eat bread by weight and in carefulness, and drink waters by measure," which signifies a deficiency of good and truth, and thus of the power to resist evils and falsities. To break the staff of bread and of water (Ezekiel 5:16; 14:13; Psalm 105:16; Leviticus 26:26) has a similar signification.

[14] As rod and staff signify the power of Divine Truth, and thus Divine Truth as to power, therefore in the opposite sense they also signify the power of infernal falsity, and thence infernal falsity as to power. In this sense rod and staff are named in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of them that rule" (14:5).

To break the staff of the wicked signifies to destroy the power of falsity from evil; and to break the rod of them that rule, signifies the rule of falsity.

[15] In David:

"The staff of impiety shall not rest upon the lot of the just, that the just may not put forth their hands to perversity" (Psalm 125:3).

The staff of impiety, signifies the power of falsity from evil; upon the lot of the just, signifies over truths from good, which the faithful have, and especially those who are in love to the Lord, for these, in the Word, are called the just; lest the just put forth their hands to perversity, signifies lest they falsify truths.

[16] In Lamentations:

"I am the man that hath seen misery by the rod of his fury; he hath led me into darkness, and not into light" (Lamentations 3:1, 2).

This is said of the devastation of the church; and by the rod of fury is signified the rule of infernal falsity; He hath led me and brought me into darkness, and not into light, signifies into mere falsities, and thus not into truths.

[17] In Isaiah:

"Thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor" (9:4).

This is said of the nations who were in falsities from ignorance, because they had not the Word, and to whom therefore the Lord was not known. The evil with which they were oppressed, and the falsity by which they were infested, are signified by the yoke of the burden, the staff of the shoulder, and the rod of the oppressor; to break signifies to destroy these, for to break is said of a yoke, a staff, and a rod, but to destroy is said of evil and falsity, which heavily weigh upon, powerfully persuade and compel to obedience.

[18] In the same:

"At the voice of Jehovah, Asshur shall be dismayed, he shall be smitten with a staff; then every passage of the rod of foundation, upon which Jehovah shall cause to rest, shall be with timbrels and harps" (30:31, 32).

This treats of the time of a last judgment, when there shall be a new church. Asshur who shall be dismayed at the voice of Jehovah, and shall be smitten with a staff, signifies reasoning from falsities, which shall be dispersed by Divine Truth. That then the truths of the literal sense of the Word will be understood and received with joy, is signified by the words, "Then the passage of the rod of the foundation shall be with timbrels and harps," passage signifying opening and free reception, and timbrels and harps signifying the delights of the affection for truth. The truths of the literal sense of the Word are signified by the rod of the foundation, because that sense is a foundation for the truths of its spiritual sense; and as the spiritual sense rests upon the literal sense, it is said, "Upon which Jehovah shall cause to rest."

[19] In Zechariah:

"The pride of Asshur shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart" (10:11).

The pride of Asshur signifies the pride of [man's] own intelligence, and the staff of Egypt signifies the power arising from the confirmation of its falsities by the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man.

[20] In Isaiah:

"Woe to Asshur, the rod of mine anger and the staff of mine indignation, which is in their hand. O my people, inhabitant of Zion, be not afraid of Asshur, that he smite thee with a rod, and lift up his staff upon thee in the way of Egypt" (10:5, 24, 26).

Here also Asshur signifies reasonings from [man's] own intelligence, by which truths are perverted and falsified; the consequent falsities, and perversions of truth, are signified by the rod of mine anger, and by the staff of mine indignation, which is in their hand. That truths will not be perverted with those of the church who are in celestial love and in truths therefrom, is signified by Fear not, O inhabitant of Zion. That he smite thee with a rod, and lift up a staff upon thee in the way of Egypt, signifies that falsity urges, excites, and strives to pervert by means of such things as pertain to the natural man, the way of Egypt denoting the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man from which reasonings arise. Since Egypt signifies the natural man with the things that are in it, and, the natural man separated from the spiritual is in mere falsities, therefore Egypt is called the staff of a bruised reed, which entereth into and pierceth the hand, when one leaneth upon it (Ezekiel 29:6, 7; Isaiah 36:6). This may be seen explained above (n. 627:10).

[21] In Isaiah:

"Rejoice not, O Philistia, that the rod of him that smiteth thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall go forth a basilisk, whose fruit is a fiery flying serpent (prester volans)" (14:29).

That Philistia signifies a religion of faith separated from charity, the serpent's root that false principle, the basilisk the destruction of the good and truth of the church, and the fiery flying serpent reasonings from the falsities of evil, may be seen above (n. 386:3). Thus these serpents have a similar signification to that of the dragon in this chapter of the Apocalypse. That Philistia should not rejoice that the rod of him that smiteth her is broken, signifies that she should not boast that the dominion of that falsity is not yet destroyed.

[22] In Hosea:

"My people ask questions of wood, and their staff answereth them, for the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, and they have committed whoredom under their god" (4:12).

This treats of the falsification of the Word. To ask questions of wood, or of an idol of wood, signifies to consult the intelligence which is from their proprium which favours its loves. The staff answereth them, signifies falsity in which confidence is reposed, for when the proprium is consulted falsity replies; the proprium is of the will, thus of the love, and its falsity is of the understanding, thus of the thought. The spirit of whoredoms that has seduced them, signifies the desire to falsify; to commit whoredom under their god, signifies to falsify the truths of the Word.

[23] From these things it is now evident what rod and staff signify in both senses; and also the meaning of the rod of iron, with which the male child is to tend all nations, can be seen; and also of these words in the Apocalypse, "Out of the mouth" of him who sat upon the white horse proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he may smite the nations; and he shall tend (pascet) them with a rod of iron (19:15).

Also by these words above,

"To him that overcometh will I give power over the nations, that he may rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken" (2:26, 27).

The explanation of this may be seen above (n. 176). The signification of the following words in David is similar:

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, as the vessel of a potter thou shalt scatter them" (Psalm 2:9).

3858. Since the subject in the verses that follow now is the twelve sons of Jacob, and since the twelve tribes of Israel were named after them as their fathers, let an introductory statement be made here about what the tribes mean and why there were twelve. Nobody as yet has known the arcanum lying within these considerations, for people have believed that the historical descriptions of the Word are purely history and hold nothing more of the Divine within them than their ability to be made to apply to matters of a holy nature when these are under discussion. Consequently they have also believed that the twelve tribes meant nothing else than the divisions of the Israelitish people into so many separate nations or general families, when in fact Divine realities are implied in those tribes. That is to say, those tribes mean so many universal divisions of faith and love and so mean things that constitute the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, each tribe in particular meaning some universal division. But what exactly each tribe means will be evident from the verses that follow directly after this, where the subject is the sons of Jacob after whom the twelve tribes were named. In general the twelve tribes meant everything constituting the doctrine of truth and good, that is, of faith and love; for these - that is to say, truth and good, or faith and love - constitute the Lord's kingdom, since what are essentially matters of truth or faith constitute the whole of thought there, and what are essentially matters of good or love constitute the whole of affection. And because the Jewish Church was established so as to represent the Lord's kingdom the divisions of that people into twelve tribes therefore meant those things of His kingdom. This is an arcanum which has not previously been disclosed.

[2] Twelve means all things in general, as shown already in 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end), 3272, while 'tribes' means matters of truth and good, or of faith and love, so that 'the twelve tribes' means all of these. Let this meaning of 'the twelve tribes' be substantiated here from the Word before each one is dealt with individually. In John,

The holy city New Jerusalem, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and names written which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He measured the city with the measuring rod, twelve thousand stadia. And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Revelation 21:12, 14, 16-17, 21.

'The holy city', or the New Jerusalem, means the Lord's new Church, as is evident from each detail of this description. Previous chapters refer to what the condition of the Church was going to be like before its end; this chapter refers to a new Church. That being so, 'the gates', 'the wall', 'the foundations' mean nothing else than things constituting the Church, which are those of charity and faith since these constitute the Church.

[3] From this it may be clear to anyone that 'twelve' used so many times in that description, also 'tribes', and 'apostles' too, are not used to mean twelve, or tribes, or apostles, but that 'twelve' is used to mean all things in their entirety; see what has been shown in 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end), 3272. The same is true of the number 'a hundred and forty-four', for this is twelve twelves. And since 'twelve' means all things it is evident that 'the twelve tribes' means all things constituting the Church, which, as stated above, are truth and good, or faith and love. The same is also true of 'the twelve apostles' who as well represented all things constituting the Church, that is, all things of faith and love, see 2129, 3354, 3488, 3857. That number is therefore called 'the measure of a man, that is, of an angel', by which is meant a state of truth and good. For 'measure' means state, see 3104, and 'man' means that which constitutes the Church, as is evident from things said about the meaning of 'man' in 478, 479, 565, 768, 1871, 1894, and also from the fact that the Lord's kingdom is called the Grand Man, which it is called by virtue of good and truth which come from the Lord, dealt with at the ends of chapters in 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And 'angel' has the same meaning, 1705, 1754, 1925, 2821, 3039.

[4] As in John, so also in the Prophets, in the Old Testament Word, is the new Jerusalem referred to, where in a similar way the Lord's new Church is meant, as in Isaiah 65:18-19, and following verses; in Zechariah 14; and in particular in Ezekiel, Chapters 40-48, where the new Jerusalem, the new Temple, and a new earth describe in the internal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church. The contents of those chapters, plainer than anywhere else, show what 'earth', 'Jerusalem', 'Temple', and everything in them meant, and also what 'the twelve tribes' means. For the subject of those chapters is the division of the land and the inheritance of it according to tribes, as well as the city and its walls, foundation, and gates, and everything that was to go with the Temple there. From those chapters let simply matters relating to the tribes be quoted here,

The Lord Jehovih said, This is the boundary of your inheritance of the land, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. You shall divide this land according to the tribes of Israel. But you shall divide it by lot as an inheritance, and for sojourners sojourning in your midst. They shall cast lots with you for an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. Ezekiel 47:13, 21-23.

As regards the land, it will be for the prince as a possession in Israel. And the princes will no longer oppress My people, and the land they will give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Ezekiel 45:8.

Concerning inheritances and how they were assigned to individual tribes which are also referred to there by name, see Ezekiel 48:1 and following verses; and concerning the gates of the city which are named after the tribes of Israel, verses 31-34 of the same chapter.

[5] Quite plainly, when the tribes are spoken of here it is not the tribes who are meant, for by that time ten tribes had long since been scattered throughout the whole world, and had not subsequently returned. Nor can they possibly return, for they have become gentiles. And yet reference is made to each individual tribe, and to how it was to inherit the land and what its boundary was to be. What the boundary for the tribe of Dan was to be is stated in verse 2; what the boundary for the tribe of Asher was to be in verse 3; what those of Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah were to be, and concerning the inheritance of the Levites; and what the boundaries of Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad were to be in verses 4-29. In addition to all this that chapter declares that the city was to have twelve gates named after the tribes of Israel - three gates facing north, those of Reuben, Judah, and Levi; three gates facing east, those of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; three gates facing south, those of Simeon, Issachar and Zebulun; and three gates facing west, those of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, in verses 31-34.

[6] From all this it is evident that 'the twelve tribes' means all things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, and so all that are matters of faith and love, for these constitute the Lord's kingdom, as stated above. Because the twelve tribes meant all things of the Lord's kingdom they also represented that kingdom by their encampments and by their travellings. In Moses it is said that they were to encamp according to the tribes around the Tent of Meeting - to the east, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; to the south, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; to the west, Ephraim Manasseh, and Benjamin; and to the north, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, and as they were encamped so they travelled, Numbers 2:1-end. In all this they represented the Lord's kingdom, as is quite evident from Balaam's prophecy,

When Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to tribes, the Spirit of God came upon him and he delivered his utterance, and said, How good your tabernacles are, O Jacob; your dwelling-places, O Israel! They are like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river, like aloes Jehovah has planted, like cedars beside the waters. Numbers 24:2-3, 5-6.

The fact that Balaam received from Jehovah these words spoken by him is explicitly stated in Numbers 22:8, 18-19, 35, 38; 23:5, 12, 16, 26; 24:2, 13.

[7] From this also it is evident what the inheritances of the land of Canaan according to tribes represented, in connection with which it is said in Moses that he was to take a census of the congregation of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses; a census of those twenty or more years old, everyone going into the army of Israel. The land was to be distributed by lot; according to the names of their fathers' tribes they were to receive an inheritance, Numbers 26:2, 7-56; 33:54; 34:19-29. And Joshua's actual division of the land by lot according to tribes is described in Chapters 13, 15, 19 of the Book of Joshua. From these particular details it is evident that the Lord's kingdom was represented, as has been stated; for the land of Canaan meant that kingdom, see 1585, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705.

[8] The reason why they are called 'armies' and why it is said that 'they encamped according to their armies and travelled according to their armies', Numbers 2:4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 19, 21-23, 26, 28, 30, is that 'an army' had the same meaning [as 'a tribe'], namely truths and goods, see 3448. And the Lord is called Jehovah Zebaoth or 'Jehovah of Armies (or Hosts)' 3448. They were for these reasons called 'the armies of Jehovah' when they departed from Egypt, as in Moses,

It happened at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that same day it happened that all the armies of Jehovah were to come out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:41.

Anyone may recognize that such people in Egypt, and after that in the wilderness, were not called 'the armies of Jehovah' except in a representative sense, for no good or truth was present in them, the worst of all nations.

[9] From this it is also quite evident what was meant by the names of the twelve tribes on Aaron's breastplate, which was called the Urim and Thummim. Concerning the breastplate the following is said in Moses,

There shall be four rows in it and twelve stones. These stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names. The engravings of a signet, for each one over its name, there shall be for the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:17, 21; 39:14.

For 'Aaron' represented the Lord's Divine priesthood, and therefore all the vestments worn by him as high priest meant Divine celestial and spiritual things. But the exact meaning of those vestments will in the Lord's Divine mercy be clear where they are the subject. Since the breastplate itself was most holy, the names of it were representations of all the essential characteristics of love and faith in the Lord. These are the Urim and Thummim. The reason why the names were engraved on the precious stones was that 'stones' in general meant truths, 1298, 3720, and 'precious stones' truths shining through from good, 114. And because the name of each individual tribe meant some essential characteristic, a specific stone was also allocated for each tribe, Exodus 28:17-20; 39:10-13, which expressed by means of its colour and transparence the characteristic meant by that tribe. This was how Jehovah or the Lord gave answers by means of the Urim and Thummim.

[10] The two shoham stones which were on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod had a similar representation but in a lesser degree than the twelve stones on the breastplate. For 'the shoulders' meant all power, and so the Lord's omnipotence, 1085, whereas 'the breast' or heart and lungs meant Divine celestial and spiritual love - 'the heart' Divine celestial love, 'the lungs' Divine spiritual love, see 3635 and the end of the present chapter where the Grand Man and its correspondence with the province of the heart and the province of the lungs is the subject. The two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod are referred to in Moses as follows,

You shall take two shoham stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of the names on one stone and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their births. You shall put two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. Exodus 28:9-12; 39:6-7.

[11] Because 'the tribes' meant what are essentially matters of truth and good, or faith and love, and each tribe meant some universal aspect of these, and since the tribe of Levi meant love, as will be evident from the explanation at verse 34 below, one can therefore recognize what was meant by their placing rods, one for each tribe, in the Tent of Meeting and by Levi's rod alone blossoming with almonds. All this is described in Moses as follows,

He was told to take twelve rods, one rod for each head of their fathers' houses, and these were to be left in the Tent of Meeting, the name of Aaron being written on the rod of Levi. Aaron's rod was placed in the middle of them. And the next day, behold, Aaron's rod for the tribe of Levi had blossomed; it had produced buds, ¹ so that it flowered and produced almonds. Numbers 17:2-8.

These occurrences meant that love was the essential, also the first and foremost, thing of all in the Lord's kingdom and that love is the source of all fruitfulness. And the reason why Aaron's name was on the rod was that Aaron represented the Lord as regards His Divine priesthood. For by the Lord's priesthood is meant Divine Good, which essentially is His love and mercy, and by the Lord's kingship is meant Divine Truth which stems from Divine Good, see 1728, 2015 (end), 3670.

[12] From what has been introduced so far one may now see what 'tribes' and 'the twelve tribes' mean in the following places: In John,

I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of Israel - twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin. Revelation 7:4-8.

In Moses,

Remember the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation.

When the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. Deuteronomy 32:7-8.

In David,

Jerusalem, built as a city which is closely compacted together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, a testimony to Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah. Psalms 122:3-4.

[13] In Joshua, who was told,

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass over before you into the Jordan. Take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. And it will happen when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off. They will stand in one heap. Joshua 3:11-17.

And further,

Take out of the midst of the Jordan, from the places where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones which you are to prepare and carry with you. And let each man take a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, that it may be a sign that the waters of the Jordan were cut off. Moreover Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, beneath the places where the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant had stood. Joshua 4:1-9.

Also in the description about Elijah,

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word had come, Israel shall be your name; and he built an altar to the name of Jehovah. 1 Kings 18:31-32.

[14] That 'the tribes' means the goods of love and the truths of faith is also clear from the Lord's words in Matthew,

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:30.

Here 'all the tribes of the earth will mourn' means that the acknowledgement of truth and the life of good will not exist any longer, for the subject in that chapter is the close of the age. Similarly in John,

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will wail over Him. Revelation 1:7.

What 'coming in the clouds of heaven' means, see Preface to Genesis 18. See in addition what I have been shown from experience about the number 'twelve', in 2129, 2130.

[15] The reason why all things of faith and love are called 'tribes' is that the same expression in the original language also means a sceptre and a rod. For 'a sceptre' and also 'a rod' mean power, as will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere. For this reason the noun 'tribe' entails the idea that forms of good and truth possess within them all power from the Lord. And angels too are therefore referred to as 'powers' and also 'principalities', for 'princes' means the first and foremost aspects of charity and faith, such as the twelve princes descended from Ishmael, Genesis 25:16, see 2089, as well as the princes who were leaders of the tribes, Numbers 7; 13:4-16.

[16] From what has been said up to now about the twelve tribes one can recognize why the Lord's disciples, who later on were called apostles, were twelve in number, and that like the tribes they represented the Lord's Church as regards goods and truths, 2129, 3354, 3488, 3857. 'Peter' represented faith, 'James' charity, and 'John' the works that flow from charity, see the Prefaces to Genesis 18, 22, and also 3750. This is also quite evident from the things which the Lord said about them and to them.

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