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Numbers 26

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1 After the blood of the guilty was shed, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest:

2 Number the whole sum of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their houses and kindreds, all that are able to go forth to war.

3 Moses therefore and Eleazar the priest, being in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan over against Jericho, spoke to them that were

4 From twenty years old and upward, as the Lord had commanded: and this is the number of them:

5 Ruben the firstborn of Israel. His sons were Henoch, of whom is the family of the Henochites: and Phallu, of whom is the family of the Phalluites:

6 And Hesron, of whom is the family of the Hesronites: and Charmi, of whom is the family of the Charmites.

7 These are the families of the stock of Ruben: whose number was found to be forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.

8 The son of Phallu was Eliab.

9 His sons, were Namuel and Dathan and Abiron. These are Dathan and Abiron the princes of the people, that rose against Moses and Aaron in the sedition of Core, when they rebelled against the Lord:

10 And the earth opening her mouth swallowed up Core, many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred and fifty men. And there was a great miracle wrought,

11 That when Core perished, his sons did not perish.

12 The sons of Simeon by their kindreds: Namuel, of him is the family of the Namuelites: Jamin, of him is the family of the Jaminites: Jachin, of him is the family of the Jachinites:

13 Zare, of him is the family of the Zarites: Saul, of him is the family of the Saulites.

14 These are the families of the stock of Simeon, of which the whole number was twenty-two thousand two hundred.

15 The sons of Gad by their kindreds: Sephon, of hin; Is the family of the Sephonites: Aggi, of him is the family of the Aggites: Suni, of him is the family of the Sunites:

16 Ozni, of him is the family of the Oznites: Her, of him is the family of the Herites :

17 Arod, of him is the family of the Arodites: Ariel, of him is the family of the Arielites.

18 These are the families of Gad, of which the whole number was forty thousand five hundred.

19 The sons of Juda, Her and Onan, who both died in the land of Chanaan.

20 And the sons of Juda by their kindreds were: Sela, of whom is the family of the Selaites: Phares, of whom is the family of the Pharesites: Zare, of whom is the family of the Zarites.

21 Moreover the sons of Phares were: Hesron, of whom is the family of the Hesronites: and Hamul, of whom is the family of the Hamulites.

22 These are the families of Juda, of which the whole number was seventy-six thousand five hundred.

23 The sons of Issachar, by their kindreds: Thola, of whom is the family of the Tholaites: Phua, of whom is the family of the Phuaites:

24 Jasub, of whom is the family of the Jasubites: Semran, of whom is the family of the Semranites.

25 These are the kindreds of Issachar, whose number was sixty-four thousand three hundred.

26 The sons of Zabulon by their kindreds: Sared, of whom is the family of the Saredites: Elon, of whom is the family of the Elonites: Jalel, of whom is the family of the Jalelites.

27 These are the kindreds of Zabulon, whose number was sixty thousand five hundred.

28 The sons of Joseph by their kindred, Manasses and Ephraim.

29 Of Manasses was born Machir, of whom is the family of the Machirites. Machir beget Galaad, of whom is the family of the Galaadites.

30 Galaad had sons: Jezer, of whom is the family of the Jezerites: and Helec, of whom is the family of the Helecites:

31 And Asriel, of whom is the family of the Asrielites: and Sechem, of whom is the family of the Sechemites:

32 And Semida, of whom is the family of the Semidaites: and Hepher, of whom is the family of the Hepherites.

33 And Hepher was the father of Salphaad, who had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Maala, and Noa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Thersa.

34 These are the families of Manasses, and the number of them fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

35 And the sons of Ephraim by their kindreds were these: Suthala, of whom is the family of the Suthalaites: Becher, of whom is the family of the Becherites: Thehen, of whom is the family of the Thehenites.

36 Now the son of Suthala was Heran, of whom is the family of the Heranites.

37 These are the kindreds of the sons of Ephraim: whose number was thirty-two thousand five hundred.

38 These are the sons of Joseph by their families. The sons of Benjamin in their kindreds: Bela, of whom is the family of the Belaites: Asbel, of whom is the family of the Asbelites: Ahiram, of whom is the family of the Ahiramites:

39 Supham, of whom is the family of the Suphamites: Hupham, of whom is the family of the Huphamites.

40 The sons of Bela: Hered, and Noeman. Of Hered, is the family of the Heredites: of Noeman, the family of tile Noemanites.

41 These are the sons of Benjamin by their kindreds, whose number was forty- five thousand six hundred.

42 The sons of Dan by their kindreds: Suham, of whom is the family of the Suhamites: These are the kindreds of Dan by their families.

43 All were Suhamites, whose number was sixty-four thousand four hundred.

44 The sons of Aser by their kindreds: Jemna, of whom is the family of the Jemnaites: Jessui, of whom is the family of the Jessuites: Brie, of whom is the family of the Brieites.

45 The sons of Brie: Heber, of whom is the family of the Heberites: and Melchiel, of whom is the family of the Melchielites.

46 And the name of the daughter of Aser, was Sara.

47 These are the kindreds of the sons of Aser, and their number fifty-three thousand four hundred.

48 The sons of Nephtali by their kindreds: Jesiel, of whom is the family of the Jesielites: Guni, of whom is the family of the Gunites:

49 Jeser, of whom is the family of the Jeserites: Sellem, of whom is the family of the Sellemites.

50 These are the kindreds of the sons of Nephtali by their families: whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred.

51 This is the sum of the children of Israel, that were reckoned up, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

52 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

53 To these shall the land be divided for their possessions according to the number of names.

54 To the greater number thou shalt give a greater portion, and to the fewer a less: to every one, as they have now been reckoned up, shall a possession be delivered :

55 Yet so that by lot the land be divided to the tribe and families.

56 Whatsoever shall fall by lot, that shall be taken by the more, or the fewer.

57 This also is the number of the sons of Levi by their families: Gerson, of whom is the family of the Gersonites: Caath, of whom is the family of the Caathites: Merari, of whom is the family of the Merarites.

58 These are the families of Levi: The family of Lobni, the family of Hebroni, the family of Moholi, the family of Musi, the family of Core. Now Caath beget Amram :

59 Who had to wife Jochabed the daughter of Levi, who was horn to him in Egypt. She bore to her husband Amram sons, Aaron and Moses, and Mary their sister.

60 Of Aaron were born Nadab and Abiu, and Eleazar and Ithamar:

61 Of whom Nadab and Abiu died, when they had offered the strange fire before the Lord.

62 And all that were numbered, were twenty-three thousand males from one month old and upward: for they were not reckoned up among the children of Israel, neither was a possession given to them with the rest.

63 This is the number of the children of Israel, that were enrolled by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan, over against Jericho.

64 Among whom there was not one of them that were numbered before by Moses and Aaron in the desert of Sinai.

65 For the Lord had foretold that they should die in the wilderness. And none remained of them, but Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2280

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2280. That 'perhaps twenty will be found there' means even if there is no existence of conflict but good is nevertheless present is clear from the meaning of 'twenty'. As all the numbers mentioned in the Word mean real things and states, as stated and shown in various places already, see 2252, so also does 'twenty'; and what twenty means becomes clear from how it may be obtained, namely from twice ten. In the Word ten, as also tenths, means remnants, and by these are meant everything good and true which the Lord instills into a person from earliest childhood through to the final period of life. Such remnants are referred to in the verse that follows this. Twice ten, or two tens, that is, twenty, is similar in meaning to ten, but to a higher degree, namely that of good.

[2] Three kinds of goods are meant by 'remnants' - those instilled in earliest childhood, those instilled when want of knowledge is still present, and those instilled when intelligence is present. The goods of earliest childhood are those instilled into a person from birth up to the age when he starts to be taught and to know something. The goods received when want of knowledge is still present are instilled when he is being taught and starting to know something. The goods that come with intelligence are instilled when he is able to reflect on what good is and what truth is. Good instilled in earliest childhood is received up to his tenth year.

[3] Good instilled when want of knowledge is still present is instilled from then until his twentieth year; and from this year the person starts to become rational and to have the ability to reflect on good and truth, and to acquire the good received when intelligence is present. The good instilled when want of knowledge is still present is that which is meant by 'twenty', because those with whom merely that good exists do not enter into any temptation. For no one undergoes temptation until he is able to reflect on and to perceive in his own way what good and truth are. Those who have acquired goods by means of temptations were the subject in the two verses previous to this, while in the present verse the subject is those who do not undergo temptations but who nevertheless possess good.

[4] It is because these who possess the good called 'good instilled during want of knowledge' are meant by 'twenty' that all those who had come out of Egypt were included in the census - from 'a son of twenty years and over', and who, as it is stated, were every one 'going into the army'- by whom were meant those whose good was no longer merely that instilled during want of knowledge, referred to in Numbers 1:20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 45; 26:4. It is also said that all who were over twenty years of age died in the wilderness, Numbers 14:29; 32:10-11, because evil could be attributed to them, and because they represented those who yield in temptations. Also the value set for a male who was between five years of age and twenty years was twenty sheckels, Leviticus 27:5, whereas a different value was set for one between twenty years old and sixty, namely fifty shekels, Leviticus 27:3.

[5] As regards the nature of these different kinds of goods - those instilled in earliest childhood, those when want of knowledge is still present, and those when intelligence is present - the last of these is the best, since it is an attribute of wisdom. The good which precedes it, namely that instilled during want of knowledge, is indeed good, but because it has only a small amount of intelligence within it, it cannot be called the good of wisdom. The good that belongs to earliest childhood is indeed in itself good, but it is nevertheless less good than the other two kinds, because it has not as yet had any truth of intelligence allied to it, and so has not become in any way the good of wisdom, but is merely a plane enabling it to become such. Cognitions of truth and good are what enable a person to be wise in the way possible to man. Earliest childhood itself, by which is meant innocence, does not belong to earliest childhood but to wisdom, as may become clearer from what will be stated at the end of this chapter about young children in the next life.

[6] In this verse 'twenty' means no other kind of good, as has been stated, than the good that belongs to not knowing. This good is a characteristic not only, as has been stated, of those under twenty years of age but also of all with whom the good of charity exists but who at the same time have no knowledge of truth. The latter consists of those inside the Church with whom the good of charity exists but who, for whatever reason, do not know what the truth of faith is - as is the case with the majority of those who think about God with reverence and think what is good about the neighbor - and also of all those outside the Church called gentiles who in a similar way lead lives abiding in the good of charity. Though the truths of faith do not exist with such persons outside the Church and inside it, nevertheless because good does so, they have the capacity, no less than young children do, to receive the truths of faith. For the understanding part of their mind has not yet been corrupted by false assumptions nor has the will part been so confirmed by a life of evil, for they do not know what falsity and evil are. Furthermore the life of charity is of such a nature that the falsity and evil that go with want of knowledge can be turned without difficulty towards what is true and good. This is not so in the case of those who have confirmed themselves in things contrary to the truth and who at the same time have led a life immersed in things contrary to good.

[7] In other places in the Word 'two-tenths' means good, both celestial and spiritual. Celestial good and spiritual good derived from this are meant by the two-tenths from which each loaf of the shewbread or of the Presence was made, Leviticus 24:5, while spiritual good was meant by the two-tenths constituting the minchah that accompanied the sacrifice of a ram, Numbers 15:6; 28:12, 20, 28; 29:3, 9, 14. These matters will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with elsewhere.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.