8088. 'Therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that open the womb, if they are males' means that therefore the faith springing from charity, which belongs to the new birth, is to be ascribed to the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'sacrificing to Jehovah' as ascribing to the Lord ('sacrificing' here has a meaning similar to that which 'sanctify' has in verse 2 of this chapter, and 'making over to' in verse 12, for 'sanctifying to Jehovah' means ascribing to the Lord, see 8042 and so too does 'making over to Him', 8074; 'ascribing' is used to mean refusing to claim something as one's own, and confessing and acknowledging that it comes from the Lord); from the meaning of 'whatever opens the womb' as matters of faith springing from charity, dealt with in 8043 (for evidence that they belong to the new birth, see above in 8042); and from the meaning of 'male' as the truth of faith, dealt with in 2026, 4005, 7838.

7838. 'A male' means which is characteristic of faith rooted in charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'a male' as the truth of faith, dealt with in 2046, 4005, and so faith rooted in charity, since the truth of faith is not the truth of faith unless it exists together with the good of charity, and springs from that good most of all. The reason why the Passover animal had to be a male was that that animal was a sign of the innocence of those belonging to the spiritual Church. And those belonging to the spiritual Church possess no other kind of good than that which is in itself the truth of faith; for this is called good when from charitable affection it is put into action, 7835. This is why it had to be a male animal. At other times female animals were also used in sacrifices, when worship springing from good was to be represented.