10458. 'And it happened, as he came near the camp' means near to hell, in which that nation was then. This is clear from the meaning of 'the camp of the children of Israel' as heaven and the Church, dealt with in 4236, 10038, so that when they engaged in idolatrous worship, venerating the calf instead of Jehovah, their camp means hell. For what is representative of heaven and the Church is turned into that which is representative of hell when the people turned from the worship of God to worship of the devil, which worship of the calf was. 'The camp' has a similar meaning in Amos,

I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses ¹ , to such an extent that I have caused the stench of your camp to come up also into your nose. Amos 4:10.

This refers to the vastation of truth; and when truth has been laid waste 'the camp' means hell. The fact that it refers to the vastation of truth is evident from the specific details of the verse when looked at in the internal sense. 'The pestilence' means vastation, 7102, 7505; 'the way' means truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, 10422; 'Egypt' that which is external, and also hell, see in the places referred to in 10437; 'the sword' falsity engaged in conflict against truths, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; 'young men' the Church's truths, 7668; 'being killed' being destroyed spiritually, 6767, 8902; 'captivity' deprivation of truth, 7990; 'horses' an enlightened power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534; and 'stench' that which is abominable, emanating from hell, 7161. From all this it is evident that in the internal sense 'the camp' means hell. Hell is also meant in the historical narratives of the Word by the camp of enemies opposed to Jerusalem, and in general of those opposed to the children of Israel.

Poznámky pod čarou:

8146. 'And he harnessed his chariot' means doctrine championing falsity that belongs to separated faith in general. This is clear from the meaning of 'chariot' as doctrine, dealt with in 2760, 5321, 5945, in this case doctrine championing falsity that belongs to separated faith, since the chariot is Pharaoh's and 'Pharaoh' represents the falsities that belong to separated faith. For those who subscribe to faith separated from charity and at the same time lead a life of evil are inevitably steeped in falsities, 8094.

[2] The descriptions that follow on from here refer to the gathering together of all the falsities arising from evil that existed with people who subscribed to faith separated from charity and led a life of evil. Descriptions prior to this have dealt with the vastation of the truths of faith that exist with those people, and with the eventual reduction of those people to a condition which is such that they are steeped in utter falsities arising from evil, and so are lost in damnation. The present chapter now deals with their being cast down into hell, for being cast down into hell follows damnation. What happens in this state - a state in which people are cast down into hell - is as follows: When they are going to be cast down all the falsities that exist with them are first gathered together (which is accomplished by the opening up of all the hells with which they have had contact) and then are poured into them. As a result those people have around them dense masses of falsities arising from evil, which appear as waters to those looking on from outside, 8137, 8138; they are vapours emanating from their life. When they are engulfed by those dense masses they are in hell. When the falsities arising from evil are gathered into one and poured into them the purpose is that those people may become surrounded by the kinds of things that have come to be part of their life, and after that may be confined within them. The type of evil, together with the falsity arising from it, then mark them and their hell off from other hells.

[3] Because of the subject here - the gathering together of all the falsities arising from evil that existed with those people - references are made so many times in this chapter to Pharaoh's chariot, his horses, horsemen, army, and people; for these mean all the powers of falsity that reside with those people. Such references are,

He harnessed his chariot, and took his people with him. Verse 6.

He took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt. Verse 7.

And the Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's chariot-horses, and his horsemen, and his army. Verse 9.

I will be glorified in Pharaoh, and in all his army, in his chariots, and in his horsemen. Verse 17, and similarly verse 18.

And the Egyptians pursued, and came after them, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Verse 23.

Jehovah took off the wheels of their chariots. Verse 25.

Let the waters return onto the Egyptians, onto their chariots, and onto their horsemen. Verse 26.

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh's army. Verse 28.

These references to them occur so many times because falsities arising from evil - their being gathered together and poured into those people - are the subject. The things referred to so many times mean all the powers of falsity arising from evil. 'Pharaoh' and 'the Egyptians' are the people themselves who are steeped in falsities arising from evil; 'the chariots' are doctrinal teachings that uphold falsity; 'the horses' are false factual knowledge belonging to a perverted understanding; 'the horsemen' are reasonings resting on that knowledge; and 'the army' and 'the people' are the falsities themselves.