555. Verse 8. And they had hair as the hair of women, signifies that they seem to themselves to be also natural affections of truth. This is evident from the signification of "hair," as being the things of the natural man, and in particular the true knowledges [scientifica] there (of which above, n. 66); and from the signification of "women," as being affections (of which presently). "Hair" signifies the things of the natural man because the "head" signifies the things of the spiritual man, and all things of the natural man invest all things of the spiritual man, as the hair invests the head; the head also corresponds to things spiritual, and the hair to things natural, thence also that is what they signify. It is from this correspondence that angels are seen with beautiful hair, and from the orderly arrangement, grace, and gloss of their locks it may be known how the natural man in them corresponds with the spiritual. Now as "women" signify affections, it can be seen that "they had hair as the hair of women" signifies that they seem to themselves to be natural affections of truth. That this is what is signified is evident also from the series; for "faces as men's faces" signify the appearance as if they were spiritual affections of truth; thence now it follows that "hair as the hair of women" signifies there seeming to be natural affection of truth; it is said immediately, too, of their teeth, that they were "as lion's teeth," and these signify the ultimates of the natural man in respect to knowledge and power. In the prophetic Word the terms "woman," and also "daughter" and "virgin" often occur; but it has heretofore been unknown what they signify. It is very evident that a woman, a daughter, or a virgin is not meant, since where these are mentioned the church is treated of; but what they signify can be seen from the connection of the subjects treated of in the spiritual sense.

[2] That "woman" signifies the church as regards the affection of truth, thus the affection of the truth of the church, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Wherefore commit ye evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, babe, and suckling, out of Jerusalem? ¹ (Jeremiah 44:7).

In the same:

I will scatter man and woman; I will scatter the old man and the lad; I will scatter the young man and the virgin (Jeremiah 51:22).

In Ezekiel:

Slay to destruction the old man and the young man and the virgin and the infant and the women (Ezekiel 9:6).

In Lamentations:

They ravished the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah; princes were hanged up by their hand; the faces of elders were not honored (Lamentations 5:11, 12).

In these passages "man and woman," "old man and babe," "youth and virgin," do not mean man, woman, old man, babe, youth, and virgin, but all things of the church; "man and woman" signify truth and its affection, "old man and babe" wisdom and innocence, "youth and virgin" the understanding of truth and the affection for good. That such is the signification is made evident from this that these chapters treat of the church and its desolation in respect to truth and good; therefore these terms signify such things as belong to the church. For the Word is inwardly spiritual, because it is Divine; but if man and woman, old man and babe, youth and virgin meant such persons, the Word would not be spiritual but natural; but it becomes spiritual when "man and woman" mean the church in respect to truth and its affection, "old man and babe" the church in respect to wisdom and innocence, and "young man and virgin" the church in respect to intelligence and its affection. Moreover, man is man because the church is in him, and where the church is, there is heaven. When, therefore, man as "old," "young," an "infant," a "male," also "woman" and "virgin" are mentioned, that with them pertaining to the church that corresponds in age, sex, inclination, affection, intelligence, and wisdom, is meant.

[3] That "woman" signifies the church in respect to the affection of truth, or the affection of the truth of the church, can be seen also from these words in Isaiah:

Then seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and we will clothe ourselves with our own raiment; only let thy name be called upon us; gather thou up our reproach (Isaiah 4:1).

This treats of the end of the church, when there is no longer any truth, for these words precede:

Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy strength in the war (Isaiah 3:25);

which signify that the understanding of truth will be destroyed by falsities, so that there will be no more resistance in combats; and it is added:

In that day shall the shoot of Jehovah be for splendor and glory (Isaiah 4:2);

which signifies that truth will spring up anew in the church; for this is said of the Lord's coming. "Seven women shall take hold of one man" signifies that truth will be desired and sought from affection but will not be found; "man" signifying truth, "women" affections or longings for truth, and "seven" holiness. That instruction in genuine truths, and thus spiritual nourishment would not be found, is signified by saying "we will eat our own bread, and we will clothe ourselves with our own raiment;" "bread" signifying instruction and spiritual nourishment, and "raiment" truth clothing good; that truth only can be applied and by application conjoined is signified by "only let thy name be called upon us;" and as all esteem is from the spiritual affection of truth and conjunction therefrom, and otherwise there is no esteem, it is said, "gather thou up or take away our reproach."

[4] In Jeremiah:

Return, O virgin of Israel, return to thy cities. How long wilt thou go about? For Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth; a woman shall compass a man (Jeremiah 31:21, 22).

This treats of the spiritual captivity in which the church was before the Lord's coming. The church is said to be in spiritual captivity when there is no truth, and yet truth is desired; in such captivity were the Gentiles with whom the church was established. "Return, O virgin of Israel, return to thy cities," signifies that they shall return to the truths of doctrine; "virgin of Israel" being the church, and "her cities" the truths of doctrine. "For Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man," signifies that a new church is to be established in which truth will be conjoined to its affection; "to create a new thing in the earth" meaning to establish that new thing; "woman" being the church in respect to the affection of truth, "man" truth, and "to compass" to be conjoined.

[5] In Isaiah:

As a woman forsaken and afflicted in spirit Jehovah hath called thee, and a woman of youth when rejected, said thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great compassions will I gather thee (Isaiah 54:6, 7).

Here, too, "a woman forsaken and afflicted in spirit" means the church that is not in truths and yet is in the affection or longing for them, "woman" meaning the church, which is said to be "forsaken" when it is not in truths, and to be "afflicted in spirit" when in grief from the affection or longing for truths. "A woman of youth" means the Ancient Church, which was in truths from affection; and "one rejected" means the Jewish church, which was not in truths from any spiritual affection; that the church is to be established by the Lord, and delivered from spiritual captivity, is meant by "for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great compassions will I gather thee."

[6] In Jeremiah:

Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear perceive the word of His mouth, that ye may teach your sons ² wailing, and a woman her companion lamentation. For death hath come up through the windows, it hath come into our palaces, to cut off the babe from the street, the young man from the broad ways (Jeremiah 9:20, 21).

It was said to women that they should hear and perceive, because "women" signify the church from the affection and reception of truth; "sons whom the women should teach wailing," and the "companion whom a woman should teach lamentation," signify all who are of the church, "sons" signifying those who are in the truths of the church, "companion" they who are in the good of the church; "wailing and lamentation" signify because of the church vastated in respect to truths and goods; "death hath come up through the windows, it hath come into our palaces" signifies infernal falsity entering into the understanding, and thence into all things of thought and affection, "windows" signifying the understanding, and "palaces" all things of the thought and affection; "to cut off the babe from the street, and the young man from the broad ways," signifies the vastation of nascent truth and of truth born; the "babe in the street" meaning nascent truth, and "the young man in the broad ways" truth born.

[7] In Ezekiel:

Two women, the daughters of one mother, who committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth; the name of the elder was Oholah, and the name of her sister Oholibah; and they bare sons and daughter. Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah (Ezekiel 23:2-4).

As "Samaria," the metropolis of the Israelites, signifies in the Word the spiritual church, and "Jerusalem," the metropolis of the Jews, the celestial church, each in respect to doctrine; so these are called "women;" and as these two churches act as one, they are called "daughters of one mother," "mother" also signifying the church, as do "Oholah and Oholibah," that is, "the tent or habitation of God," for this signifies heaven where Divine truth and Divine good are, and so, too, the church, for the church is the Lord's heaven on earth; "their committing whoredom in Egypt in their youth" signifies that they were then in no truths but in falsities, for in Egypt they had not the Word; that was given to them afterwards through Moses and the prophets, and it was thus that the church was instituted among them. "To commit whoredom in Egypt" signifies to falsify truths by knowledges of the natural man, and to falsify truths there means to turn holy things into magic, as the Egyptians did; "the sons and daughters whom they bore" signify the falsities and evils of the church.

[8] In Micah:

Ye draw off the robe from them that pass by securely, returning from war. The women of my people ye drive out from the house of their delights (Micah 2:8, 9).

"To draw off the robe from them that pass by securely, returning from war," signifies to deprive of truths all who are in truths, and who have fought against falsities; "who pass by securely" signifies all who are in truths; "returning from war" those who have been in temptations, and who have fought against falsities. "To drive out the women of my people from the house of their delights" signifies to destroy the affections of truth, and thus the pleasantnesses and felicities of heaven, "the women of my people" meaning the affections of truth, and "house of delights" the pleasantnesses and felicities of heaven, for these are the affections of good and truth.

[9] In Zechariah:

I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be captured and the house ³ plundered, and the women shall be ravished (Zechariah 14:2).

"All nations" signify evils and falsities of every kind; "Jerusalem" signifies the church, "city" doctrine, "house" everything holy of the church, "women" the affections of truth, and "their being ravished" that truths will be perverted, and that thus the affections of truth will perish.

[10] In the same:

In that day shall the lamentation in Jerusalem increase, and the land shall lament and every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their women apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their women apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their women apart; the family of the house of Simeon apart, and their women apart; all the families that are left, every family apart, and their women apart (Zechariah 12:11-14).

What "David" and his house, likewise what "Levi," and "Simeon," and their houses signify, has been shown in the explanations above, namely, that "David" signifies Divine truth, "Nathan" the doctrine of truth, "Levi" the good of charity, and "Simeon" truth and good in respect to perception and obedience. It is said "the families shall lament apart, and their women apart," because "families" signify the truths of the church, and "women" the affections of truth; and these "lament apart" when truth laments because there is no affection of it, and affection laments because it has no truth. This is said of the lamentation over each and all things of the church because they are vastated and destroyed; for each and all things of the church are signified by "all the families that are left," which mean the tribes. That "the twelve tribes" signify all things of the church in the complex may be seen above (n. 430, 431). "Jerusalem" signifies the church and its doctrine.

[11] In Matthew:

Then shall two be in the field, one shall be taken and the other left. Two shall be grinding at the mill, one shall be taken and the other left (Matthew 24:40, 41).

By the first two are meant men, and women by the last two; and "men" signify those who are in truths, and "women" those who are in good from the affection of truth; here, however, "men" mean those who are in falsities, and "women" those who are in evils from the affection of falsity, for it is said that "one shall be taken and the other shall be left;" meaning that those shall be saved who are in truths from affection, and those shall be condemned who are in evils from affection. "Field" signifies the church; "to grind" signifies to acquire for themselves truths of doctrine from the Word; those who apply these truths to good are signified by those who "shall be taken," and those who apply them to evil are signified by those who "shall be left." (But this may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4334, 4335.)

[12] In Moses:

I will break for you the staff of bread, that ten women may bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight; and ye shall eat and not be satisfied (Leviticus 26:26).

This means, in the spiritual sense, that truth from good, which is spiritual nourishment, shall fail, "bread" signifying all spiritual food by which the man of the church is nourished, and "women" those of the church who are in the affection of truth. "Ten women shall bake bread in one oven" signifies that the truth which may be conjoined to good will be sought for but very little will be found; for "to bake" signifies to prepare and conjoin that it may serve for the use of life; "to bring back the bread by weight" signifies that it is scarce; and "to eat and not be satisfied" signifies because truth from good is so scanty and scarce as to yield hardly any nourishment to the soul.

[13] In Moses:

A man's garment shall not be upon a woman, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God (Deuteronomy 22:5).

"Man and his garment" signifies truth, and "woman and her garment" signifies the affection of truth. These in every man are as distinct as understanding and will are, or as thought which is of the understanding, and affection which is of the will are; and unless they were distinct, the sexes would be confounded, and there would be no marriage, for in marriage man is the truth which is of the thought, and woman is affection.

That man and woman were both so created that they may be two and yet one, is evident from the book of Genesis in which it is said of the creation of the two:

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; ⁴ male and female created He them (Genesis 1:27; 5:2).

[14] And afterwards:

The man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; for this she shall be called wife, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:23, 24; Mark 10:6-9).

Man here means the church in general and in particular. The church in particular is the man of the church, or the man in whom the church is. "God created man in His own image" signifies in the image of heaven; for "God," that is, Elohim, in the plural, signifies the Divine proceeding that makes heaven, and the man who is a church is a heaven in the least form, for he corresponds to all things of heaven (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12, 51-58). "Male" signifies here, as above, the truth which is of the understanding, and "female" the good which is of the will; the wife is said to be "bone of man's bones, and flesh of his flesh," to signify that good, which is the wife, is from truth, which is the man, "bone" signifying truth before it is vivified, that is, conjoined to good, such as is the truth of the memory with man; and because all good is formed from truths it is said, "because she was taken out of man." That "the man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife" signifies that truth must be of good, and that thus both must become one good; this is signified by "they shall be one flesh," "flesh" signifying good, and also a human being. But the things here said cannot enter the understanding of man, except with few, unless it is known that the first two chapters of Genesis treat of the new creation, that is, of the regeneration of the men of the church, the first chapter of their regeneration, the second of their intelligence and wisdom; and "male and female," or "man and wife," mean in the spiritual sense the conjunction of truth and good, which is called the heavenly marriage, into which marriage man comes when he is regenerated and becomes a church; and man has been regenerated and has become a church when he is in good and in truths therefrom, which is meant by "the man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh." (But a still clearer idea of these things may be had from what is said in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, On Good and Truth, n. 11-19; On the Will and Understanding, n. 28-33; On Regeneration, n 173-182; also respecting the good from which are truths, n. 24.)

[15] Because "man and woman" signify the conjunction of truth and good:

When Moses saw that the sons of Israel took to themselves the female captives of the Midianites, their enemies, he said that they should kill every woman that had known man by lying with a male; but that they should keep alive the women that had not known man (Numbers 31:17, 18).

These things were commanded because a "woman not conjoined to a man" signified the church in respect to the affection for truth or for conjunction with truth; but "a woman conjoined to a man of Midian" signified good adulterated; for the Midianites represented, and thence signified, truth that is not truth because it is not from good, thus is falsity. This was why the women who had known man were to be killed, but those who had not known man were to be kept alive. "The women of Midian" signified the defilement of good by falsities, and thus good adulterated and profaned, which is filthy adultery, as is evident from what is related respecting "the whoredom of the sons of Israel with the women of the Midianites" (Numbers 25).

[16] Whoever does not know that "woman" signifies the spiritual affection of truth, also that the evils and falsities that everyone has are in the natural man, and none of them in the spiritual man, cannot know what is signified by the following respecting a woman captive in Moses:

If thou shalt see in captivity a woman beautiful in form of the enemy, and hast a desire unto her for a wife, thou shalt bring her into the midst of thy house; where she shall shave her head and pare her nails; then she shall put away the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall weep for her father and her mother a month of days, and after that thou shalt go in unto her and know her, and she shall be thy wife (Deuteronomy 21:11-13).

A "woman" signifies the church in respect to the spiritual affection of truth, or the spiritual affection of truth which a man of the church has, but "a woman captive beautiful in form" signifies the religious principles with the Gentiles in whom is a longing or affection for truth; that "she is to be brought into the midst of the house, and there is to shave her head, pare her nails, and afterwards put away the raiment of her captivity" signifies that she should be led into the interior or spiritual things of the church, and by means of them reject the evils and falsities of the natural and sensual man; "the midst of the house" signifies things interior which are spiritual; "the hair of the head which must be shaved" signifies the falsities and evils of the natural man; "the nails which must be pared," signify the falsities and evils of the sensual man; and "the raiment of captivity" signifies the falsity of religion in which one who from affection longs for truth is held as it were captive; all these, therefore, must be rejected because they are in the natural and sensual man, as has been said above; that she shall "weep for her father and her mother a month of days" signifies that the evils and falsities of one's religion must be consigned to oblivion; "after that the man should go in unto her and know her, and she should be his wife," signifies that thus truth, which is the "man," can be conjoined with its affection, which is the "wife." Why this statute was given no one can know unless he knows from the spiritual sense what is signified by "a woman taken captive from the enemy," by "the midst or inmost of the house," by "hair," "nails," and "the raiment of captivity," and unless he knows something about the conjunction of truth and good, for on this conjunction all the precepts in the Word concerning marriages are founded. The church in respect to the affection of truth is signified also by:

The woman encompassed with the sun, and in labor, before whom the dragon stood when she should bring forth a man child; and who afterwards fled into the wilderness (Revelation 12:1, et seq.).

Here the "woman" signifies the church, and the "man child" whom she brought forth, the doctrine of truth, as will be seen in the explanation further on.

[17] As "woman" signifies the church in respect to the affection of truth from good, or the affection of truth from good of the man of the church, so in the contrary sense a "woman" signifies the cupidity of falsity from evil; for most things in the Word have also an opposite signification. A "woman" (and women) signify this in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the heavens, and also to pour out libations unto other gods (Jeremiah 7:17, 18)

What this prophecy involves cannot be known unless it is known what "the cities of Judah," "the streets of Jerusalem," what the "sons," "fathers," and "women" signify, also what "gathering wood," "kindling a fire," "kneading the dough," "cakes," "the queen of the heavens," and "libations" signify. But when it is known what these signify, and the signification is taken in place of the things named, there results therefrom the spiritual meaning that is involved in this prophecy. "The cities of Judah" signify the doctrinals of the church; "the streets of Jerusalem" the truths of these, but here falsities; "sons" mean those who are in the truths of doctrine, but here those who are in falsities, who are said "to gather wood" when they acquire for themselves falsities from evils; "fathers" mean those who are in the goods of the church, but here those who are in evils, who are said "to kindle a fire" when from the love of evil they favor and excite evils; "women" mean the affections of truth from good, but here the cupidities of falsity from evil; these are said "to knead the dough" when from falsities and according to them they frame doctrine; "to make cakes to the queen of the heavens" signifies to worship infernal evils of every kind, "to make cakes" meaning to worship from evils, and "the queen of the heavens" meaning all evils in the complex, for "the queen of the heavens" has a similar signification as "the host of the heavens;" "to pour out libations unto other gods" signifies to worship from falsities, "other gods" meaning infernal falsities; for "God" signifies, in a good sense, Divine truth proceeding, but "other gods" signify infernal falsities, which are falsities from evil.

[18] In Isaiah:

As for My people, babes are their oppressors, and women rule over it. ⁵ O My people, thy leaders cause thee to err, and have blotted out the way of thy paths (Isaiah 3:12).

"Oppressors," "babes," and "women," signify those who violate, are ignorant of, and pervert truths, "oppressors" meaning those who violate truths; "babes" those who are ignorant of them, and "women" the cupidities that pervert them; "leaders that cause thee to err" signify those who teach; "to blot out the way of thy paths" signifies that the truth which leads is not known.

[19] In the same:

When the harvest withereth, breaking in pieces, the women coming shall set it on fire; for this is a people of no intelligence (Isaiah 27:11).

This is said of the church vastated; "the harvest withering" signifies the truths of good destroyed by evil loves; "the women who set it on fire" signify the cupidities of falsity which altogether consume.

[20] In the same:

Rise up, ye women that are at ease, hear my voice; ye confident sons ⁶ give ear to my speech; the vintage shall be consumed, the ingathering shall not come (Isaiah 32:9, 10).

"Women that are at ease" signify the cupidities of those who are wholly unconcerned about the vastation of the church; "the confident sons" signify the falsities of those who trust in self-intelligence; "women and sons" signify all in the church who are such, whether men or women; "the vintage that shall be consumed, and the ingathering that shall not come" signify that there shall no longer be any truth of the church, for "vintage" has a similar signification as "wine," namely, the truth of the church; and this makes evident what is signified by its "ingathering."

[21] In Ezekiel:

But if a man be just, and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled the wife of his companion, neither come near to a menstruous woman (Ezekiel 18:5, 6).

"The just man" is described as one "who hath not eaten upon the mountains," which signifies whose worship is not from infernal loves, for this is the signification of "sacrificing upon mountains," and "eating of the sacrifices;" "who hath not lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel" signifies whose worship is not from the falsities of doctrine, for "idols" signify the falsities of doctrine, and "the house of Israel" means the perverted church in which such falsities are; "who hath not defiled the wife of his companion" signifies who does not adulterate the good of the church and of the Word; "who cometh not near to a menstruous woman" signifies who does not defile truths by the cupidities of falsity.

[22] In Lamentations:

The hands of the compassionate women have sodden their own children that they might become food for them, in the breach of the daughter of My people (Lamentations 4:10).

This signifies the destruction by falsities of the truth and good of doctrine from the Word, and the appropriation of the falsities, with the consequent vastation of the church. "The compassionate women" signify the affections of falsity as if it were truth; "their having sodden children" signifies to destroy by falsities the truths and goods of doctrine from the Word; "to become food for them" signifies to appropriate falsities; and "the breach of the daughter of my people" signifies the vastation of the church. "Women" signify also evil cupidities in Revelation (Revelation 14:4; 17:3, of which in the explanation further on).

Poznámky pod čarou:

3862. Il a été expliqué ci-dessus, numéro 3858, que les douze Tribus ont signifié toutes les choses du vrai et du bien, ou de la foi et de l'amour ; maintenant, comme il s'agit de chacun des fils de Jacob, d'après lesquels ont été nommées les Tribus, il faut par conséquent découvrir ici un second Arcane, à savoir, ce que chacun de ces noms enveloppe. Que toute chaleur céleste et toute chaleur spirituelle, ou tout amour et toute charité, soit perçue dans le ciel dans la forme externe comme une flamme qui procède du Soleil, et que toute Lumière céleste et toute lumière spirituelle, ou toute foi, se manifeste dans le ciel dans la forme externe comme une lumière qui procède du Soleil, que de plus cette chaleur céleste et spirituelle ait en elle la sagesse, et que la lumière produite par cette chaleur ait en elle l'intelligence, et cela, parce qu'elles procèdent du Seigneur, qui dans le Ciel est le Soleil, on le voit, numéros 1053, , 2441, 2495, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3338, 3339, 3341, 3413, 3485, 3636, 3613 ; de là, il est évident que tout bien vient de la chaleur qui procède du Seigneur comme Soleil, et que tout vrai vient de la lumière qui procède de cette chaleur ; et il est encore évident que toutes les affections qui appartiennent à l'amour ou au bien, sont les variations de cette chaleur céleste et spirituelle qui procède du Seigneur, et que de là viennent les changements d'état ; et que toutes les pensées, qui appartiennent à la foi ou au vrai, sont les diversités de cette lumière céleste et spirituelle qui procède du Seigneur, et que de là vient l'intelligence : c'est dans ces variations et dans ces diversités que sont tous les Anges qui habitent le ciel ; leurs affections et leurs pensées ne viennent pas d'autre part et ne sont pas autre chose ; cela est évident d'après leurs langages, qui, tirant de là leur origine, sont des diversités ou des modifications de la lumière céleste dans laquelle est la chaleur céleste, aussi ces langages sont-ils ineffables, et d'une telle variété et d'une telle plénitude, qu'ils sont incompréhensibles, numéros 3342, 3344, 3345. Pour que tout cela fût fixé d'une manière représentative dans le monde, il a été donné à chacun des fils de Jacob des Noms, qui signifiaient les universaux du bien et du vrai, ou de l'amour et de la foi, ainsi les universaux quant aux variations de la chaleur céleste et spirituelle, et quant aux diversités de la lumière qui en. provient ; l'ordre même de ces universaux est ce qui détermine la flamme et la splendeur provenant de cette flamme ; quand l'ordre commence par l'amour, tout ce qui suit dans l'ordre réel se présente enflammé ; et quand l'ordre commence par la foi, tout ce qui suit dans l'ordre réel se montre res-plendissant, mais avec toute différence selon ce qui suit ; au contraire, si ce n'est pas selon l'ordre réel, il y a obscurité avec toute différence ; mais dans la suite, par la Divine Miséricorde du Seigneur, il sera parlé de l'Ordre et de la différence qui en provient ; de là vient donc que le Seigneur donnait des réponses par l'Urim et le Thumim, et que selon l'état de la chose on recevait les réponses par les lumières et le resplendissement des lumières d'après les pierres précieuses et brillantes sur lesquelles avaient été gravés les noms des douze Tribus ; car, ainsi qu'il a été dit, dans ces noms avaient été gravés les universaux de l'amour et de la foi qui sont dans le Royaume du Seigneur, par conséquent les universaux de la flamme et de la lumière, par lesquelles les choses qui appartiennent à l'amour et à la foi sont représentées dans le ciel. Je vais donc d'abord confirmer, d'après la Parole, que l'ordre des noms, dans lequel sont nommées les Tribus, est différent dans la Parole, et cela, selon l'état de la chose dont il y est question ; et que de là on peut savoir que les réponses du Seigneur données par l'Urim et le Thumim étaient des resplendissements de lumière selon les états de la chose d'après l'ordre ; en effet, toute lumière du ciel est variée selon les états de la chose, et les états de la chose le sont selon l'ordre du Mon et du vrai ; quant à ce qui est signifié de vrai et de bien par chacun des fils de Jacob, on le verra clairement par l'explication, savoir que par Ruben est signifiée la Foi procédant du Seigneur ; par Schiméon, la Foi de la volonté, qui procède du Seigneur ; par Lévi, l'amour spirituel ou la charité ; par Jehudah, le Divin de l'amour et le Royaume céleste du Seigneur ; quant à ce qui est signifié par les huit autres fils, il en sera parlé dans le Chapitre suivant : leur ordre selon la naissance est celui qui est ici décrit ; dans cet ordre ils se suivent ainsi : Ruben, Schiméon, Lévi, Jehudah, Dan, Naphtali, Cad, Ascher, Iisaschar, Zébulon, Joseph, Benjamin, - voir, dans ce Chapitre Vers. 32, 33, 34, 35. Chapitre 30 : Vers. 6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24. Chapitre 35:18.

Cet ordre est selon l'état de la chose dont il s'agit ici, c'est-à-dire, selon l'état de la régénération de l'homme, car alors on commence par le vrai de la foi, qui est Ruben, et de là on s'avance vers vouloir le vrai, qui est Schiméon ; ensuite vers la charité, qui est Lévi ; ainsi vers le Seigneur, qui, dans le sens suprême, est Jehudah ; que la conception et l'enfantement spirituels ou la régénération aille de l'externe vers l'interne, c'est-à-dire, du vrai de la foi vers le bien de l'amour, cela vient d'être dit numéro 3860. Avant que Jacob revînt vers Isaac son père dans Mamré Kiriath Arba, ils sont nommés dans cet ordre : Ruben, Schiméon, Lévi, Jehudah, Iisaschar, Zébulon, Joseph ; Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Cad, Ascher, - Genèse 35:23, 24, 25, 26.

Là, sont placés en premier lieu ceux qui sont nés de Léah et de Rachel, et ensuite ceux qui sont nés des servantes, et cela selon, l'état de la chose dont il y est question. Ils sont encore recensés dans un autre ordre, quand ils partirent pour aller en Egypte, - ;

Et dans un autre ordre, quand Jacob, alors Israël, les bénit avant sa mort, - :

Et dans un autre, quand ils furent bénis par Moïse, - .

Quand ils campaient autour de la Tente de convention, ils étaient dans cet ordre : A l'Orient, Jehudah, Iisaschar, Zébulon ; au Midi, Ruben, Schiméon, Gad ; à l'Occident, Ephraïm, Ménasché, Benjamin ; au Septentrion, Dan, Ascher, Naphtali, - .

Quant à l'ordre dans lequel ils se tinrent pour les bénédictions données au peuple sur le mont Gérizim, et pour les malédictions sur le mont Ebal, - on le voitDeutéronome 27:12-13.

Lorsque des chefs de chaque Tribu furent envoyés pour explorer la terre, ils sont recensés dans cet ordre : Ruben, Schiméon, Jehudah, Iisaschar, Ephraïm, Benjamin, Zébulon, Joseph ou Ménasché, Dan, Ascher, Naphtali, Cad, - .

Mais ils sont nommés dans un autre ordre quand il s'agit des chefs qui devaient donner la terre en héritage, - .

On voit dans Josué, - Chap, [Il manque du texte ici], Ézéchiel 4; .

Et quand il s'agit des portes de la Cité Nouvelle ou Sainte, ils sont nommés dans cet ordre : Vers le septentrion, les trois portes de Ruben, de Jehudah, de Lévi ; vers l'orient, les trois portes de Joseph, de Benjamin, de Dan ; vers le midi, les trois portes de Schiméon, de Iisaschar, de Zébulon ; vers l'occident, les trois portes de Gad, d'Ascher, de Naphtali.

Ézéchiel 48:3, à 34.

Quant à l'ordre des douze mille marqués de chaque Tribu, voir l'Apocalypse, - .

Dans tous ces passages le recensement des Tribus est fait absolument selon l'état de la chose dont il y est question, auquel l'ordre correspond ; l'état même de la chose est manifesté par ce qui précède et par ce qui suit. Il est mentionné et décrit dans la Parole quel était l'ordre des pierres précieuses dans l'Urim et le Thumim, mais il n'est pas mentionné à quelle Tribu chacune des pierres correspondait, car ce qu'elles représentaient, c'étaient toutes les choses de la lumière d'après la flamme céleste, c'est-à-dire, toutes celles du vrai d'après le bien, ou toutes celles de la foi d'après l'amour ; et comme c'était là ce qu'elles représentaient, la lumière céleste même brillait miraculeusement à travers selon l'état de la chose sur laquelle était faite la demande et était donnée la réponse, éclatant et resplendissant pour l'affirmatif du bien et du vrai, outre les nuances quant aux couleurs selon les différences de l'état du bien et du vrai, comme dans le ciel, où par les lumières et leurs variétés tous les célestes et tous les spirituels sont exprimés, et cela, d'une manière ineffable et absolument incompréhensible pour l'homme ; car, ainsi qu'il a été quelquefois expliqué, dans la lumière céleste il y a la vie qui procède du Seigneur, par conséquent la sagesse et l'intelligence ; de là, dans les diversités de lumière il y a tout ce qui appartient à la vie (du vrai), c'est-à-dire, tout ce qui appartient à la sagesse et à l'intelligence, et dans les diversités de flamme, d'éclat et de splendeur, tout ce qui appartient à la vie du bien et à la vie du vrai d'après le bien, ou à l'amour pour le Seigneur et à la foi procédant de cet amour ; tel fut donc l'Urim et le Thumim, qui était sur le pectoral de l'Ephod et sur le cœur d'Aharon ; ce qui est encore évident en ce que Urim et Thumim, signifient Lumières et Perfections, et en ce que le pectoral sur lequel était l'Urim et le Thumim était appelé pectoral du jugement, parce que le jugement est l'intelligence et la sagesse, numéro 2235 ; s'il était sur le Cœur d'Aharon, c'est parce que le Cœur signifie l'Amour Divin, voir numéro 3635, et à la fin de ce Chapitre ; de là encore, ces pierres précieuses étaient fixées dans des enchâssures d'or, car l'or dans le sens interne est le bien qui appartient à l'amour, numéros 113, 1551, 1552, et la pierre précieuse est le vrai qui brille d'après le bien, numéro 114 : voici ce qui est dit sur l'Urim et le Thumim, dans Moïse :

« Tu feras un Pectoral de Jugement, ouvrage d'inventeur, comme l'ouvrage d'Éphod tu le feras, d'or, d'hyacinthe, et de pourpre, et d'écarlate double teint, et de fin lin tissu tu le feras : carré il sera, double, et tu le rempliras de remplages de pierres, quatre rangs de pierres ; enchâssées d'or elles seront dans leurs remplages ; et les pierres seront d'après les noms des fils d'Israël, douze d'après leurs noms ; à gravures de sceau, à chacun d'après son nom elles seront, pour les douze Tribus. » - Exode 20:8, 4, . ;

Dans ce même passage les pierres sont aussi désignées, chacune dans son ordre ; et plus loin :

« Que ne s'écarte point le Pectoral de dessus l'Ephod ; et Aharon portera les noms des fils d'Israël sur le Pectoral de Jugement, sur son cœur, quand il entrera vers le saint, pour souvenir devant Jéhovah à perpétuité ; et tu mettras au Pectoral de jugement l'Urim et le Thumin, et ils seront sur le cœur d'Aharon quand il entrera devant Jéhovah ; et Aharon portera le jugement des fils d'Israël sur son cœur devant Jéhovah à perpétuité. » - Exode 28:28, 29, Lévitique 8:7-8.

Que Jéhovah ou le Seigneur ait été interrogé et qu'il ait donné des réponses par l'Urim, on le voit dans Moïse :

« Jéhovah dit à Moïse : Prends Joschuah fils de Nun ; tu donneras de ta gloire sur lui, afin que lui obéisse toute l'assemblée des fils d'Israël : devant Eléazar le Prêtre, il se tiendra, et il l'interrogera par le Jugement de l'Urim devant Jéhovah. » - Nombres 27:18, 20-21,

Et dans Samuel :

« Schaül interrogea Jéhovah, et ne lui répondit point Jéhovah, même par songes, ni par l'Urim, ni par les Prophètes. » - Nombres 1 Samuel 28:6.