Explanation of Isaiah 3
Napsal(a) Rev. John H. Smithson
THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 3
(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)
1. For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff; the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of waters;
2. The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the old man;
Verse 1. To "remove the stay and the staff" denotes the power and strength of life from Truth and Good; the "stay of bread" denotes power from Good, the "stay of waters", power from Truth. "Staff", in the original tongue, is an expression implying to lean upon and be supported, which in the spiritual world is effected by Truth and Good. Arcana Coelestia 9028.
Verses 1, 2. The whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of waters; the mighty man, and the man of war, etc. - To "remove the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of waters, "signifies all the good of love and truth of faith, from which spiritual life exists; "bread" denotes the good of love, and "water" the truth of faith; and a "staff" and a "stay" denote powers, and thence all things appertaining to spiritual life. To "remove the mighty man and the man of war", signifies all resistance against evils and falsities; to "remove the judge and the prophet", signifies all the good and truth of doctrine; and to "remove the diviner and the old man", means all intelligence and wisdom. Apocalypse Explained 433.
3. The commander of fifty, and the honourable, and the counsellor, and the wise in magic, and the intelligent in incantation.
4. And I will make boys their rulers, and infants shall govern them.
5. And the people shall be oppressed, one man by another, and a man by his neighbour: the boy shall raise himself up against the aged, and the despised against the honoured.
Verse 3. Incantations were in use among the ancients, and were performed three ways: First, By keeping another's hearing and thereby his mind continually attending to what they were saying and talking of, by not relaxing their speech or allowing any intermission, and at the same time by aspiring and inspiring thought joined with affection by the breath into the sound of the voice, by which means the hearer could not think anything from himself; in this manner the lovers of falsehood violently infused their falsities. Secondly, They infused a persuasion, which was done by detaining the mind from everything of a contrary nature, and directing the attention solely to the idea of what was said by themselves, hence the spiritual sphere of the enchanter's mind dispelled the spiritual sphere of the other's mind, and stifled it; this was the kind of spiritual fascination which the magi formerly made use of, and it was called tying up or shackling the understanding. This sort of incantation or enchantment appertained only to the spirit or thought, but the former was also for the lips or speech. Thirdly, The hearer kept his mind so fixed in his opinion, that he almost shut his ears against hearing anything from the speaker - which was done by holding his breath, and sometimes by a tacit mussitation, and so by a continued negation of his adversary's sentiment. This kind of incantation was practised by those who heard others; but the two former by those who spake to others. These three kinds of incantation were practised by the ancients, and are still in use among infernal spirits; but among men in the world, there remains only the third kind among those who have confirmed in themselves false principles of religion from the pride of their own intelligence, for these, when they hear things contrary thereto, do not admit them into their thought any nearer than just into contact, and then from the interior bosom of their mind they send forth, as it were, fire which consumes them of which the other does not know anything but by conjecture from the face and sound of the voice in the reply, provided the enchanter does not restrain by dissimulation that fire, that is, the anger of his pride. This incantation is at this day the cause that truths are not accepted, and with many that they are not understood. That in ancient times many magic arts prevailed, and among these incantations, is evident from Moses. (Deuteronomy 18:9-11)
A persuasion of what is false, and the consequent destruction of the Truth is signified in the following passages:
"By the incantation of Babylon all nations were seduced." (Revelation 18:23. See also Isaiah 47:10-12; 2 Kings 9:22)
On the other hand, "incantation" [is used in a good sense], and signifies the rejection of what is false by means of Truths, which was also effected by tacit thought and mussitation, out of zeal for Truth in opposition to what is false, as is plain from Psalm 58:4, 5; Jeremiah 8:17; Isaiah 26:16. (See Hebrew text.) Apocalypse Revealed 462.
6. Then a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father [saying], You have raiment; be you a prince over us, and let this [our] ruin be under your hand.
7. In that day shall he lift up [his voice], saying, I will not be a binder up [of wounds]; for in my house is neither bread nor raiment: make me not a prince of the people.
Verses 6. 7. Then a man shall take hold of his brother, etc. - The subject here treated of, in the internal sense, is concerning the perverted state of the church, when Truth is no longer acknowledged to be truth, nor is it known what Good is. "A man's taking hold of his brother in the house of his father", denotes the acknowledging of everything whatsoever to be good; "raiment denotes truth; "prince", the primary principle of doctrine thence derived. "In my house is neither bread nor raiment, means that there was neither Good nor Truth. Arcana Coelestia 3703 Arcana Coelestia 3703[1-23].
Verses 6, 7, 17-24. The "garment" which the prince had, denotes the truth appertaining to doctrine; the various "clothing and ornaments of the daughters of Zion", which are here enumerated are all kinds and species of Good and Truth, whereof they were to be deprived, Arcana Coelestia 2576.
8. For Jerusalem stumbles, and Judah falls; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of His glory.
9. The obstinacy of their countenance doth witness, against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for to themselves have they rewarded evil.
Verse 8. Because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of His glory. - Signifies that all their doctrine and their life is altogether against Divine Truth; "tongue" denoting doctrine; "doings", the life; and "the eyes of the glory of Jehovah", the Divine Truth; to "rebel", is to be against it. Apocalypse Explained 433.
Verses 8, 9. Because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, etc. the obstinacy of their countenances, etc. - By Their tongue and their doings which are against Jehovah", are signified thought and affection : by the "tongue", thought, because the tongue speaks what the man thinks; and by the "doings", affection, because a man does what is of his affection. These are "against Jehovah and rebel against the eyes of His glory", when they are against the Divine Good and against the Divine Truth; for by "Jehovah", in the Word, is understood the Lord as to Divine Good proceeding from His Divine Love, and by His "glory" is understood the Divine Truth; to be against this is signified by "rebelling against the eyes of His glory."The"obstinacy of their countenances which witnesses against them", signifies the refusal and non-admission of divine Truth and divine Good into their thoughts and affections, which are their interiors, and are signified by "countenances" or faces. Apocalypse Explained 412.
10. Say you to the just, that good [shall be their portion]; for the fruit of their doings shall they eat.
Verse 10. - By "the just, or righteous, eating the fruit of their doings", is signified the celestial Good which man receives by a life according to divine Truth from the Lord, and, as it were, acquires to himself by his own labour and study. Apocalypse Explained 617.
11. Woe to the wicked! evil [shall be his portion]; for the reward of his hands shall be given him,
Verse 11. - Inasmuch as few know what is properly understood by "reward", it shall here be briefly explained. By "reward", when predicated of the good, is properly understood that delight, satisfaction, and blessedness which is contained in the love or affection of Good and Truth, for that love or that affection has in itself all the joy of heart which is called heavenly joy, and also heaven. The reason is, because the Lord is in that love, or in that affection, and with the Lord is also heaven. This joy, therefore, or this delight, satisfaction, and blessedness is what is properly understood by the reward which they shall receive who do good and speak truth from the love and affection of Good and Truth, thus from the Lord, and by no means from themselves; and whereas they act and speak from the Lord and not from themselves, therefore the reward is not of merit but of grace. From these considerations it may appear that he who knows what heavenly joy is, may know also what reward is; what heavenly joy is, in its essence, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 395-414; this, therefore, is signified by the "reward" which is given to those who are in truths from good. But the "reward" of those who are in falsities from evil, is joy or delight, satisfaction, and blessedness in the world, but hell after their departure out of the world. Apocalypse Explained 695.
12. As for My people, children are their oppressors, and - women lord it over them: My people! your leaders cause you to err, and abolish the way of your paths.
Verse 12. By "oppressors or exactors, infants, and women", are signified those who violate, are ignorant of, and, pervert truths; by "oppressors or exactors", those who violate truths; by "infants", they who are ignorant of them; and by "women", the cupidities which pervert them. The "leaders who cause to err", signify those who teach; to "abolish the way of the paths", signifies' not to know the leading truth. Apocalypse Explained 555.
13. Jehovah shall set up Himself to plead; He stands to judge the peoples.
Verse 13. Jehovah stands to judge the peoples. - It is also said concerning the Lord Himself, that He "stood to judge", because it is said of the Divine Proceeding from the Lord, which is called Divine Truth, inasmuch as judgment is from it: thus in Isaiah, - "Jehovah has set Himself up to plead, and stands to judge." Apocalypse Explained 639.
14. Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and with the princes thereof: for you have burnt up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.
Verse 14. By "the elders of the people and the princes", are signified the same as by the twelve disciples, namely all of the church who are in the truths and goods thereof, and, in the abstract sense, the truths and goods of the church in every complex. Apocalypse Explained 851.
For, you have burnt up the vineyard. - "Vineyard" manifestly denotes the church as to the good and truth of faith; for the "elders", with whom Jehovah will come into judgment, denote the goods of the church, and "princes" denote the truths thereof. Arcana Coelestia 9130.
The reason why to "desolate" denotes to deprive by lusts, and thereby to consume, is because by the term, which in the original tongue is expressed "to desolate", is properly signified to set on fire and burn up, hence also to devour and consume; and this being the derivation of, that expression, by "desolating" is here signified the consumption which is effected by lusts; since the lusts appertaining to man are fires which consume; for there appertains to man the fire of life, and the light of faith; the fire of life is his love, and the light of life is his faith. The love of good, that is, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, constitute the fire of life appertaining to a good man and to an angel of heaven, and the love of truth and the faith, of truth constitute the light of life appertaining to them: but the love of evil, that is, the love of self and the love of the world, constitute the fire of life appertaining to an evil man and to a spirit of hell; and. the love of the false, and the faith of the false, constitute the lumen of life appertaining to them; but the love of evil is called, in the Word, the "burning of fire", because it burns and consumes those things which are of the love of good and truth. That consumption by lusts is signified by that expression in the original tongue, is evident from the following passage :
"Jehovah will come into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof; you have consumed [set fire to] the vineyard." Arcana Coelestia 9141.
15. What mean you, that you tread down My people, and grind the faces of the poor? says the Lord Jehovih of Hosts.
Verse 15. What mean you, that you tread down My people, and grind the faces of the poor? - To "grind the faces of the poor", signifies to destroy the affections of knowing truth with those who are in ignorance thereof, and yet desire to be instructed; to "grind" signifying to-destroy, and "faces", the affections of knowing truths, and "the 'poor", those who are in ignorance of truth, and desire to be instructed, for these are they who are spiritually poor. Apocalypse Explained 412.
Saith the Lord JEHOVIH of Hosts. - In the Word frequent mention is made of the Lord JEHOVIH, yea, wherever Jehovah the Lord is spoken of, He is called not Lord JEHOVAH but Lord JEHOVIH; and He is especially so called where the subject treated of is concerning temptations; as in Isaiah, - "Behold, the Lord JEHOVIH will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His recompense is with Him, and His work before Him, He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather His lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that give suck"; (Isaiah 40:10, 11) where the Lord JEHOVIH "coming with strong hand" denotes victory in temptation-combats, and "His arm ruling for Him "means that it is derived from His own power: What the "recompense" is, which was spoken of in the preceding verse, is here declared, that is, that it is the salvation of the whole human race, which is what is meant by "His feeding His flock as a shepherd; gathering the lambs with His arm, carrying them in His bosom, and gently leading those that give suck"; all which are operations of inmost or Divine Love. Arcana Coelestia 1793. See also Apocalypse Explained 601, 850.
16. Moreover says Jehovah, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with the neck stretched forth and with ogling eyes, and mincing as they walk, and tinkling with their feet:
Verses 16-22. The "daughters of Zion: who are haughty, or extol themselves", denote the affections of evil within the church; the "rings. and the ornaments of the nose", which shall be taken away denote Good and its badges; the "dress-vestments, or changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles", denote Truth and its badges. Arcana Coelestia 3013.
17. The Lord will make bald the crown of the daughters of Zion; and Jehovah will lay bare their nakedness,
Verse 17. - The "daughters of Zion" signify the celestial church, and the things belonging to that church, but in this case perverted; by the "crown of the head which shall be made bald" is signified intelligence, of which it shall be deprived; and the "buttock which shall be made naked" signifies the love of evil and of the false. Apocalypse Explained 240
18. In that day the Lord will remove the ornament of their ankle-bands, and of their networks, and of their moon -like crescents ;
19., And the ear-rings, and the bracelets, and the thin veils;
20. The turbans, the stepping-chains, and the head-bands, and the scent-boxes, and the amulets;
21. The finger-rings, and the ornaments of the nose ;
22. The dress-vestments, and the tunics, and the shawls, and the purses;
23. The min-ors, and the fine linen [shifts], and the hoods, and the large veils.
24. And instead of perfume there shall be putridity; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of braided-work [of hair], baldness; and instead of a robe, a wrapper of sackcloth; and a brand [mark] instead of beauty.
25. Your men shall fall by the sword, and your strength in the war.
Verses 18-25. They who do not think beyond the sense of the letter, know no other than that all those things, with which the daughters of Zion are said to be adorned, are to be understood according to the letter; and that on account of their ornament, and the loftiness and pride thence derived, the men of that kingdom would perish, for it is said that "your men shall fall by the sword, and your strength in "war"; but that such things are not meant, may be known to those who elevate the mind in some degree above the letter; these know, from various passages in the Word, that by "the daughters of Zion" are not meant the daughters of Zion, but such things as are of the church; as also by "the daughters of Jerusalem", "the daughters of Judah", and several others. When therefore the church, and those things which are of the church, are signified by "the daughters of Zion", it follows that, by their" ornaments", recounted in the above passage, are signified the truths and goods of the church, and that each ornament denotes some specific truth and good; for in the Word nothing is said without a meaning, not even one expression; and whereas that church was to be deprived of its truths and goods, which are signified by those ornaments; therefore it is said, that "instead of a perfume, shall be putridity; instead of a girdle, a rent; instead of braided-work [of hair], baldness; instead of a robe, a wrapper or girding of sackcloth; a brand or burning, instead of beauty"; and also that "your men should fall by the sword, and your-strength in war:" for by "perfume" is signified Divine Truth, as to its perceptive principles; by "putridity" [or a stench], its privation; by a "girdle" is signified the bond containing truths and goods in their connection; a "rent" instead of it, denotes their dissolution and dissipation; by "braided-work [of hair]", scientific truth; by "baldness", the deprivation of the intelligence of truth and of the wisdom of good; by "burning", their consumption by the evils of self-love; by "beauty", the form of truth derived from good in the church, thus its perfection; and by a "sword", whereby men shall fall, , the false principle destroying truth and good; by "no strength in war" is signified not any resistance against evil and the false, for "war" denotes spiritual combat and temptation. From these consideratlons, it is now evident that by "ornaments" in general, is signified the Divine Truth of the church. Arcana Coelestia 10540 See also Apocalypse Explained 637.
Verse 24. "Perfume" [or sweet smell], denotes interior truth; "putridity" [or stench], the privation thereof. Arcana Coelestia 10199.
26. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit on the ground.
Verse 26. By "gates" are signified knowledges of what is true and good out of the Word, because by them man is introduced [as through gates] into the church. Apocalypse Revealed 899.
"Lamentation and mourning" [here predicated of the gates of
Jerusalem], signify grief on account of the devastation of the church as to Truths and as to Good. Apocalypse Explained 555.
To be "desolate and naked", signifies to be destitute of all Truth and Good. Apocalypse Explained 1081.
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Isaiah Chapter 3
1. For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff; the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of waters;
2. The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the old man;
3. The commander of fifty, and the honourable, and the counsellor, and the wise in magic, and the intelligent in incantation.
4. And I will make boys their rulers, and infants shall govern them.
5. And the people shall be oppressed, one man by another, and a man by his neighbour: the boy- shall raise himself up against the aged, and the despised against the honoured.
6. Then a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father [saying], You have raiment; be you a prince over us, and let this [our] ruin be under your hand.
7. In that day shall he lift up [his voice], saying, ~ will not be a binder up [of wounds]; for in my house is neither bread nor raiment : make me not a prince of the people.
8. For Jerusalem stumbles, and Judah falls; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of His glory.
9. The obstinacy of their countenance doth witness, against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for to themselves have they rewarded evil.
10. Say you to the just, that good [shall be their portion]; for the fruit of their doings shall they eat.
11. Woe to the wicked! evil [shall be his portion]; for the reward of his hands shall be given him,
12. As for My people, children are their oppressors, and - women lord it over them: My people! your leaders cause you to err, and abolish the way of your paths.
13. Jehovah shall set up Himself to plead; He stands to judge the peoples.
14. Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and with the princes thereof: for you have burnt up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15. What mean you, that you tread down My people, and grind the faces of the poor? says the Lord Jehovih of Hosts.
16. Moreover says Jehovah, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with the neck stretched forth and with ogling eyes, and mincing as they walk, and tinkling with their feet:
17. The Lord will make bald the crown of the daughters of Zion; and Jehovah will lay bare their nakedness,
18. In that day the Lord will remove the ornament of their ankle-bands, and of their networks, and of their moon-like crescents ;
19., And the ear-rings, and the bracelets, and the thin veils;
20. The turbans, the stepping-chains, and the head-bands, and the scent- boxes, and the amulets;
21. The finger-rings, and the ornaments of the nose ;
22. The dress-vestments, and the tunics, and the shawls, and the purses;
23. The min-ors, and the fine linen [shifts], and the hoods, and the large veils.
24. And instead of perfume there shall be putridity; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of braided-work [of hair], baldness; and instead of a robe, a wrapper of sackcloth; and a brand [mark] instead of beauty.
25. Your men shall fall by the sword, and your strength in the war.
26. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit on the ground.
Arcana Coelestia # 3703
3703. 'And He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father' means the Lord in whom that good originated. This becomes clear from the fact that Jehovah is the Divine Being (Esse) itself of the Lord, who is called 'the God of Abraham' by virtue of Divine Good - 'Abraham' representing the Lord as regards Divine Good, see 2172, 2198. And because Divine Good is the source of all celestial and spiritual goods, and consequently of all truths also, the phrase 'your (that is, Jacob's) father Abraham' is used, when in fact Isaac was his father. The reason why 'father' in the internal sense means good is that good is the source of every single thing that has being and truth the means by which it is brought into being. Thus every single thing is born from a marriage of good and truth. Heaven itself, which consists of nothing else at all but the Divine marriage of Good and Truth, derives from the Divine Marriage of Good and Truth and of Truth and Good within the Lord.
[2] The whole natural order also in every single part has reference to what is good and what is true. In it, that is, the natural order, the celestial and spiritual goods and truths that belong to heaven are represented, and in heaven Divine Goods and Truths that are the Lord's are represented. From this it becomes clear that good is like the father and truth is like the mother, and that therefore 'father' in the internal sense of the Word means good, and 'mother' truth. Indeed they mean the goodness and truth in which lower or derived goods and truths originate, which in relation to them are as daughters and sons, and are also consequently called daughters and sons in the Word, 489-491, 2362. They are also in relation to that good and truth as brothers and sisters, as grandchildren and great grandchildren, as sons-in-law, fathers-in-law, and daughters-in-law; in short they are as every degree of blood relationship and relationship by marriage. And all these relationships stem from the marriage of good, which is the father, to truth, which is the mother. For all things - every single one - in heaven exist as in blood relationships of love to and faith in the Lord, or what amounts to the same, of good and truth, see 685, 917, 2739, 3612, and the most ancient people therefore compared all these things to marriages, 54, 55. See also 718, 747, 1432, 2508, 2516, 2524, 2556.
[3] That 'father' in the internal sense of the Word means good may be seen from very many places, as from the following: In Isaiah,
Pay attention to Me, you who are pursuing righteousness, who are seeking Jehovah; look to the rock from which you were hewn; and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug; look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you, for when he was but one I called him; and I blessed him, and I will multiply him. For Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Isaiah 51:1-3.
This refers to the Lord and His Coming, as is evident from every detail. As regards Divine Truth He is called 'a rock' and 'a pit', and as regards Divine Good 'Abraham your father'. And because the Divine marriage of Good and Truth is represented by Abraham and Sarah, see 1468, 1901, 1965, 1989, 2011, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507, 2833, 2836, 2904, 3245, 3251, 3305 (end), the expressions 'Abraham your father' and 'Sarah who bore you' are used. This explains why it is said that they were to look to the rock and to the pit, and to Abraham their father and to Sarah. It also explains why the promises follow immediately after, declaring that 'Jehovah will comfort Zion', which is the celestial Church, see 2362, and that 'He will comfort her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of Jehovah'.
[4] Abraham has a similar meaning when elsewhere in the Word he is called 'father', as in John,
Jesus said, I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you also do what you have seen with your father. They answered and said to Him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's sons, you would do the works of Abraham. You do the works of your father. John 8:38-39, 41.
And in Matthew,
Do not presume to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree not bearing good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:9-10.
And in Luke,
When the poor man Lazarus died he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and when he was in hell he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Calling out he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. I ask you, father, to send him to my father's house. Luke 16:19-end.
In these places it is evident that Abraham was not meant but the Lord as regards Divine Good. For Abraham is unknown in heaven, and when his name is used in the Word the Lord is meant, see 1834, 1876, 1989, 3305 (end).
[5] That 'father' means good in the internal sense becomes clear from the following places: In Moses,
Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged on the land which Jehovah your God gives you. Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16.
This commandment, like the rest of the Ten Commandments, is true in both senses - in the internal sense 'honouring father and mother' is loving what is good and true, and in what is good and true loving the Lord, see 2609, 3690. 'Days on the land' means resulting states of good within the Lord's kingdom, as is clear from the meaning of 'days' as states, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, and from the meaning of Canaan, to which 'the land' refers here, as the Lord's kingdom, 1607, 3038, 3481, and from 'being prolonged' having reference to good, 1613.
[6] Since 'father and mother' had these meanings many laws were therefore laid down in the Jewish representative Church relating to parents and sons. In every case good and truth were meant in the internal sense, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good and Divine Truth, as in Moses,
Whoever strikes his father and his mother shall surely die. If anyone curses his father or his mother he shall surely die. Exodus 21:15, 17.
In the same author,
Any man who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he who curses his father and his mother, his blood shall be on him. Leviticus 20:9.
Cursed is he who treats his father and his mother with contempt; and all the people shall say, Amen. Deuteronomy 27:16, 17.
In Ezekiel,
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, 1 have in you been intent on shedding blood; in you they have treated father and mother with contempt. Ezekiel 22:6-7.
In Moses,
When a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, in no way obeying the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and though they correct him he still does not obey them, his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders of the city, and to the gateway of their place. And all the men of that city shall stone him with stones so that he dies. Deuteronomy 21:18-19, 21.
[7] In all these places 'father and mother' in the sense of the letter is used to mean father and mother, but in the internal sense good and truth are meant, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good and Divine Truth. This is also the Lord's own teaching in Matthew,
Jesus stretching out His hand over His disciples said, Beyond My mother and My brothers; whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:49-50.
And in the same gospel,
Refuse to be called master, for one is your Master, Christ; but all you are brothers. And call nobody your father on earth, for one is your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 23:8-9.
It is not being called master or being called father on earth that is forbidden here, but acknowledging in the heart any other father than the Lord. That is, when the names master and father are used one should understand the Lord whom in the highest sense they represent, in the same way, as stated just above in 3702, as anything perceived on earth by the most ancient people who were celestial was to them the means for thought concerning the Lord.
[8] Much the same is embodied in what the Lord told one of the disciples who said,
Lord, let me first go away and bury my father. Jesus said to him, Follow Me; leave the dead to bury the dead. Matthew 8:21-22.
Indeed the relationship of father on earth to Father in heaven, who is the Lord, is as one who is dead to one who is living, even as the law itself about honouring parents is so to speak dead unless it holds honour, worship, and love to the Lord within it. For that law about honouring parents comes down from the latter Divine law. And because it comes down from the latter, the living element which exists within the law about honouring parents is received from this Divine law. This is why the Lord said, 'Follow Me, leave the dead to bury the dead'. What Elijah told Elisha is also similar in meaning,
Elijah passed beside Elisha and cast his mantle over him, and he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me kiss, I beg you, my father and mother; then I will go after you. He therefore said to him, Go away; go back again; for what have I done to you? 1 Kings 19:19-20.
Elijah represented the Lord - see Preface to Chapter 18, and 2762.
[9] In Malachi,
Lo, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes. And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers lest I come and smite the earth with a ban. Malachi 4:5-6.
And in Luke where the angel addresses Zechariah regarding his son John,
He will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. Luke 1:17.
From these places it is evident that 'fathers' and 'sons' are not used to mean fathers and sons but the goods and truths of the Church which the Lord is going to restore.
[10] In Malachi,
May Jehovah be magnified upon the border of Israel! A son should honour his father, and a servant his lord. If I am a Father, where is My honour? If I am a Lord, where is the fear of Me? Malachi 1:5-6.
'A son' stands for those who are governed by the good of the Church, 'a servant' those who are governed by its truth. Here 'a Father' clearly stands for the Lord as regards Divine Good, and 'a Lord' as regards Divine Truth.
[11] In David,
My father and my mother have forsaken me, and Jehovah welcomes me. Psalms 27:10.
'Father and mother' stands for good and truth which are said to have forsaken a person when it is realized that of himself he is unable to perform anything good or to know anything true. For the meaning, it is evident, is not that David's mother and father forsook him.
[12] In the same author,
You are more beautiful by far than the sons of men. All glorious is the king's daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings. Instead of your fathers will be your sons; you will make them into princes in all the earth. Psalms 45:2, 13, 16.
This refers to the Lord. 'Instead of your fathers will be your sons' stands for Divine Truths becoming as Divine Goods. 'The king's daughter' stands for the love of truth; 'clothing with gold interweavings' for the nature of that truth grounded in good. Since the subject is the Lord and His Divine Human, as is evident from this Psalm as a whole and in every part, every single phrase clearly has reference to one and the same thing. So the phrase 'the king's daughter' is not used to mean the daughter of the king, nor are the phrases 'clothing with gold interweavings', 'instead of your fathers will be your sons', and 'their being made into princes in all the earth' to be taken literally, but each phrase means Divine celestial and spiritual things. 'A daughter' means affection or love, see 490, 491, 2362; 'the king' Divine Truth, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009; 'gold' good, 113, 1551, 1552. 'That which is interwoven' has reference to natural knowledge, 2831, in this case therefore to Divine natural truth. 'Clothing' means such truths as clothe good, 297, 2576; 'sons instead of fathers' truths begotten from good, in this case Divine Truths being as Divine Goods, 264, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 1729, 1733, 2159, 2623, 2803, 2813. 'Princes in all the earth' are the first and foremost things of the Lord's kingdom and Church - 'princes' being the things that are first and foremost, 1482, 2089, 'the earth' the Lord's kingdom and Church, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355.
[13] In Moses,
Your fathers Jehovah delighted to love, and He chose their seed after them, even you out of all peoples, as at this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer. Deuteronomy 10:15-16.
'Fathers' here in the internal sense stands for the Ancient and Most Ancient Churches, whose members were so called by virtue of the love they had of good and truth - the most ancient people, who were celestial, by virtue of their love of good, the ancients, who were spiritual, by virtue of their love of truth. The goods and truths existing in the Church are referred to as 'the seed Jehovah chose'. Clearly Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the latter's twelve sons are not meant by the fathers referred to here, nor the Israelite and Jewish people by 'the seed'. Rather the statement is made regarding them and addressed to them in order that the internal sense may be given some external form and so be intelligible to men.
[14] In Isaiah,
The boy will uplift himself against the old man, and the base fellow against the honourable; for a man will take hold of his brother in his father's house, [saying,] You have clothing, you will be leader for us. He will say, In my house there is neither bread [nor clothing]. Do not make me a leader 2 of the people. Isaiah 3:5-7.
This refers in the internal sense to a perverted state of the Church when truth is no longer acknowledged as truth, and it is not known what good is. 'A man will take hold of his brother in his father's house' stands for acknowledging everything as good. 'Clothing' stands for truth, 1073, 2576, 'a leader (or prince)' for a first and foremost matter of doctrine drawn from truth, 1482, 2089. 'In the house there is neither bread nor clothing' stands for neither good nor truth - 'bread' meaning good, 276, 680, 3478, and 'clothing' truth, 297, 2576.
[15] Because father and mother, and also daughters and sons, represented goodness and truth in the representative Churches many laws existed which possessed from those representatives that which was Divine within them, such as the following,
If a priest's daughter has acted profanely by committing whoredom, she is profaning her father; she shall be burnt with fire. Leviticus 21:9.
'A priest's daughter' stands for the affection for good, 'father' for the good from which that affection springs. 'Committing whoredom' stands for profaning what is good. What 'committing whoredom' is, see 2466, 2729, 3399, and what 'acting profanely', 1008, 1010, 1059, 2051, 3398, 3399. Also,
If a priest's daughter has been made a widow or divorced and has no seed she shall return to her father's house, as in her youth; she shall eat of her father's bread. No stranger shall eat of it. Leviticus 22:13.
[16] And this law also,
If you see among the captives a wife with a beautiful form and you desire her to take her for yourself as wife you shall bring her inside your home; and she shall shave her head and pare her nails; and she shall take off the clothing of her captivity born upon her, and shall sit in your house and lament her father and her mother a whole month; and after that you shall go in to her and know her, and she shall be your wife. Deuteronomy 21:11-13.
Every single detail in this law is representative of natural truth, which is adopted by good once it has been purified from falsities. Such truth is meant by 'a wife beautiful in form among the captives'; purification from falsities by 'bringing her inside your home', and by her 'shaving her head, paring her nails, taking off the clothing of her captivity, and lamenting her father and mother'; and adoption by 'after that going in to her, knowing her, and taking her as a wife'.
[17] The Marriage Laws requiring marriages to be contracted within the tribe and the family, and also the Inheritance Laws forbidding the transfer of inheritances from one tribe to another, which are written in the Word, also had the same origins, that is to say, in the celestial and spiritual marriage in the Lord's kingdom, or the marriage of good and truth, which are meant by 'father and mother'. The same applies to the laws laid down relating to the permissible and the forbidden degrees of affinity. Each law in the Word concerning those matters has reference inwardly to the law of the affiliation and joining together of good and truth in heaven, and to the affiliations of evil and falsity in hell, which are separated from the former. For laws to do with permissible and forbidden degrees, see Leviticus 20; for laws forbidding the transfer of inheritances from one tribe to another, and for those requiring marriages to be contracted within the tribe, see Numbers 27:7-9, and elsewhere. In heaven the position of every single thing is fixed according to blood relationships of good and truth and to relationships of them through marriage, see 685, 917, 2739, 3612.
[18] Since the Israelitish people represented the Lord's kingdom in heaven and so the heavenly order existing there, the command was also given for them to be singled out according to tribes, according to families, and according to the houses of their fathers, see Numbers 26:1-end. In addition to this they were required to pitch camp around the tent of meeting in conformity with that heavenly order, and also to journey in conformity with it, as stated in Moses,
Each one of the children of Israel shall pitch camp beneath his own standard, by the ensigns of his father's house, at a distance around the tent of meeting. And in the same formations they also set out. Numbers 2:2, 34.
This was why, when Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, the Spirit of God came upon him and he delivered this utterance, How good your tabernacles are, O Jacob, your dwelling-places, O Israel? They are like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river, etc., etc. Numbers 24:2, 5-6, and following verses.
From every word used here it is evident that not Jacob or Israel were meant but the Lord's kingdom in heaven and His Church on earth, which were represented by that order in which he saw them spread out at that time.
[19] From these examples one may also know what is meant in the internal sense of the Word by orphans! that is, the fatherless, namely people whose state is a state of innocence and charity and who wish to know and put into effect what is good but are not able to do so. Such a state exists in particular with those outside the Church whom the Lord cares about and adopts in the next life as His sons. And since those people are meant by 'orphans', when these are mentioned in the Word, sojourners and widows are in many instances mentioned too. For 'sojourners' means those who are receiving instruction in goods and truths, 1463, and 'widows' those whose state is one of good but not so much of truth, or those whose state is one of truth but not so much of good, and who yet desire what they lack. Since these three - orphans, sojourners, and widows - belong to a very similar line of meaning, therefore all three are in most places mentioned together, as has been stated, see Deuteronomy 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19; Jeremiah 7:6; 22:3; Ezekiel 22:6-7; Zechariah 7:10; Psalms 94:6; 146:9. From these considerations one may now see what 'father' means in the genuine sense, namely good, and in the highest sense the Lord.
[20] Now because most things in the Word also have a contrary sense, so has the word 'father'. In that sense it means evil. Equally so 'mother', which in the genuine sense means truth, in the contrary sense means falsity. The contrary meanings may be seen from the following places: In David,
The iniquity of his fathers will be remembered before Jehovah, and the sin of his mother will not be wiped out. Psalms 109:14.
In the same author,
They drew back and acted treacherously like their fathers; they turned about like a deceitful bow. Psalms 78:57.
In Moses,
Until the remainder of you waste away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies: and they will also waste away in their fathers' iniquities with them. Leviticus 26:39. In Isaiah,
Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the iniquity of their fathers, and let them not rise up again and possess the earth, and fill the face of the earth with cities. Isaiah 14:21.
In the same prophet, I will repay your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together. Isaiah 65:7.
[21] In Jeremiah,
The house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, who say to wood, You are my father, and to a stone, You gave birth to me. For they have turned their neck to Me and not their face. Jeremiah 2:26-27.
In the same prophet,
Behold, I am laying before this people stumbling-blocks, and fathers and sons together will stumble against them, neighbour and his friend, and they will perish. Jeremiah 6:21.
In the same prophet,
The sons gather pieces of wood, and the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for Melecheth. 3 Jeremiah 7:18.
In Ezekiel,
I will do in you that which I have not done, and such things as I will not do any longer, because of your abominations. Therefore fathers will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers; and I will execute judgements on you, and I will scatter the whole remnant of you to every wind. Ezekiel 5:9-10.
This refers to the profanation of what is holy. In the same prophet,
Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Jerusalem, Your tracings and your births are of the land of the Canaanite. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. Ezekiel 16:3.
[22] In Matthew,
Brother will deliver up brother to death, and father the son; and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. And so you will be hated by everyone for My name's sake. I have come to set a man (homo) against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's (homo) foes will be those in his own household. Whoever loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son and daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:21-22, 35-37; Luke 12:49, 52-53.
In the same gospel,
Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matthew 19:29; Luke 18:29-30; Mark 10:29-30.
In Luke,
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and his mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own soul, he cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26.
[23] In Mark,
Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his children, and children will rise up together against parents and will kill them; for you will be hated by all for My name's sake. Mark 13:12-13; Luke 21:16-17.
This refers to the close of the age and is describing the state of the Church when perverted as regards good and truth, that is to say, when evil rises up against truth, and falsity against good. The meaning of 'father' in the contrary sense as evil is evident from the places just quoted and also from the following in John,
Jesus said, If God were your father you would love Me, for from God I went forth and now come. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning and took no stand on the truth because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie he speaks from what are his own, for he is the teller of a lie and the father of it. John 8:42, 44.
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