8369. 'And seventy palm trees' means forms of the good of truth in like measure, that is to say, in full abundance. This is clear from the meaning of 'seventy' - like 'twelve' - as all things in their entirety, dealt with in 7973; and from the meaning of 'palm trees' as forms of good in the spiritual Church, which are forms of the good of truth. And since forms of good are meant by 'palm trees', an affection for good and the delight resulting from it are meant, for an affection for good is the source of all delight. Since 'palm trees' had this meaning they were also used in sacred festivities, such as the feast of tabernacles, in accordance with the following in Moses,

You shall take on the first day the fruit of a fine tree, ¹ fronds of palm trees, the bough of a thick tree, and willows of the powerful stream; and you shall be glad before Jehovah your God seven days. Leviticus 23:40.

'The fruit of a fine tree' means celestial good, 'palm trees' spiritual good or the good of truth, 'the bough of a thick tree' truth in the form of factual knowledge, and 'willows of the powerful stream' lowest truths belonging to the natural. The four accordingly mean all forms of good and truths in their proper order.

[2] The fact that 'palm trees' were signs of sacred festivity springing from good is also clear from the following in John,

A great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. John 12:12-13.

And in the same author, in Revelation,

I saw, and behold a large crowd standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9.

In Joel,

The vine has withered and the fig tree languishes, the pomegranate tree and also the palm; all joy has withered away from the sons of man. Joel 1:12.

In David,

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Psalms 92:12.

Here 'a palm tree' stands for good and 'a cedar' for truth.

[3] Since 'a palm tree' means good it also means wisdom, for wisdom is the discernment of good. The palm trees which were carved along with the cherubs and flowers on the walls of the temple were signs meaning such wisdom. 'The temple' meant the Lord Himself, and in the representative sense it meant heaven, 2777, 3720; 'the cherubs, palm trees, and flowers' on the walls meant providence, wisdom, and intelligence that are the Lord's, and so meant all things belonging to heaven. The fact that they were carved on the walls of the temple is clear in the first Book of Kings,

Solomon carved all the walls of the house all around with openings of carvings of cherubs, ² and of palm trees, and with openings of flowers. And on the two doors of olive wood he carved carvings of cherubs and of palm trees, and openings of flowers, and overlaid them with gold, so that he spread gold over the cherubs and over the palm trees. 1 Kings 6:29, 32.

These 'carvings' represented the heavenly state; 'the cherubs' represented the Lord's Providence, thus the truth that all things come from Him (for the meaning of 'cherubs' as providence, see 308); 'the palm trees' represented wisdom that is a discernment of good coming from the Lord; and 'the flowers' represented intelligence that is an understanding of truth coming from Him. 'Gold' with which the cherubs and palm trees were overlaid meant the good of love, which holds sway throughout heaven (for the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, see 113, 1551, 1552, 5658). All this also explains why in the description in Ezekiel of the new temple, meaning the Lord's heaven, it says that 'cherubs and palm trees' were on the walls everywhere, Ezekiel 41:17-18, 20, 25-26.

Poznámky pod čarou:

5658. 'Our silver in its full weight' means truths commensurate with each one's state. This is clear from the meaning of 'silver' as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954; and from the meaning of 'weight' as the state of something as regards good, dealt with in 3104, so that truths commensurate with each one's state means commensurate with the good they are able to receive. Many places in the Word make reference to weights or to measures, but no weight nor any measure is meant in the internal sense. Rather states so far as the good involved in some reality is concerned are meant by 'weights', while states so far as the truth involved in it is concerned are meant by 'measures'. The same applies to the properties of gravity and spatial magnitude; gravity in the natural world corresponds to good in the spiritual world, and spatial magnitude to truth. The reason for this is that in heaven, where correspondences originate, neither the property of gravity nor that of spatial magnitude exists because space has no existence there. Objects possessing these properties do, it is true, seem to exist among spirits, but those objects are appearances that have their origins in the states of goodness and truth in the heaven above those spirits.

[2] It was very well known in ancient times that 'silver' meant truth; therefore the ancients divided up periods of time ranging from the earliest to the latest world epochs into the golden ages, the silver ones, the copper ones, and the iron ones, to which they also added the clay ones. They applied the expression 'golden ages' to those periods when innocence and perfection existed, when everyone was moved by good to do what was good and by righteousness to do what was right. They used 'silver ages' however to describe those times when innocence did not exist any longer, though there was still some sort of perfection, which did not consist in being moved by good to do what was good but in being moved by truth to do what was true. 'Copper ages' and 'iron ages' were the names they gave to the times that were even more inferior than the silver ones.

[3] What led those people to give periods of time these names was not comparison but correspondence. For the ancients knew that 'silver' corresponded to truth and 'gold' to good; they knew this from being in communication with spirits and angels. For when a discussion takes place in a higher heaven about what is good, this reveals itself among those underneath them in the first or lowest heaven as what is golden; and when a discussion takes place about what is true this reveals itself there as what is silvery. Sometimes not only the walls of the rooms where they live are gleaming with gold and silver but also the very air within them. Also, in the homes of those angels belonging to the first or lowest heaven who are moved by good to live among what is good, tables made of gold, lampstands made of gold, and many other objects are seen; but in the homes of those who are moved by truth to live among what is true, similar objects made of silver are seen. But who at the present day knows that correspondence was what led the ancients to call ages golden ones and silver ones? Indeed who at the present day knows anything at all about correspondence? Anyone who does not know this about the ancients, and more so anyone who thinks pleasure and wisdom lie in contesting whether such an idea is true or untrue, cannot begin to know the countless facets there are to correspondence.