9212. If taking a pledge thou shalt take in pledge thy companion’s garment. That hereby is signified, if memory-truths be separated through fallacies derived from the things of sense, is evident from the signification of “taking a pledge,” as being to receive a token for goods that have been communicated; for a pledge is a token for goods that are lent. When spiritual things are understood in the place of these, to communicate goods means to instruct in truths, and a token or pledge then means sensuous truth; for by the “garment” mentioned here as given in pledge, is signified the ultimate of the natural, which is the sensuous. As this abounds in fallacies, and fallacies extinguish truths, therefore by “taking thy companion’s garment in pledge” is signified the separation of truths by fallacies derived from the things of sense. That these things are signified, is evident from the series of the things as they follow in the internal sense.

[2] By a “garment” in general is signified all that which clothes something else, thus whatever is relatively exterior. Consequently the external or natural man is called a “garment” relatively to the internal or spiritual man. In like manner truth is called a “garment” relatively to good, because truth clothes good; so likewise is memory-truth relatively to the truth of faith, which is of the internal man. The sensuous, which is the ultimate of life with man, is a “garment” relatively to memory-truth. (That “garments” denote lower things which cover higher ones, or what is the same, exterior things which cover interior ones, see n. 2576, 5248; in general that they denote truths, n. 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093; that they denote memory-truths, n. 6918; also sensuous truths, n. 9158; and that the sensuous is the ultimate of life with man, n. 4009, 5077, 5125, 5128, 5767, 5774, 6201, 6313, 7442, 7693, and is in fallacies, n. 5084, 5089, 6201, 6948, 6949, 7442)

[3] That “garments” denote truths, originates from the representatives in the other life, where angels and spirits appear clothed in garments according to the states of faith or of truth in which they are; and their garments vary according to the changes of this state. Those who are in genuine truth appear clothed in white garments, and those who are in truths derived from good in shining garments; but those who are solely in good, as are the angels of the inmost heaven, who are called celestial, appear without clothing. From this then it is that garments denote truths, and that by “garments” in the Word are signified truths, as can be seen from the passages before quoted, to which may be added the following from the Evangelists.

[4] In Matthew:

When Jesus was transfigured, His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as the light (Matthew 17:2);

by “the face” in the Word are signified the interiors, especially the affections (n. 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4797, 5102, 5695, 6604, 6848, 6849); and by “the face of God,” good itself (n. 222, 223, 5585); by “the sun” is signified the Divine love (n. 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321, 4696, 7083, 8644). From this it is evident what is signified by “the face of the Lord shining as the sun,” namely, that His interiors were the good of the Divine love. That “His garments became as the light” signifies the Divine truth proceeding from Him, which in heaven also appears as light (n. 1521, 1619-1632, 3195, 3222, 3485, 3636, 3643, 4415, 5400, 8644).

[5] Again:

When Jesus drew nigh unto Jerusalem they brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments, and set Him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; but others cut branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way (Matthew 21:1, 21:7-8);

to ride on an ass and her colt was a representative of the highest judge and king (see n. 2781), as is also evident from what goes before in verse 5: Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass and upon a colt, the son of a beast of burden (Matthew 21:5; see also Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40;John 12:12-15). In Zechariah 9:9it is said of the Lord that He “was riding upon an ass, even upon a young ass, the son of she-asses,” and He is there called a “King;” and it is added that “His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” That the highest judge rode upon a she-ass, and his sons upon young asses, may be seen inJudges 5:9-10; 10:3-4; 12:14; and that the king rode upon a she-mule, and the sons of the king upon mules, in 1 Kings 1:33, 1 Kings 1:38, 1 Kings 1:44-45, and in 2 Samuel 13:29.

[6] By the disciples putting their garments on the ass and her colt, was represented that truths in the whole complex were submitted to the Lord as the Highest Judge and King; for the disciples represented the church of the Lord in respect to its truths and goods (n. 2129, 3488, 3858, 6397), and their garments represented the truths themselves (n. 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093) The like was represented by the multitude strewing their garments in the way, and also branches of trees. The reason why they strewed them in the way was that by “a way” is signified the truth whereby the man of the church is led (n. 627, 2333, 3477). The reason why they strewed branches of trees, was that trees signified the perceptions and also the knowledges of truth and good (n. 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692), consequently “the branches” denote the truths themselves. This was done also in conformity with a customary rite; for when the highest judges and kings rode in their solemn procession, the princes of the people then put their garments on the asses and mules, and the people themselves strewed their garments on the way, or in their place the branches of trees; for the judicial function in heaven is the Divine truth from the Divine good, and the regal one is the Divine truth (n. 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148).

[7] In Luke:

No man addeth a piece of a new garment to an old garment; for so he rendeth the new, and the piece from the new doth not agree with the old (Luke 5:36).

The Lord used this similitude to describe the truth of the new church and the truth of the old church, for the “garment” denotes truth. To “sew” or “add” one to the other denotes to destroy both; for the truth of the new church is interior truth, thus is truth for the internal man; but the truth of the old church is exterior truth, thus is for the external man. In the latter truth was the Jewish Church, for by means of external things this church represented internal ones; whereas the church at this day is in the internal truths which had been represented; for the Lord revealed these truths. That these truths do not agree with external truths so as to be together with them, is signified by the above words of the Lord. From this also it is evident that a “garment” signifies the truth of the church.

[8] In John:

Jesus said unto Peter, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast a boy, thou girdedst thy loins, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hand, and another shall gird thy loins, and lead thee whither thou wouldest not (John 21:18);

he who does not know the internal sense of the Word, cannot know what these words involve. That they contain arcana is very evident. In the internal sense by “Peter” is signified the faith of the church (see the preface to Genesis 18 and 2 2760. 3750, 6000, 6073, 6344). Thus by “Peter when a boy” is signified the faith of the church such as it is in its beginning; and by “Peter when old,” the faith of the church such as it is at its end. From this it is evident what is signified by the words, “when thou wast a boy, thou girdedst thy loins, and walkedst whither thou wouldest,” namely, that the faith of the church in its beginning is the faith of truth from good, thus the faith of charity toward the neighbor and of love to the Lord, and that then the man of the church does good from freedom, because from the Lord; for “the loins” denote the goods of love (n. 3021, 3294, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062), consequently “to gird the loins” denotes to clothe good with truths; “walking” denotes living (n. 519, 1794, 8417, 8420); thus “walking whither one would” denotes living in freedom, for those live in freedom, or act from freedom, who are in faith from love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, because they are led by the the Lord, (n. 892, 905, 2870-2893, 6325, 9096). “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thy loins, and lead thee whither thou wouldest not,” signifies that at the end of the church there will be no faith, and then falsities of evil from the loves of self and the world will take its place, and will reduce it to bondage. This is the secret which lies hidden in these words of the Lord, and which can be seen only from their internal sense. From this it is again evident in what manner the Lord spoke, namely, that in every detail there was an internal sense, to the intent that by means of the Word heaven might be conjoined with the world; for without the Word there is no conjunction, that is, without revealed Divine truth; and if there is no conjunction, the human race perishes.

2180. And took a son of an ox tender and good. That this signifies the celestial natural which the rational associated to itself, in order that it might conjoin itself with the perception from the Divine, is evident from the signification in the Word of a “bullock” or “son of an ox,” as being natural good. And as the Lord’s rational is treated of, it is called “tender” from the celestial-spiritual, or the truth of good; and “good” from the celestial itself, or good itself. In the genuine rational there is the affection of truth and the affection of good; but its chief thing [primarium] is the affection of truth (as before shown, n. 2072). Hence it is first called “tender,” and yet is called both “tender and good,” according to the usual practice in the Word, to indicate the marriage of good and truth (spoken of above, n. 2173).

[2] That a “bullock,” or “son of an ox,” signifies the celestial natural, or what is the same, natural good, is especially evident from the sacrifices, which were the principal representatives of worship in the Hebrew Church, and afterwards in the Jewish. Their sacrifices were made either from the herd or from the flock, thus from animals of various kinds that were clean, such as oxen, bullocks, he-goats, sheep, rams, she-goats, kids, and lambs; besides turtledoves and young pigeons, all of which animals signified internal things of worship, that is, things celestial and spiritual (n. 2165, 2177); the animals taken from the herd signifying celestial natural things, and those from the flock celestial rational things; and as both the natural and the rational things are more and more interior, and are various, therefore so many kinds and species of those animals were made use of in the sacrifices; as is also evident from its being prescribed what animals should be offered-in the burnt-offerings; in the sacrifices of various kinds, as in those that were daily, those of the Sabbaths and festivals, those that were voluntary, those for thanksgiving and vows, those expiatory of guilt and sin, those of purifying and cleansing, and those of inauguration-and also from their being expressly named, and how many of them should be used in each kind of sacrifice; which would never have been done unless each had signified some special thing. This is very evident from those passages where the sacrifices are treated of (as Exodus 29; Leviticus 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, 23; Numbers 7, 8, 15, 29). But this is not the place to set forth what each one signified. The case is similar in the Prophets where these animals are named, and from them it is evident that “bullocks” signified celestial natural things.

[3] That no other than heavenly things were signified, is also evident from the cherubs seen by Ezekiel, and from the animals before the throne seen by John. Concerning the cherubs the Prophet says:

The likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and they four had the face of a lion on the right side, and they four had the face of an ox on the left side, and they four had the face of an eagle (Ezekiel 1:10).

Concerning the four animals before the throne John says:

Around the throne were four animals; the first animal was like a lion, the second animal like a young bullock, the third animal had a face like a man, the fourth animal was like a flying eagle; saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come (Revelation 4:6-8).

Everyone can see that holy things were represented by the cherubs and by these animals, and also by the oxen and young bullocks in the sacrifices. In like manner in the prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph:

Let it come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that was a Nazirite from his brethren. The firstling of his ox, honor is his; and his horns are the horns of the unicorn, with them he shall push the peoples together, to the ends of the earth (Deuteronomy 33:16-17).

None can understand these things unless it is known what an ox, a unicorn, horns, and other things signify in the internal sense.

[4] As regards sacrifices in general, they were indeed enjoined through Moses on the people of Israel, but the Most Ancient Church, that existed before the flood, knew nothing whatever about sacrifices; nor did it even come into their minds to worship the Lord by slaughtering animals. The Ancient Church, that existed after the flood, was likewise unacquainted with sacrifices. This church was indeed in representatives, but not in sacrifices. In fact sacrifices were first instituted in the following church, which was called the Hebrew Church, and from this spread to the nations, and from the same source they came to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thus to the descendants of Jacob. That the nations were in a worship of sacrifices, was shown above (n. 1343); and that so were Jacob’s posterity before they went out of Egypt, thus before sacrifices were commanded by Moses upon Mount Sinai, is evident from what is said in Exodus 5:3; 10:25, 27; 18:12; 24:4-5; and especially from their idolatrous worship before the golden calf.

[5] Thus described in Moses:

Aaron built an altar before the calf, and Aaron made proclamation and said, Tomorrow is the feast of Jehovah. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat, and to drink, and rose up to play (Exodus 32:5-6).

This was done while Moses was upon Mount Sinai, and thus before the command concerning the altar and the sacrifices came to them. The command came on this account-that the worship of sacrifices had become idolatrous with them, as it had with the gentiles, and from this worship they could not be withdrawn, because they regarded it as the chief holy thing. For what has once been implanted from infancy as holy, especially if by fathers, and thus inrooted, the Lord never breaks, but bends, unless it is contrary to order itself. This is the reason why it was directed that sacrifices should be instituted in the way described in the books of Moses.

[6] That sacrifices were by no means acceptable to Jehovah, thus were merely permitted and tolerated for the reason just stated, is very evident in the Prophets, as we read in Jeremiah:

Thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth the God of Israel, Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, and eat flesh. I spoke not unto your fathers, and I commanded them not in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offering and sacrifice; but this word I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God (Jeremiah 7:21-23).

In David:

O Jehovah, sacrifice and offering Thou hast not willed, burnt-offering and sin-offering Thou hast not required. I have desired to do Thy will, O my God (Psalms 40:6, 8).

In the same:

Thou delightest not in sacrifice, that I should give it; burnt-offering Thou dost not accept. The sacrifices of God are a broken ¹ spirit (Psalms 51:16-17).

In the same:

I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds; sacrifice to God confession (Psalms 50:9, 13-14; 107:21-22; 116:17; Deuteronomy 23:19).

In Hosea:

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings (Hos. 6:6).

Samuel said to Saul:

Hath Jehovah pleasure in burnt-offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to hearken than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).

In Micah:

Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself to the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to humble thyself in walking with thy God (Micah 6:6-8).

[7] From all this it is now evident that sacrifices were not commanded, but permitted; also that nothing else was regarded in the sacrifices than what is internal; and that it was the internal, not the external, that was acceptable. On this account also, the Lord abrogated them, as was likewise foretold by Daniel in these words:

In the midst of the week shall He cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (Daniel 9:27),

where the Lord’s advent is treated of. (See what is said concerning sacrifices in volume 1, n. 922-923, 1128, 1823.) As regards the “son of an ox” which Abraham “made” or prepared for the three men, the case is the same as with that animal in the sacrifices. That it had a like signification is evident also from his telling Sarah to take three measures of fine flour. Concerning the fine flour to a bullock, we read in Moses:

When ye be come into the land; when thou shalt make a son of an ox a burnt-offering or a sacrifice, in pronouncing publicly a vow, or peace-offerings unto Jehovah, thou shalt offer upon the son of an ox a meat offering of three tenths of fine flour, mingled with oil (Numbers 15:8-9), where it is in like manner “three,” here “three tenths,” and above, “three measures;” but to a ram there were to be only two tenths, and to a lamb one tenth (Numbers 15:4-6).

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