10023. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock. That this signifies a representative of the reception of good and truth in the natural or external man, is evident from the signification of “laying on hands,” as being to communicate that which is one’s own to another; that it also denotes reception is because that which is communicated is received by the other; from the signification of “the head,” as being the whole (see n. 10011); and from the signification of “the bullock,” as being the good of innocence and of charity in the external or natural man (on which see n. 9391, 10021). That by “laying on the hand” is signified communication and reception, is because by “the hand” is signified power, and as this is the activity of life, by “the hand” is also signified whatever pertains to man, thus the whole man insofar as he is acting (see the places cited in n. 10019); and by the “laying on” is signified communication in respect to him who lays on, and reception in respect to him, or to that, on which it is laid. From this is plain what was signified by the laying on of the hand among the ancients, namely, the communication and transfer of that which was being dealt with, and also its reception by another, whether it was power, or obedience, or blessing, or testification.

[2] That by the “laying on of the hand” was signified power, is evident from the following passages in Moses:

Jehovah said unto Moses, that he should lay his hand upon Joshua, and should set him in the presence of Eleazar the priest before the whole assembly, and thus should give of his glory upon him, and all the assembly should obey him (Numbers 27:18-20).

That by “to lay on the hand” is here signified the communication and transfer of the power which Moses had, and its reception by Joshua, is plain; and hence it is said that “thus he should give of his glory upon him.”

[3] In the same:

When the Levites were purified, and the ministry of the priesthood under Aaron was committed to them, it was commanded that two bullocks should be brought with a meat-offering, and that Aaron should bring the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel should lay their hands upon the Levites, and the Levites should lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks, one of which was to be offered for a sacrifice, the other for a burnt-offering; and in this way they were to separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they should be Jehovah’s (Numbers 8:7-14).

That the sons of Israel were “to lay their hands upon the Levites” signified the transfer of the power of ministering for them, and its reception by the Levites, thus separation; and by the Levites “laying hands upon the head of the bullocks” was signified the transfer of this power to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord. Therefore it is said that in this way they should be “separated from the midst of the sons of Israel, and should be Jehovah’s.”

[4] In the same:

After the sons of Israel had confessed their sins, then Aaron was to lay both his hands upon the head of the living goat Asasel, and was to confess over him all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their sins, and was to put them upon the head of the goat, and send him into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:21).

That “the laying on of the hands upon the goat” signified the communication and transfer of all the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel, and their reception by the goat, is plain; “the wilderness whither the goat was to be sent” denotes hell. That the witnesses and all who heard were “to lay their hands upon him who was to be stoned” (Leviticus 24:14), signified testification so communicated and transferred, which being received, the man was adjudged to death.

[5] In the same:

The man who bringeth from the herd or from the flock a burnt-offering for a gift to Jehovah shall lay the hand on the head of the burnt-offering; then it shall be received from him with good pleasure, to expiate him (Leviticus 1:2-4).

In like manner “upon the head of the gift that was for sacrifice” (Leviticus 3:1-2, 8, 13). In like manner was “the priest to do if he sinned,” in like manner the elders, in like manner the whole congregation. Also the chief if he sinned. And in like manner every soul that sinned. (Leviticus 4:4, 15, 24, 29). By the laying on of their hand upon the burnt-offering and upon the sacrifice was signified all the worship of him who offered, namely, the acknowledgment of sins, confession, the consequent purification, the implantation of good and truth, thus conjunction with the Lord, all of which were effected by communication, transfer, and reception. By transfer and reception is meant that which is signified by “bearing iniquities” (n. 9937, 9938).

[6] As communications, transfers, and receptions were signified by the laying on of hands, it may be known what is signified by the “laying on of hands” in Matthew:

The chief came to Jesus and said, My daughter is even now dead, but come and lay Thy hand upon her, then she shall live. Jesus entered in, and took her hand, and the girl arose (Matthew 9:18-19, 25).

Jesus laid His hand upon the eyes of the blind man, and he was restored (Mark 8:25).

They bring unto Jesus one that was deaf, that He should lay His hand on him; and He, taking him from the people, put His finger into his ears, and touched his tongue, and his hearings were opened (Mark 7:32-33, 35).

A woman was bowed down with a spirit of infirmity, and Jesus laid hands on her, and healed her (Luke 13:11, 13).

Jesus laid hands on the sick, and healed them (Mark 6:5).

[7] By the “laying on of the hand” by the Lord, and also by His “touching,” is here signified the communication and reception of Divine power, as is clearly manifest in Mark:

A certain woman came behind, and touched the garment of Jesus, saying, If I touch but His garment, I shall be healed; and immediately she was healed of the plague and Jesus knew in Himself that power was gone forth from Him (Mark 5:27-30).

A woman touching the garment of Jesus was healed; and Jesus said, Some one hath touched Me; for I knew that power had gone forth from Me (Luke 8:44, 46).

The whole crowd sought to touch Jesus, because power went forth from Him, and healed all (Luke 6:19).

[8] From this is plain what is signified by “touching with the hand” or “finger;” and also what in the same:

Jesus came nigh and touched the bier in which the dead man was, and the bearers stood still. Then He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak (Luke 7:14-15).

And what by the “laying on of the hand upon children” and “upon babes”—“upon children,” in Matthew:

There were brought unto Jesus children, that He should lay His hands upon them. Jesus said, Suffer the children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of the heavens. And He laid His hands on them (Matthew 19:13-15);

and “upon babes,” in Mark:

Jesus took babes upon His arms, and put His hands upon them, and blessed them (Mark 10:16).

By the “laying on of the hand upon children” and “upon babes” is here also signified the communication and reception of Divine power, through which is the healing of the interiors, which is salvation.

[9] That such things are signified by “touching,” which is done with the hands, has its origin from the representatives in the other life, where they who are in an unlike state of life appear removed to a distance, but they who are in a like state appear consociated; and in that life those who touch each other communicate the state of their life to each other. If this is done by the hands, everything of the life is communicated, because by the hands, as above said, from the correspondence, is signified power, which is the active of life; thus whatever pertains to anyone. Such representatives come forth in the world of spirits, but they are effected by influx from heaven, where there are perceived nothing but consociations in respect to the affections of good and truth.

10019. And thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons. That this signifies inauguration to represent the Divine power of the Lord through Divine truth from Divine good, is evident from the signification of “filling the hand,” as being to inaugurate to represent the Lord as to Divine truth from Divine good, and as to the power thence derived. There were two things by which inauguration into the priesthood was effected-anointing, and filling the hand; by anointing was effected inauguration to represent the Lord as to Divine good, for the oil by which the anointing was done signifies the good of love (see n. 10011); and by filling the hand was effected inauguration to represent the Lord as to Divine truth from Divine good, thus as to power. For by the “hand” is signified power (n. 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8069, 8153); and “hand” is predicated of the truth which is from good (n. 3091, 3563, 4931, 8281, 9025), because all power is of truth from good (n. 5623, 6344, 6423, 6948, 8200, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643). And as the head and the whole body exercise their power by the hands, and power is the activity of life with man, therefore by “hand” is also signified whatever pertains to man, thus the man himself insofar as his action is concerned (n. 9133); from all which it can be seen what is signified by “filling the hand.” (That the Lord alone has all power, and that an angel, spirit, or man has none at all, save what is from the Lord, see n. 8200, 8281, 9327, 9410, 9639.) That by these two things-anointing and the filling of the hand-inauguration into the priesthood was effected, was because all things whatsoever that are and come forth in the heavens and on earth, bear relation to good and to truth.

[2] How the filling of the hand was effected is described in this chapter (verses 9 to 36), and also in Leviticus (8:22 to the end). It was effected by means of the second ram, which is therefore called “the ram of fillings.” The process of filling was that the ram should be slain, that some of his blood should be put upon the earlap of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, of Aaron and his sons; that some of the blood from the altar, and of the oil of anointing, should be sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons, and upon their garments; that the fat, the tail, the fat upon the intestines, the caul of the liver, the kidneys and their fat, and the right shoulder, of that ram; also the bread, the cakes, and the wafers of unleavened things from the basket; should be put upon the palms of Aaron and his sons, and should be waved, and afterward be burnt upon the burnt-offering of the first ram; that the breast after it was waved, and the left shoulder, should be for Aaron and his sons, and the flesh cooked in a holy place and the bread remaining in the basket, should be eaten by them at the door of the Tent of meeting. This was the process of filling the hands; but what the particulars signified will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be told in what follows.

[3] The Divine power of the Lord, which was represented by the filling of the hands of Aaron and his sons, is the Divine power of saving the human race; and the power of saving the human race is power over the heavens and over the hells. For man is saved by this power of the Lord, and not by any other; because all the good which is of love, and all the truth which is of faith, flow in through the heavens from the Lord, and they cannot flow in unless the hells are removed, for all evil, and from this all falsity, are from the hells. Man is saved by the removal of the evils and the derivative falsities that are from the hells, and by the influx then of the good of love and of the truth of faith through heaven from the Lord. (That when the Lord was in the world He subjugated the hells, and reduced the heavens into order, and acquired to Himself Divine power over them, see n. 9486, 9715, 9809, 9937, and the places cited in n. 9528.) This power of the Lord is what was represented by the filling of the hands of the priests; for by the “priesthood” was signified all the work of the Lord’s salvation (n. 9809).

[4] That the Lord has this power He Himself teaches in plain words in Matthew:

All power has been given to Me in the heavens and on earth (Matthew 28:15).

Jesus said to the seventy who said that the demons were obedient to them, Behold I give you power to tread upon serpents and upon scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; that nothing at all shall harm you. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father (Luke 10:19, 10:22).

By these words is described the power of the Lord over the hells; “demons” denote those who are in the hells; “serpents and scorpions” denote evils and the falsities of evil; “to tread upon them” denotes to destroy these evils and falsities; the hells are also meant by “the enemy over which they were to have power.”

[5] That the Lord acquired this power when He was in the world, is evident in Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, marching in the multitude of his strength, great to save? Mine own arm performed salvation to Me; therefore He became their Savior (Isaiah 63:1, 5 (Isaiah 63:5), 8).

That these things are said of the Lord, is known in the church. In like manner those said elsewhere in the same prophet:

His own arm performed salvation to Him, and His righteousness uplifted Him. Therefore He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; and the Redeemer came to Zion (Isaiah 59:16-21).

The saying of Jehovah unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a stool for Thy feet. Jehovah shall send forth the scepter of Thy strength out of Zion; rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies; the Lord is at Thy right hand (Psalms 110). (Psalms 110:5)

That these things are said of the Lord, He Himself teaches in Matthew 22:43. His dominion over the hells is described by “sitting at the right hand;” for by “the right hand” is signified the power possessed by Divine truth from Divine good. The hells and the evils and falsities therefrom are the “enemies who were to be made a stool for His feet,” and also the “enemies in the midst of whom He was to rule.”

[6] That the “right hand of Jehovah” denotes Divine power, is evident from many passages in the Word; as in Moses:

Thy right hand, O Jehovah, is become great in power; Thy right hand, O Jehovah, breaketh in pieces the enemy (Exodus 15:6).

O God, Thou givest me the shield of salvation, and Thy right hand holdeth me up (Psalms 18:35).

Their arm did not save them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy faces (Psalms 44:3);

it is said “Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy faces,” because the “right hand” denotes power, the “arm” denotes strength, and the “light of the faces” denotes Divine truth from Divine good. (That the “arm” denotes strength, see n. 4932, 4934, 4935, 7205; that “light” denotes Divine truth, n. 9548, 9684; and that “the faces of Jehovah” denote Divine good, n. 222, 5585, 9306) Again:

O God, Thy right hand upholdeth me (Psalms 63:8).

O Jehovah, Thou hast an arm with might; strong is Thy hand, exalted shall be Thy right hand (Psalms 89:13).

Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, by the arm of His strength (Isaiah 62:8).

O Jehovah, let Thy hand be for the man of Thy right hand, for the son of man Thou hast made strong for Thyself; then will we not go back from Thee (Psalms 80:17-18).

[7] From all this it can now be seen what is meant by the words of the Lord in Matthew:

Jesus said, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power (Matthew 26:64).

Henceforth shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to Divine truth, see in n. 9807; and that “the right hand” denotes Divine power, is evident from what has now been shown; therefore also it is called “the right hand of power,” and “the right hand of might.” From all this it is now evident what was represented by the anointing of Aaron and of his sons, and what by the filling of their hands; namely, by the anointing, the Divine good of the Divine love in the Lord (see n. 9954 end); and by the filling of their hands, the Divine truth and the Divine power thence derived. That Divine good has all power through Divine truth, and that the Lord alone has this power, may be seen in the passages cited above; therefore also in the Word of the Old Testament the Lord is called “Hero,” a “Man of War,” and also “Jehovah Zebaoth,” or “of armies.”