8464. 'It is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat' means that this is the good that will become their own and constitute their life, in the highest sense that this is the Lord within you. This is clear from the meaning of 'bread' as celestial and spiritual good, and in the highest sense as the Lord, dealt with in 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, at this point spiritual good, that is, good as it exists with a member of the spiritual Church, which is the good of truth, dealt with just above in 8458. Since that bread was the manna it follows that this good is meant by 'the manna'. This is also made plain by the description of it in verse 31 of the present chapter, which says 'it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like that of a cake with honey', as well as from the description of it in Numbers 11,

The man[na] was like coriander seed, and its appearance like the appearance of bdellium. They ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and cooked it in a pan, and made cakes out of it; and its taste was like the taste of fresh oil. ¹ Numbers 11:7-8.

From the details given here it is evident that 'manna' in the spiritual sense means the good of truth, that is, good as it exists with the spiritual Church. They also explain why it is called 'the grain of the heavens' in David,

He commanded the skies from above, and threw open the doors of the heavens. And He caused man[na] to rain down onto them, and gave them the grain of the heavens. Psalms 78:23-24.

'The grain' is the good of truth, see 5295, 5410. 'Manna' again stands for the good of truth, which is given to those who undergo temptations and overcome in them, in John,

He who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white pebble. Revelation 2:17.

The fact that 'manna' in the highest sense is the Lord within us is clear from actual words used by the Lord in John,

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that anyone eating of it may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. John 6:49-51, 58.

From these words it is clearly evident that 'the manna' in the highest sense means the Lord. The reason why is that 'manna' is the good of truth; but all good comes from the Lord, so that the Lord is within good and is Himself that good.

As regards that good, that this will become their own and constitute their life, this is meant by 'eating', 3168, 3513, 3596, 4745; for good which comes from the Lord brings the life of heaven to a person, and from then on nourishes and sustains it.

Poznámky pod čarou:

8458. 'A tiny round thing' means the good of truth in its initial form. This is clear from the meaning of 'tiny' as a word having reference to truth; and from the meaning of 'round' as a word having reference to good. Consequently 'a tiny round thing' has reference to the good of truth. The expression 'good of truth' describes good as it exists with a member of the spiritual Church; such good not only begins in truth, but also is in essence truth. One sees it as truth, but one feels it as good; that being so, as truth it forms the understanding part of the mind, and as good it forms the new will part. For a person's understanding is distinguishable from the will in that the understanding presents things to itself in mental pictures, in order that it may see them as in light, whereas the will forms an affection for them, in order that it may simultaneously feel them as a delight, thus as good, doing so in conformity with the kind of picture that has been formed.

The use of 'tiny' to refer to truth and of 'round' to refer to good may be traced back to the visual presentations of truth and good that are made in the next life. When any truth or good is presented visually, which is done in the next life in a way clearly perceptible to the eyes of spirits and angels, truth is presented in a definite quantity, thus as something large or something tiny, depending on the nature of the truth. Truth is in addition presented as something angular-shaped; it is also presented as something white. But good there is presented in an indefinite quantity, thus not as something large or something tiny. Good is also presented as something rounded, as a shape that is uninterrupted, and in respect of colour as something blue, yellow, or red. Good and truth assume these different appearances when they are presented visually because each is different as to its essential nature; when the nature of either is made visual, they express and represent themselves in a natural form such as has just been described. So it is that things which in the world resemble such forms mean either truth or good; for nothing exists in creation that is unrelated, so far as its essential nature is concerned, either to good or to truth.