6766. 'And he said, Who set you up as a man-prince and a judge over us?' means a perception that he was not yet so advanced into the truths of the Church ¹ that he could settle disagreements within the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'he said' as a perception, dealt with often; from the meaning of 'a man-prince' as one who has a command of primary truths, thus who is more enlightened than others in teachings about the truth (for that is what was meant in the representative Church by 'a prince') and therefore 'who set you up as a man-prince?' means that he was not yet so advanced into the truths of the Church (for the meaning of 'prince' as those who have a command of primary truths, see 5044); and from the meaning of 'a judge' as one who settles disputes or disagreements. Here they are disagreements within the Church because it is a quarrel between 'two Hebrew men', by whom those belonging to the Church are meant.

[2] In the highest sense the subject has been the beginnings of the law of God within the Lord's Human; and now it is the development of that law. But in the internal sense the subject here is the development of Divine Truth as it exists with the person who is being regenerated. Its development is such that at first the person can distinguish falsity from truth, for the truth he has enables him to see falsity since it is the opposite of the truth. But he cannot at that early stage settle between one truth of faith and another within the Church. To be able to do this he must make further advances; for a person's enlightenment increases gradually. This is clearly recognizable from those who are in adolescent years and at the start of manhood. They think that the teachings of their Church are the absolute truth, and these they use to distinguish falsities. But they are not yet able to reconcile matters of faith within the Church when these disagree with one another; that ability comes in a sequence of stages. This being so, the person to whom that ability can be given must also be someone who is rather more mature in years, someone in whom the more internal levels of the understanding have been enlightened.

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5198. 'Seven cows were coming up' means the truths belonging to the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'cows' as the truths belonging to the natural, dealt with below. The reason there were seven is that 'seven' means that which is holy, 395, 433, 716, and therefore this number contributes to any matter under consideration the idea of holiness, dealt with in 881. The matter under consideration here is likewise of a holy nature since it concerns a further rebirth of the natural through the joining of this to the celestial of the spiritual. As regards 'cows' or 'young cows' meaning the truths belonging to the natural, this becomes clear from the fact that 'bulls' and 'young bulls' mean forms of good belonging to the natural, 2180, 2566, 2781, 2830. For in the Word, when a male means good, its female means truth, and conversely when the male means truth its female means good, so that 'a cow' means some truth belonging to the natural, because 'a bull' means some form of good belonging to it.

[2] All beasts without exception that are mentioned in the Word mean affections, evil and useless beasts meaning evil affections, gentle and useful ones meaning good affections, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 1823, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519. The reason why they have such a meaning lies in the representations that occur in the world of spirits, for whenever a discussion about affections is taking place in heaven, beasts corresponding to affections of the kind under discussion are represented in the world of spirits, as I have also been allowed quite often to see. On several occasions I have wondered about the origin of that phenomenon, but have been led to perceive that the lives led by beasts are nothing else than affections; for they respond instinctively, devoid of reason, to their innate affections and are led by these to fulfill their specific functions. No other physical forms are suited to these affections devoid of reason than the kinds in which they are seen on earth. This explains why, when the discussion in heaven is about affections alone, the ultimate forms that those affections take in the world of spirits are the same in appearance as the physical forms of such beasts; for those affections cannot be clothed with any other forms than ones such as correspond to them. I have also seen beasts, the like of which do not appear anywhere at all in the natural world. They were the forms taken by affections that are not known and by affections that are mingled together.

[3] Here then is the reason why in the Word affections are meant by 'beasts', though which particular affections are meant cannot be seen from anywhere else than the internal sense. 'Bulls' means the good belonging to the natural, as may be seen in the paragraphs listed above; and as for the meaning of 'cows' as the truths belonging to the natural, this becomes clear from other places where they are referred to, such as Isaiah 11:7; Hosea 4:16; Amos 4:1, as well as from the reference in Numbers 19:2-10 to the water of separation by which they were to be made clean and which was prepared from the red cow burned to ashes outside the camp, with which cedar wood was mixed, hyssop, and twice-dyed scarlet. When the meaning of this procedure is disclosed with the help of the internal sense, it shows that 'the red cow', meaning unclean truth within the natural, is made clean by 'burning', and also by the kinds of things meant by 'cedar wood, hyssop, and twice-dyed scarlet'. The water prepared by that process represented the means of purification.