8141. Verses 5-9 And it was pointed out to the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have sent Israel away from serving us? And he harnessed his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt; and there were tertiary commanders over them all. ¹ And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with a lofty hand. And the Egyptians pursued them; and they overtook them encamping close to the sea - all Pharaoh's chariot-horses, and his horsemen, and his army [did so], close to Pi Hahiroth before Baal Zephon.

'And it was pointed out to the king of Egypt that the people had fled' means the thought of those steeped in utter falsities arising from evil, that they had become entirely separated. 'And the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people' means a change of state, a change to evil within those steeped in falsities arising from evil. 'And they said, What is this we have done' means [self-]reproach. 'That we have sent Israel away from serving us?' means that they had left them alone and not brought them under their control. 'And he harnessed his chariot' means doctrine championing falsity that belongs to separated faith in general. 'And took his people with him' means together with each and every falsity. 'And he took six hundred chosen chariots' means each and every doctrinal teaching that upholds falsity belonging to separated faith, in their own order. 'And all the chariots of Egypt' means also doctrinal teachings upholding falsity that were subservient to these. 'And there were tertiary commanders over them all' means having been arranged into order under general headings. 'And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt' means obstinate opposition from the falsity that arose from evil. 'And he pursued the children of Israel' means the attempt to bring under his control those governed by faith bonded to charity. 'And the children of Israel went out with a lofty hand' means although they had been rescued by God's power from their attempt to bring them under their control. 'And the Egyptians pursued them' means action resulting from the attempt of those steeped in falsities arising from evil to bring them under their control. 'And they overtook them encamping close to the sea' means communication around the region of hell where falsities arising from evil are present. 'All Pharaoh's chariot-horses, and his horsemen, and his army' means everything composing the falsity belonging to a perverted understanding. 'Close to Pi Hahiroth before Baal Zephon' means the source of communication, and from this the beginning of the state for undergoing temptations.

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7542. 'Onto your heart' means into what is inmost. This is clear from the meaning of 'heart' as that which belongs to a person's will, thus to his love, dealt with in 2930, 3317, 3888, 3889, consequently what is central to the actual life within him; for his love, belonging intrinsically to his will, constitutes that life within him. This is why 'heart' means what is inmost. What is inmost in the case of the good is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, whereas what is inmost in the case of the evil is self-love and love of the world. The latter is what is meant here; and what is around it, constituting so to speak the surrounding parts, are the evils and falsities that lend support, arranged into order according to the ways in which they support it. In the next life they are brought out into the open in the order in which they have been arranged. First to come forth are those that occupy the outermost surrounding parts, then those that lie further in; and finally what is inmost is revealed. So it is that a person in the next life passes through a large number of states, and that the evil are afflicted in successive stages by scourges or plagues before they are cast into hell, as accords with what has been stated immediately above. What is inmost, which they come to last of all, is hell itself residing with them, for it is the evil that had been central to their love, and so the end which they held in view in everything they did and which in the world they had kept deeply hidden within them.