THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 17

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

Verse 1. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city, etc. - By "Aram" or Syria [of which Damascus was the capital], are signified the knowledges of Good. The same appears also from Ezekiel:

"Aram was your merchant, in the multitude of your works: they occupied in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate"; (Ezekiel 27:16) speaking of "Tyre", or the possession of knowledges; where "works, emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate", signify nothing else but the knowledges of Good. So in Hosea:

"Jacob fled into the country of Aram and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep; and by a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved; Ephraim provoked Him to anger with bitterness"; (Hosea 12:12-14),

where "Jacob" signifies the external church, and "Israel" the spiritual internal church; "Aram" denotes the knowledges of Good; "Egypt" denotes perverted science; and "Ephraim", perverted intelligence; - the signification of which names could never appear from the literal sense, but only from the internal sense, in which names signify things relating to the church, as has been already observed.

So in Isaiah :

"Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins: and the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram [or Syria] shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel"; (Isaiah 17:1, 3),

where the "remnant of Aram" signifies the knowledges of Good, which are called "the glory of the sons of Israel"; "Aram", or Syria, signifies also, in an opposite sense, the knowledges of Good perverted, according to what is usual in the Word, where the same expression is frequently applied in a two-fold signification.

That "Aram" is thus used in the opposite sense, may be seen in Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5. Arcana Coelestia 1232.

See above, as to "Syria", Isaiah 7:4, the Exposition.

How important it is to acquire the knowledges of Truth and Good [signified by "Syria" from the Word, may appear from the following considerations:

That by truths cometh love to the Lord,

- by truths we receive love to our neighbour,

- by truths we have heavenly intelligence and wisdom,

- by truths regeneration is effected,

- by truths man has power against evils and falsities, and consequently against hell,

- by truths there is purification from evils and falsities,

- by truths the church exists;

- by truths heaven exists;

- by truths is the innocence of wisdom;

- by truths a man has conscience;

- by truths order is established;

- by truths cometh the beauty of angels, and also of men with respect to the interiors of their spirits,

- and that by virtue of truths man is a man.

But by all this is meant truths grounded in good, and not by truths without good, and by good from the Lord. Hence everyone can see the great importance of acquiring the knowledges of Truth and Goodness. Apocalypse Revealed 161.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Verse 2. [" Aroer" was the plain of Syria, and its "cities" or towns, as subordinate to Damascus, signified various doctrinals of Truth and Goodness, which when thus "deserted and devastated", become the possession of those who can make a proper use of them, denoted by "the flocks that shall lie down, and by none making them afraid", of whom, as the "remnant of Syria", (verse 3.) a New Church can be formed. It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted this verse. See above, Chapter 5:17, note, where a similar passage occurs. The "glory of the sons of Israel", are the knowledges of Truth and Good applied to the life for the purposes of salvation.]

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

Verse 3. As to the meaning of "Ephraim", see above, Chapter 7:2, the Exposition.

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

Verse 4. To be "made thin" or slender, is to be deprived of the truths of faith; "the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean", signifies to be deprived of the good of charity. Arcana Coelestia 5200, 5204. b

[As to the theological leanness which prevails in the church at this day, from the want of the knowledges of Truth, see True Christian Religion 391.]

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Verses 5, 6, 11. The subject treated of in this chapter is concerning the knowledges of Truth and Good appertaining to the church, has being destroyed. Those knowledges are siguified by "Damascus", which is here treated of, and by Aroer"; their being destroyed is described by gleanings being left in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [orJ three berrles on the head of the uppermost bough, four [orJ five on the fruitful branches; likewise by "the harvest being a heap in the day of possession", namely, that there shall be no more than one heap, wherefore it is also called "desperate sorrow." Hence it is evident that by "harvest" is here signified the last state of the church; that state is also signified by "morning", for when the last state of the church is at hand, it is then morning to those who will be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the Old; that this is here understood by "morning", appears from the last verse of the chapter, where it is said "At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it [terror] is no more." (Isaiah 17:14) "Terror" signifies destruction. Apocalypse Explained 911.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

Verse 6. The devastation of the church is here treated of and this is said of the remaining few who are in Good and Truth. A comparison is made with "the shaking of the olive-tree", because by the "olive-tree" is signified the church as to the good of love and its "branches" the truths thence derived. "Two, three" signify the few 'who are in good, and thence in truths; "two" signify good, and "three" truths; and "four, five" signify the few who are in good; "four" those who are in good, and "five" a few; and because "four, five" signify the few who are in good, therefore it is said "Four, five on the fruitful branches"; for the "fruit-bearing olive-tree" signifies those in the church who are in good as to life. As these things are signified by those numbers, therefore it is said "two, three" and "four, five", and not "two and three" and "four and five." Apocalypse Explained 332. -

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verses 7, 8. 10. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. That they shall then be led into goods of life, and informed in truths of doctrine, is understood by "a man in that day having regard to his; Maker, and his eyes looking towards the Holy One of Israel"; the Lord is called "Maker", by reason that He leads into goods of life, for these make a man: and He is called the "Holy One of Israel", by reason that He teaches truths of doctrine, wherefore it is also said- "In that day shall a man regard his Maker, and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel"; man being called "man" [homo] , from the good of life, and "eyes" being predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That in such a case there will be no worship from self-love, in which evils of life originate, nor from self-derived intelligence, in which originate falsos of doctrine, is understood by his "not having regard to the altars, the work of his hands, and not having respect to what his fingers have made." By "the altars, the work of his hands", is understood worship grounded in self-love, from which evils of life are derived; and by "what his fingers have made", is understood worship grounded in self-derived intelligence, from which are derived falsities of doctrine; by "the groves and solar statues of the groves" is signiiled the religious principle grounded in falsities and thence in evils; by "groves", the religious principle grounded in falsities, and by "solar statues", such as is grounded in the evils of the false. Apocalypse Explained 391.

Hence by these words is understood that the all of doctrine should be from the Lord, and not from the proprium of man, which is the case when a man is in the spiritual affection of Truth, that is, when he loves Truth itself, because it is Truth, and not principally because thereby he can acquire fame and a name. Apocalypse Explained 585.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

Verse 10. The Rock of your strength, etc. - See above, Chapter 16:1, the Exposition.

Verses 10, 11. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and set stranqe slips, etc. That to "sow" the land or the field, signifies, in the Word, to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith, which are of the church; and that the "increase of the field" are the goods and truths thence derived, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 17:10, 11; here such things as grow upon the earth are mentioned, and that the things of the church are understood thereby is evident, namely.by "planting plants of delights", as said of those who have " forgotten, the God of their salvation", are understood such things as favour the affections [of the merely natural man]; and that by "setting the earth with strange slips", is to teach truths which are not genuine, [the end of which will, be "desperate sorrow."] Arcana Coelestia 9272.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

Verse 12. Woe to the tumult, etc. - As to "what is meant by the denunciation "Woe!" see above, Chapter 1:4, the Exposition.

[" The tumult of many peoples, the noise of the seas, and the roaring of the nations", etc., signify, by correspondence, the tumultuous collisions and reasonings which take place at the time of judgment, when the external or natural mind is laid open, and its falsities and evils exposed and dispersed, as "chaff and stubble", by the power of divine Truth. See Apocalypse Explained 706.]

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

Verse 13. And they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind. - In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world, there exist strong winds and storms; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine [Principle] into the lower parts of that world, where they are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends -out of the heavens towards the earths, which are below, becomes more dense, and appears as clouds, and with the evil, dense and opaque, according to the quantity and quality of their evil; these clouds are appearances of the false from evil, arising from the spheres of their life; every angel and spirit being encompassed by such a sphere. When therefore the Divine [Principle] is sent forth powerfully from the Lord as a sun, and flows in into these dense and opaque clouds, there arises a storm, which is perceived by the spirits there, in like manner as storms are perceived by men in the world. It has been given me sometimes to perceive these storms, and also the "east wind", by which the evil were dissipated and cast into the hells, when the last Judgment was performed. From these considerations it may appear what "storms", "tempests", and "impetuous winds" signify in the following passages. Thus in Isaiah :

"You shalt disperse them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall dissipate them." (Isaiah 41:16)

And in Jeremiah:

"From the storm of Jehovah anger went forth, and a whirlwind threatening to rush in; upon the head of the wicked it shall rush." (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23)

And in David:

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalmlv. 8.) Apocalypse Explained 419.

Like the chaff and the stubble, etc. - "Wheat" denotes the goods of love and charity; "chaff" signifies what contains nothing of good.. Arcana Coelestia 3941.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

Verse 14. "Evening" signifies the last time of the church, when there is nothing but evils and falsities, which are called "terror", because they are hell; but the "morning " signifies the first time of the church, when evils and falsities are not; wherefore it is said, "Before the morning, terror is no more." Apocalypse Explained 677.

5. And the throne shall be established in mercy: and in truth shall He sit thereon, in the tabernacle of David, a Judge, searching out judgment, and despatching justice.

Verse 5. These things are said of the Lord. Heaven, which was established by Him, and the church thence derived, are signified by "the throne established in mercy"; that the Lord there reigns by Divine Truth from Divine Good, is signified by " sitting upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David"; by "David" is meant the Lord as to His royalty, which is Divine Truth; find by his "tabernacle" is signified the Divine Good; by "judgment" is signified the truth of doctrine, because all judgment is from that truth; and by "justice" is signified the good of love, both from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church. Apocalypse Explained 799.

6. We have heard of the pride of Moab: he is very proud; of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger: vain are his lies.

Verse 6. By "pride" is understood the love of self, and the love and faith of what is false with those who are of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653, 675.

Vain are his lies. - "Lies" are the falsities of faith, because "Moab" signifies those who are in the evil of self-love, and who thence falsify Truths. Arcana Coelestia 8908.

7. Therefore shall Moab howl; for Moab shall everyone howl: for the foundations of Kir-hare-seth shall you moan; surely they are stricken.

8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered; [as to] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have broken down the branches thereof; they reached unto Jazer; they strayed through the desert; her branches are plucked up; they passed over the sea.

Verses 7-9. For Moab shall everyone howl; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall you make a moan, etc. - Very many of the prophecies, as the above, are of such a nature that, if they had not an internal sense, they would be of no use; whereas it is necessary that, as the Word is divine, it should contain within itself the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is about to come. Arcana Coelestia 2608.

9. Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh! for upon your summer fruits, and upon your vintage, the shout [of war] has fallen.

Verse 9. By "harvest" here also is signified the last state of the church, for by "shouting" is signified the end, when upon finishing the vintage and gathering in the harvest, they were wont to triumph and make a shouting, but in the present case to lament, because it is said "it has fallen." By "Jazer", the "vine of Sibmah", and by "Heshbon and Elealeh", are signified the men of the external church, who explain the Word to favour the loves of the world, for those places were given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, by whom, inasmuch as they dwelt on the outside of Jordan, the external church was represented; the "vine of Sibmah" signifies their church; their destruction, when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment, is also described in this chapter. Apocalypse Explained 911.

10. And joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel; and in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not shout: in the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine; I have made the shouting to cease.

11. Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound; and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.

Verse 10. In these words is described the taking away of celestial delight originating in Good, and the truths thence derived, in consequence of the deprivation of genuine Good and Truth. The Good of the church is understood by "Carmel", · and the Truth thence derived by "vineyards", and by the "treading of the wine in the wine-press"; the delights thereof, which are taken away, are signified by "joy, exultation, singing, and vintage-shouting"; for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grapes were trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights derived from truths, which were signified by ", vine." Apocalypse Explained 376. See also Arcana Coelestia 1071; Apocalypse Revealed 316.

12. And it shall be, when Moab shall see that he has wearied himself out on the high place, that he shall enter his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13. This is the Word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab at that time :

Verse 12. He shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevail. - [These words imply that those represented by Moab who, at the period of Judgment, are in external worship without an internal principle of love to the Lord and their neighbour, will have recourse to their "sanctuary", or to externals of worship, in order to avoid the impending destruction, but "will not prevail"; as all prayers and all external acts of worship and piety, which have not an internal principle, will be of no avail to salvation. See below, Chapter 18:7, the Exposition, where the true nature of Saving Worship and Piety are shown; see also above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

14. But now has Jehovah spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be reviled, in all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength.

Verse 14. By "Moab" are here understood those who are in falsities from evil; by his" glory", and by his "great multitude", are understood those falsities; by "the three years after which his glory shall be reviled", is signified what is complete and consummated; wherefore it is said that "the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength", by which is signified that it shall be no more. "Three years" are mentioned, whereby is understood consummation, thus, from beginning to end. It is to be observed that the same is signified by "three years" as by "three months, "three weeks, "three days", and "three hours", inasmuch as "times", in the spiritual sense, signify states, and "three times", whether greater or less, a full state. Apocalypse Explained 532.

Of a hireling. - They who learn and imbibe truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, or from any other sources whatsoever, even from themselves by conclusions, for the sake of gain, that is, that they may gain honours or wealth, or likewise, that they may merit heaven, - these are they who, in the internal sense, are meant by "hirelings." To the man of the church, gains ought to be in the last place, not in the first; when they are in the last place, they are then servants; but if in the first place, they are lords. He who respects gains in the first place, is an inverted man, and also is represented as inverted in the other life, with his head in hell; but he who respects charity and faith in the first place, thus the Lord and his neighbour, he is an erect man, and also is presented erect in the other life, with his head in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 9180.

Within three years, as the years of a hireling, etc. - [These words involve the idea, by correspondence, that at the period of judgment, when the states of those in the church signified by Moab are consummated, as denoted by "three years", all such will be reduced to a merely hireling and mercenary condition, that is, they will study and embrace the truths of the Word from merely selfish motives, relating to honour and gain; when this is the case, the end is come and judgment ensues.]

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Isaiah Chapter 17

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

675. And the tenth part of the city fell, signifies that no truths of doctrine any longer existed with those who remained. This is evident from the signification of "ten," as being all persons and all things, also many persons and many things, and of "the tenth part," as being all and much (of which presently); also from the signification of "city," as being doctrine and also the truth of doctrine, for a doctrine, that it may be a doctrine of the church, must consist of truths from the Word (that a "city" signifies doctrine see above, n. 223. It is evident also from the signification of "to fall," as being to be separated, consequently to have no existence; to be separated and to have no existence is predicated of truths of doctrine when "to fall" is predicated of a city.

[2] For every particular thing has allotted to it its analogous and proper expression, according to the correspondence of the subject in the natural sense with the subject in the spiritual sense; and here the subject in the natural sense is a city, while the subject in the spiritual sense is the truth of doctrine. That no truths existed with those that remained follows from what has been said in the preceding article, namely, that when the good are taken away from a society in which the good and the evil have been together, and are carried up into heaven, no truths of doctrine any longer remain with the evil, because they are then deprived of their communication with the good which enabled them as to the external to be as it were in truths, and thence to speak about truths from doctrine.

[3] For in the spiritual world there is a communication of the affections and thence of the thoughts, and from such communication one is held by another, thus all in the same society mutually, in a like affection and accordingly in a like good; thus are the evil also held by the good. But these evil were such as were able in external form to put on an appearance of sanctity, of piety, of intelligence, of zeal for the church and its doctrine, also in the life an appearance of being just and sincere from the heart, and yet interiorly in themselves they possessed nothing of such good. Such were the evil, with whom there could no longer exist any truths of doctrine, after the good were taken away, who are meant by "the two witnesses" that went up by command into heaven.

[4] It is to be known that there were in the spiritual world many societies formed of such, and that these societies taken together are meant by "the first heaven" which passed away (Revelation 21:1). (Respecting these societies or that heaven, many things are related in the small work on The Last Judgment.) In these societies were such evil persons as have been described, and the good associated with them; and so long as these were conjoined in one society the evil appeared in externals like the good; but when they had been separated, then the external good in them, which was only simulated and hypocritical, was separated, and their interiors were laid open, which were infernal, filled with mere evils and falsities therefrom. Such a separation and such a consequent state existed in the spiritual world a little before the Last Judgment; this, therefore, is the state that is here described; for the last time of the church, when the universal judgment is at hand, is here treated of.

[5] That "ten" signifies all persons and all things, also many persons and many things, can be seen from the passages in the Word where that number occurs. As in Moses:

Jehovah hath commanded unto you His covenant which He covenanted ¹ you to do, the ten words which He wrote upon two tables of stone (Deuteronomy 4:13).

And again:

Jehovah wrote upon the tables according to the former writing, the ten words which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 10:4).

There were "ten words" or "ten commandments" constituting the Decalogue, because "ten" signifies all things, therefore "the ten words" mean the law in its whole complex.

[6] As "ten" signifies all persons:

The Lord compared the kingdom of the heavens to ten virgins having lamps with which to go forth to meet the bridegroom, of whom five were prudent and five foolish (Matthew 25:1, 2, et seq.). "The ten virgins" to whom the kingdom of the heavens is likened signify all who are of the church, for "ten" signifies all, and "virgins" the church; but "five" signifies some, or some part, for some of the church were prudent and some foolish. Such is the signification of the number "five" in the Word. "Lamps" signify the knowledges of truth and good, here from the Word, also the truths of doctrine and of faith; "oil" signifies the good of love and of charity; the "bridegroom" means the Lord, and the "wedding" means heaven and the church, which are called a "wedding" from the marriage of good and truth; and as where there is not this marriage there is neither heaven nor the church, therefore those are called "foolish" who know the truths of faith and have no good of love, while those who have the good of love are called "prudent;" for, as has been said, "lamps" here mean the truths of faith, and "oil" the good of love. "Virgins" signify the church, because "virgin" and "daughter" in the Word signify the affection of good and truth, and it is because of that affection that the church is a church. This is why "the virgin and daughter of Zion," "the virgin and daughter of Jerusalem," "the virgin and daughter of Israel" and "of Judah," are mentioned in so many passages, these everywhere meaning the church.

[7] As "ten" signifies all as also many:

The Lord said of the nobleman who went into a far country, that he called his ten servants and gave them ten pounds [minas] to trade with; and after they had traded, one said that his pound had gained ten pounds; to him he said, Thou shalt have authority over ten cities; and the second said, Thy pound hath made five pounds; to him he said, Be thou over five cities; and of the third, who laid up his pound in a napkin, and did not trade, he said, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds (Luke 19:12-14, 16-20, 24).

Here, too, the numbers "ten" and "five" are employed because "ten" signifies all persons and all things, and "five" some persons and some things. "The ten servants" whom the nobleman going into a far country called to him, mean all who are in the world, and in particular, all who are of the church; for the "nobleman" means the Lord, and "going into a far country" means the Lord's departure out of the world and His then seeming to be absent; "the ten pounds that he gave to the ten servants to trade with" signify all the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, with the ability to perceive them; for a "pound" [mina], which was silver and was money, signifies the knowledges of truth and the ability to perceive; and "to trade" signifies by means of these to acquire intelligence and wisdom; those who acquire much are meant by the servant who from a pound gained ten pounds; and those who acquire some are meant by him who from a pound gained five pounds; the "cities which are said to be given them" signify the truths of doctrine, and "to possess them" signifies intelligence and wisdom, and life and happiness therefrom. Thence it is clear what is signified by "ten cities" and by "five cities." As those who acquire nothing of intelligence are like the "foolish virgins" (of whom just above), and as these possess truths in the memory only and not in the life, after their departure from this world they are deprived of truths, while those who possess truths both in the memory and in the life enrich themselves in intelligence to eternity, so it is said that "they should take away the pound from him who gained nothing with it, and should give it to him who had ten pounds."

[8] It is similar with those:

To whom talents were given, to one five, to another two, and to a third one; the first of whom from his five talents gained another five; and the second from two talents gained other two; and the third laid away his talent in the earth, of whom the Lord said, Take from him that hath not traded and gained, and give to him that hath ten talents, for unto everyone that hath shall be given that he may abound, and from him that hath not even that which he hath shall be taken away (Matthew 25:14-30).

Here, too, "five" and "ten" also signify something and much; thus, that the first from some knowledges of truth and good acquired much wisdom. It is taken away from him who has acquired nothing of intelligence and is given to him who has much, because when man after death becomes a spirit he carries with him all things, and every single thing that he has drawn from the Word and from the doctrine of the church. But those who through these have acquired nothing of intelligence are interiorly evil, and therefore misuse the truths and goods of heaven and the church, which they possess in the memory only, in exercising dominion over the simple good who are in the lowest heaven, and in doing evil to them. This is why these truths and goods are taken away from them and are given to those who have many, since these do not misuse them, but from them perform uses.

[9] Those who do not acquire spiritual intelligence in the world through the knowledges of truth and good from the Word are evil, as can be seen from this, that all are born into evils of every kind, and these evils are removed only by means of Divine truths from the Word, that is, by applying truths to uses, and thus receiving them in the life. So to those who have gained it is said:

Good and faithful servants, ye have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter ye into the joy of your Lord (verses Matthew 25:21, 23);

and to him who had gained nothing:

Cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (verse 30).

[10] Because "ten" signifies all and much, therefore that number is used by the Lord also in other passages, where all and much must be understood.

As in Luke:

Of the woman having ten drachmas, if she lose one, doth she not light a candle and sweep the house and seek carefully till she find it? (Luke 15:8)

"Ten" here signifies much. This is said of a "woman," and that "she would light a candle and sweep the house" because of the spiritual sense in every particular of the Word. In that sense a "woman" signifies the church in respect to the affection of truth, thus also the affection of truth itself which belongs to the church; the "drachma" signifies truth; "to lose the drachma" signifies to lose one of the truths or the knowledges of truth; "to light a candle" signifies self-examination from affection; "to sweep the house" signifies to traverse the whole mind and to examine every particular where the truth lies hidden. This is the spiritual sense of these words. "A hundred" has the same signification as "ten," namely, much; therefore a similar parable speaks of:

A hundred sheep, if one is lost (Matthew 18:12, 13; Luke 15:3-7).

[11] "Ten" signifies all and much also in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Many houses great and fair ² shall become a waste without inhabitant; for ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath (Isaiah 5:9, 10).

This is said of the desolation of truth with those who are of the church. "Many houses which shall become a waste" signify the men of the church, and in particular, such in respect to truths from good; "great and fair," that is, houses, signifies the affection of good and the understanding of truth, for "great" is predicated of good and its affection, and "fair" is predicated of truth and its intelligence; "ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath" signifies that in all things of the church with man there is scarcely any truth from good, for a "bath" has also a similar signification as wine, namely, truth from good; therefore "ten acres of vineyard" signify all things of the church with man.

[12] In Moses:

If ye will go contrary to Me I will break for you the staff of bread, that ten women may bake your bread in one oven, and I will bring back your bread by weight (Leviticus 26:23, 26).

"To break the staff of bread" signifies to deprive of spiritual food, and thus of spiritual nourishment, for "bread" means everything that nourishes the soul, and in particular the good of love; therefore "ten women shall bake your bread in one oven" signifies that in all things of the church with man there is so little of good and truth as to be scarcely anything; "ten women" signify all things of the church; "bread" signifies good and truth that nourish the soul; and "oven" signifies where spiritual food is prepared, thus the man with whom it is; "to bring back the bread by weight" signifies the lack and want of such things as spiritually nourish.

[13] In Zechariah:

Many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the faces of Jehovah. In those days ten men out of all the tongues of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a man, a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:22, 23).

This is said of the calling together of the Gentiles and their admission to the church by the Lord; and "ten men out of all tongues" signify all from whatever religion, namely those "who come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem," that is, who wish to be admitted to the church and to confess the Lord, therefore "ten men" mean all such, and "the tongues of the nations" mean their religious principles. But this with the rest of the passage may be seen explained above n. 433, where it is shown that "Jerusalem" does not mean Jerusalem, nor "Jew" any Jew.

[14] In Amos:

Jehovah said, I hate the pride of Jacob and his palaces; therefore I will shut up the city and the fullness thereof; if there remain ten men in one house they shall die (Amos 6:8, 9).

"The pride of Jacob and his palaces which Jehovah hates," signify the love of falsity and belief in it with those who are of the church, "pride" meaning the love of falsity, and "palaces" the falsities themselves, which are called "palaces" because they belong to the proud, and because the falsities of such are embellished in external form so as to appear magnificent, although they are most vile, like huts full of rubbish and filth; "to shut up the city and the fullness thereof" signifies to condemn the doctrine, because it is full of the falsities of evil, and is possessed by them, "city" meaning doctrine, and "fullness" the falsities of evil; therefore "if there remain ten men in one house they shall die" signifies that all the truths of good with everyone shall perish, "ten men" meaning all truths, "house" man in respect to good, and "to die" to perish.

[15] In Zechariah:

The prophet saw a flying roll, the length thereof twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits; this is the malediction that goeth forth over the faces of the whole land (Zechariah 5:2, 3).

"The flying roll," which meant "the malediction that goeth forth over the faces of the whole land," was twenty cubits in length and ten in breadth because "twenty" and "ten" signify all, here all good changed into evil and all truth into falsity; "twenty" is predicated of good and everything of it, and "ten" of truth and everything of it; moreover, "length" also signifies good, and "breadth" truth (See above, n. 355, 627, 629, and in the work on Heaven and Hell 197).

[16] As "ten" signifies all things and many things, so "ten times" signifies so many times and always, in the following passages.

In Daniel:

Among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; ³ in every word of the wisdom of intelligence which the king sought of them, he found them ten times better than all the astrologers and diviners that were in all his kingdom (Daniel 1:19, 20).

In Moses:

All the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who have tempted Me these ten times, they shall not see the land (Numbers 14:21-23).

And in Job:

Ten times ye have dishonored Me, ye are not ashamed, ye harden yourselves (Job 19:3).

"Ten times" in these passages signifies at all times or always, and so many times.

[17] In Daniel and in Revelation horns are attributed to the beasts, to some ten, to some seven, and to some three, and the "horns" of these beasts signify the power of falsity against truth, and of evil against good, and "ten horns," the highest power.

In Daniel:

The fourth beast coming up out of the sea had ten horns; as to the ten horns out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise (Daniel 7:7, 20, 24).

"The ten horns" of the beast here signify the highest power of falsity against truth; "ten kings" signify falsities in the whole complex, and "kingdom" signifies that church perverted. In Revelation:

The dragon had seven heads and ten horns, and upon the heads seven diadems (Revelation 12:3).

Again:

The beast coming up out of the sea had seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems (Revelation 13:1).

And again:

The woman sitting upon the scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, had seven heads and ten horns; the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings which have not yet received a kingdom; yet they shall receive power as kings one hour with the beast (Revelation 17:3, 7, 12).

What is signified there in particular will be seen in the explanations further on.

[18] As "ten" signifies all persons and all things, it follows that "the tenth part" signifies everything. It is from this that "tenths" and "tithings" derived their origin, and these signified that everything was holy and blessed when the tenth part of the threshing floor and of the wine press, or of the corn and wine, was given to the Levites; likewise for the Levites when the tenth part was again tithed and given to Aaron. Of these it is thus written in the Word:

Tithing thou shalt tithe all the increase of thy seed that is brought forth in the field year by year (Deuteronomy 14:22).

Say unto the Levites, that the tenths must be given to them for an inheritance, and that they must offer up a heave offering of them to Jehovah, a tenth of the tenths, and this from the corn of the threshing floor and from the fullness of the wine vat; and the tenth of the tenth they must give to Aaron the priest (Numbers 18:24-28).

[19] That the "tenth" signified a blessing in all things, thus that everything was holy and blessed, is evident in Malachi:

Bring ye all the tithes to the house of treasure, that there may be food in My house; then prove ye Me in this, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing until there be no room for more (Malachi 3:10).

"To open the windows and pour out a blessing" signifies the inflowing Divine from which is intelligence and life eternal; the like as is signified by "rain" above n. 644; and this also is properly meant by the "blessing" that would be given if the tithes were brought; so "tithes" here signify that everything was thus blest. That all things might be blest that Abraham took from his enemies, it is said:

That he gave to Melchizedek, who was king in Salem and at the same time priest to God Most High, tithes of all (Genesis 14:18, 19).

Jacob likewise promised and vowed:

That if he returned in peace unto his father's house everything that Jehovah gave him tithing should be tithed (Genesis 28:21, 22).

From these passages, as well as others, it can be seen what is signified in the Word by "ten" and "the tenth part."

[20] The reason that "ten" signifies all things is derived from heaven itself; for heaven in the whole and every part answers to a man, and is therefore called the Greatest Man. All the forces of life of this Greatest Man or heaven close in the two hands and the two feet, and the hands close in ten fingers, and the feet in ten toes; for this reason, all things of man in respect to power and support are lastly gathered into ten fingers and toes, so these signify all things of man; moreover, ultimates signify in the Word all.

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