10023. 'And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull' means a representative sign of the reception of goodness and truth in the natural or external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'laying hands on' as transmitting what is one's own to another, the reason why reception too is meant being that what is transmitted is received by another; from the meaning of 'the head' as the whole, dealt with in 10011; and from the meaning of 'the young bull' as the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man, dealt with in 9391, 10021. The reason why 'laying the hand on' means transmission and reception is that by 'the hands' is meant power and since this power is the capacity to act, whatever resides with a person, thus the entire person engaged in action, is also meant by 'the hands', see the places referred to in 10019; and by 'laying on' is meant transmission on the part of the one who lays them on and reception on the part of the person on whom or thing on which they are laid. From this it is evident what 'laying the hand on' meant among the ancients, namely the transmission and transference of whatever thing it was that they had in mind, and also the reception of it by another, whether it was power, obedience, blessing, or testimony.

[2] The fact that 'laying the hand on' meant power is clear from the following places in Moses,

Jehovah told Moses to lay his hand on Joshua and to set him before Eleazar the priest in front of the whole congregation, and thereby place some of his glory on him, that all the congregation might be obedient to him. Numbers 27:18-20.

'Laying his hand on' here, it is evident, means a transmission and transference of power that Moses had, and the reception of it by Joshua. Therefore it says that he would thereby put some of his glory on him.

[3] In the same author,

It was commanded, when the Levites were to be purified and the priestly function under Aaron was to be assigned to them, that two young bulls together with a minchah should be brought forward, and that Aaron should bring the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel were to lay their hands on the Levites, and the Levites were to lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, one of which was to be offered as a sacrifice, the other as a burnt offering. And in this way were they to separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites would be Jehovah's. Numbers 8:7-14.

The laying of hands on the Levites by the children of Israel was a sign of the transference of power to the Levites to minister on their behalf, and a sign of the reception of that power by the Levites, thus a sign of the separation of the Levites. And the laying of hands on the heads of the young bulls by the Levites was a sign of the transference of that power to Jehovah, that is, the Lord. This is why it says that in that way were they to be separated from among the children of Israel and were to be Jehovah's.

[4] In the same author,

After the children of Israel had confessed their sins Aaron was to lay both his hands on the head of the live he-goat Asasel, and he was to confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their sins; and he was to put them on the goat's head, and send it into the wilderness. Leviticus 16:21.

Laying hands on the he-goat, it is self-evident, meant the transmission and transference of all the iniquities and sins of the children of Israel onto that goat, and its reception of them, 'the wilderness' into which the goat was sent being hell. Leviticus 24:14 required that the witnesses and all who had heard should lay their hands on him who was to be stoned. This action was a sign that the witness borne by them had been transmitted and transferred to him, and once it was received he was delivered up to death.

[5] In the same author,

A person who brings from the herd or from the flock a burnt offering as a gift to Jehovah shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering; then it will be received with pleasure from him, to make expiation for him. Leviticus 1:2-4.

The hand had in like manner to be laid on the head of a gift offered as a sacrifice, Leviticus 3:1-2, 8, 13. A priest was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, and so were the elders, or the whole congregation, and also a leader if he had sinned; and any ordinary person ¹ was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, Leviticus 4:4, 15, 24, 29. Laying their hands on the burnt offering or on the sacrifice was a sign of all the worship of the one presenting the offering. That is to say, it was a sign of the acknowledgement of sins, confession, and consequent purification, and a sign of the implantation of goodness and truth, thus of being joined to the Lord, all of which was brought about by transmission, transference, and reception. By transference and reception that which is meant by 'bearing iniquities', dealt with in 9937, 9938, should be understood.

[6] Since the laying-on of hands was a sign of transmission, transference, and reception, one may recognize what the laying-on of hands means in Matthew,

A ruler came to Jesus and said, My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live. Jesus went in, took her hand, and the girl arose. Matthew 9:18-19, 25.

In Mark,

Jesus laid hands on the blind man's eyes, and he was restored. Mark 8:25.

In the same gospel,

They brought a deaf man to Jesus, that He might lay His hand on him. Taking him aside from the people He put His finger into his ears and touched his tongue, and his powers of hearing were opened. Mark 7:32-33, 35.

In Luke,

There was a woman bent right over owing to a spirit of infirmity. Jesus laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight ² . Luke 13:11, 13.

In Mark,

Jesus laid hands on the weak and healed them. Mark 6:5.

[7] In these places it is evident that when the Lord laid His hand on people, and also when He touched them, the meaning was the transmission and reception of Divine power. The fact that these things are meant is perfectly clear in Mark,

A certain woman came behind and touched Jesus' garment, saying, If I touch merely His garment I shall be healed. And immediately she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus perceived within Himself that power had gone out of Him. Mark 5:27-30.

In Luke,

The woman, touching Jesus' garment, was healed. Jesus said, Someone touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me. Luke 8:44, 46.

And in the same gospel,

The entire crowd sought to touch Jesus, because power went out from Him and healed them all. Luke 6:19.

[8] From this it is evident what 'touching with the hand' and 'touching with the finger' mean, and also what the following words in the same gospel mean,

Jesus came and touched the coffin in which the dead man was; and the bearers stood still. Then He said, Young man, I say to you, Arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. Luke 7:14-15.

It is also evident what laying His hands on children and young children means. Laying them on children is described in Matthew,

Children were brought to Jesus that He might lay His hands on them. Jesus said, Let the children be and do not forbid them to come to Me; of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them. Matthew 19:13-15.

And laying His hands on young children is spoken of in Mark,

Jesus took the young children up in His arms, and put His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:16.

This laying of His hand on children and on young children likewise means the transmission and reception of Divine power, enabling a person's interiors to be healed, which is salvation.

[9] The meaning of touch by the use of the hands has its origin in representatives in the next life. People there whose states of life are dissimilar appear far removed from one another, whereas those whose states of life are similar appear living in association with one another; and those who touch one another there transmit their state of life to another. If this is done by the use of the hands the whole of their life is transmitted, for as stated above, by the hands, by virtue of their correspondence, is meant power, which is a human being's capacity to act, thus whatever resides with a person. Such representatives occur in the world of spirits, but they do so as a result of influx from heaven, where only the ties associating people as to affections for goodness and truth are perceived.

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3147. 'And water to wash his feet' means purification there. This is clear from the meaning of 'water to wash' or 'washing with water' as purifying, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, or what amounts to the same, those things that are in the natural man, dealt with in 2162. In the representative Church washing feet with water was a ceremonial act which meant washing away the filth of the natural man. The filth of the natural man is composed of all the things that belong to self-love and love of the world, and when such filth has been washed away goods and truths flow in, for that filth alone is what hinders the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent - as they are in times of ill-fortune, wretchedness, and sickness - a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.

[3] In the Ancient Church 'washings' were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person's interior self was meant.

[4] That 'washing' means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isaiah 1:16.

Here it is evident that 'washing themselves' means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isaiah 4:4.

Here 'washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem' stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jeremiah 4:14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. 'Washing with water' stands for purifying from falsities, 'washing away the blood' for purging from evils, 'anointing with oil' for filling with good at that time. In David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:2, 7.

'Being washed' plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.

[6] These were the things that were meant by 'washing' in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple - that is to say, 'the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers' mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exodus 30:18-19, 21 - the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.

[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works - or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external - serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one's position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples' feet: In John,

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.

'He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed' means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore 'feet-washing' was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord's words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41.

[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty - all of which constitute spiritual filth - the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord's Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:

Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6.

Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31.

Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:4, 24.

Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes - then they were pure. Numbers 8:6-7.

Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal, ¹ or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person's flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:5-7, 10-12 and following verses.

The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:26.

When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Leviticus 14:8-9.

Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 11:32.

From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.

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