In this chapter, and the ones that follow, Joseph represents the innermost part of us – the part closest to where the Lord dwells within us, and His goodness flows into us. This love is deeper and more intense than other loves. In Swedenborg’s works it is called the inmost celestial or heavenly love.

In verse 1, “command” means there is an inflow of love from our innermost spirit represented by Joseph toward the natural or outermost, represented by his brothers. Their sacks filled with food shows this inflow is filled with the good things that truth brings. When we are led by means of truth towards good, the good consists in “putting truth into practice” (Arcana Coelestia 5733), and we only get as much good as we can put into practice, shown by the brothers getting only “as much as they can carry.” The sack’s mouth represents our natural mind becoming open, and the money being placed in the mouth is an image for truth flowing into the natural or materially-oriented part of us.

Since Joseph and Benjamin were born from Rachel, whom Jacob dearly loved, they have a special bond with each other. In this story, they correspond to the close relationship of inner things – things our natural mind is unaware of. Benjamin is the intermediary going from the deepest parts of us where the Lord flows in (Joseph), to our outermost parts (the brothers). The silver cup in verse 2 represents this inner.

Morning dawning of verse 3 indicates a state of enlightenment flowing outward. The men going with their donkeys shows that, in addition to this new state of enlightenment, factual knowledge (the donkey) is also present. The latter is the kind of knowledge the natural or material part of us can handle. The fact that this knowledge is removed from the inner realities is shown by the brothers (natural truths) being away from where Joseph (heavenly truths) was.

In verse 4, going “out of the city” shows how far removed the natural is from inmost truths. “Not yet far off” indicates there is still the possibility for connection. Joseph’s talking and interest gives a clear idea that inner things want to flow outward. Pursuing the men shows how determined these inner things are to be joined to our conscious, outer minds. Inner realities are foreign to us – similar to the way the brothers are in a foreign country. Repaying evil for good shows how deep the lack of interest is. Unchecked, our natural mind falls to evil, and “a person governed by evil spirits spurns good, that is, spiritual good” (Arcana Coelestia 5746).

The cup here in verse 5 represents spiritual or inner truth present with the natural represented by the brothers. The fact that the cup was Joseph’s shows it came from the most heavenly parts within him. This cup used for “divination” teaches that these truths reveal concealed knowledge, and the deepest of these revealed truths teach about the Lord flowing into us.

Truth imparted by the Lord is not at first accepted for the gift it is. Prior to regeneration, people believe they acquire truth all by themselves, and as long as people hold this belief, they are guilty of spiritual theft. The guilt comes from attributing good to their own righteousness and truth to their own intelligence. This takes away from the Lord what is the Lord’s. But this all serves God’s purposes because “the men were accused of theft so that a joining together might be effected” (Arcana Coelestia 5747).

“He over took them” in verse 6 shows that an indirect link was created. “And he spoke to them these same words,” shows that through this indirect link there was a flow from deeper things into natural ones.

This all shows a stirring of reflection and discernment in our natural self. “Why” is a word used when asking oneself a question implying reflection. The brothers responding with “Far be it from us. . .” shows that they did not intend to steal anything. Still, they unwittingly did. This is an example of how there is more going on in our spirit than our natural mind can even comprehend.

“Canaan” in this verse implies the presence of religious belief. “Canaan” represents the Lord’s kingdom or church – here meaning the place in a person where the Lord is known. “How then could we steal?” implies the question “why should we steal?” and it is only through reflection on things of religion that people can come “to believe they should not lay claim to truth and good as their own” (Arcana Coelestia 5757).

Those who attribute to themselves the good and truth of the Lord cannot be in heaven but are outside of heaven. Being outside of heaven is spiritual death, corresponding to the guilty brother left to die in verse 9. The others, because they were with him, will give up their personal freedom because anything associated with spiritual death also includes lack of freedom and being a slave to hell (See Secrets of Heaven 5759, 5760).

Letting it be according to the brothers’ words here means to let it be as justice demands. The steward doles out a less severe sentence because, as a person matures and grows in intelligence and faith, he or she learns that all their effort to do good and speak truth has its origin from the Lord. Before then it is not possible to know the truth of this inner reality. And just knowing it is not enough; it needs to be acknowledged in our hearts. This is made further difficult to perceive because each person needs to do what is good and speak what is true as if of their own accord, yet believe in their hearts that this comes from the Lord. The Lord has compassion on us because this is a hard concept to grasp, which is the reason why a less severe sentence is declared by Joseph’s steward.

The brothers in verse 11 were eager to prove their innocence, shown by speedily letting their sacks down. The sacks are containers. In people, the natural is a container for inner things to come down to the lowest level of the senses. Opening the sacks means making the matter clear, and the brothers were eager to do that. A person who is sincere in his or her spiritual development would not want to attribute to themselves anything belonging to the Lord.

Joseph’s steward beginning with the oldest brother in the next verse corresponds to order and the need for us to understand how things come from the Lord and flow outwards. We can almost hear the brothers groaning when the cup is found in Benjamin’s sack. We ourselves have an inner groaning in trying to comprehend these difficult inner realities.

The brothers’ grief, seen by tearing their clothes in verse 13, shows how we grieve over truths we thought were ours but which we “can no longer lay claim to” (Arcana Coelestia 5773). It is hard to acknowledge that inner things are from the Lord.

As a person develops spiritually, he or she is led by means of truth to good first, and then from good to truth. When this order is reversed there is suffering, and their mistaken thinking that truth originates from themselves is weakened and broken down. After these inner pathways are unblocked, the Lord’s goodness is able to flow outward, bringing love and truth into the natural world. A new will arises within us, and with it comes a new freedom to better understand things (See Secrets of Heaven 5773).

Returning to the city corresponds to how, during these temptations, we need to work at returning our thinking to the true source of things.

Judah is spoken of here and not Reuben, the firstborn, because Judah represents good that is with the Church – the place in a person where the Lord is known. This takes place in the deepest parts of us. Communication from there to deeper parts is brought about by good, not truth.

The brothers returning to Joseph’s house corresponds to the foresight of inner truths. They want the natural or sensual parts of us to know about inner things and arrange ways for them to be seen. The brothers fall on the ground before Joseph in grief. This act expresses the humility needed before the deepest realities (Joseph) can be consciously seen and loved by us in our natural selves.

The way Joseph speaks to his brothers in verse 15 indicates perception on the outside that there is deeper communication taking place. Joseph’s question, “What deed is this you have done?” shows that in the inner realm it is evil to lay claim to what does not belong to you, even if you are unaware of it. Preparing for heaven requires knowing and living according to things as yet unknown in our conscious outer minds. The divination practiced by Joseph corresponds to things being unveiled that can only come from the Divine flowing in, hence the divination (See Secrets of Heaven 5781).

In the next verse, Judah speaking indicates there is now perception in our natural selves that these deeper things exist. “What shall we say? What shall we speak?” shows doubting and wavering at first. “How shall we clear ourselves?” indicates the first awareness of guilt. The natural confesses the guilt of having separated itself from deeper things with the words “God has found out the iniquity of your servants”.

When a person focuses on the senses and pleasures of the body instead of heavenly things, the natural is the master and not the servant. As a result, he or she doesn’t believe anything inward exists, which results in not believing we continue to live after death. This is why we need to submit to inner things and obey them exclusively, represented by being a slave to Joseph. Then our natural freedom (which chooses evil) can be taken away and a heavenly freedom, or freedom to choose good and truth, is established in its place (See Secrets of Heaven 5786).

“The man in whose hand the cup was found” in verse 17 indicates that not everything represented by the brothers can be connected to the deep, spiritual matters. It was in Benjamin’s sack that the cup was found, and he corresponds to a special kind of truth that connects the innermost realities (Joseph) with the outer ones (the brothers).

In verse 18 Judah approaching the steward represents a communication of the natural with inner things through good. Among Joseph’s brothers, Judah represents “the good of love to the Lord,” (Arcana Coelestia 3654:2) This is essential to our spiritual life. “Hearing” corresponds to obedience. Judah’s words show our outer, natural self recognizing the need to obey deeper truths. “Do not let your anger burn against your servant,” is a plea for leniency. The good in our natural side fears the outward flow of truths will be shut off. This usually happens when we do something wrong against the Lord’s commandments

The steward telling Judah in verse 19 the question Joseph asked shows that the innermost perceives the thoughts and feelings in our outward person because everything in the natural comes from something deeper. It is a very difficult thing for the natural or sensual part of us to perceive and accept this. Asking the question shows that things in our deepest parts have great intelligence. Joseph already knows they have a father and a brother but wants his brothers to acknowledge it. “Father” and “brother,” represent what connects the natural with our deepest parts (See Secrets of Heaven 5801).

The brothers represent truths, and saying they have a father shows that inner or spiritual good (see verse 19) is the source of truths in the natural. Benjamin being a “child of his old age” shows that something new has come into existence. The new thing is that a person can now be led by good. In this way, he or she sees new truths in addition to what is already known (See Secrets of Heaven 5804). Man’s natural self, however, is not yet aware of the deeper, celestial good (represented by Joseph), corresponding to Judah saying Benjamin’s brother is dead.

Benjamin is “the only one left of his mother’s children.” “Mother” corresponds to “church” and that word can mean a lot of things. Here it has a very personal meaning. It is the place deep within us where the Lord flows in and is known. Without the truth that connects us to these deep things, we cannot know God. We can see here why Benjamin is so special. Inner good (Israel) cannot fail to love the kind of truth (Benjamin) that connects this innermost or deepest part (Joseph) of us with our natural selves (the brothers).

When Judah says to Joseph’s steward “Then you said” in verse 21, he is reminding the steward of the previous time when they came to buy grain and Joseph insisted that they “Bring him [Benjamin] down to me.” Here, the inner truths represented by Benjamin need to be in the presence of the inmost or deepest for a union to take place between good and truth. “That I may set my eyes on him” means that there will be a flowing in from Joseph to Benjamin, or from the innermost to the inner, and then to the outermost, represented by the brothers. An example of this might be that a person may know he or she needs to do good to others but may or may not do anything; “Benjamin” will see it as a truth which needs to be followed; and “Joseph” will flow in with a feeling of love and motivate a person to do live in charity.

The boy not being able to leave his father the shows that when a person is being made spiritual, or regenerated, the new truth represented by Benjamin (verse 20) cannot be separated from the inner spiritual good (Israel). At this point the person renews their life through truth joined now to good (See Secrets of Heaven 5812). Good and truth love each other and want to be together. If not, then the situation is similar to that of verse 22, “if he should leave his father, his father would die.” The inner spiritual good meant by “Israel” is not to be confused with the innermost or celestial good or love meant by Joseph.

Without this new truth that connects with good there can be no love, for love is “a spiritual joining together” (Arcana Coelestia 5816). This spiritual joining together occurs from Divine love towards the human race. If there is no connection from the Divine through the deepest parts of us to the outermost or natural, the human race is in shambles. An affection (Jacob) for this new truth (Benjamin) directs us to think of innermost realities (Joseph) where the Lord’s good is “and away from matters of a worldly and bodily nature that envelop [us] in darkness” (Arcana Coelestia 5816). The need for this joining to take place shows why, in the inner meaning of this story, Joseph demanded that Benjamin be brought to him.

Going up in verse 24 means a raising up and a movement from the outermost (Jacob’s sons) towards innermost (Joseph). Human beings are very complex, and it takes some doing to grasp the various levels within us. In addition to the natural, spiritual, and heavenly (or celestial) levels, each level has an internal and external to it. It is the internal part of our natural level that can be aware of the spiritual goods represented by Israel, while the external part of our natural level knows the truths (Arcana Coelestia 5817).

“Our father said” shows here the kind of good meant by Jacob, or Israel, is aware of the need for action. “Buying” alludes to living according to a truth and making it one’s own. Connecting with our inner nature requires a person to live according to the truths they know. If a person won’t actually live by truths they know, then they don’t will it or take any delight in doing such action. In the next life, what a person doesn’t will fades away and disappears (Arcana Coelestia 5820).

As said before, Benjamin represents an intermediary, and when spoken of with his father, he represents new truth. When with Joseph as in verse 26, the new truth connecting with innermost good. We see in the works of Swedenborg that, “A person has an internal and an external that are distinct from one another” and they need to be connected. “This is an arcanum [secret] for which no clearer explanation is possible, nor can it be understood except by those who are aware” (Arcana Coelestia 5822). The awareness occurs as we become open to spiritual things, for then heavenly light flows into our minds, and this light allows us to see the connection that Benjamin represents.

The words “my wife” in verse 27 mean having an affection for truth. This is because the person now intends to live according to the truth he or she knows. The will or intention is the most important thing, and intending good allows heaven to be present with the person. It doesn’t serve any purpose to just know the Ten Commandments and not actually live according to them. In this scenario, the truths of the decalogue do not reach our spiritual side (Arcana Coelestia 5826).

The departure of Joseph from his father referenced in verse 28 was evident since Joseph was still alive. In our minds, truth is plainly visible because it exists in the light of the world, but the innermost good represented by Joseph exists only in the light of heaven, inconceivable merely through our senses. This deepest good, though, is constantly present within us, bringing truths to life. The more spiritual we become, the more good reveals itself to us.

As soon as love from the Lord flows into our natural or sensual self it encounters evils and false thinking which – acting like wild animals – tear the good apart and annihilate it. As a result, the deepest part of our mind is closed off and not seen, in a way similar to Joseph not being seen by his father, even though he was alive.

The brothers taking “this one also from me, and calamity befalls him,” shows the fear the inner good (Israel) has that the new truths represented by Benjamin could possibly perish. Good must have its own truth and truth its own good. If they are separated and the new truth is torn to pieces by evil and falsities of thought, good and truth die. Again, we see why Israel loves Benjamin so much and would die without him.

The lives of the father (spiritual good) and the lad (new truths) in verse 30 being bound together has significance. People can see in their understanding that all the Ten Commandments are truths, yet still do not intend to live according to them. This is because the two main parts of our minds (understanding and will) are set apart from one another. The consequence of this is that when the person enters the next life, the truth in the understanding will draw him or her up towards heaven while the evil intentions in their will draw them downward toward hell “leaving them suspended between the two” (Arcana Coelestia 5835). These two mental capacities are joined to the Lord through regeneration, or the Lord opening our minds to spiritual things. The spiritual or inner good symbolized as Israel, or Jacob, will die if not joined with the new truths that make regeneration possible.

Judah becoming a servant to Joseph corresponds to a willingness to live the kind of life necessary to ensure an actual joining together of good and truth can take place. Once this happens, then there can be an outflow of deepest goods and truths into the natural. When this outflow occurs, we become consciously aware of the Lord’s presence. To “bear the blame before my father forever” in verse 32 shows the grave consequence of Benjamin not being returned.

Verse 33 shows willing submission on Judah’s part, and this corresponds to an eagerness from the good in our natural selves to live according to whatever way is needed for the interior joining of good and truth to take place. When charitable thinking and doing spring from the will, it springs from the affections. This constitutes the deepest, innermost parts of us. If not, it stays in our outer self only and has no depth or real quality to it. It can be easily ignored or brushed aside like new plants on parched land that wither and die.

Judah perceiving that his father would die in verse 34 aggrieves him so much so that he is willing to become a slave to Joseph. The kind of subservience a slave must give corresponds to the kind of continual subservience and obedience our natural self must give to our innermost spirit. Otherwise, any opportunity for good and truth to be part of our lives is lost. The “evil that would come upon my father” signifies how we are then left with a dry and parched life. It represents a life lived mainly to satisfy worldly loves and pleasures with no real inner spirit guiding and leading us to love others.

4735. 'Do not shed blood' means not to do violence to what is holy. This is clear from the meaning of 'blood' as that which is holy, dealt with below, and therefore 'shedding blood' means doing violence to it. Everything holy in heaven proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, as consequently does everything holy in the Church. For this reason to prevent people from doing violence to that which is holy the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, in which it is explicitly declared that the bread there is His flesh and the wine His blood, thus that His Divine Human is the source of that which is holy in the Holy Supper. Among the Ancients 'flesh and blood' meant the human proprium, for that which is human consists of flesh and blood. This explains what the Lord said to Simon,

Blessed are you, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:17.

Therefore the flesh and blood meant in the Holy Supper by the bread and wine are the Lord's Human Proprium. The Lord's actual Proprium which He acquired to Himself by His own power is Divine. His Proprium was since His conception that which He had from Jehovah His Father and was Jehovah Himself, and therefore the Proprium which He acquired to Himself within the Human was Divine. It is this Divine Proprium within the Human that is called flesh and blood, 'flesh' being His Divine Good, 3813, 'blood' Divine Truth that goes with Divine Good.

[2] The Lord's Human, now that it has been glorified or made Divine, cannot be thought of as something merely human but as Divine Love within a human form. This is more true of Him than it is of angels, who - when they come to be seen, as I myself have seen them - are seen as forms of love and charity taking on a human appearance, the Lord enabling this to be so. For it was by Divine Love that the Lord made His Human Divine, even, as has been stated, as heavenly love serves to make someone an angel after death, so that he too is seen as a form of love and charity taking on a human appearance. From this it is evident that in the celestial sense the Lord's Divine Human means Divine Love itself, which is a love directed towards the whole human race whom He wishes to save, making them blessed and happy for ever, and to whom He wishes to impart, insofar as its members can accept it, what is His and is Divine, so that it becomes their own. This love, and man's reciprocated love to the Lord as well as his love towards the neighbour, are meant and represented in the Holy Supper, Divine celestial love by the flesh or bread in it and Divine spiritual love by the blood or wine.

[3] From all this one may now see what is meant by eating the Lord's flesh and drinking His blood in John,

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever. But the bread which I shall give is My flesh. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drank His blood you will have no life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven. John 6:50-58.

Because 'flesh' and 'blood' mean the Divine Celestial and the Divine Spiritual that proceed from the Lord's Divine Human, as has been stated, or what amounts to the same, mean Divine Good and Divine Truth that proceed from His Love, 'eating' and 'drinking' mean making these things one's own. They become one's own through the life of love and charity which is also the life of faith. For 'eating' means making good one's own, and 'drinking' making truth one's own, see 2187, 3069, 3168, 3513, 3596, 3734, 3832, 4017, 4018.

[4] Because 'blood' in the celestial sense means the Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, it therefore means that which is holy, for Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human is Holiness itself. There is no other Holiness, nor any other source of it.

[5] As regards 'blood' meaning that Holiness, this may be seen from many places in the Word, of which let the following be quoted here: In Ezekiel,

Son of man, thus said the Lord Jehovih, Say to every bird of the air, to every wild animal of the field, Assemble and come, gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat flesh and drink wine. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth - rams, lambs, and he-goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse and chariot, with the mighty, and with every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezekiel 39:17-21.

This refers to the calling together of all people to the Lord's kingdom, and specifically to the establishment of the Church among gentiles. 'Eating flesh and drinking wine' means making Divine Good and Divine Truth one's own, and so making one's own the Holiness which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human. Is there anyone who cannot see that here in the references to their eating the flesh of the mighty and drinking the blood of the princes of the earth, and their being glutted with horse, chariot, the mighty, and every man of war, 'flesh' is not used to mean flesh nor 'blood' to mean blood?

[6] Similarly in John,

I saw an angel standing in the sun, who called out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, Come, gather yourselves together to the supper of the Great God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all, free men and slaves, small and great. Revelation 19:17-18.

Can anyone ever understand these things unless he knows what 'flesh' means in the internal sense, or what 'kings', 'captains', 'mighty men', 'horses', 'those seated on them', 'free men and slaves' mean?

[7] Also in Zechariah,

He will speak peace to the nations; His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River even to the ends of the earth As for you also, through the blood of your covenant I will let out your bound ones from the pit. Zechariah 9:10-11.

This refers to the Lord. 'The blood of the covenant' is Divine Truth proceeding from His Divine Human and is the Holiness itself which has gone out from Him since He was glorified. This Holiness is that which is also called the Holy Spirit, as is evident in John,

Jesus said, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. This He said about the spirit which those believing in Him were to receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.

As regards the holiness proceeding from the Lord being 'the spirit', see John 6:63.

[8] Further to 'blood' meaning the holiness proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human - in David,

From deceit and from violence He will redeem ¹ their soul, and precious will their blood be in His eyes. Psalms 72:14.

'Precious blood' stands for the holiness which they are to receive. In John,

These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14.

And in the same author,

They have conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony; and they did not love their soul even to death. Revelation 12:11.

[9] The Church at the present day knows no more than this, that 'the blood of the Lamb' here means the Lord's passion, for it believes that people are saved solely through the Lord's passion and that it was to endure this that He was sent into the world, a belief which may be enough for the simple who are incapable of grasping interior arcana. The Lord's passion was the last stage of His temptation, by which He fully glorified His Humanity, Luke 24:26; John 12:23, 27-28; 13:31-32; 17:1, 4-5. But 'the blood of the Lamb' here in Revelation is the same as the Divine Truth or that which is holy proceeding from His Divine Human, and so is the same as 'the blood of the covenant' referred to just above, and also in Moses,

[10] Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it over the people. and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you, upon all these words. Exodus 24:7-8.

'The book of the covenant' was Divine Truth as it existed with them at that time, which Truth was corroborated by means of the blood that bore witness to the fact that such Truth proceeded from His Divine Human.

[11] In the ritual requirements of the Jewish Church 'blood' meant nothing other than the holiness proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human. When people were being consecrated blood was therefore used to effect this, as when Aaron was consecrated along with his sons. At that time the blood was sprinkled over the horns of the altar, the residue being poured out at the base of it. Some was also put on the tip of their right ear, on their right thumb and the big toe of their right foot, and on their vestments, Exodus 29:12, 16, 20-21; Leviticus 8:15, 19, 23, 30. And when Aaron went within the veil to the mercy-seat the blood had also to be sprinkled with his finger seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat, Leviticus 16:12-15. Likewise in all other consecrations, as well as expiations and cleansings, mentioned in Exodus 12:7, 13, 22; 30:10; Leviticus 1:5, 11, 15; 3:2 , 8, 13; 4:6-7, 17-18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9; 6:27-28; 14:14-19, 25-30; 16:12-15, 18-19; Deuteronomy 12:27.

[12] As 'blood' in the genuine sense means that which is holy, so in the contrary sense 'blood' and 'bloods' mean things which bring violence to it. This is because 'shedding innocent blood' means doing violence to that which is holy. For the same reason too infamous deeds in life and profane acts of worship are called 'blood'. The fact that such things are meant by 'blood' and 'bloods' is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

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

In the same prophet,

The waters of Dimon are full of blood. Isaiah 15:9.

In the same prophet,

Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Isaiah 59:3, 7.

In Jeremiah,

Yes, in your skirts the blood of poor innocent souls is found. Jeremiah 2:34.

[13] In the same prophet,

For the sins of the prophets, the iniquities of the priests who shed in the midst of Jerusalem the blood of the righteous. They went astray blind in the streets, they are defiled with blood. Things which have no power they touch with their garments. Lamentations 4:13-14.

In Ezekiel,

I passed by you and saw you weltering in your blood, ² and I said to you, Live in your blood; ² I indeed said to you, Live in your blood'. I washed you with water and washed away your blood ² from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:6, 9.

In the same prophet,

You, son of man, will you dispute with the city of blood? ² Declare to her all her abominations. By your blood which you have shed you have become guilty, and by the idols which you have made you are defiled. Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power, ³ have been among you and have shed blood. Men of intrigue have been among you, [ready] to shed blood, and among you have eaten on the mountains. Ezekiel 22:2-4, 6, 9.

In Moses,

If anyone sacrifices anywhere else than on the altar at the tent of meeting it shall be [regarded as] blood, and as though he had shed blood. Leviticus 17:1-9.

[14] Truth that has been falsified and rendered profane is meant in the following references to 'blood': In Joel,

I will give portents in the heavens and on earth, blood and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into thick darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes. Joel 2:30-31.

In John,

The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became like blood. Revelation 6:12.

In the same author,

The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third part of the sea became blood. Revelation 8:8.

In the same author,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the fountains of water, and blood was made. Revelation 16:3-4.

[15] A similar meaning occurs in the turning of the rivers, pools and ponds in Egypt into blood, Exodus 7:15-22, for 'Egypt' means knowledge which enters of its own accord into heavenly arcana and as a consequence perverts Divine truths, refuses to accept them, and renders them profane, 1164, 1165, 1186. Being Divine ones, all the miracles performed in Egypt embodied the same kind of meanings. 'The rivers' which were turned into blood means the truths that go with intelligence and wisdom, 108, 109, 3051, as likewise do 'waters', 680, 2702, 3058, and 'springs', 2702, 3096, 3424. 'Seas' means factual truths taken as a single whole, 28. 'The moon', which, it is also said, is to be turned into blood, means Divine Truth, 1529-1531, 2495, 4060. From this it is evident that the turning of the moon, sea, springs, waters, and rivers into blood means Truth that has been falsified and rendered profane.

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