330. Out of every tribe and tongue, signifies by all who are in truths in respect to doctrine and in respect to life. This is evident from the signification of "tribe," as being all truths and goods in the complex (of which see above, n. 39; for these are meant by the twelve tribes, and therefore each tribe signifies something of truth and good, therefore "out of every tribe" signifies out of all who are in any kind of truth and good. It is evident also from the signification of "tongue," as being the doctrine of life and faith. That "tribes" signify all truths and goods in the complex will be shown more fully below in its own paragraph; likewise that "tongue" signifies the doctrine of life and faith, thus religion. (Here will be presented only what is shown in Arcana Coelestia respecting the signification of "tribes," namely, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signified all truths and goods in the complex, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that the twelve apostles of the Lord have a like signification, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 6397; that there were twelve because "twelve" signifies all, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. Because the twelve tribes represented and thus signified all the truths and goods in the complex they therefore represented heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996. That the twelve tribes signify various things according to the order in which they are named, thus in different ways all things of heaven and the church, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 seq., 6337, 6640, 10335; therefore responses could be given and were given by the Urim and Thummim, where the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven on precious stones, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905)

4744. 'And the pit was empty, there was no water in it' means that at that time there was no truth at all. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pit' as falsities, dealt with in 4728; from the meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth at all because there is no good at all, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'water' as truth, dealt with in 680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424. The meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth at all because there is no good at all is clear from other places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

The nobles sent their inferiors for water, they came to the pits, and they found no water; they resumed with empty vessels, they were subjected to shame and ignominy, and they covered their heads. Jeremiah 14:3.

'Empty vessels' stands for truths in which there is no truth derived from good. In the same prophet,

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel has devoured me, he has troubled me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up. Jeremiah 51:34.

'An empty vessel' stands for where there is no truth, 'Babel' for those who lay waste, that is, divest others of truths, 1327 (end). In the same prophet,

I looked to the earth, and behold, it was void and empty; and towards the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.

In Isaiah.

The spoonbill and the duck will possess it, and the owl and the raven will dwell in it; and they will stretch over it the line of a void and the plumb-line of emptiness. Isaiah 34:11.

[2] In the same prophet,

The city of emptiness will be broken down, every house will be shut up so that no one may enter in. There is an outcry in the streets over [the lack of] wine. The joy of the earth will be banished; what is left in the city will be a waste. Isaiah 24:10-12.

In this case a different word is used in the original language to denote that which is 'empty', but it carries a similar meaning. The meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth because there is no good is evident from the particular expressions here in the internal sense, that is to say, from the meaning of 'city', 'house', 'outcry', 'wine' and 'streets'. In Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih said, Woe to the city of bloodshed! ¹ I too will make the hearth great, placing the pot empty on the burning coals, so that it is heated and is bronze becomes hot and is filthiness in it may be melted, its scum consumed. Ezekiel 24:9, 11.

Here it is quite plain what 'empty' means - 'the pot' is said to be 'empty', having filthiness and scum, that is, evil and falsity, inside it.

[3] Similarly in Matthew,

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person he goes through dry places seeking rest, but does not find it. Then he says, I will return into my house from which I came out; and when he comes and finds it empty, and swept, and prepared for him, he goes away and links to himself seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter and dwell there. Matthew 12:43-45.

'The unclean spirit' stands for the unclean life led by a person and also for the unclean spirits that reside with him, for unclean spirits dwell in a person's unclean life. 'Dry places', or places where there is no water, stands for where there are no truths. 'The house that is empty' stands for that person's interiors which have been filled again with forms of uncleanness, that is, with falsities that are the products of evil. In Luke,

God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Luke 1:53.

'The rich' stands for those who know a great deal, for in the spiritual sense factual knowledge, matters of doctrine, and cognitions of good and truth are meant by 'riches'. People are called 'rich' but 'empty' if they know these things but do not carry them out; for with them truths are not truths because these are devoid of good, 4736.

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