2714. Paran here means enlightenment from the Lord's divine humanity, as can be seen from the symbolism of Paran as the Lord's divine humanity. This symbolism is clear from passages in the Word that mention it, as in the prophet Habakkuk:
Jehovah, I have heard of your fame; I have trembled, Jehovah, at your work. In the middle of the years, bring it to life; in the middle of the years, make it known; in your merciful zeal, remember. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran; selah. His majesty covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. And there was radiance and light; he has horns coming from his hand, and in them is the hiding place of his strength. (Habakkuk 3:2, 3, 4)
Clearly this is about the Lord's Coming, which is symbolized by "bringing it to life in the middle of the years" and "making it known in the middle of the years." His divine humanity is portrayed by the promise that God would come out of Teman, and the Holy One, from Mount Paran; the text says "from Teman" in respect to heavenly love, and "from Mount Paran" in respect to spiritual love. The fact that the Lord's divine humanity would radiate enlightenment and power is symbolized by "there was radiance and light; he has horns coming from his hand." The radiance and light are enlightenment; the horns are power.
[2] In Moses:
Jehovah came from Sinai and dawned from Seir on them; he shone out from Mount Paran and came with the holy myriads. From his right hand came the fire of a law for them; yes, he loves the peoples. All his holy ones were in your hand and came together at your foot, and he will take up some of your words. (Deuteronomy 33:2, 3)
This too is about the Lord, whose divine humanity is depicted in his rising out of Seir and shining out from Mount Paran. The text says "out of Seir" in respect to heavenly love, "from Mount Paran" in respect to spiritual love. Spiritual individuals are symbolized by the peoples he loves and by the ones joining together at [Israel's] foot. The foot symbolizes something lowlier in the Lord's kingdom, and therefore something dimmer.
[3] In the same author:
Chedorlaomer and the kings with him struck the Horites on their mountain (Seir), all the way to El-paran, which is up in the wilderness. (Genesis 14:5, 6)
For the point that Mount Seir and El-paran symbolize the Lord's divine humanity, see §§1675, 1676. In the same author:
It happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud rose up from upon the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel traveled on their travels from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 10:11, 12)
[4] All the people's travels in the wilderness symbolize conditions in the church when it is embattled, and its inward struggles, in which its members fail but which the Lord wins for them. As a result, those travels symbolize the Lord's own struggles and victories. This will be demonstrated elsewhere, with the Lord's divine mercy. Since it was the Lord's human divinity that endured these trials, the wilderness of Paran here symbolizes his human divinity too. So do the following words in the same author:
Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran; and Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Send yourself some men and have them scout out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel." And Moses sent them out of the wilderness of Paran on Jehovah's command. And they came back both to Moses and to Aaron and to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran in Kadesh, and they brought word back to them and showed them the fruit of the land. (Numbers [12:16]; 13:1, 2, 3, 4, 26)
[5] Their traveling from the wilderness of Paran to scout out the land of Canaan means that these people–the children of Israel, or in other words, spiritual people–receive the Lord's heavenly kingdom (symbolized by Canaan) through the Lord's divine humanity. The fact that the Israelites then lost heart, however, symbolizes the frailty of such people. [The passage also involves the idea] that the Lord would therefore fulfill everything in the law, suffer times of trial, and overcome. In this way his divine humanity would bring salvation to people who possess a faith that develops out of love for others, and to people who face trials in which the Lord was victorious. For this reason, when the Lord was tested, it took place in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1); see above at §2708.
