3875. 'And she said, Now this time my husband will cling to me' means in the highest sense love and mercy, in the internal sense charity, in the external sense a joining together - spiritual love being meant here. This is clear from the meaning of 'clinging to'. As regards 'clinging' in the external sense, or inner sense nearest to the literal, meaning a joining together, this may be seen without explanation; and as regards 'clinging' in the internal sense meaning charity, this is evident from the consideration that charity, or what amounts to the same, mutual love, is a spiritual joining together. For mutual love is a joining together of affections belonging to the will and a consequent agreement of thoughts belonging to the understanding, and so is a joining of minds as to both parts. That 'clinging' in the highest sense means love and mercy is evident from this, for when the description 'infinite and eternal' is applied to charity or spiritual love the attribute of mercy is meant, mercy being Divine love directed towards the human race engulfed in such great miseries. For man of himself is nothing but evil, and what is within him, insofar as this has its origin in himself, is altogether from hell. Yet the Lord beholds him with Divine Love, and therefore the raising up of him from the hell in which of himself he dwells and his deliverance from it is called mercy. And because that mercy is an attribute of Divine Love, 'clinging' in the highest sense therefore means both love and mercy.

[2] As regards 'clinging' in the internal sense meaning spiritual love, or what amounts to the same, charity towards the neighbour, this may also be seen from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Do not let the son of the foreigner who has clung to Jehovah say, Jehovah surely separates me from being with His people. The sons of the foreigner who cling to Jehovah, to minister to Him and to delight in the name of Jehovah, will be His servants. Isaiah 56:3, 6.

'Clinging to Jehovah' stands for keeping His commandments, which is an act of spiritual love, for no one at heart keeps God's commandments except him in whom good that flows from charity towards the neighbour is present. In Jeremiah,

In those days the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah weeping as they come; and they will seek Jehovah their God. They will ask Zion concerning the way, their faces towards it, [saying,] Come and let us cling to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that is not forgotten. Jeremiah 50:4-5.

'Clinging to Jehovah' in like manner stands for keeping His commandments at heart, that is, doing so from good that flows from charity.

[3] In Zechariah,

Many nations will cling to Jehovah on that day and will be My people. Zechariah 2:11.

Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,

Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will again choose Israel, and will set them on their own land. And the sojourner will cling to them, and they will join themselves to the house of Jacob. Isaiah 14:1.

'The sojourner clinging to them' stands for having a similar allegiance to the law. 'Joining themselves to the house of Jacob' stands for the good that flows from charity, which is present in those meant by 'the house of Jacob'. In Matthew,

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.

Here the celestial form of love is meant by 'loving', the spiritual form by 'clinging to'. Both of these expressions are used because those two forms of love are distinct and separate. Otherwise one expression would have been sufficient.

[4] People who are stirred by spiritual love are therefore called 'the sons of Levi', as in Malachi,

Who can endure the day of His coming, and who will stand when He appears? He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them like gold, and like silver. Malachi 3:2-3.

In the highest sense the Lord is meant by 'Levi' by virtue of Divine love and of mercy towards those in whom spiritual love is present. This may be seen in the same prophet,

That you may know that I have sent this command to you, to be My covenant with Levi, said Jehovah Zebaoth. My covenant with him will be [a covenant] of life and peace. You have turned back from the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law, you have corrupted the covenant of Levi; therefore I have made you despised. Malachi 2:4-5, 8-9.

And because in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Love or His Mercy was meant by 'Levi', and in the internal sense spiritual love, the tribe of Levi was therefore established as the priesthood; for in the internal sense of the Word 'the priesthood' is nothing other than the holiness of love and 'kingship' the holiness of faith, 1728, 2015 (end), 3670.

[5] Because the expression 'cringing to' from which Levi received his name means spiritual love, which is the same as mutual love, the same expression in the original language is used to mean lending and borrowing. ¹ And these two - lending and borrowing - in the Jewish Church represented mutual love, a representation which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with elsewhere. Mutual love is different from friendship inasmuch as mutual love has a person's good in view, and in directing itself towards that good is directed towards the person in whom good is present. Friendship however has the person in view, which is also mutual love when it looks at that person from the point of view of, that is, on account of, that good. But when it does not look at him from the point of view of good or on account of that good but on account of self which it calls good, friendship is not in that case mutual love but something close to the love of self. And insofar as it is close to this it is opposed to mutual love. In itself mutual love is nothing else than charity towards the neighbour, for in the internal sense 'the neighbour' means nothing else than good, and in the highest sense the Lord because all good originates in Him and He is Good itself, see 2425, 3419. This mutual love or charity towards the neighbour is what is understood by spiritual love and meant by 'Levi'. What is more, in the Word celestial love, and also conjugial love, is expressed in the sense of the letter as 'clinging to', but this is derived from a different expression in the original language from that from which the name Levi is obtained.

[6] This other expression means an even closer joining together, as in the following places: In Moses,

You shall fear Jehovah your God: you shall serve Him and cling to Him. Deuteronomy 10:20.

You shall go after Jehovah your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and hear His voice, and serve Him, and cling to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4.

To love Jehovah your God, to go in all His ways, and to cling to Him. Deuteronomy 11:22.

To love Jehovah your God, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life. Deuteronomy 30:20.

In Joshua,

Take good care to carry out the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cling to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua 22:5.

In the second Book of Kings,

King Hezekiah trusted in Jehovah the God of Israel. He clung to Jehovah; he did not turn back from going after Him, and he kept His commandments which

Jehovah had commanded Moses. 2 Kings 18:5-6.

In Jeremiah,

As a waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me, to be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory; but they were not obedient. Jeremiah 13:11.

[7] The fact that conjugial love as well is expressed by 'clinging to' is evident from the following,

Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and will cling to his wife, and they will be one flesh. Genesis 2:24.

On account of your hardness of heart Moses wrote this commandment, but from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man (homo) will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two will be one flesh. What therefore God has joined together man (homo) must not put asunder. Mark 10:5-9; Matthew 19:5.

The soul of Shechem clung to Dinah, Jacob's daughter. He loved the girl, and spoke to the girl's heart. Genesis 34:3.

Solomon loved many foreign women. Solomon clung to these in love. 1 Kings 11:1-2.

These quotations show then that 'clinging to' is an expression descriptive of love which was adopted in ancient times by Churches in which meaningful signs were prominent, and that it means nothing else in the internal sense than a spiritual joining together, which is charity and love.

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445. Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand sealed, signifies faith and salvation. This is evident from the representation and consequent signification of "Issachar" and his tribe, as being that which makes heaven and salvation with man, for "Issachar" in the original means reward, and love and faith are what make heaven and salvation with man, consequently both are signified by "the tribe of Issachar." "Reward" is frequently spoken of in the Word, as "that reward is to be received," and by it is understood eternal life, salvation, and by many, heavenly joy; and in the nearest sense this is the signification of "reward." If a man is living according to the Lord's commandments, it is permissible for him to think of eternal life, salvation, and heavenly joy; but it is not permissible for him to keep his mind intent upon reward, for if he does so he has reward as an end, and easily falls into the thought that by his life he deserves heaven and salvation, and this thought causes him to have regard to self in every particular, and such regard to self removes him from heaven; for so far as man looks to self in what he does, he does not look to heaven. Because of this, "reward" signifies in the Word that in which heaven and salvation are, that is, in general, love and faith, and thence intelligence and wisdom, for in these are salvation and heaven, and consequently heavenly joy, so far as man does not think about reward. From this the signification of "Issachar" and his tribe can be seen.

[2] Here faith is signified, because "the tribe of Simeon" signifies obedience, and "the tribe of Levi" signifies good works, and they who are in good works from obedience are in faith; while such as are in the goods of life from the spiritual affection of truth and good are in charity, and they who are in the goods of life from celestial affection are in love to the Lord. This, too, is the way in which angels are distinguished in the heavens: those who are in the goods of life from a celestial affection are in the inmost or third heaven; those who are in the goods of life from a spiritual affection are in the middle or second heaven; and those who are in good works from obedience are in the lowest or first heaven, and these also are said to have faith, for the things they hear from the sense of the letter of the Word and from preachers they believe according to their apprehension, but they neither see nor perceive whether they are true, therefore their thought about what is to be believed is called faith; for that is properly called faith which is believed without intellectual sight and perception as to its being so, consequently such persons can believe falsity equally with truth. But when what is believed is seen and perceived this is not called faith, but apperception and perception; for the understanding illustrated by the Lord sees, and the will is affected, and action flows from the two.

[3] "Issachar" and his tribe here signify faith, because these three tribes, from each of which were twelve thousand sealed, mean all who are in the lowest or first heaven; and they who are in that heaven are said to be in good works from obedience, and in faith. Moreover, many of these call faith alone the essential of salvation, and yet do not separate faith from good works, for they say that faith is bestowed upon them by the Lord because they are in good works, and that if they were not in good works faith would not be given. But those who separate faith from good works, and declare it to be the sole means of salvation, and that they are saved by it howsoever they live, confirming this by their life, such are not in the lowest heaven but are in hell.

[4] Those who have regard to reward on account of the good works they do, and thus place merit in works, are meant by "Issachar" in the prophecy of Israel respecting his sons:

Issachar is a bony ass couching down between the burdens. And he shall see rest that it is good, and the land that it is pleasant; and he shall bow his shoulder to bear burdens, [and shall be one who serves for hire] (Genesis 49:14, 15).

Here "Issachar" signifies reward or recompense on account of works; "a bony ass" signifies the lowest servitude; "couching down between the burdens" signifies life among works; "and he shall see rest that it is good" signifies works of good without recompense full of felicity; "and the land that it is pleasant" signifies that those who are in the Lord's kingdom are in such felicity; "and he shall bow his shoulder to bear burdens" signifies that they, nevertheless, labor in every work; "and shall be one who serves for hire" signifies with a view to merit. (For further explanation of this see Arcana Coelestia 6387-6394.)

[5] But those who do not place merit in the good works they perform, by having regard for reward, but place heaven and the felicity of eternal life in thinking and willing well, and thence in acting well, and are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, which is with those who are in the heavenly marriage, that is, in the marriage of good and truth; such are meant by these words in Moses:

Of Zebulun he said, Be glad, Zebulun, in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the abundance of the seas, and the hidden things of the secret things of the sand (Deuteronomy 33:18, 19).

This is said of those who are in the marriage of good and truth, that is, in truths in respect to the understanding and thought, and in goods in respect to the will and affection. "Zebulun" signifies that marriage, and "Issachar" the affection of truth and good; "to be glad in thy going out" signifies to have delight in all genuine truths and goods, "going out" signifying all things, because it signifies the ultimate, the effect, and the conclusion; "to be glad in the tents" signifies in all worship; "to call the peoples unto the mountain" signifies, because such are in heaven, where there is the good of love; "to sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness" signifies worship from truths that are from good; "to suck the abundance of the sea" signifies to imbibe the truths of doctrine from the Word, and thus intelligence; and "to suck the hidden things of the secret things of the sand" signifies the spiritual things that lie concealed in the sense of the letter of the Word.

[6] Because "the tribes of Judah, of Issachar, and of Zebulun," signified the heaven where the good of love is, "the tribe of Judah" that good itself, "the tribe of Issachar" its affection, and "Zebulun" its conjunction with truths:

These three tribes pitched to the east of the tent of meeting (Numbers 2:3-9);

for in heaven those dwell to the east who are in the good of love and thus in the affection of good and truth, and in the marriage or conjunction of these, that is, in truths in respect to doctrine and in goods in respect to life.