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.

Poznámky pod čarou:

6125. 'In exchange for horses' means factual knowledge supplied from the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'horses' as ideas forming the understanding, dealt with in 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and since they are spoken of in connection with Egypt, which means factual knowledge, 'horses' here are factual knowledge supplied from the understanding. But what factual knowledge supplied from the understanding is must be stated. There is an understanding part and there is a will part in the human mind, and these are situated not only in his internal man but also in his external. The human understanding is developing and growing from early childhood through to manhood, and it consists in a discernment of things gained from experience and formal knowledge, also a discernment of causes from effects as well as of consequences from a chain of causes. Thus the understanding part consists in a comprehension and perception of such things as are part of everyday life, public and private. An inflowing of light from heaven brings it into existence, and for that reason everyone's understanding is capable of being made more perfect. Understanding is given to everyone in accordance with his effort to make use of what he knows, in accordance with the life he leads, and in accordance with his individual character; no one lacks it provided he is of sound mind. A person is given it to the end that he may have freedom of choice, that is, have the freedom to choose good or evil. Unless he possesses an understanding like the one just described, he has no power of his own to make that choice; thus nothing could possibly be made his own.

[2] In addition to this it should be recognized that the understanding part of a person's mind is that which receives what is spiritual, so that it is the recipient of spiritual truth and good. For no good at all, that is, no charity, nor any truth at all, that is, any faith, can be instilled into anyone if he does not have that understanding part; but they are instilled in the measure that he does have it. This also explains why a person is not regenerated by the Lord until adult life when he does possess an understanding. Till then the good of love and the truth of faith fall like seed into utterly infertile soil. But once a person has been regenerated his understanding serves the function of enabling him to see and perceive what good is and from this what truth is. For the understanding converts things belonging to the superior light of heaven into those belonging to the inferior light of the natural world, as a consequence of which the former are then seen within the latter in the same way as a person's inner affections are seen in his face when it lacks all pretence. And because the understanding serves that function, many places in the Word where the spiritual side of the Church is referred to refer also to its power of understanding, a matter which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with elsewhere.

[3] From all this one may now see what is meant by factual knowledge supplied from the understanding, namely known facts which lend support to the things a person grasps and perceives with his understanding, whether those things are bad or good. Such facts are what are meant in the Word by 'horses from Egypt', as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help, and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and on horsemen because they are extremely strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel and do not seek Jehovah. For Egypt is man (homo), not God; and his horses are flesh, not spirit. Isaiah 31:1, 3.

'Horses from Egypt' stands for factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding.

[4] In Ezekiel,

He rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that ha might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does this be rescued? Ezekiel 17:15.

'Horses from Egypt' again stands for factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding, which knowledge is resorted to in matters of faith, though there is no belief in the Word, that is, in the Lord, apart from what that knowledge provides. Thus no belief ever comes to exist, for within a perverted understanding a negative attitude reigns.

[5] The destruction which such factual knowledge underwent is represented by the drowning of Pharaoh's horses and chariots in the Sea Suph; and since that knowledge is meant by 'horses' and false matters of doctrine by 'chariots', his horses and chariots are mentioned so many times in the description of that event, see Exodus 14:17-18, 27, 26, 28. And the Song of Moses and Miriam consequently contains these words,

Pharaoh's horse went, also his chariot, also his horsemen, into the sea; but Jehovah made the waters of the sea come back over them. Sing to Jehovah, for He has highly exalted Himself; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. Exodus 15:19, 21.

[6] Similar factual knowledge is also meant by the things required before-hand for a king over Israel, in Moses,

If they desire a king, from among their brothers shall a king be set over them. Only let him not multiply horses for himself nor lead the people back into Egypt in order to multiply horses. Deuteronomy 17:15-16.

'A king' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4789, 4966, 5044, 5068, thus as regards intelligence since this comes, when it is genuine, from Divine Truth. The need for intelligence to be acquired through the Word, which is Divine Truth, and not through factual knowledge taken from one's own understanding is meant by the injunction that the king should not multiply horses or lead the people back into Egypt in order to multiply horses.