9007. 'Anyone striking a man - and he dies' means injury done to the truth of faith, and consequent loss of spiritual life. This is clear from the meaning of 'striking' as injuring by means of falsity, dealt with in 7136, 7146; from the meaning of 'a man' as the truth of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'dying' as loss of spiritual life, dealt with in 5407, 6119, 7494, no other kind of life being meant in the internal sense, though natural life is meant in the external sense. The reason why injury done to the truth of faith leads to the destruction of spiritual life is that good united to truth composes that life, and therefore when truth is snatched away good falls to the ground, and so does spiritual life.

[2] The reason why 'a man' means the truth of faith is that in heaven they do not focus their attention on the person or anything of the person, only on things in the abstract, that is, without envisaging any actual person, 4380 (end), 8343, 8985. Consequently they do not think of 'a man' when this expression is used in the Word, for a man is a person; instead they think of his power of mind which makes him a man, namely the power of understanding. And when they think of this they think of the truth of faith, since it belongs to that power of mind and not only enlightens it but also shapes it. Just as in heaven they think of someone's power of understanding when 'a man' (vir) is used, so they think of his power of will when 'a human being' (homo) is used; for a human being is a human being by virtue of the will, whereas 'a man' is such by virtue of the understanding. And as the will is really the human being, 'human being' therefore means the good of love, since it belongs to the will, perfecting and composing it. For the meaning of 'a man' as the power of understanding and consequently the truth of faith, see 158, 265, 749, 1007, 2517, 3134, 3309, 3459, 4823, 7716; and for 'a human being' as the good of love, 768, 4287, 7523, 8547, 8988.

7523. 'And there will be on man and on beast' means the products of interior and exterior evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'man' as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the desire for evil; and 'beast' is similar in meaning. But when 'man' and 'beast' are mentioned together, 'man means interior affection or desire and 'beast' exterior; regarding both, see 7424. Interior good or else interior evil, which is meant by 'man', is that connected with intentions or ends in view, for intentions or ends in view are at a person's core, whereas exterior good or else exterior evil, which is meant by 'beast', is that connected with thought and consequently, if nothing stands in the way, with action. Exterior good is meant by 'beast' because a person is in respect of his external or natural man no different from a beast; for he is endowed with similar desires and also cravings, as well as appetites and senses. And interior good is meant by 'man because it is in respect of his internal or spiritual man that a person is a human being, on which internal level he is endowed with affections for what is good and true such as exist with the angels in heaven, and because he controls his natural or animal man, which is 'a beast', by means of that internal man. Regarding the meaning of 'beast' as the affection for good and in the contrary sense the desire for evil, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198.

[2] These things are what are meant by 'man and beast' in the following places too: In Jeremiah,

My anger and My wrath have been poured out on this place, on man and on beast. Jeremiah 7:20

In the same prophet,

I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Jeremiah 21:6.

In the same prophet,

It will make her land a desolation, so that none may dwell in it; both man and beast have scattered themselves, they have gone away. Jeremiah 50:3.

In Ezekiel,

When a land has sinned against Me by committing great transgression, I will cut off from it man and beast. Ezekiel 14:13, 19, 21.

In the same prophet,

I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast, and make it a waste. Ezekiel 25:13.

In Zephaniah,

I will consume man and beast, I will consume the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the surface of the earth. Zephaniah 1:3.

[3] 'Man and beast' stands for interior and exterior good in the following places: In Jeremiah,

I have made the earth, man and beast, by My great strength. Jeremiah 27:5.

In the same prophet,

Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:17.

In the same prophet,

A desolation will the earth be, so that man and beast are not there. Jeremiah 32:43.

In the same prophet,

In the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that have been devastated, there is no man and inhabitant, and there is no beast. Jeremiah 33:10; 51:62.

In David,

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgements a great deep; You preserve man and beast, O Jehovah. Psalms 36:6.

It was because 'man and beast' meant such things that the firstborn of the Egyptians died, not only of men but also of beasts, Exodus 12:29, and that the firstborn were consecrated [to Jehovah], not only of men but also of beasts, Numbers 18:15, and also that the king of Nineveh, following sacred religious practice, commanded that not only man but also beast should fast and also be clothed in sackcloth, Jonah 3:7-8.