7
καὶ τῷ ἡμίσει φυλῆς μανασση ἔδωκεν μωυσῆς ἐν τῇ βασανίτιδι καὶ τῷ ἡμίσει ἔδωκεν ἰησοῦς μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ ιορδάνου παρὰ θάλασσαν καὶ ἡνίκα ἐξαπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς ἰησοῦς εἰς τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς
Joshua 22:7
Arcana Coelestia # 1299
1299. 'They had bitumen for clay' means that they had evil springing from evil desire in place of good. This is clear from the meaning in the Word of 'bitumen' and of 'clay'. Since the subject here is the building of the tower of Babel, the materials mentioned are such as are used in building. Bitumen is mentioned because of its sulphurous and combustible qualities, which in the Word mean evil desires, chiefly those that belong to self-love. Here 'bitumen' means the evils springing from evil desires, as well as the resulting falsities, as these too are the evils from which the tower described below was constructed. That such things are meant is clear in Isaiah,
The day of Jehovah's vengeance - her streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into sulphur; and her land will become burning pitch. Isaiah 34:8-9.
'Pitch' and 'sulphur' stand for falsities and evils that spring from evil desires. And there are further examples besides these.
Revelation 21:19-20
19
The foundations of the city's wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.
