8364. All the disease that I have put on the Egyptians, I will not put upon thee. That this signifies that they are to be withheld from the evils that pertain to those who are in faith separate and in a life of evil, is evident from the signification of “disease,” as being evil (of which below); from the representation of the Egyptians, as being those who are in faith separate and in a life of evil (see n. 7097, 7317, 7926, 8148); and from the signification of “not to put upon thee,” when said of disease, by which evil is signified, as being that they are to be withheld from evil; for Jehovah, that is, the Lord, does not take away evil; but withholds man from it, and keeps him in good (n. 929, 1581, 2256, 2406, 4564, 8206). From this it is that by “not to put disease upon them” is signified that they are to be withheld from evils.

[2] That “disease” denotes evil, is because in the internal sense are signified such things as affect the spiritual life. The diseases which affect this life are evils, and are called cupidities and concupiscences. Faith and charity make the spiritual life. This life sickens when falsity takes the place of the truth which is of faith, and evil takes the place of the good which is of charity; for these bring this life unto death, which is called spiritual death, and is damnation, as diseases bring the natural life unto its death. Hence it is that by “disease” is signified in the internal sense evil; and by “the diseases of the Egyptians,” the evils into which those cast themselves who had been in faith separate and in a life of evil, whereby they had infested the upright, which evils have been treated of in what precedes, where the plagues in Egypt were treated of.

[3] Evils are also meant by “diseases” in other passages in the Word, as in Moses:

If thou wilt keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, Jehovah will remove from thee all sickness, and will not put upon thee all the evil weaknesses of Egypt, which thou hast known; but will give them upon thy haters (Deuteronomy 7:11, 15).

If thou wilt not obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, by keeping to do all His commandments and His statutes, Jehovah will send on thee the curse, the disquiet, and the rebuke, in every putting forth of thy hand which thou doest, until thou be destroyed, because of the wickedness of thy works, whereby thou hast forsaken Me. Jehovah shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until He has consumed thee from upon the land; Jehovah shall smite thee with consumption, and with a hot fever, and with a burning fever, and with a raging fever, and with drought, and with blasting, and with jaundice, which shall pursue thee until thou perish: Jehovah shall smite thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and with the hemorrhoids, and with the scab, and with the itch, that thou canst not be healed. Jehovah shall smite thee with fury, and with blindness, and with amazement of heart. Thou shalt become mad from the look of thine eyes. Jehovah shall smite thee with a sore ulcer, upon the knees, and upon the thighs, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of the foot unto the crown of thy head. He will throw back on thee all the weakness of Egypt, also every disease, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law. Jehovah shall give thee a trembling heart, consumption of eyes, and grief of soul (Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-22, 27-28, 34-35, 60-61, 65).

By all the diseases here named are signified spiritual diseases, which are evils destroying the life of the will of good, and falsities destroying the life of the understanding of truth; in a word, destroying the spiritual life which is of faith and charity. Moreover natural diseases correspond to such things, for every disease in the human race is from this source, because from sin (n. 5712, 5726). Moreover every disease corresponds to its own evil; the reason is that everything of man’s life is from the spiritual world; and therefore if his spiritual life sickens, evil is derived therefrom into the natural life also, and becomes a disease there. (See what has been said from experience about the correspondence of diseases with evils, n. 5711-5727)

[4] Like things are signified by “diseases” in other passages, as in Moses:

Ye shall worship Jehovah your God, that He may bless thy bread, and thy waters; and I will take disease away from the midst of thee (Exodus 23:25).

If ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul loathe My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, while ye make My covenant vain, I will enjoin terror upon you, with consumption, and with burning fever, that shall consume the eyes, and torment the soul (Leviticus 26:15-16);

signifying the decrease of truth, and the increase of falsity; “burning fever” denotes the cupidity of evil. Further in Isaiah:

Wherefore will ye add a going back? the whole head is diseased, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wound, and scar, and flesh blow, not pressed out, and not bandaged, and not mollified with oil (Isaiah 1:5-6).

That here by “disease,” “wound,” “scar,” and “blow,” are meant sins, is hidden from no one. It is similar in Ezekiel:

Woe to the shepherds of Israel, the feeble sheep have ye not strengthened, the sick one have ye not healed, and the broken one have ye not bandaged (Ezekiel 34:2, 4).

Mine iniquities are gone over my head, my wounds have putrefied, they have consumed away, because of my foolishness, for my bowels are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh (Psalms 38:4-5, 7).

[5] As by “diseases” are signified the corruptions and evils of spiritual life, therefore by the various kinds of diseases are signified also the various kinds of corruptions and evils of that life. (That by “pestilence” is signified the vastation of good and truth, see n. 7102, 7505; and by “leprosy,” the profanation of truth, n. 6963.) That in general by “diseases” are signified sins, can also be seen in Isaiah:

A man of sorrows, and known of disease; whence is as it were a hiding of faces from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not: nevertheless He hath borne our diseases, and hath carried our griefs, and through His wounds health hath been given us (53:3-5);

speaking of the Lord.

[6] As diseases represented the hurtful and evil things of the spiritual life, therefore by the diseases which the Lord healed is signified liberation from various kinds of evil and falsity which infested the church and the human race, and which would have led to spiritual death. For Divine miracles are distinguished from other miracles by the fact that they involve and have regard to states of the church and of the heavenly kingdom. Therefore the Lord’s miracles consisted chiefly in the healing of diseases. This is meant by the Lord’s words to the disciples sent by John:

Tell John the things which ye hear and see: the blind see, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead rise again, and the poor hear the gospel (Matthew 11:4-5).

Hence it is that it is so often said that the Lord “healed all disease and weakness” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 14:14, 35-36; Luke 4:40; 5:15; 6:17; 7:21; Mark 1:32-34; 3:10).

6963. And behold his hand was leprous, as snow. That this signifies the profanation of truth, is evident from the signification of “hand,” as being power (n. 6947), and as being truth, because spiritual power consists in truth (n. 6948, 6960); and from the signification of “leprosy,” as being profanation, specifically, the profanation of truth (of which below). In the historic Word much is said about leprosy, and about its various appearances in the skin, and about the judgment thence to be formed of its quality—whether the leper was to be shut in, or to go out of the camp, or to be set at liberty; and also about leprosy in garments, in vessels, and in the very houses. Leprosy is so much treated of, not on account of leprosy as a disease, but because it signified the profanation of truth, thus for the sake of the spiritual sense; and because the Jews and the Israelites were capable of profaning truth more than other people.

[2] For if they had known the internal things of the Word, and the truths themselves which were represented by the rites of the church among them, and had faith in them, and yet had lived according to their inclination, namely in the love of self and the love of the world, in hatred and revenge among themselves, and in cruelty toward the Gentiles, they must needs have profaned the truths in which they once had faith; for to believe in truths and to live contrary to them, is to profane them. And therefore they were withheld as far as possible from the knowledges of internal truth (see n. 3398, 3489); insomuch that they did not even know that they would live after death; neither did they believe that the Messiah would come to save souls eternally, but to exalt that nation above all others in the universe. And because that nation was such, and also is such at this day, therefore they are still withheld from faith, even though they live in the midst of Christendom. Hence then it is that the nature of leprosy was so particularly described.

[3] That “leprosy” signifies the profanation of truth, is plain from the statutes concerning leprosy that are recorded by Moses in Leviticus 13. In this description there is contained in the internal sense the whole nature of the profanation of truth—as what the nature of this profanation is if recent, what if old, what if inward in man, what if also outward, what if curable, what if incurable, what are the means of cure, and other particulars, which cannot be at all known to anyone, except by means of the internal sense of the Word.

[4] But as it is profanations which are described by “leprosy,” it is not allowable to explain in detail what is contained in the description of it. Moreover, heaven is horrified at the bare mention of what is profane. I may quote this passage only:

If the leprosy effloresce fully in the skin, and the leprosy cover the whole skin of him that hath the plague, from his head even to his heel, under every look of the priest’s eyes; and the priest see, and behold the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, then he shall pronounce the plague clean; it is all turned white, he is clean. But in the day that there shall appear in him living flesh, he shall be unclean (Leviticus 13:12-14).

Unless it is known from the internal sense how the case herein is, namely, that he is clean who is all leprous from his head even unto his heel, it must appear like a paradox; but by “one leprous from his head to his heel” is meant one who knows internal truths, but does not acknowledge or believe them. Such a one is not inwardly in profanation, but outwardly, which profanation is removed, and therefore he is clean. But if he knows the truths of faith, and believes them, and yet lives contrary to them, he is in profanation inwardly, as is the case also with one who has once believed, and afterward denies. Therefore it is said, “in the day that there shall appear in him living flesh, he shall be unclean;” by “living flesh” is meant acknowledgment and faith (see what has been adduced above, n. 6959).