7022. 'And Moses took his wife' means the good linked to [the law from God]. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the Lord in respect of the law or truth from God, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'wife' as the good linked to it, dealt with in 4510, 4823. In the internal sense, and also in the highest sense in which the Lord is the subject, 'the wife' who was married to Moses represents the good that had been joined to truth, the reason for this being that every single thing in the spiritual world and in the natural world has the likeness of a marriage within it. The likeness of a marriage exists wherever there is that which is active and that which is passive; and both must be present with each other wherever anything comes into being. Unless they are joined together nothing can possibly be produced. One reason why the likeness of a marriage is present in all things is that all things have a connection with goodness and truth and so with the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of goodness and truth; and the heavenly marriage has a connection with the Divine marriage, which is a marriage of Divine Good and Divine Truth. And another reason is, as has been stated, that nothing can be produced or brought into being unless there is that which is active and that which is passive, and so unless the likeness of a marriage exists. From all this it is plainly evident that the truth of faith devoid of the good of charity cannot produce anything, and neither can the good of charity devoid of the truth of faith. The two must be joined together to bear fruit and to establish the life of heaven in a person. Regarding the likeness of a marriage present in every single thing, see 1432, 2177, 2516, 5194. And since each detail of the Word has the marriage of goodness and truth within it, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 6343, each detail of the Word has heaven within it, for heaven constitutes that actual marriage. And since each detail of the Word has heaven within it, each detail has the Lord within it, because the Lord is the All in all of heaven. All this shows how it comes about that 'the wife of Moses' represents the good that had been joined to truth, even in the highest sense in which the Lord is the subject, in the same way as Sarah the wife of Abraham represents such good, dealt with in 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, and also Rebekah the wife of Isaac, in 3012, 3013, 3077.

801. This description of these people before the Flood shows the nature of the style used by the most ancient people, and consequently of the prophetical style. From here down to the end of this chapter these people are described, in the present verses as regards their persuasions, and in verse 23 that follows as regards their desires. That is, they are described as regards the state of the things of their understanding, and after that as regards the state of those of their will. Although the proper things of the understanding and of the will did not exist in them, the things in them that were the reverse of these must nevertheless be called things of the understanding and will. Though in no sense things of the understanding, persuasions of falsity must be called such because they are matters of thought and reasoning; and the same applies to desires which are in no sense things of the will. Those people are described, as I say, first of all as regards their persuasions of falsity, and after that as regards their desires. This is the reason why verse 23 which follows repeats, though in a different order, the things referred to in this verse 21.

[2] Such also is the prophetical style, the reason being that there are two kinds of life with man - the first belonging to things of the understanding, the second to those of the will - which are very distinct and separate from each other. Man is composed of both, and although they are separated in man nowadays, they still flow one into the other and for the most part unite. The fact that they unite, and how they do so, could be established and illustrated in many ways. Since man is therefore composed of these two parts - understanding and will - and one flows into the other, the Word when describing man describes each part separately, which is the reason for repetitions; otherwise the description would be defective. As with the will and understanding here, so with everything else. It is their subjects that make things exactly what they are. Being the product of their subjects, they are attributes of those subjects. Things separated from their subject, that is, from their substance, are not anything. This is the reason why when the Word describes something it does so as regards both areas. In this way the description of everything is made complete.