47
και-C καλεω-VAI-AAI3S αυτος-
D--ASM *λαβαν-N---NSM *βουνος-N2--NSM ο-
A--GSF μαρτυρια-N1A-GSF *ιακωβ-N---NSM δε-X καλεω-VAI-AAI3S αυτος-
D--ASM *βουνος-N2--NSM μαρτυς-N3--NSM
Genesis 31:47
Arcana Coelestia # 4169
4169. Thy sheep and thy she-goats have not cast their young. That this signifies its state as to good and the good of truth, is evident from the signification of a “sheep,” as being good (concerning which in what follows); and from the signification of a “she-goat,” as being the good of truth (see n. 3995, 4006). By “good” simply so called is meant the good of the will; but by the “good of truth” is meant the good of the understanding. The good of the will is to do good from good; but the good of the understanding is to do good from truth. To those who do good from truth these two appear to be one and the same thing; but yet they differ much from each other; for to do good from good is to do it from the perception of good, and the perception of good exists solely with the celestial; whereas to do good from truth is to do it from memory-knowledge and the consequent understanding; but without the perception that it is so; and only because we have been so instructed by others, or by our own intellectual faculty have of ourselves arrived at the conclusion in question. This may indeed be a fallacious truth, but still if it has good as its end, that which the man does from this truth becomes as good.
[2] That “sheep” signify goods, may be seen from many passages in the Word, of which the following only shall be adduced.
In Isaiah:
He was afflicted, and He opened not His mouth; He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers, and He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7); concerning the Lord, where He is compared to a sheep, not from truth, but from good.
In Matthew:
Jesus said to the twelve whom He sent out, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6
the “Gentiles to whom they should not go,” denote those who are in evils. (That the “Gentiles” denote evils may be seen above, n. 1259, 1260, 1849.) The “cities of the Samaritans” denote those who are in falsities; “sheep,” those who are in goods.
[3] In John:
Jesus after His resurrection said to Peter, Feed My lambs; the second time He said, Feed My sheep; and the third time, Feed My sheep (John 21:15-17);
“lambs” here denote those who are in innocence; “sheep” as first mentioned, those who are in good from good; and “sheep” as last mentioned, those who are in good from truth.
In Matthew:
When the Son of man shall come in His glory, He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left; and He shall say unto them on His right hand, Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; I was naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me (Matthew 25:31-40).
That “sheep” here denote goods (that is, those who are in good) is very evident. All kinds of the goods of charity are here contained in the internal sense, as of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be shown elsewhere. By “he-goats” are specifically signified those who are in faith and in no charity.
[4] In like manner in Ezekiel:
As for you, O My flock, saith the Lord Jehovih, behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams of the sheep, and the he-goats (Ezekiel 34:17).
That the “he-goats” are specifically those who are in the faith of no charity, may be seen from the signification of “he-goats,” as being in a good sense those who are in the truth of faith, and thence in some charity; but in the opposite sense, those who are in the faith of no charity, and who reason concerning salvation from the starting point that faith saves. The same appears also from what the Lord says concerning the goats in Matthew, as cited above. But they who are in no truth of faith, and at the same time in no good of charity, are carried away into hell without such a judgment, that is, without any conviction that they are in falsity.
Ezekiel 34
1
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep?
3
You eat the fat, and you clothe yourself with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep.
4
You haven't strengthened the diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor you have ruled over them.
5
They were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the animals of the field, and were scattered.
6
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought.
7
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
8
As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn't feed my sheep;
9
therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
10
Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
11
For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
12
As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13
I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14
I will feed them with good pasture; and on the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel.
15
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Yahweh.
16
I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice.
17
As for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
18
Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet?
19
As for my sheep, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.
20
Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21
Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad;
22
therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23
I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24
I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
25
I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26
I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27
The tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.
28
They shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the animals of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.
29
I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.
30
They shall know that I, Yahweh, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord Yahweh.
31
You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.
