9835. 'With the work of a designer' means a product of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'a designer' as the power of understanding, dealt with in 9598, 9688, so that 'the work of a designer' means that which is a product of that power. 'A designer' (excogitator) means the power of understanding because thought (cogitatio) belongs to the understanding, even as love and affection belong to the will. In the internal sense 'a designer' and 'thought' have the same meaning; for in that sense no attention is paid to the person, only to the actual reality that is meant, and 'designer' carries the idea of a person. For the truth of this, see 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007. What 'a product of the understanding' means must be stated briefly. The subject at present is the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and this kingdom - so far as all truths and forms of good there are concerned - belongs to the understanding part of the mind, whereas things in the Lord's celestial kingdom belong to the will part. For there are two entities with which everything in all creation has connection, good and truth; and this is why in the human being there are two mental powers, will and understanding. The will exists for the sake of good, and the understanding for the sake of truth; for the will is the recipient of good, and the understanding that of truth.

[2] The situation in the heavens is similar. There two kingdoms exist, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial kingdom exists to be a recipient of good and the spiritual kingdom to be a recipient of truth. And since the whole heaven corresponds to everything that exists with the human being, and heaven in the Lord's sight is consequently like one complete human being, this as well has the two powers of will and understanding, the will residing in the celestial kingdom and the understanding in the spiritual kingdom. Now because the spiritual kingdom was represented by Aaron's garments and heaven's power of understanding resides in this kingdom, 'the work of a designer' accordingly means the power of understanding.

The whole heaven, by virtue of the correspondence with every single thing that exists with the human being, is like one complete human being and is called the Grand Man, see the places referred to at the end of 9276. The forms of good and the truths present with those in the Lord's spiritual kingdom have been inscribed on the understanding part of their mind, but with those in His celestial kingdom on the will part, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596.

5287. 'A man with intelligence and wisdom' means with regard to inflowing truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a man with intelligence' as truth, and of 'a man with wisdom' as accompanying good. It should be recognized that 'a man with intelligence and wisdom' is not used in the internal sense to mean any actual man such as this but to mean, without reference to any actual person, that which makes someone intelligent and wise - to mean truth and good therefore. In the next life, especially in the heavens, all thought and consequently all language consists of images that do not involve any actual persons, so that thought and language there are universal and, compared with other forms of them, are free of limitations. For insofar as thought and language limit themselves to specific persons, especially to their personal characteristics, and insofar as they limit themselves to names and also to words, that thought and language become less universal; for these then limit themselves to something specific and do not stray from it. Insofar however as they do not focus on such things but on realities quite apart from them, they no longer limit themselves to something specific but spread out beyond themselves, with the result that a superior and therefore more universal picture is obtained.

[2] One may see the truth of this quite clearly in the way a person thinks. Insofar as his thought fixes its attention on the actual words a speaker uses, its attention is not fixed on their meaning. Also, insofar as his attention is fixed on particular ideas imprinted in his memory and remains concentrated on these, he has no perception of the essential nature of things. More than this, insofar as self-regard is present in everything he thinks he cramps his thought and denies himself an overall picture of anything. This explains why, insofar as anyone loves himself more than others, he is lacking in wisdom. From all this one may now see why in the internal sense matters which have no reference to actual persons are meant by those descriptions which in the sense of the letter do limit themselves to such persons. See also 5225.

Various places in the Word draw a distinction between wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge. Wisdom is used to mean that which that which springs from good, intelligence to mean that which springs from truth, and knowledge to mean to both of these as they exist in a person's natural, as in Moses,

I have filled Bezalel with the spirit of God, so far as wisdom, and intelligence, and knowledge, and all workmanship are concerned. Exodus 31:2-3; 35:30-31.

And in the same author,

Choose ¹ wise, and intelligent, and knowledgeable men, according to your tribes, and I will make them your heads. Deuteronomy 1:13.

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