54
οπως κομιση την βασανον σου και ατιμωθηση εκ παντων ων εποιησας εν τω σε παροργισαι με
Ezekiel 16:54
Arcana Coelestia # 10540
10540. 'And now, take off your finery' means the nature of their external which is such that it is without anything Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'finery', when the Church is the subject, as holy truth or that which is Divine in external things, dealt with above in 10536; and from the meaning of 'taking it off' as shedding it, thus being without it. The fact that that which is Divine in external things or holy truth is meant by 'finery' is clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,
I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shod you with badger; and I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with finery, and put bracelets onto your hands and a chain onto your neck. And I put a jewel onto your nose, and earrings on your ears, and a crown of glory onto your head. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver; and your garments were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, [honey,] and oil; therefore you became extremely beautiful, and attained to a kingdom. For this reason your fame 1 went out among the nations, regarding your beauty; for this was made perfect by My finery which I had put on you. Ezekiel 16:10-14.
[2] This refers to Jerusalem and means the Church which had been established by the Lord after the Flood and was succeeded by the Israelite and Jewish Church. The character of the latter is also described in the same chapter; but the character of that previous Ancient Church is described in the verses just quoted, its holy truths being described by the adornments spoken of there. Anyone may see that things such as have to do with the Church are meant by those specifically mentioned, and that each one means something particular. What other purpose does such a description of Jerusalem serve?
[3] Yet which aspect of the Church is meant by each one becomes clear solely from the internal sense. For this sense shows what exactly in the spiritual world corresponds to each item in the description. The following is made clear by that sense,
'Embroidered cloth' means true factual knowledge, 9688.
'Fine linen' means intellectual truth from the Divine, 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744.
'Bracelets' means the power of truths, 3103, 3105.
'A neck-chain' means the flowing in of truth derived from good, and the consequent joining together of interior things and exterior ones, 5320.
'A nose-jewel' means the perception of truth, and 'earrings' obedience to truths, 4551, 10402.
'A crown of glory' means spiritual good, or the good of truth, good being meant by 'a crown', 9930, and that which is spiritual by 'glory', 9815.
'Gold and silver' means goodness and truth in general, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9874.
'Fine flour, honey, and oil' means truths and forms of good, external and internal ones, truth from good being meant by 'fine flour', 9995, external good by 'honey', 10530, and internal good by 'oil', 886, 4582, 4638, 9474, 9780, 10254, 10261.
'Beauty' means the outward form taken by truth derived from good, 3080, 3821, 4985, 5199.
And 'Jerusalem', about which those things are said, means the Church, see 402, 2117, 3654. From all this it is evident what 'finery' means, namely holy truth in its entirety.
[4] All the finery of the daughters of Zion which is itemized in Isaiah has a like meaning,
On that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, and of the networks, and of the crescents, and of the perfume containers 2 , and of the chainlets, and of the bracts 3 , and the tiaras, and the garters, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes 4 , and the charms; the rings, and the nose-jewels, the changes of clothes, and the robes, and the veils, and the pin-cases, the mirrors, and the muslin, and the turbans, and the linen garments. And it will happen, that instead of fragrance there will be rottenness, and instead of a girdle, a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair 5 , baldness, and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth, burning instead of beauty. Your people will fall by the sword, and [so will] your strength in war. Isaiah 3:18-25.
Those who confine themselves to the literal sense inevitably think that all these items with which the daughters of Zion are said to be adorned must be understood literally, and that it was because of that finery and the pride and arrogance it would create that the people of that kingdom would perish, since it says, your people will fall by the sword, and your strength in war. But those who raise their minds to some extent above the literal statement can see that such things should not be understood literally.
[5] From various places in the Word they can see that 'the daughters of Zion' should not be taken to mean the daughters of Zion but such things as are aspects of the Church, which are also meant by the daughters of Jerusalem, the daughters of Israel, the daughters of Judah, and many other daughters. Regarding 'daughters', that they mean the Church and aspects of the Church, see 6729, 9055(end). Since therefore the Church and aspects of the Church are meant by 'the daughters of Zion' it follows that all their finery itemized in this chapter of Isaiah mean the Church's truths and forms of good, and that each item means some specific truth or form of good. For nothing that appears in the Word, not even one small expression, is devoid of meaning.
[6] And because that Church will be bereaved of its truths and forms of good, meant by all that finery, the prophecy goes on to say that instead of fragrance there will be rottenness, instead of a girdle a falling apart, instead of well-set hair baldness, instead of a robe a girding of sackcloth, burning instead of beauty, and also that the people will fall by the sword, as will [their] strength in war. For 'fragrance' or 'spice' means the perception of Divine Truth, 10199, 10291, and 'rottenness' the deprivation of it; 'a girdle' means a bond holding truths and forms of good in connection with one another, 9341(end), 9828, 9837, 'a falling apart instead of it' the disintegration and diffusion of them; 'well-set hair' means true factual knowledge, 2831 6 , 'baldness' being deprived of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good, 9960; 'burning' means the destruction of these by the evils of self-love, 1297, 2446, 7852, 9055, 9141, 'beauty' the outward form that truth springing from good takes within the Church, thus the perfection of it, 3080, 3821, 4985, 5199; and 'the sword' by which the people will fall means falsity destroying truth and good, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. Having no 'strength in war' means having no resistance to evil and falsity, for 'war' is spiritual conflict, and temptation, 1659, 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295, 10455.
From all this it is now evident that 'finery' in general means the Divine Truth which the Church possesses.
[7] The like is meant by 'finery' in the second Book of Samuel,
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in twice-dyed pleasantly 7 , who put gold finery on your clothing. 2 Samuel 1:24.
These words appear in David's lamentation over Saul, which he entitled in verse 18 of that chapter, To teach the children of Judah the bow. 'The bow' in this verse means doctrine consisting of truth engaged in conflict against falsities of evil, 2686, 2709, 6422. This being so, 'daughters of Israel' means the Church's affections for truth, 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6788, 8994; 'being clothed in twice-dyed pleasantly' means being endued with the Church's interior truths, which spring from good, 4922, 9468; 'putting gold finery on clothing' means giving truths that spring from good a beautiful appearance, good being meant by 'gold', see in the places referred to in 9874, and truth in general by 'clothing' or 'garment', in the places referred to above in 10536(end). The reason why David's lamentation over Saul has to do with doctrine consisting of truth, meant by 'the bow', engaged in conflict against falsity of evil is that 'the king' or the royal office held by Saul means Divine Truth in respect of protection and of judgement, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.
[8] The like is meant by 'finery' in other places: In David,
Give to Jehovah the glory of His name; bow down to Jehovah in the finery of holiness. Psalms 29:2.
'In the finery of holiness' means with the authentic truths of the Church. Similarly in Isaiah,
Your sons will make haste. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together. I am the Living One, said Jehovah; you will put them all on as finery, and gird them round yourself like a bride. Isaiah 49:17-18.
These words too refer to Zion, by which the celestial Church is meant, 'sons' who 'will make haste' meaning this Church's truths. (For the meaning of 'sons' as truths, see 489, 491, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 9807.) This explains why it says that Zion will put them all on as finery and gird them round herself like a bride; such can be said of the Church's truths, but not of the sons of Zion.
[9] Since almost everything in the Word also has a contrary meaning, so do those objects constituting finery. In the contrary sense they mean truths that have been falsified, as in Jeremiah,
You who have been laid waste, what will you do? If you clothe yourself in twice-dyed, if you adorn yourself with gold finery, if you widen your eyes with stibium 8 , in vain will you make yourself beautiful. Jeremiah 4:29, 30.
And in Hosea,
I will visit on her 9 the days of the baals to whom she burned incense, and put on her nose-jewel and her finery, and went after her lovers and forgot Me. Hosea 2:13.
And in other places.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. literally, name
2. Probably worn around the neck
3. i.e. thin metal plates worn as jewelry
4. literally, houses of the soul
5. literally, instead of the work of plaited [hair]
6. The Latin here rendered literally the work of plaited [hair] and idiomatically well-set hair is opus implexum. In 2831 the second of these words applies to the branches of trees and is consequently rendered entangled.
7. literally, with pleasant things
8. literally, break open the eyes with stibium. Stibium was a cosmetic used for blackening the eyelids and eyebrows, thereby making the eyes look brighter or more open.
9. i.e. I will punish her for
Arcana Coelestia # 4639
4639. Genesis 36
1. And these are the generations of Esau, he being Edom.
2. Esau took his wives (femina) from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
3. And Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.
4. And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau; and Basemath bore Reuel;
5. And Oholibamah bore Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6. And Esau took his wives (femina), and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his purchase which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to a land away from Jacob his brother.
7. For their acquirements were too many for them to dwell together, and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of their cattle.
8. And Esau dwelt on Mount Seir, Esau himself being Edom.
9. And these are the generations of Esau the father of Edom on Mount Seir.
10. These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.
11. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
12. And Timna was a concubine belonging to Eliphaz the son of Esau; and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.
13. And these were the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
14. And these were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon; and to Esau she bore Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
15. These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz,
16. Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, Chief Amalek; these were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom, these were the sons of Adah.
17. And these were the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, Chief Mizzah; these were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom, these were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
18. And these were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, Chief Korah; these were the chiefs of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
19. These were the sons of Esau, and these were their chiefs - he being Edom.
20. These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
21. And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan; these were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.
22. And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and the sister of Lotan was Timna.
23. And these were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24. And these were the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, this being the Anah who found the mules in the desert while he was feeding the asses for Zibeon his father.
25. And these were the children of Anah: Dishan, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.
26. And these were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
27. These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
28. These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29. These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah,
30. Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.
31. And these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before a king reigned over the children of Israel.
32. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in place of him.
34. And Jobab died, and Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in place of him.
35. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in place of him; and the name of his city was Avith.
36. And Hadad died, and Samlah from Masrekah reigned in place of him.
37. And Samlah died, and Saul from Rehoboth on the river reigned in place of him.
38. And Saul died, and Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in place of him.
39. And Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in place of him; and the name of his city was Pau. And his wife's name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mezahab.
40. And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,
41. Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon,
42. Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar,
43. Chief Magdiel, Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom according to their habitations, in the land of their possession, Esau himself being the father of Edom.
CONTENTS
The subject now in the internal sense is the Lord's Divine Natural Good. The entire order which that Good possesses is described by the names that are given, the Lord's Divine Natural Good being meant by 'Esau'.
