330. Out of every tribe and tongue, signifies by all who are in truths in respect to doctrine and in respect to life. This is evident from the signification of "tribe," as being all truths and goods in the complex (of which see above, n. 39; for these are meant by the twelve tribes, and therefore each tribe signifies something of truth and good, therefore "out of every tribe" signifies out of all who are in any kind of truth and good. It is evident also from the signification of "tongue," as being the doctrine of life and faith. That "tribes" signify all truths and goods in the complex will be shown more fully below in its own paragraph; likewise that "tongue" signifies the doctrine of life and faith, thus religion. (Here will be presented only what is shown in Arcana Coelestia respecting the signification of "tribes," namely, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signified all truths and goods in the complex, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that the twelve apostles of the Lord have a like signification, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 6397; that there were twelve because "twelve" signifies all, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. Because the twelve tribes represented and thus signified all the truths and goods in the complex they therefore represented heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996. That the twelve tribes signify various things according to the order in which they are named, thus in different ways all things of heaven and the church, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 seq., 6337, 6640, 10335; therefore responses could be given and were given by the Urim and Thummim, where the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven on precious stones, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905)

5915. 'And I will sustain you there' means a constant influx of spiritual life from the internal celestial. This is clear from the meaning of 'sustaining', when spoken by Joseph, who represents the internal celestial, as an influx of spiritual life from the internal celestial. In the internal sense 'sustainment' is nothing else than the influx of goodness and truth from the Lord by way of heaven. This is how angels are sustained, and it is how a person's soul, that is, his internal man, is sustained. This sustainment is what the sustaining of the external man by means of food and drink corresponds to; and for this reason good is meant by 'food' and truth by 'drink'. The nature of this correspondence is also such that when a person is eating food the angels present with him think of goodness and truth; and, what is amazing, their ideas vary according to the different kinds of food that he eats. When therefore in the Holy Supper a person receives bread and wine the angels present with him think about the good of love and the good of faith, 3464, 3735, for the reason that 'bread' corresponds to the good of love and 'wine' to the good of faith. And because they correspond to them they also carry the same meanings in the Word.

[2] The fact that a person's soul, that is, his internal man, is sustained by spiritual food and drink, which are goodness and truth, is clear from the Lord's words in Moses,

Man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every utterance of the mouth of Jehovah. Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4.

'Utterance of the mouth of Jehovah' is goodness and truth that go forth from Him. In John,

Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:27.

In the same gospel,

The disciples asked Jesus, saying, Master, eat. He said to them, I have food to eat of which you do not know. John 4:31-32.

And regarding drink, in the same gospel,

Jesus said, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow out from within him. ¹ John 7:37-38.

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