238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

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8314. 'Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed' means a like feeling on the part of those leading a life of evil arising from self-love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the chiefs' as the leaders, thus each and every person, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Edom' as those who, ruled by the evil of self-love, seize on falsities and cast aside truths, or as - in the sense abstracted from persons - the evil of self-love which embraces falsity and rejects truth, so that 'Edom' also represents those who lead a life of evil arising from that love, namely self-love. As regards the word 'chiefs', leaders are meant by it, or - in the sense abstracted from persons - leading features, and so each and every aspect. For when the word 'chiefs' is used, it implies each and every person under them, as when the word 'king' is used it implies all subjects of his kingdom; for the group takes its name from the most powerful person among them. When the term 'chiefs' or 'commanders' is mentioned in the Word general headings under which all else comes is meant, or leading features, as with 'tertiary commanders', 8150, 8276; and that term has reference to good, or in the contrary sense to evil. 'Princes' however likewise means general headings under which all else comes, or first and foremost features, 1482, 2089, 5044; but it has reference to truth.

[2] It should be recognized that in the Word there are terms that belong to the group of spiritual things and terms that belong to the group of celestial things; that is, there are terms serving to express such things as are matters of truth or faith, and terms serving to express such things as are matters of good or love. In addition there are terms that have reference to both. As soon as the person who is acquainted with these looks at or reads the Word, especially in its original language, he knows when such things as are matters of truth are the subject in the internal sense, and when such things as are matters of good are the subject. This is the situation with the meaning of 'princes' and 'chiefs'. 'Princes' means first and foremost features and is used in reference to the truths of faith, or in the contrary sense to falsities of faith, whereas 'chiefs' means leading features and is used in reference to the good of love, or in the contrary sense to the evils of love.

[3] So it is that those who ruled in Edom were called 'chiefs', as is evident from Genesis 36:15-19, 21, 29-30, 40-43. The reason why they were called 'chiefs' is that 'Edom' meant the good of celestial love, and in the contrary sense the evil of self-love. But among 'the sons of Ishmael', those who were set in authority over everyone else were not called 'chiefs' but 'princes', Genesis 25:16, because 'Ishmael' means those guided by truth, 3263, 3268, 4747. For the same reason the term 'princes' was used for those set in authority in Israel, Numbers 7:2, 10, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, since 'Israel' represented those governed by the truth and good of faith. But those set in authority in Judah were called 'chiefs' since Judah' represented those governed by the good of love, as in Zechariah,

Let him be like a chief in Judah. Zechariah 9:7.

And in the same prophet,

The chiefs of Judah will say in their heart, I will strengthen ¹ for myself the inhabitants of Jerusalem in Jehovah Zebaoth, their God. On that day I will make the chiefs of Judah like a furnace of fire among pieces of wood. Zechariah 12:5-6.

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