7678. 'And Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt' means exercising the power of God's truth over the entire natural of the molesting ones. This is clear from the meaning of 'stretching out the rod' as an exercising of power, dealt with above in 7673; from the representation of 'Moses' as God's truth, dealt with in 6752, 7010, 7014, 7382; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural of those who molest, dealt with above in 7674. The Divine power which is described by 'the hand of Moses' is the power of God's truth. All power belongs to truth, see 3091, 5623, 6344, 6423, 6948; indeed the power that Divine Truth going forth from Divine Goodness possesses is such that it has created all things throughout the universe. That Truth is meant by 'the Word' in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him. John 1:1, 3.

This explains why miracles were performed through Moses, for 'Moses' represents Divine Truth. Most people think that the Word or Divine Truth is merely what Jehovah has spoken and what He commands so to be done - this and nothing more. But in fact it is the Essential Being itself (Ipsum Essentiale), the source from which all things exist and the means by which they are kept in existence. That Essential Being (Esse) which emanates from Him and, arising from it, the Coming-into-Being (Existere) of all things is what is meant by Divine Truth. Some light on all this can be gained by considering the angels. From them emanates a sphere of charity and faith which is clearly perceptible and which also produces wondrous effects. From these one may form some idea of Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Goodness.

144. As to 'calling by name' meaning recognizing their nature, it must be realized that the ancients understood nothing else by 'a name than the essential nature of a real thing, and by 'seeing and calling them by name' recognizing the nature of such. This was why they gave their sons and daughters names in keeping with the things that were meant by them; for there was something unique to every name, as a means of knowing the origin and nature of those children, as will also be seen later on where, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the twelve sons of Jacob are dealt with. Since therefore a name embodied a person's origin and nature nothing else was meant by 'calling by name'. This manner of speaking was customary among them; but anyone who does not understand is sure to wonder whether they do have these meanings.