9396. And he took the book of the covenant. That this signifies the Word in the letter with which the Word in heaven has been conjoined, is evident from the signification of “the book,” as being the Word in the whole complex (of which in what follows); and from the signification of a “covenant,” as being conjunction (n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778). By “the book of the covenant” is here meant everything the Lord spoke from Mount Sinai, for it is said just above (verse 4) “and Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah.” Consequently by “the book of the covenant” in a narrow sense is meant the Word revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in a wide sense the Word in the whole complex, because this is the Divine truth revealed by the Lord. And as the Lord thereby conjoins Himself with the man of the church, it is “the book of the covenant,” because “covenant” denotes conjunction.

[2] But at the present day it is not known what is the conjunction of the Lord with the man of the church through the Word, because heaven is now closed. For at the present day scarcely anyone speaks with angels and spirits, and thereby knows how they perceive the Word; when yet this was known to the ancient, and especially to the most ancient people, for it was a common thing with them to speak with spirits and angels. The reason was that in ancient times, and especially in the most ancient times, men were interior men, for they thought in the spirit almost abstractedly from the body; whereas modern men are exterior men, and think in the body almost abstractedly from the spirit. Hence it is that heaven has as it were gone away from man; for the communication of heaven is with the internal man when this can be abstracted from the body, but not with the external man immediately. Consequently the nature of the conjunction of the Lord with man through the Word is not now known.

[3] Those who think from the sensuous of the body, and not from the sensuous of the spirit, must needs conceive that the sense of the Word in heaven is such as it is in the world, that is, such as it is in the letter. If it be said that the sense of the Word in heaven is such as is the thought of the internal man, which is devoid of material ideas, that is, of worldly, bodily, and earthly ideas, this would now be a paradox; and especially if it should be said that the sense of the Word in heaven differs as much from its sense in the world (that is, in the letter), as a heavenly paradise differs from an earthly one, and as heavenly food and drink differ from earthly. How great the difference is, appears from the fact that the heavenly paradise is intelligence and wisdom; that heavenly food is all the good of love and charity; and heavenly drink all the truth of faith from this good. At the present day who would not marvel if he should hear that when mention is made in the Word of a “paradise,” a “garden,” a “vineyard,” in heaven there are perceived no paradise, garden, or vineyard; but instead of these such things as belong to intelligence and wisdom from the Lord; and that when mention is made of meat and drink, such as “bread,” “flesh,” “wine,” “water,” instead of these there are perceived in heaven such things as belong to the good of love and truth of faith from the Lord; and this not by unfoldings nor in a comparative manner, but in actuality from correspondences; because the heavenly things that pertain to wisdom, intelligence, the good of love, and the truth of faith, correspond in actuality to these earthly things. And into this correspondence was the internal man created relatively to the external man; thus heaven which is in the internal man relatively to the world which is in the external man. And such is the case in general. That in heaven the Word is understood and perceived according to correspondences, and that this sense is the internal sense, has been shown throughout in the preceding pages.

[4] He who apprehends what has just been said, can know, and in some measure perceive, that through the Word there is a conjunction of man with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord; and that without the Word there would be no conjunction. (See what has been shown on this subject in n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, and in many other places.) From this it is now evident why Moses took the book of the covenant and read it before the people; and why he then sprinkled the blood on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant.” This was done for the reason that in heaven the blood of the sacrifice denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, thus on our earth the Word (n. 9393). As by a “covenant” is signified conjunction, and as conjunction is effected through the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, that is, the Word, therefore all things that belong to the Divine truth from the Lord, or to the Word, are called a “covenant,” such as the tables on which the ten commandments were written, and also the judgments, statutes, and all other things contained in the books of Moses, and in general all things contained in the Word of both Old and New Testaments.

[5] That the tables on which the ten commandments were written were called a “covenant,” is evident from Moses:

Jehovah wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words (Exodus 34:28).

I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you; Jehovah gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. I came down from the mountain, when the mountain was burning with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were on my two hands (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15).

Jehovah declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to do, even the ten words, which He wrote upon the tables of stone. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you (Deuteronomy 4:13, 23).

As the two tables were deposited in the ark, which was in the middle, that is, in the inmost, of the tabernacle, therefore the ark was called “the ark of the covenant” (Numbers 10:33; 14:44; Deuteronomy 10:8; 31:9, 25-26; Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17; 4:7, 9, 18; 6:6, 8; 8:33; Judges 20:27; 1 Samuel 4:3-5; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 6; Jeremiah 3:16)

[6] That the books of Moses were called “the book of the covenant,” is evident from the finding of them by Hilkiah the priest in the temple, of which we read in the second book of the Kings:

Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah; and they read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of Jehovah (2 Kings 22:7; 23:2).

[7] That the Word of the Old Testament was called a “covenant,” is evident from Isaiah:

To them that hold fast My covenant will I give in My house, and within My walls, a place and a name better than sons and daughters (Isaiah 56:4-5).

Hear ye the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers. Obey My voice, and do them, according to all which I command you (Jeremiah 11:2, 4).

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies (Psalms 25:10).

The mercy of Jehovah is from eternity to eternity upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness to the sons of sons; to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments (Psalms 103:17-18).

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in His law (Psalms 78:10); where the covenant of God is called “the law” of God. (That by “the law” in a wide sense is meant the whole Word; in a less wide sense the historic Word; in a narrow sense the Word written by Moses; and in the narrowest sense the ten commandments of the Decalogue, see n. 6752)

[8] That the Word of the New Testament also is a “covenant,” is evident in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, I will put My law in the midst of them, and I will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:31, 33).

“The house of Israel” denotes the spiritual church; and “the house of Judah,” the celestial church. And in David:

I also will make him the firstborn, high among the kings of the earth, and My covenant shall stand fast with him. My covenant will I not make vile, nor change the declaration of My lips (Psalms 89:27-28, 34);

speaking of the Lord; “My covenant shall stand fast with him” denotes the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human; thus also the Word, for the Lord as to the Divine Human was the Word that was made flesh, that is, man (John 1:1-3, 14).

[9] That the Divine truth or the Word is a covenant or conjunction, is because it is the Divine from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself. And therefore when the Word is received by man, the Lord Himself is received. From this it is evident that through the Word there is conjunction of the Lord with man; and because there is conjunction of the Lord with man, there is also conjunction of heaven with man, for heaven is called heaven from the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, consequently from what is Divine; and therefore those who are in heaven are said to be “in the Lord.” That the Divine conjoins Itself with those who love the Lord, and keep His Word, may be seen in John 14:23.

[10] From all this it can be seen that by “the blood of the covenant” is meant the conjunction of the Lord through heaven with man by means of the Word. Also in Zechariah:

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow shall be cut off; and He shall speak peace unto the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, through the blood of thy covenant, I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water (Zech. 9:10-11).

[11] He who knows nothing of the internal sense cannot conceive here anything but what is contained in the sense of the letter; namely, that the chariot shall be cut off from Ephraim, the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow, and finally that by “the blood of the covenant” is meant the blood of the Lord, by which those who are in sins should be set free; explaining in various ways who are meant by “the bound ones in the pit wherein is no water.” But he who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word conceives that Divine truth is here treated of, and that after this has been laid waste, or vastated, that is, after it is no longer received in faith and heart by man, it will be restored through the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human; and thus that those who believe and do it will be conjoined with the Lord Himself. This can be more clearly seen from the internal sense of the several words of the passage; as from the signification of a “chariot” as being the doctrine of the church (n. 2760, 5321, 5945, 8215); of “Ephraim” as being the enlightened understanding of the church (n. 5354, 6222, 6238); from the signification of a “horse” as being the understanding of the Word (n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8148); and of “Jerusalem” as being the spiritual church (n. 2117, 3654, 9166); from the signification of a “bow” as being the doctrine of truth (n. 2686, 2709); and of “war” as being a combat about truths (n. 1664, 2686, 8295).

[12] From this it is evident that by “cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow,” is signified the vastation of truth Divine in the church in respect to all the understanding of it; and that by “the bound ones in the pit wherein was no water being sent forth through the blood of the covenant,” is signified restoration through the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord. (That “blood” denotes Divine truth, and that a “covenant” denotes conjunction, has been shown above; also that “the bound ones in the pit” denote those of the spiritual church who were saved by the Lord’s coming into the world, n. 6854.) It is said “a pit wherein is no water,” because by “water” is signified truth (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323).

2009. Thy name shall no more be called Abram, and thy name shall be Abraham. That “thy name shall no more be called Abram,” signifies that He will put off the human; and that “thy name shall be Abraham,” signifies that He will put on the Divine, is evident from the signification of “name;” also from the signification of “Abram;” and, afterwards, of “Abraham.” The expression “this shall be thy name,” when used in the Word, signifies the quality, that is, that the person will be of such a quality, as is evident from what has been adduced in Part First (n. 144, 145, 1754). And as the “name” signifies the quality, the name comprehends in one complex whatever is in the man. For in heaven no attention is paid to anyone’s name; but when anyone is named, or when the word name is spoken, there is presented the idea of the person’s quality, that is, of all things that are his, that are connected with him, and that are in him; hence in the Word “name” signifies quality. That this may be evident to the understanding we may adduce from the Word a number of additional confirmatory passages. As in the Benediction in Moses:

Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make His faces to shine upon thee and have compassion on thee; Jehovah lift up His faces upon thee and give thee peace. So shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel (Numbers 6:24-27).

From this it is evident what is denoted by “name,” and by “putting the name” of Jehovah upon the sons of Israel, namely, that Jehovah blesses, guards, enlightens, is pitiful, gives peace; and thus that Jehovah or the Lord is such.

[2] In the Decalogue:

Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who taketh His name in vain (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11); where to “take the name of God in vain” does not signify the name, but all things in general and particular that are from Him, and therefore all things in general and particular that belong to the worship of Him, none of which are to be despised, still less blasphemed and contaminated with what is filthy. In the Lord’s Prayer:

Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven so also in the earth (Luke 11:2); where also by “name” is not meant the name, but all things of love and faith; for these are God’s or the Lord’s, and are from Him; and as these are holy, the Lord’s kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in the heavens when they are held to be so.

[3] That “name” signifies such things is evident from all the passages in the Word of the Old and of the New Testament where “name” is mentioned. As in Isaiah:

In that day shall ye say, Confess to Jehovah, call upon His name, make known His works among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted (Isaiah 12:4); where to “call upon the name of Jehovah,” and to “make mention that His name is exalted,” does not at all mean to place worship in the name, or to believe that Jehovah is invoked by using His name, but by knowing His quality, and thus by means of all things in general and particular that are from Him. In the same:

Therefore honor ye Jehovah in the Urim; the name of Jehovah the God of Israel in the isles of the sea (Isaiah 24:15); where to “honor Jehovah in the Urim,” is to honor Him from the holy things of love; and to “honor the name of Jehovah the God of Israel in the isles of the sea,” is to honor Him from the holy things of faith.

[4] In the same:

O Jehovah our God, only in Thee will we make mention of Thy name (Isaiah 26:13). I will raise up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun, he shall call upon My name (Isaiah 41:25); where to “make mention of the name of Jehovah,” and to “call upon His name,” means to worship from the goods of love and the truths of faith. They who are from the north are they who are outside the church and ignorant of the name of Jehovah, who nevertheless “call upon His name” when they live in mutual charity and adore as the Deity the Creator of the universe; for the “calling upon Jehovah” consists in worship and the quality of it, and not in the name. (That the Lord is present with the Gentiles also may be seen above, n. 932, 1032, 1059.)

[5] In the same:

The nations shall see ¹ thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah shall name (Isaiah 62:2); where “thou shalt be called by a new name,” denotes to become another person, that is, to be created anew or regenerated, and thus to be such.

In Micah:

All the peoples will walk everyone in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and to eternity (Micah 4:5);

to “walk in the name of his god,” plainly denotes profane worship; and to “walk in the name of Jehovah,” true worship.

In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun and even to its going down, My name shall be great among the nations; and in every place incense is offered unto My name, and a clean offering for My name shall be great among the nations (Malachi 1:11); where by “name” is not signified the name, but the worship; which is the quality of Jehovah or the Lord, by reason of which He wills to be adored.

[6] In Moses:

The place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all the tribes to put His name there, and to cause His name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14; 16:2, 6, 11); where also by “putting His name,” and “making His name dwell there,” is not signified the name, but the worship, and thus the quality of Jehovah or the Lord by reason of which He is to be worshiped. His quality is the good of love and the truth of faith; and “the name of Jehovah dwells” with those who are in these.

In Jeremiah:

Go ye unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I caused My name to dwell in the beginning (Jeremiah 7:12); where in like manner “name” denotes worship, and thereby the doctrine of true faith. Everyone can see that Jehovah does not dwell with him who merely knows and speaks His name, for the name alone, without any idea, knowledge, or faith concerning His quality is a mere word. Hence it is evident that the “name” is the quality, and the knowledge of the quality.

[7] In Moses:

At that time Jehovah separated the tribe of Levi, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name (Deuteronomy 10:8); where to “bless in the name” of Jehovah is not to do so through the name, but by means of the things which appertain to the name of Jehovah, spoken of above.

In Jeremiah:

This is His name whereby they shall call Him, Jehovah our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6); where the “name” denotes righteousness, which is the quality of the Lord, of whom these words are said.

In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath called Me from the womb, from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of ² My name (Isaiah 49:1);

also said of the Lord; to “make mention of His name,” is to instruct in respect to His quality.

[8] That “name” signifies quality, is still more clearly evident in John, in Revelation:

Thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before My Father and before the angels. He that overcometh, I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God, and My new name (Revelation 3:4-5, 12); where that the “name” is not the name, but the quality, is plainly evident; the “name in the book of life” is nothing else; and the quality is also meant by “confessing his name before the Father,” and by “writing upon him the name of God, and of the city, and the new name;” and the same is true of the names which are said elsewhere to be written in the book of life, and in heaven (Revelation 13:8, 17:8; Luke 10:20).

[9] In heaven it is solely by the quality that anyone is known from another; and in the sense of the letter this is expressed by the name, as everyone can see from the consideration that on earth whoever is named is presented in the listener’s idea in accordance with his quality, and it is by this idea that he is known and distinguished from others. In the other life the ideas remain, but the names perish; and this is still more the case among the angels. Hence it is that in the internal sense the “name” is the quality, or to know the quality. Again:

Upon the head of Him who sat upon the white horse were many diadems; and He hath a name written which no one knoweth but He Himself. He was clothed in a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:12-13); where that the “name” is the Word of God, and thus is the quality of Him who sat upon the white horse, is said in plain words.

[10] That the “name of Jehovah” is to know His quality, namely, that He is all the good of love and all the truth of faith, is clearly evident from these words of the Lord:

O righteous Father I have known Thee, and these also have known that Thou hast sent Me; for I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:25-26).

[11] And that the “name of God” or of the Lord is all the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, which is signified by “believing in His name,” is evident from these words in the same gospel:

As many as received Him, to them gave He the power [potestas] to be sons of God, to them that believe in His name (John 1:12).

If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:13-15).

Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He giveth you. These things I command you, that ye love one another (John 15:16-17).

In Matthew:

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

By those who are “gathered together in the name of the Lord,” are here signified those who are in the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, and thus who are in love and charity. Again Ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake (Matthew 10:22, 24:9-10; Mark 13:10); where “for My names sake” plainly means for the sake of His doctrine.

[12] That the name itself effects nothing, but that everything is effected by that which the name involves, namely, everything of charity and faith, is clearly evident from these words in Matthew:

Have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? But then will I profess unto them, I never dew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23);

from which it is evident that they who place worship in a name, as did the Jews in the name of Jehovah, and as do Christians in the name of the Lord, are not on that account the more worthy, because the name avails nothing; but that which does avail is that they be of such a character as the Lord has commanded; for this is to “believe in His name;” and further, that its being said that there is no salvation in any other name than the Lord’s, means that there is none in any other doctrine, that is, in no other than mutual love, which is the true doctrine of faith, and thus in no other than the Lord, because all love and the derivative faith are from Him alone.

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