5156. And shall hang thee upon wood. That this signifies rejection and damnation, is evident from the signification of “being hanged upon wood,” as being rejection and damnation; for hanging upon wood was a curse, and a curse is a rejection from the Divine, consequently damnation. That hanging upon wood was a curse, is evident in Moses:

When there shall be in a man a crime of judgment of death, and he be put to death, so that thou hangest him upon wood, his carcass shall not remain all night upon the wood, but burying thou shalt bury him the same day, for he that is hanged is the curse of God; that thou defile not the land which Jehovah thy God will give thee for an inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

That he “should not remain all night upon the wood” signified perpetual rejection; for in the evening the day began anew, and therefore unless they who had been hanged were cast away before evening, it would have represented that evil was not rejected, and consequently that the land was not freed from it, but was defiled; and therefore it is added, “that thou defile not the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” That the hanged remained until evening and no longer may be seen in Joshua 8:29; 10:26. Among the Jewish nation there were two main penalties-stoning and hanging. Stoning was on account of falsity, and hanging upon wood was on account of evil; and this because “stone” is truth (see n. 643, 1298, 3720), and in the opposite sense falsity; and “wood” is good (n. 2784, 2812, 3720), and in the opposite sense evil; and therefore in the prophetic Word mention is occasionally made of “committing adultery with stone and wood,” whereby is signified the perversion of truth, which is falsity, and the adulteration of good, which is evil.

2784. And he clave the wood for the burnt-offering. That this signifies the merit of righteousness, is evident from the signification of “wood” and of “cleaving wood.” That “wood” signifies the goods that are of works, and of righteousness; and that “cleaving wood” signifies the placing of merit in the goods that are of works, but “cleaving wood for a burnt-offering” the merit of righteousness, appears too remote to be known without revelation. That “cleaving wood” denotes placing merit in the goods that are of works, was made clear to me by what I have seen and have described in Part First (n. 1110) respecting the hewers of wood, as being those who had desired to merit salvation by the goods which they had done. Moreover there are others also, in front, above, a little to the right, from a certain world, who in the same way had claimed all good to themselves, and appear in like manner to cut and cleave wood. When these seem to themselves to be laboring, they sometimes shine in the face from a kind of fatuous fire, which is the good of merit that they attribute to themselves. The reason of its appearing so is that wood is a representative of good; as was all the wood in the ark and in the temple, and also all the wood upon the altar when the burnt-offerings and sacrifices were made. But they who attribute good to themselves, and make it self-meritorious, these also are said in the Word to “worship wood,” or a “graven image” of wood.