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2 Samuel 8

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1 And it cometh to pass afterwards that David smiteth the Philistines, and humbleth them, and David taketh the bridle of the metropolis out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And he smiteth Moab, and measureth them with a line, causing them to lie down on the earth, and he measureth two lines to put to death, and the fulness of the line to keep alive, and the Moabites are to David for servants, bearers of a present.

3 And David smiteth Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, in his going to bring back his power by the River [Euphrates;]

4 and David captureth from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly the whole of the charioteers, only he leaveth of them a hundred charioteers.

5 And Aram of Damascus cometh to give help to Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smiteth of Aram twenty and two thousand men;

6 and David putteth garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and Aram is to David for a servant, bearing a present; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone;

7 and David taketh the shields of gold which were on the servants of Hadadezer, and bringeth them to Jerusalem;

8 and from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, hath king David taken very much brass.

9 And Toi king of Hamath heareth that David hath smitten all the force of Hadadezer,

10 and Toi sendeth Joram his son unto king David to ask of him of welfare, and to bless him, (because that he hath fought against Hadadezer, and smiteth him, for a man of wars [with] Toi had Hadadezer been), and in his hand have been vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass,

11 also them did king David sanctify to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold which he sanctified of all the nations which he subdued:

12 of Aram, and of Moab, and of the Bene-Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob king of Zobah.

13 And David maketh a name in his turning back from his smiting Aram in the valley of Salt -- eighteen thousand;

14 and he putteth in Edom garrisons -- in all Edom he hath put garrisons, and all Edom are servants to David; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone.

15 And David reigneth over all Israel, and David is doing judgment and righteousness to all his people,

16 and Joab son of Zeruiah [is] over the host, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] remembrancer,

17 and Zadok son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech son of Abiathar, [are] priests, and Seraiah [is] scribe,

18 and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is over] both the Cherethite and the Pelethite, and the sons of David have been ministers.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 7770

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7770. 'And let them ask, a man from his companion and a woman from her companion, vessels of silver and vessels of gold' means that factual knowledge of truth and of good must be removed from the evil who have belonged to the Church and be assigned to the good who belong to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'vessels of silver and vessels of gold' as factual knowledge of truth and of good, 'silver' being truth and 'gold' good, see 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658, 6112, and 'vessels' factual knowledge, 3068, 3079. That knowledge is referred to as vessels of truth and good because it contains them. The assumption is made that the facts which people know about truth or about good are the truths of faith themselves or the forms of the good of faith themselves. But they are not. Affections for truth and good are what compose faith; those affections flow into known facts, which are the appropriate vessels for them. Asking them from the Egyptians is, it is self-evident, taking them away and assigning them to oneself. This is why previously in Chapter 3:22 it says that they were to plunder the Egyptians, and subsequently in Chapter 12:36 that they despoiled them. The reason why it says that 'a man was to ask from his companion and a woman from her companion' is that 'a man' has reference to and also means truth and 'a woman' has reference to and also means good.

[2] The implications of all this may be seen at the explanation of Exodus 3:21-22 in 6914, 6917. That explanation shows that the factual knowledge itself of truth and of good which have been in the possession of those belonging to the Church who have been acquainted with the arcana of faith and yet have led a life of evil are transferred to those who belong to the spiritual Church. How the transfer is effected, see 6914. These things are meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

The Lord said to him who went away and hid the talent in the earth, Take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents, for to everyone who has, it will be given, so that he may have in abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. Cast the useless servant into outer darkness. Matthew 25:25, 28-30; Luke 19:24-26.

And similar words in the same gospel,

To him who has, it will be given, so that he may have abundantly; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 13:12; Mark 4:24-25.

[3] The reason for the transfer is that the knowledge or cognitions of goodness and truth which the evil possess are applied to evil purposes, whereas the cognitions of goodness and truth that the good possess are applied to good purposes. The cognitions are the same, but the purposes to which any one person applies them gives them their specific character. Such cognitions may be compared to worldly wealth, which one person devotes to good purposes, and another to bad ones, so that the character of any one person's wealth depends on the purposes to which he devotes it. This also shows that the same cognitions, like the same wealth, which the evil have possessed can pass into the possession of the good and serve good purposes. From all this one may now recognize what is represented when it says that the children of Israel were commanded to ask from the Egyptians vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and in so doing to despoil and plunder them. Such a despoilment or plundering would never have been commanded by Jehovah if such things had not been represented in the spiritual world.

[4] Things like these are what are meant in Isaiah,

At length the merchandise of Tyre and its harlot's wages will be holy to Jehovah, it will not be hoarded or held back; but its merchandise will be for those that dwell before Jehovah to eat to their satiety, and for him who covers himself with what is ancient. Isaiah 23:18.

This refers to 'Tyre', which means cognitions of goodness and truth, 1201. 'Merchandise' and 'harlot's wages' are cognitions applied to evil purposes. Their being given to the good who will apply them to good purposes is meant by 'its merchandise will be for those that dwell before Jehovah to eat to satiety, [and] for him who covers himself with what is ancient'.

[5] Also in Micah,

Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze, in order that you may crush many peoples. And I devoted their gain to Jehovah, and their riches to the Lord of the whole earth. Micah 4:13.

'Crushing many peoples' stands for devastating them. 'The gain' which was devoted to Jehovah and the Lord of the whole earth is cognitions of truth and goodness. Something similar is implied in 2 Samuel 8:11-12, where it says that David consecrated to Jehovah the silver and gold which he had taken from the nations he had subdued, from the Syrians, from Moab, from the children of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadad Ezer; and in 1 Kings 7:51, that Solomon put among the treasures of Jehovah's house the things consecrated by his father.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.