619. But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.- That this signifies exterior delight, is evident from the signification of the mouth, as denoting what is exterior, for the subject here treated of is the little book, and the eating of it up; by the little book is signified the Word, and by eating it up are signified perception and exploration, whence by the mouth, which first receives, is meant the external of the Word; and from the signification of "sweet as honey," as denoting the delight of natural good. The reason why the external of the Word was sweet as honey, that is, thus delightful, was, that it is of such a nature as to be capable of application to any love whatever, and to any principle thence conceived; and these can be confirmed by it. The reason why the external of the Word, which is the sense of the letter is such, is that many things therein are written according to appearances with the natural man, and many appearances, if not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those therefore who love to live for the body and the world, use the external of the Word by means of those appearances to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was especially the case with the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter maintained that belief, which they also retain to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and were therefore a holy nation; they believed that their Jerusalem, and its temple, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were of themselves holy, not knowing or being willing to know, that the holiness of all those things consisted solely in the fact that they represented Divine things proceeding from the Lord, which are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think them to be holy of themselves, and not from the Divine things which they represented, was to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. The case was similar in regard to their faith concerning the Messiah, which was, that He would be king of the world, and raise them above all the nations and peoples in the whole world; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which were to them as sweet as honey in the mouth. For this reason those things that are in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are truths themselves, and these are not according to appearances; as for example, that that nation was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not a chosen nation; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the church of the Lord, and doctrine concerning Him and concerning the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices, represented the Lord and the holy things proceeding from Him, and that their holiness was from this and no other source. These are the truths stored up interiorly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense. These truths they deny, because, as stated, they falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter, and therefore they are undelightful to them like food that is bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book should be in the mouth sweet as honey, because honey signifies the delight of natural good. That honey signifies that delight is evident from the following passages.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein. And when he had spread it before me, it was written before and behind; and there were written thereon lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. And he said unto me, Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And then he said unto me, Go unto the house of Israel, and speak my words unto them" (2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These words involve things similar to those in the Apocalypse. The command given to the prophet Ezekiel to eat the roll of the book, involves the same thing as the command to John to eat the little book, that is to say, exploration as to how the Divine Truth which is in the Word is as yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church. For as the prophet Ezekiel and John represented the doctrine of truth and the Word, exploration was therefore made with them. The reason why this was done by eating a book is, that to eat signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate to oneself, as shown above; and when exploration was made as to the manner in which the Word was as yet perceived, it is then said to the prophet Ezekiel, that, he should go unto the house of Israel and speak the words of God unto them, also to the prophet John, that he must prophesy, that is, as yet teach the Word in the church; and this because in his mouth the book was perceived to be as sweet as honey, that is, because the Word as to the sense of the letter, is yet delightful, though only so for the reason that this sense can be used in favour of any principle of falsity whatever, and of any loves of evil whatever, and thus serve to confirm the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life, which, when separated, are merely delights of the loves of the body and of the world, whence arise principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name God with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (7:14, 15).

That these words are spoken of the Lord may be seen proved in Matthew (1:23). Any one may see that butter and honey there mentioned do not mean butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding [to them], for it follows, "that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," and this is not known by eating butter and honey. But by butter is signified the delight of spiritual good, and by honey, the delight of natural good, consequently the spiritual Divine and the natural Divine of the Lord are signified by these, thus His interior and exterior Human. That the Lord's Human is what is meant is evident from its being said that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and that it is Divine, is evident from the words, "and shall call his name God with us," to call a name denoting quality, here Divine quality, for he was to be called God with us.

[5] Butter and honey also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

"Butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

Those left in the land mean those who are interiorly and also exteriorly good from the Lord, consequently those who receive good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefore of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural, is signified by butter and honey.

[6] Thus also in Job:

"He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter" (20:16, 17).

These things are said concerning hypocrites, who speak well and smoothly concerning God, their neighbour, and also heaven and the church, when nevertheless they think quite differently; and because they can thus cunningly devise how to captivate the minds of others, although in their heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That these have no delight in natural good or spiritual good, is meant by, He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, rivers denoting those things that pertain to intelligence, and the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, those that pertain thence to the affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. All the delight of life which remains to eternity is the delight of spiritual good and truth, and thence of natural good and truth, whereas hypocritical delight is a natural delight separated from spiritual delight, but this delight, in another life, is turned into what is direfully infernal. That butter and honey in this passage also do not mean butter and honey, is evident, for where in the world are flowings of torrents of honey and butter found?

[7] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of milk and honey. And since milk signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey, the delight of natural good, and these delights are enjoyed by those who are of the church of the Lord, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Num. 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6). That the land of Canaan in the Word means the church was shown above (n. 29, 304:59, 431:9). And the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; the church is formed in these by the Lord. For the church is in man, and not outside of him, consequently, not with those who do not possess those goods; these goods with their delights are signified by milk and honey.

[8] That in the land of Canaan there was also much honey at that period, because the church of the Lord was there then, is evident from the First Book of Samuel, where it is said, that they came into a wood where were honey upon the faces of the ground, and a stream of honey, and that the eyes of Jonathan were opened from tasting of the honey (14:25-27, 29). The reason why Jonathan's eyes were opened by his tasting of the honey was, that honey corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good imparts intelligence and enlightens, consequently Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as is said in Isaiah, that he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For correspondences at that time manifested their effect, since all things of the Israelitish church existed from correspondences, by which things celestial and spiritual were represented and signified.

[9] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of oil and honey in the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

"He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:13).

These words occur in the song of Moses, in which the subject treated of is the church in its beginning and afterwards in its progression, and at length at its end. Those who formed the Ancient Church are described by these words, but not those who constituted the Israelitish Church, for the latter were evil from the beginning even to the end, as is evident from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness. But the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by their fathers, was that which the Lord caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed with the increase of the fields. That the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love, with their delights, were imparted to them by means of truths, from which their intelligence was derived, and according to which was their life, is signified by, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock, honey denoting the delight of natural love, oil the delight of spiritual love, and the rock, and the stone of the rock, truth from the Lord. That oil signifies the good of love and of charity, may be seen above (n. 375), and that rock and stone signify truth from the Lord (n. 411, 443).

[10] So in David:

"I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them" (Psalm 81:16).

The fat of wheat also signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey out of the rock, the delight of natural good by means of truths from the Lord, as above. It must be observed, that natural good is not good, unless it be also spiritual good. For all good inflows through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind, so far he receives good. There must be both, or both sides, in order to constitute good; wherefore natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, which nevertheless is perceived by man as good. Since there must be both therefore in the passages quoted, and in those still to be quoted, mention is made of butter and honey, milk and honey, fat and honey, and also of oil and honey; and butter, milk, fat and oil, signify the good of spiritual love, and honey, the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and needlework; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; whence thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set before idols for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. It is said of the Ancient Church, that she was decked with gold and silver, which signifies, the love of good and truth with the men of the church. The raiment of fine linen, silk, and needlework, signifies the cognitions of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth; fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin, silk, truth from a spiritual origin, and needlework, truth from a natural origin, which is called scientific [truth]. By eating fine flour, honey, and oil, are signified the perception of truth and good natural and spiritual, and the appropriation of them; to eat denoting to be appropriated, fine flour denoting truth, honey, natural good, and oil spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. By becoming exceedingly beautiful and prospering into a kingdom, is signified to become intelligent and wise, so as to constitute a church from these, beauty denoting intelligence and wisdom, and a kingdom signifying a church. But concerning the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said, that they placed the fine flour, honey, and oil, before images of a male, or of idols, for an odour of rest, that is, that they turned the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] Again, in the same prophet:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (27:17).

This is spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also by Tyre are signified the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church; by oil and honey are signified things similar to those above. The meaning in the spiritual sense of Judah, and the land of Israel, also of wheat of Minnith and pannag, and balsam, also of the trading of Tyre, may be seen explained above (n. 433:22).

[13] Again, in Moses:

"A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and the vine, and the fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil, olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

These things are said concerning the land of Canaan, by which is understood the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and thence in truths; but the details of this verse are explained above (n. 374:7, 403:11), where it is shown, that oil and honey signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] So in David:

"The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:9, 10).

In the same,

"I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my palate! [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:102, 103).

The judgments of Jehovah signify the truths and goods of worship; therefore it is said, "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether"; just being used in reference to the good of life and worship therefrom. And as good is also signified by gold and fine gold, it is therefore said, that they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold, gold denoting celestial good, fine gold, spiritual good, while desirable denotes what is of affection and love. Since the goods with which a man is affected are also delightful, therefore it is said, that they are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb, and that the words of the Lord are sweet to the palate and [sweeter] than honey to the mouth, sweet denoting what is delightful, honey, natural good, the droppings of the honeycomb, natural truth, and because honey signifies natural good, and the mouth the external, therefore it is said [sweeter] than honey to my mouth; as in the Apocalypse, that the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth.

[15] So in Luke:

Jesus said to His disciples, when they believed that they saw a spirit, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat it before them" (24:39, 41-43).

From this series of words regarded in their spiritual sense it is evident, that honeycomb and honey signify natural good, for the Lord showed His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even as to its Natural and Sensual. This is signified by the hands and feet, and by the flesh and bones, which they saw and felt; the hands and feet, signify the ultimate of man, called the Natural, the flesh signifies its good, and the bones signify its truth. For everything in the human body corresponds to spiritual things, the flesh to the good of the natural man, and the bones to its truths. More may be seen concerning this correspondence in Heaven and Hell 87-102). The Lord also proved this by eating of the broiled fish and also of the honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, the broiled fish signifying the truth of the good of the natural and sensual man, and the honeycomb, the good of truth of the same, therefore the Lord by being touched (palpationem) showed and proved that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, was made Divine; and [this He showed too] by eating, in that He ate in their presence a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.

[16] Since honey signifies the good of the natural man, therefore also John the Baptist

"had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The reason of this was, that John the Baptist represented the same as Elias, therefore also it was said, that Elias should come, by whom was meant John. Elias represented the Lord as to the Word, or the Word which is from the Lord; and similarly John. And because the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, therefore John was sent before to preach concerning the coming of the Lord, according to the predictions of the Word. And because John represented the Word, therefore the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, were represented by John, by his clothing, and also by his food, that is, by having his raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern girdle about his loins. For camel's hair signifies the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exteriors of the Word, and the leathern girdle about his loins, their external bond and connection with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. Similar things are signified by locust and wild honey; by locust, is signified the truth of the natural man, and by wild honey, its good. Whether we speak of the truth and good of the natural man, or of natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, or natural sense, it is the same thing, for John represented this by his clothing and food.

[17] The reason why neither leaven, nor honey, was used in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11), was, that leaven signifies the falsity of the natural man, and honey, the delight of the good of the natural man, and, in the opposite sense, the delight of his evil, which also is like leaven when it is mingled with those things that signify things of a holy interior nature. For natural delight derives its all from the delights of the love of self and the love of the world. And because the Israelitish nation was in those delights more than other nations, therefore it was forbidden them to use honey in their sacrifices. More may be seen concerning the signification of honey, as denoting the delight of the good of the natural man, in the Arcana Coelestia 5620, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530).

[18] It is recorded of Samson, that, after he had rent the young lion, and taken a wife from the nation of the Philistines, he found "a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion" (Judges 14:8). This circumstance signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented. It was on this account that the Philistines were called the uncircumcised, and this name signifies that they were without spiritual love and charity, and were only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Such faith, because it destroys the good of charity, was represented by the young lion, which attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces; but Samson, because he was a Nazarite, and by his Nazariteship represented the Lord as to His ultimate Natural, rent the lion in pieces, and afterwards found in his carcase a swarm of bees and honey, which signified, that after such faith is dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. Similar things were represented and signified by the rest of the acts related of Samson in the Book of Judges. For nothing is written in the Word which does not represent and signify such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and these can be understood only from the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and thence from the spiritual sense of the Word.

10137. 'And a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine' means spiritual truth, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'wine' as truth, dealt with in 1071, 1798, 6377, at this point spiritual truth answering to the spiritual good derived from celestial good, meant by 'fine flour mixed with oil', dealt with immediately above in 10136 (where good is the subject in the Word, so too is truth, and indeed the truth belonging to the same class as the good. This is so because every single thing in heaven and also in the world has connection with good or with truth, and with both if it is to have any real existence, since good without truth is not good and truth without good is not truth, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314. This explains why when a minchah, which consisted of bread, was offered, so was a drink offering, which consisted of wine, in much the same way as in the Holy Supper. So it is that 'a drink offering of wine' is used here to mean the truth that answers to the good meant by a minchah, dealt with immediately above); and from the meaning of 'a quarter of a hin' as the amount needed for a joining together, dealt with immediately above in 10136.

[2] Everyone may see that not merely bread and wine should be understood by a minchah, which consisted of bread, and a drink offering, which consisted of wine, but something that belongs to the Church and to heaven, thus spiritual and celestial things, which are heaven's and the Church's. If this had not been so what would have been the point of putting the bread and wine on the fire on the altar? How could this have been pleasing to Jehovah, or how could it have been, as it says, an odour of rest to Him? How could it have expiated a person? Anyone who thinks reverently about the Word cannot imagine how an action so earthly could be pleasing to Jehovah unless something Divine on a deeper, more internal level was contained in it. The person who believes that the Word is Divine and spiritual throughout ought to believe completely that every detail there has some heavenly arcanum concealed within it. But the reason why no one up to now has known just where such an arcanum lies is that no one has known that an internal sense, which is spiritual and Divine, exists within every detail there. Nor has anyone known that angels are present with each person, perceiving his thoughts and understanding the Word in a spiritual manner when he reads it; that then through them a holy influence from the Lord reaches him; and that therefore through those angels heaven is linked to the person, to whom the Lord is linked by means of the heavens. It is for this reason that the kind of Word just described has been given to mankind, that Word being the sole means by which the Lord can provide for his salvation.

[3] The fact that 'minchah', consisting of bread, means the good of love and that 'drink offering', consisting of wine, means the good of faith, and that this is what the angels see in them, becomes clear from all those places in the Word which make reference to a minchah or a drink offering, such as these verses in Joel,

The minchah has been cut off, and the drink offering, from the house of Jehovah; the priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been devastated, the new wine has dried up, the oil languishes. The vine has dried up and the fig tree languishes. Wail, O ministers of the altar, because the minchah and the drink offering have been withheld from the house of your God. For the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai. Joel 1:9-15.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when the good of love and truth of faith are not present there any longer, meant by 'the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai'.

[4] From this it is evident that by the minchah and drink offering which have been cut off from the house of Jehovah, the field which has been devastated, the land which mourns, the grain which too has been devastated, the new wine which has dried up, the oil which languishes, and the vine and fig which do so, such things as belong to the Church and to heaven are meant. It is the internal sense however that shows what it is they mean. From that sense it is evident that 'the field' means the Church as regards its reception of truth, see 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9295; 'the land' the Church as regards [its reception of] good, see the places referred to in 9325; 'the grain' all the good that the Church has, 5295, 5410, 5959; 'the new wine' all the truth that the Church has, 3580; 'the oil' the good of love, 4582, 4638, 9780; 'the vine' the spiritual Church's interior good, 5113, 6376, 9277; and 'the fig' its exterior good, 217, 4231, 5113. From all this it is evident that 'the minchah' and 'the drink offering' mean worship springing from the good of love and from the good of faith.

[5] In Malachi,

I will not accept a minchah from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] incense, offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Malachi 1:10-11.

It is evident that a minchah should not be understood here either by 'a minchah', nor incense by 'incense', since the subject is the Church among the gentile nations, among whom there was no minchah. For it says, 'From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] a pure minchah and incense', 'incense' meaning adoration springing from the good of faith, see 9475.

[6] Something similar occurs in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You, the lifting up of my hands, [as] the evening minchah. Psalms 141:2.

'The evening minchah' means the good of love in the external man.

[7] In Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink offering to them; you have presented a gift ¹ . You offer the king a gift in oil, and multiply your perfumes; and you debase yourself even to hell. Isaiah 57:5-6, 9.

This refers to worship based on evils and falsities which come from hell. 'The gods' in the internal sense are falsities, for although those who worshipped other gods called them by name, nevertheless falsities arising from evils were what they worshipped. Regarding the gods of the foreigner in the Word, that falsities are meant by them, see 4402(end), 8941. '[Every] green tree' means every perception, recognition, and corroboration of falsity, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692, 'green' implying a sensory apprehension, 7691. 'Inflaming oneself' means worship that is passionate, for 'the fire' that causes such fervour is love in both senses, 5215, 6832, 7575. 'Pouring out a drink offering' is worship springing from the falsities of evil; 'offering the king a gift in oil' is the worship of Satan springing from evils, 'a gift in oil' being a minchah, and 'multiplying perfumes' is multiplying offerings of incense, by which acts of adoration are meant, 9475. Therefore it also says that he debases himself even to hell.

[8]From these considerations it becomes clear that 'a minchah', which consisted of bread, and 'a drink offering', which consisted of wine, mean things such as belong to the Church and to heaven, namely heavenly food and drink, in the same way as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper do - for the reason given above, that heaven may join itself to a person through the Word, consequently that the Lord may do so through heaven by means of the Word. Since the Divine presence in the Word consists in such things it nourishes the minds not only of people in the world but also of angels and causes heaven and the world to be one.

[9] From this it also becomes clear that all the things without exception which have been stated and commanded in the Word regarding the minchah and drink offering, or bread and wine, contain Divine arcana within them. This is so for example with the requirement that a minchah should consist of fine flour which had oil and also frankincense on it, that it should be altogether salted, and that it should be unleavened or without yeast. Then there is the requirement that there was to be one set of proportions for the mixture when a lamb was sacrificed, another when it was a ram, another when it was a young bull, and yet another in guilt- and sin-sacrifices, while the proportions in other sacrifices were different again. The proportion of wine in the drink offering varied in a similar way. Unless these specific requirements had embodied the arcana of heaven no such things would ever have been commanded in connection with the various forms of worship.

[10] To enable these different requirements to be seen alongside one another, let them be set out here in their own order, as contained in the eucharistic sacrifices and burnt offerings, in Numbers 15:4-12; 28:9-12, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37,

For each lamb there was a minchah consisting of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and the wine for the drink offering was a quarter of a hin.

For each ram there was a minchah consisting of two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour, and a third of a hin of oil; and a third of a hin of wine for the drink offering.

For each young bull there was a minchah consisting of three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, a half of a hin; and half of a hin of wine for the drink offering.

The reason why the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine for a lamb should be different from those for a ram or for a young bull was that a lamb meant the inmost good of innocence, a ram the middle good of innocence, and a young bull the lowest or external good of innocence. For there are three heavens - the inmost, the middle, and the lowest - and therefore also there are three degrees of the good of innocence. The increase of it from first to last is meant by the increase in the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine. It should be remembered that the good of innocence is the very soul of heaven, because that good alone is the recipient of the love, charity, and faith which constitute the heavens.

'A lamb' means the inmost good of innocence, see 3994, 10132.

'A ram' means the middle or interior good of innocence, 10042.

'A young bull' means the lowest or external good of innocence, 9391, 9990.

[11] In sacrifices for thanksgiving (confessio) however there was a minchah consisting of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, cakes made of fried flour and mixed with oil, and in addition leavened bread cakes, Leviticus 7:11-12; and in guilt- and sin-sacrifices there was a minchah consisting of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, but without oil or frankincense on top of it, Leviticus 5:11. The reason why no oil or frankincense should be put on top of the minchah composing a sin- or guilt-sacrifice was that 'oil' is a sign of the good of love and 'frankincense' a sign of the truth which goes with that good, and a sin- or a guilt-sacrifice is a sign of purification and expiation from evils and the falsities arising from them, which therefore were not to be mingled with good or the truth springing from it.

[12] In addition to these there were the minchah of Aaron and his sons on the day they were going to be anointed, see Leviticus 6:20-22; the minchah of the firstfruits of the harvest, Leviticus 2:14-15; 23:10, 12-13, 17; the minchah of the Nazirite, Numbers 6:13-21]; the minchah of jealousy, Numbers 5:11-31]; the minchah of one cleansed from leprosy, Leviticus 14:1-32]; and also the minchah baked in an oven, the minchah prepared in a pan, and the minchah cooked in a pot, Leviticus 2:4-7. There was was to be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey; and the minchah had to be fully salted, Leviticus 2:11, 13. The reason why there should be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey, was that in the spiritual sense 'yeast' means falsity arising from evil, and 'honey' external delight very much mixed with the delight belonging to love of the world, which also causes fermentation in heavenly forms of good and truths and subsequent disintegration of them. And the reason why they should be fully salted was that 'salt' was a sign of truth desiring good and so joining the two together.

'Yeast' means falsity arising from evil, see 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992.

'Honey' means external delight, thus such delight belonging to love in both senses, 5620.

'Salt' means truth desiring good, 9207.

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