10044. Upon the head of the ram. That this signifies with the whole, is evident from the signification of “the head,” as being the whole man, thus the whole (see n. 10011). That “the head” denotes the whole is because it is the highest, and therein is the inmost of man; and from what is highest proceed all things which are beneath; as also from what is inmost proceed all things which are without, for such is the source in both these cases. The inmost with man is his will and understanding; these in their beginnings are in the head, and what thence proceed are acts, which are effects of the interior things in the body; and therefore when will and understanding are mentioned, the whole man is meant, for from these man is man. The acts of the body also have their all from the will; consequently a man is not regarded from the acts of the body, or works; but from the will in these. For this reason by “soul” in the Word is meant the whole man, and man is called a “soul,” as in Leviticus 4:27; 5:1, 4, 17; 6:2; 17:10, 15 and elsewhere.

[2] There are two things which signify the whole; namely, the highest, and the lowest. That the lowest or ultimate also signifies the whole, is because all the interior things, even from the first or highest, close in the ultimates, and are there together (n. 9828, 9836). Hence it is that the highest, through the ultimate, holds together in connection and in form all the interior things which are intermediate, so that they look to one end (n. 9828). That the ultimate also signifies the whole, is evident from many things in the Word, as that the whole man is called the “flesh” (Genesis 6:12; Numbers 16:22; 27:16; Isaiah 40:5; Zech. 2:13).

[3] As the ultimates also signify all things or the whole, therefore the hair and the beard, which are ultimate outgrowths of man, are taken for all or the whole; as also the feet and their toes; and the fingers of the hands. That the “hair” and “beard” are taken for all or the whole, is evident in Isaiah:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor by the king of Assyria the head, the hair of the feet, and also the beard (Isaiah 7:20);

“the king of Assyria” denotes reasoning such as is that of those who by means of it destroy things Divine (n. 1186); “to shave the head, the hair of the feet, and the beard” denotes to take away the ultimates, for when these are taken away the interior things flow asunder and perish. On this account also a priest was forbidden to shave his head (Leviticus 21:10); and also a Nazirite whose hair was called “the Naziriteship of God” (Numbers 6:1-27; n. 6437, 9407), and is also meant by “the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren” (Genesis 49:25-26; Deuteronomy 33:16). Hence also it is said that “the hairs of the head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30), by which is signified that all things and everything in man is so; also that “a hair of the head shall not perish” (Luke 21:18).

[4] That the feet also and their toes, and the fingers of the hands, signify all things and thus the whole, is evident in John:

Peter said, Lord, Thou shalt wash not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, He that is washed needeth not save to be washed as to his feet, and is wholly clean (John 13:9-10).

The “feet” denote the natural, which is the ultimate (n. 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406). And in what follows in this chapter of Exodus:

Thou shalt put of the blood of the ram upon the lap of Aaron’s ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot (Exodus 29:20);

denoting upon each and all things signified by the “ear,” the “hand,” and the “foot.”

[5] As the highest and the lowest, or what is the same, the first and the last, alike signify all things and each, or the whole with the parts, therefore the omnipotence and omniscience of the Lord are described by His being “the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega” (Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13; Isaiah 41:4).

[6] That all things are held together in connection, and stand together, from the First or Highest through the last or lowest, is thus described in Isaiah:

I am the First, and I am the Last. ¹ My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heaven; when I call them together, they stand together (Isaiah 48:12-13).

The “hand” and “right hand” of Jehovah, or of the Lord, denote omnipotence; “the earth of which He hath laid the foundation” denotes the ultimate or last; “the heaven which He hath stretched out” denotes that which is between the First and the Last; to “call them together that they may stand together” denotes to hold together all the interior things through the ultimate in connection and in form, so that they may look to one end. The one end to which they are to look is “He who is the First and the Last;” ¹ that He is the Lord, is evident in Isaiah:

Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, I am the First and I am the Last ¹ (Isaiah 44:6);

“the King of Israel” denotes the Lord (John 18:37); and that the “Redeemer” is the Lord is manifest.

In Revelation:

These things saith the First and the Last, ¹ who was dead and hath lived again (Revelation 2:8).

[7] That the first holds together all things in connection through the ultimate, can be seen from the Word, and from man. The Word in ultimates is the sense of its letter, and the Word in its first is the Lord, and the Word in its interior things is its internal sense, which is perceived in the heavens, and causes those who are there to look to one end, which is the Lord (concerning this secret, see n. 9360, 9824).

[8] In regard to man: Man in ultimates is the church on earth; Man in the first is the Lord; man in the interior things is heaven, for before the Lord the church and heaven are as one man, from which heaven is called the Grand Man (treated of at the end of many chapters, see the places cited at the end of n. 10030). There is a continual connection, and an influx according to the connection, of all things from the Lord through the heavens to the church on earth. By the heavens are meant the angels who are there; by the church are meant men who are true men of the church; and by Man in the first is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human. That from the First through the last or ultimate all things are held together in connection, and stand together, is meant by the words of the Lord above quoted from Isaiah:

I am the First and I am the Last, My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heaven; when I call them together, they stand together (Isaiah 48:12-13).

(That by “the earth” in the Word is meant the church, has also been abundantly shown, see the places cited in n. 9325.)

[9] An idea of this subject can be had from the ultimate and the inmost with man. His ultimate is the skin, his inmost is the heart, his intermediates or interior things are the viscera. From the heart even to the skin through the viscera there is a continuous connection by means of the blood-vessels, for these proceed from the heart, and terminate in the skin. That the skin is the ultimate that holds together the interior things in connection is plain, for when the skin is taken away the interior things flow asunder. From all this it can be seen whence it is that as the highest or inmost signifies each and all things, so also does the lowest or ultimate.

[10] From all this also is laid open the secret why the Lord glorified His Human even as to its ultimates. The ultimates are called bones and flesh, and therefore the Lord said to His disciples, who supposed that they saw a spirit:

Behold My hands and My feet that it is I Myself; feel Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have (Luke 24:37, 39).

That the Divine Itself was the First in Him, is known, for He was conceived of Jehovah, and that which is conceived of the father is the first of man; that the Lord glorified even the ultimates of His Human is plain from His words above, and also from the fact that He left nothing of His Human in the sepulchre. (That the interior things close and rest in the ultimates, and are there together, and that the ultimates hold together the interior things in connection, even in spiritual things, see n. 9216, 9828; that therefore strength and power are in ultimates, n. 9836; and that therefore holiness is in ultimates, n. 9824; and that in ultimates revelations are made and answers given, n. 9905.)

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3147. And water to wash his feet. That this signifies purification there, is evident from the signification of “water for washing,” or of washing with water, as being to purify (concerning which presently); and from the signification of “feet,” as being natural things, or what is the same, the things in the natural man (see n. 2162). In the representative church it was customary to wash the feet with water, and thereby to signify that the unclean things of the natural man were washed away. The unclean things of the natural man are all those things which are of the love of self and of the love of the world; and when these unclean things have been washed away, then goods and truths flow in, for it is solely these unclean things that hinder the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is continually flowing in from the Lord, but when it comes through the internal or spiritual man to his external or natural man, it is there either perverted, turned back, or suffocated. But when the things which are of the love of self and of the love of the world are removed, then good is received there and is made fruitful; for then man practices the works of charity. This is evident from many considerations; as when in misfortune, distress, and sickness, the things that belong to the external or natural man are merely lulled, the man forthwith begins to think piously and to will what is good, and also to practice works of piety insofar as he is able; but when the state is changed, there is a change also in all this.

[3] These things were signified by the washings in the Ancient Church, and the same were represented in the Jewish Church, The reason why they were signified in the Ancient Church, but represented in the Jewish church, was that the man of the Ancient Church regarded the rite as a something external in worship, and did not believe that he was purified by that washing, but by the washing away of the impurities of the natural man, which as before said are the things which are of the love of self and of the world. But the man of the Jewish Church believed that he was purified by that washing; neither knowing nor desiring to know that the purification of the interiors was signified.

[4] That by “washing” is signified a cleansing from the impurities referred to, is evident in Isaiah:

Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil (Isaiah 1:16); where it is evident that to “wash themselves” means to make themselves pure and to put away evils. Again:

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, in the spirit of judgment and in the spirit of expurgation (Isaiah 4:4); where “washing away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purging the blood of Jerusalem,” denotes purifying from evils and falsities.

In Jeremiah:

O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall the thoughts of thine iniquity lodge within thee? (Jeremiah 4:14).

[5] In Ezekiel:

I washed thee with water, and I washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and anointed thee with oil (Jeremiah 16:9 [NCBSW: Ezekiel 16:9]); concerning Jerusalem, by which is there meant the Ancient Church; “washing with waters” denotes purifying from falsities; “washing away bloods” denotes purging from evils; “anointing with oil” denotes filling then with good.

In David:

Wash me from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalms 51:2, 7).

Here “being washed” plainly denotes being purified from evils and their falsities.

[6] These are the things that were signified by “washing” in the representative church; and it was commanded for the sake of the representation that when they had become unclean they should wash the skin, the hands, the feet, and also the garments, and should be cleansed; by all which things were signified those which are of the natural man. Lavers also, of brass, were placed outside the temple, namely, the brazen sea and the ten brazen lavers (1 Kings 7:23-39); and a laver of brass at which Aaron and his sons were to wash was placed between the tent of meeting and the altar; and thus outside the tent (Exodus 30:18-19, 21); by which also was signified that only external or natural things were to be purified; for unless these have been purified, that is, unless the things that are of the love of self and of the world have been removed, the internal things which are of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor cannot possibly flow in, as before said.

[7] For the better understanding of how these things are circumstanced, namely, that external things are to be purified, take as an example and illustration good works, or what is the same, the goods of charity which at this day are called the fruits of faith; these are external things, because they are the exercises of charity. Good works are evil works unless those things are removed which are of the love of self and of the world; for when works are done before these have been removed, they indeed appear good outwardly, but are inwardly evil; for they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for gain, or for the sake of one’s honor, or for recompense, thus they are either self-meritorious ¹ or hypocritical; for that which is of the love of self and the world causes the works to be such. But when these evils are removed, the works then become good; and they are goods of charity; that is, in them there is not regard to self, to the world, to reputation, to recompense; thus they are neither self-meritorious nor hypocritical; for then celestial love and spiritual love flow in from the Lord into the works and cause them to be love and charity in act; and then the Lord through these loves also purifies the natural or external man, and disposes it into order, so as to receive correspondently the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This is clearly evident from what the Lord taught when He washed the feet of the disciples, as we read in John:

Then cometh He to Simon Peter; and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that hath been washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; ye are clean already, but not all (John 13:4-17).

“He that hath been washed, needeth not save to wash his feet” signifies that he who has been reformed, has need only to be cleansed as to natural things, that is, has need that evils and falsities should be removed from them; and then all things are disposed into order by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Moreover to wash the feet was an office of charity, as meaning not to reflect on the evils of another; and it was also an office of humility, as meaning to cleanse another from evils as from impurities; as also is evident from the Lord’s words in the passage just quoted (verses 12-17; also Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41).

[9] Everybody can see that washing himself does not purify anyone from evils and falsities, but only from the impurities that cling to him; nevertheless, as washing was among the rites commanded in the church, it follows that it involves something special, namely, spiritual washing, that is, purification from the uncleannesses which inwardly adhere to man. Therefore they who knew these things in that church, and thought about the purification of the heart, or the removal of the evils of the love of self and of the love of the world from the natural man, and who endeavored to effect this with all diligence, observed the rite of washing as external worship according to commandment; but those who did not know this and did not desire to know it, but thought that the mere rite of washing their garments, skin, hands, and feet, would purify them, and that provided they did these things they might be allowed to live in avarice, hatreds, revenge, unmercifulness, and cruelties, which are spiritual impurity, practiced this rite as an idolatrous one. Nevertheless they could represent by it, and by representation exhibit something of the church, whereby there might be some conjunction of heaven with man before the Lord’s advent; yet such conjunction as affected the man of the church little or not at all.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they had no thought about the internal man, nor willingness to know anything about it; thus none at all concerning celestial and spiritual things, relating to the life after death. But yet lest all communication with heaven and thus with the Lord should perish, they were bound to external rites, whereby internal things were signified. All their captivities and plagues were in general for the end that external rites might be strictly observed for the sake of the representation.

Hence then it was that Moses washed Aaron and his sons with water at the door of the tent, that they might be sanctified (Exodus 29:4 40:12; Leviticus 8:6); that Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before they entered into the tent of meeting and came near to the altar to minister, that they might not die; and that this was to be to them a statute forever (Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31); that Aaron was to wash his flesh before he put on the garments of ministry (Leviticus 16:4, 24); that the Levites were to be purified by being sprinkled with the water of expiation; and that they were to cause a razor to pass over their flesh, and to wash their garments, and thus should be pure (Numbers 8:6-7); that whoever should eat the carcass even of a clean beast, or one that was torn, should wash his garments, and bathe himself in water; and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh, he should bear his iniquity (Leviticus 17:15-16); that whoever touched the bed of one affected with the flux, or who sat upon a vessel on which he had sat, and whoever touched his flesh, should wash his garments, and bathe himself with water, and should be unclean till the evening (Leviticus 15:5-7, 10; 15:10-12); that whoever let go the he-goat, as a scape-goat, should wash his flesh (Leviticus 16:26); that when a leprous person was cleansed, he was to wash his garments, shave off all his hair, and wash himself with water, and he should be clean (Leviticus 14:8-9); nay, that the very vessels which were made unclean by the touch of things unclean, should be passed through water, and should be unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:32). From these things it may be seen that no one was made clean or pure as to internal things by the rite of washing, but only represented one pure or spiritually clean, for the reason given above. That this is so, the Lord teaches plainly in Matthew (15:1-2, 20), and (Matthew 15:20) in Mark (7:1-23).

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