8286. And with the wind of Thy nostrils the waters were heaped up. That this signifies that falsities were gathered together into a one through the presence of heaven, is evident from the signification of “the wind of Thy nostrils,” as being heaven (of which in what follows); from the signification of “to be heaped up,” as being to be gathered together into a one; and from the signification of “waters,” as being falsities (see n. 7307, 8137, 8138). (That damnation and casting into hell is a gathering together of all falsities derived from evil and an environment by them, see n. 8146, 8210, 8232; and that this is effected by the mere presence of the Lord, n. 8265.) That “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah,” or of the Lord, denotes heaven, is because by it is meant the breath of life, thus the Divine life, and as this makes the life of heaven, by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” is signified heaven; hence also it is that the same word in the original tongue means both “wind” and “spirit.”

[2] That by “the wind of Jehovah,” or “His breath,” is signified the life that belongs to heaven, and that belongs to the man who is in heaven, that is, to one who is regenerate, is evident in David:

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the breath [wind] of His mouth (Psalms 33:6).

Thou gatherest their breath, they expire, and return to their dust; Thou sendest forth Thy spirit [wind], they are created (Psalms 104:29-30).

Jehovah said unto me, Will these bones live? Then said He, Prophesy upon the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live; and the breath came into them, and they revived (Ezekiel 37:3, 9-10).

I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree (Revelation 7:1);

“the wind” here denotes the life of heaven, that is, Divine life, as also in Job:

The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of Shaddai hath vivified me (33:4).

[3] As “wind” signifies life, therefore, when the Lord teaches about the regeneration of man, He also says:

The spirit (or wind) bloweth where it willeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, yet knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is everyone that is begotten of the spirit (John 3:8).

And because by the “wind of Jehovah,” or “His breath,” was signified life from the Divine, therefore where the new life of Adam is treated of, it is said:

Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7);

it is said “through the nostrils,” because through them respiration is effected, and through respiration, life, as in Isaiah:

Cease ye from man, in whose nose is breath (Isaiah 2:22).

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; of whom we had said, In his shadow we shall live among the nations (Lam. 4:20);

“the anointed of Jehovah” denotes the Lord; “the breath of our nostrils,” life from Him.

In Job:

As long as my breath (anima) is in me, and the wind of God is in my nose (27:3).

[4] As, then, by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” is signified the life which is from the Lord, and thus in the universal sense, heaven; and as by the presence of the Lord, or by the presence of heaven where the Lord is, evils and falsities are cast into hell (n. 8265); therefore also this effect is signified by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” in David:

The channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were revealed, at the rebuke of Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of His nose (Psalms 18:8, 15; 2 Samuel 22:16).

The blast of Jehovah, like a stream of sulphur, doth kindle it (Isaiah 30:33).

Nay, they are not planted; nay, they are not sown; nay, their trunk is not rooted in the earth; and He even bloweth on them, and they wither, that the whirlwind may take them away like stubble (Isaiah 40:24).

He sendeth His word, and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, the waters flow (Psalms 147:18).

Hence also it is, that by “the nose,” when predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, is also signified wrath, thus the punishment, vastation, and damnation of those who are in evils and falsities (as in Numbers 25:4; Deuteronomy 7:4; Judges 2:14Isaiah 9:21; Jeremiah 4:8; Hosea 14:4; Psalms 6:1; 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; and in many other passages); and also by “blowing with the nostrils,” or “breathing,” is signified to be angry (Deuteronomy 4:21; Isaiah 12:1; Psalms 2:12 6:1; 60:3; 79:5; 85:5).

8210. All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. That this signifies memory-knowledges from a perverted understanding, doctrinal things of falsity, and reasonings, that they filled hell, is evident from the signification of the “horses of Pharaoh,” as being memory-knowledges from a perverted understanding; from the signification of the “chariots of Pharaoh,” as being doctrinal things of falsity; from the signification of the “horsemen of Pharaoh,” as being reasonings therefrom (concerning all which see above, n. 8146, 8148); and from the signification of “into the midst of the sea,” as being to fill hell.

[2] That these three things of Pharaoh’s army, namely, horses, chariots, and horsemen, are here mentioned again, is because the last state of the devastation of those of the church who had been in faith separate from charity and in a life of evil is now at hand, which state is the state of being cast into hell; and to be cast into hell is to be crowded by falsities from evil. For when the evil have been devastated as to all truth and good and have been left to the evil of their life and to the falsity thence derived, then the hells with which they had communicated by the evils of their life are opened, and then all those evils which they have appropriated to themselves rush into them, and the falsities which pour forth from the evils then constitute a sphere around them, which sphere appears like a dense cloud, or like water. When this takes place, they are then in hell; for they are then shut off from all communication with heaven, and are also separated from other hells. This is called “casting into hell.”

[3] This is the reason why now, when they entered into the midst of the sea, mention is made of “horses, chariots, and horsemen;” for as already said, the “sea Suph” signifies hell; and “horses, chariots, and horsemen” signify all the falsities and all things of falsity from evil, which are now let into them in order that in this manner they may be separated from the other hells by the whole nature of falsity from evil. These are the subjects specifically treated of in the verses which now follow (verses 24 to 28).