10660. 'All that opens the womb is Mine' means that all the good of innocence, charity, and faith is to be ascribed to the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'that which opens the womb' as that which is born from the Lord; for a person is conceived and born from parents in a natural manner, but from the Lord in a spiritual one. This birth from Him is what should be understood in the internal sense by 'that which opens the womb'. If such were not meant what would be the point of the law that the firstborn of cattle were to be Jehovah's, that is, the Lord's? Furthermore the person who is being regenerated is conceived, born, and brought up anew, and in this manner is led away from the evils of the natural condition which he acquired from his parents. The subject here is the firstborn of cattle; but by cattle the forms of good and the truths that reside with a person should be understood. For cattle of every kind correspond to affections such as exist in the human being, as becomes clear from the places referred to in 9280. From these it becomes clear that 'that which opens the womb, which is Jehovah's' means the good of innocence, charity, and faith, which are imparted by the Lord to those who are born anew, that is, who are being regenerated. It is said that these are to be ascribed to the Lord, that is, it should be acknowledged that they come from Him; for unless people acknowledge and believe that they come from the Lord they are not forms of good. All good comes from Him, and what does not come from Him comes from man; and whatever comes from man, though it seems to outward appearance to be good, is nevertheless bad. For the human proprium is nothing but evil, and from what is bad no good can be brought forth.

395. 'Anyone killing Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold' means that to violate faith thus separated was utterly forbidden. This is clear from the meaning of 'Cain' as separated faith, and from the meaning of 'seven' as utterly inviolable. As is well known, the number seven was considered holy on account of the six days of creation and of the seventh, which is the celestial man in whom peace, rest, and the Sabbath exist. This is the reason why the number seven occurs so many times in the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church, in every instance standing for that which is holy. It is also the reason why periods of time, long as well as short, were divided into seven, and were called weeks, as in the case of the long time intervals leading up to the time when the Messiah was to come, Daniel 9:24-25. A period of seven years is also called a week by Laban and Jacob, Genesis 29:27-28. Consequently wherever the number seven occurs it stands either for something holy or else for something utterly inviolable, as in David,

Seven times in the day I praise You. Psalms 119:164.

In Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days. Isaiah 30:26.

Here 'the sun' is love, and 'the moon' faith deriving from love, a faith which is to be as love.

[2] Just as the periods of man's regeneration divide into six before he reaches the seventh, which is the celestial man, so also do the periods of vastation even until nothing celestial is left. This was represented by the many captivities of the Jews, and by the last of them, the Babylonian, which was a captivity of seven decades, that is, seventy years. And it was several times stated that the land had to rest during its Sabbaths. It was also represented by Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is said in Daniel,

His heart will be changed from man, and the heart of a beast given him until seven times will pass over him. Daniel 4:16, 25, 32.

In reference to the vastation of the last times it is recorded in John,

I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful - seven angels holding the seven Revelation 15:1, 6-7.

They will trample over the holy city for forty-two months (that is, six times seven). Revelation 11:2.

In the same book,

I saw a book [written] within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Revelation 5:1.

Severe and increased penalties were for the same reason expressed by the number seven, as in Moses,

If you will not obey Me in this matter, I will chastise you seven times worse for your sins. Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28.

In David,

Return to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

So then, it is because it was utterly forbidden to violate faith - since it had a use to serve, as has been stated - that the statement is made about 'vengeance being taken sevenfold on him who killed Cain'.