Apocalypse Revealed #349
349. Sealed out of every tribe of Israel. This symbolizes the heaven and Lord's church formed from those people.
A tribe symbolizes religion as regards goodness of life, and every tribe symbolizes the church in respect to every good of love and every truth springing from that good, which produces goodness of life. For there are two elements which form the church: the goodness of love and doctrinal truth. The marriage of these two constitutes the church. The twelve tribes of Israel represented and so symbolized the church with respect to that marriage, and each tribe represented and so symbolized some universal truth accompanying goodness or some goodness accompanying truth present in that marriage.
But what each tribe symbolized has not been revealed previously to anyone, nor could it have been revealed, lest an ill-connected exposition profane the holiness that lies within these things when joined together, since their symbolism depends on their conjunction.
[2] They have one symbolism in the order in which they are listed according to their births (Genesis 29, 30, 35:18). The order there is: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin.
They have another symbolism in the order in which they are listed when they went into Egypt, namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali (Genesis 46:8-25).
Still another symbolism in the order in which they were blessed by their father Israel, namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin (Genesis 49).
Still another symbolism in the order in which they were blessed by Moses, namely, Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Asher (Deuteronomy 33) - Ephraim and Manasseh being listed there, and not Simeon or Issachar.
[3] Still another symbolism in the order in which they encamped and set out, namely, the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun on the east side, the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad on the south side, the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin on the west side, and the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the north side, with the tribe of Levi in the middle (Numbers 2:1-34).
And still another symbolism in the order in which they are listed elsewhere, as in Genesis 35:23-26, Numbers 1:5-16; 7:1-89; 13:4-15; 26:5-57; 34:17-28, Deuteronomy 27:12-13, Joshua 15; 16; 17; 18; 19, Ezekiel 48:1-35.
Consequently, when Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, he said, "How good are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel" (Numbers 24:1-4ff.).
[4] On the breastpiece of judgment, namely, the Urim and Thummim, containing twelve precious stones according to the names of the children of Israel (Exodus 28:15-21), the symbolism of the tribes in their arrangement depended on the inquiry to which they provided a response.
But what they symbolized in the order in which they are mentioned here in the book of Revelation, which is still another order, will be told in what follows.
Tribes symbolize religion, and the twelve tribes the church and everything pertaining to it, because "tribe" and "scepter" are, in Hebrew, the same word, 1 and a scepter means a kingdom, and the Lord's kingdom is heaven and the church.
Fußnoten:
1. Hebrew מַטֶּה or שֵׁבֶט, and also מַשְׁעֵנָה.
Numbers 34
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Command the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders),
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then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward;
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and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon;
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and the border shall turn about from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.
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"'For the western border, you shall have the great sea and the border [of it]: this shall be your west border.
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"'This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for you Mount Hor;
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from Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad;
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and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar Enan: this shall be your north border.
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"'You shall mark out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham;
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and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
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and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders around it.'"
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Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, "This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe;
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for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers' houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance:
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the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise."
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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"These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
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You shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance.
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These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
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Of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
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Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
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Of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli.
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Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
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Of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
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Of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
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Of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
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Of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
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Of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud."
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These are they whom Yahweh commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
