10483. And Moses stood in the gate of the camp. That this signifies where the opening to hell is, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the internal (of which above, n. 10468); from the signification of “in the gate,” as being where there is an opening (of which below); and from the signification of “the camp,” as being hell (n. 10458). The reason why Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and did not enter into the camp itself, was in order that it might be represented that what is internal cannot enter into hell; for by Moses was represented what is internal, and by the camp was represented hell. For all who are in hell are in things external separate from what is internal, because they are in the loves of self and of the world, and therefore what is internal cannot enter there, because it is not received, but is at once rejected by some who are there; with some it is suffocated and extinguished; and with others it is perverted. Whether you say “what is internal,” or “heaven,” it is the same, because heaven is in what is internal; it is in the internal of the Word, and in the internal of the church and of worship; consequently it is in the internal of the man who is in celestial and spiritual love; that is, in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor.

[2] It shall be briefly told what is this opening of hell which is signified by “the gate of this camp.” Every hell is closed round about; but is opened above according to necessity and need. This opening is into the world of spirits, which world is midway between heaven and hell, for there the hells terminate upward, and the heavens downward (n. 5852). It is said that they are opened according to necessity and need, because every man has with him spirits from hell and angels from heaven. The spirits from hell are in his bodily and worldly loves, and the angels from heaven are in his heavenly and spiritual loves, for without the presence of spirits no man can possibly live. If spirits were removed from him, he would fall down as dead as a stone. Consequently in order that man may have life according to his loves, the hells are of necessity opened, and according to need, and from them such spirits come forth to him as are in similar loves.

[3] This opening is what is meant by “the gate of hell,” and such openings it has sometimes been granted me to see. The gates are guarded by the Lord by means of angels, to prevent more spirits coming forth than is needful. From this it is evident what is signified in the Word by “the gates of hell,” and by “the gates of enemies,” as in Matthew:

Jesus said unto Peter, Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18);

“the gates of hell not prevailing” denotes that the hells will not dare to go forth and destroy the truths of faith; “the rock upon which the church is built” denotes faith from the Lord in the Lord, which faith is the faith of charity, because charity is in this faith and thus is one with it. (That a “rock” denotes this faith may be seen in the preface to the twenty-second chapter of Genesis, and also in n. 8581 (2760), 10438; and that real faith is charity, in n. 654, 1162, 1176, 1608, 2228, 2343, 2349, 2419, 2839, 3324, 4368, 6348, 7039, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9154, 9224, 9783)

[4] The like is also signified by the words:

Thy seed shall inherit the gate of thine enemies (Genesis 22:17; 24:60);

“to inherit the gate of enemies” denotes to destroy the evils and falsities which are from hell; and this was also represented by the driving out and destruction of the nations in the land of Canaan; for the nations there represented evils and falsities which are from hell (see n. 1573, 1574, 1868, 4818, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327). Also in David:

They that dwell in the gate plot against me; they that drink strong drink sing and dance (Psalms 69:12).

Happy is the man that hath filled his quiver; they shall not be ashamed, for they shall speak with the enemies in the gate (Psalms 127:5).

[5] But in a good sense “gates” denote an opening into heaven, as in David:

Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in (Psalms 24:7-10).

Moreover by “gates” in the Word is signified entrance into heaven and into the church by means of truth and good; and also the influx of truth and good with man.

6306. Which I took out of the hand of the Amorite. That this signifies by victory over evil, is evident from the representation of the Amorite, as being evil (see n. 1857); and from the signification of “taking out of the hand,” as being to acquire through victory. As regards the Amorites, be it known that by them is signified evil, and also by the Canaanites; and by the rest of the nations in that land which are mentioned in the Word are signified various kinds of evil and also of falsity. Such things were represented by the nations when the sons of Israel came into possession of the land of Canaan, for the reason that, while the sons of Israel represented heavenly things, those nations represented infernal things, and in this way the land of Canaan represented every state of the other life; and because the nations represented infernal things, they were given to the curse, and it was forbidden to enter into a covenant with those which remained.

[2] That the sons of Israel seized and inhabited the land of those who represented the hells was a representative that about the time of the Lord’s coming the infernals would have occupied a large part of heaven; and that by coming into the world and making the Human in Himself Divine the Lord would expel them and cast them down into the hells, and thus deliver heaven from them, and give it for an inheritance to those who would be of His spiritual kingdom.

[3] That by the Amorite nation was represented evil in general, is plain from the passages where it is mentioned, as in Ezekiel:

Jerusalem, thy tradings and thy generations were from the land of the Canaanite; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite (Ezekiel 16:3, 45);

as in the internal sense “father” signifies the good of the church, but in the opposite sense evil; and “mother” signifies the truth of the church, but in the opposite sense falsity, therefore it is said “thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.”

[4] And in Amos:

I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was sturdy as the oak. I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite (Amos 2:9-10);

here also the “Amorite” denotes evil, for the evil of the love of self is described by the “height of the cedars and the sturdiness of the oak.” That the “Amorite” is evil in general, is because the whole land of Canaan was called “the land of the Amorite;” for it is said, “I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.” Again in the second book of Kings:

Manasseh king of Judah hath done evil above all the evil that the Amorites did, who were before him (2 Kings 21:11).

[5] That “with my sword” signifies by means of truth combating, is evident from the signification of “sword,” as being truth combating (see n. 2799, 4499). And that “with my bow” signifies by means of doctrine, is evident from the signification of “bow,” as being doctrine (n. 2686, 2709).

[6] That the words “the portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” were spoken by Israel on account of the internal sense, is very manifest, because Jacob did not take that portion from the Amorite with his sword nor with his bow, but bought it of the sons of Hamor, as is plain from the words in Genesis:

Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came thither from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city. And he bought the portion of the field, where he had spread his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred kesitah (Genesis 33:18-19).

That this field was the portion which he gave to Joseph, is evident from these words in Joshua:

The bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitah; and they were for an inheritance to the sons of Joseph (Josh. 24:32).

From this it is plain that that portion was bought, and that it was what was given to Joseph.

[7] That the city of Shechem was not meant, which was near there, where Simeon and Leviticus slew every male, and which they took with the sword (Genesis 34), may be seen from the fact that Jacob abhorred that deed, and on that account cursed Simeon and Levi, and utterly put away from himself that deed, saying:

Let not my soul come into their secret; in their assembly let not my glory be united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement; and their wrath, for it was hard: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Genesis 49:5-7).

From all this it is now evident that these words, “one portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow,” were said by him when he was in the prophetic spirit, for the sake of the internal sense.