9327. I will send My terror before thee. That this signifies the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity, on account of the truths of good, is evident from the signification of “terror,” as being the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity; and from the signification of “the sons of Israel,” before whom the terror was to be sent, as being those who are in spiritual good, that is, in the truth of good (see n. 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5820, 5833, 7957, 8234, 8805). (That the nations of the land of Canaan to whom terror was sent on account of the sons of Israel, signify the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil, see n. 1413, 1437, 1607, 1573, 1574, 1868, 4517, 6306, 8065, 8317.) Therefore by the words, “I will send My terror before thee” is signified the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity on account of the truths of good.

[2] The case herein is this. All power in the spiritual world is from the truths which are from good, thus from the truths which proceed from the Lord. This can be plainly seen from the fact that the Lord disposes all things in heaven, and all things in hell, and also all things in the world, by means of the truths which are from Himself; for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is that very thing through which all things have come into existence, and through which all things subsist. That this is so is not comprehended by those who think solely from what is material, as those think who ascribe the origin and maintenance of all things to nature. These can have no idea about truths except that they are devoid of power, being matters of mere thought, concerning which they perceive nothing essential, and still less anything substantial; although they know that the thought directs the whole body, and excites its parts to motion, precisely in accordance with its own quality; likewise that there is nothing in the universe that does not bear relation to the truth which is from good. (That it is truth which has all power, and which is the veriest essential, see n. 8200.) From all this it is evident that the angels have power from the truth Divine which is from the Lord, and that from this they are called “powers.” The nature of the power possessed by truths from good, that is, truths from the Lord, may be seen from the experience recorded concerning the arm, which corresponds to such truth, in n. 4932-4935.

[3] Seeing that truth has all power, it follows that falsity from evil has no power whatever, because it is the privation of truth from good, thus the privation of power. Consequently they who are in hell-all there being in falsities from evil-have no power whatever; and therefore thousands of them can be driven away, cast down, and dispersed by one angel of heaven, much as a mote in the air is driven away by the breath of the mouth. From all this it can be seen why those who are in the evils of falsity feel terror on account of the truths of good. This terror is called “the terror of God” (Genesis 35:5; Job 13:21). And in Ezekiel:

I will put My terror in the land of the living; when he shall be made to lie down in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude (Ezekiel 32:32).

If he shall reject My statutes, and if your soul shall abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, I will send dismay into their hearts, that the sound of a driven leaf may chase them; and they may flee as one fleeth from the sword; and may fall when none pursueth (Leviticus 26:15, 36);

here is described the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity, and in the falsities of evil. It is said that “the sound of a leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as one fleeth from the sword” because “leaf” signifies truth (n. 885), and “sword” signifies truth fighting against the falsity of evil (n. 2799, 6353, 8294). That such have no power whatever against truth, is signified by “they shall fall when none pursueth.”

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.