Arcana Coelestia #893
893. Verse 13 And it happened in the six hundred and first year, at the beginning, on the first of the month, that the waters dried up from over the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and saw out, and behold, the face 1 of the ground was dry.
'It happened in the six hundred and first year' means a finishing point. 'At the beginning, on the first of the month' means a starting point. 'The waters dried up from over the earth' means that falsities were not at that time apparent. 'And Noah removed the covering of the ark, and saw out' means the light, once falsities had been removed, shed by the truths of faith, which he acknowledged and in which he had faith. 'And behold, the face 1 of the ground was dry' means regeneration.
Fußnoten:
1. literally, the faces
[893a] 1
That 'it happened in the six hundred and first year means a finishing point is clear from the meaning of the number six hundred, dealt with at Chapter 7:6, in 737, as a beginning, and in particular in that verse as the beginning of temptation. The end of it is specified by the same number, with a whole year having now passed by. It took place therefore at the end of a year, and this also is why the words are added 'at the beginning, on the first of the month', meaning a starting point. In the Word any complete period is specified either by a day, or a week, or a month, or a year, and even by a hundred or a thousand years - for example, 'the days' mentioned in Genesis 1, which meant stages in the regeneration of the member of the Most Ancient Church. For in the internal sense day and year mean nothing else than a period of time; and meaning a period of time they also mean a state. Consequently a year stands in the Word for a period of time and for a state, as in Isaiah,
To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.
This refers to the Lord's Coming. In the same prophet,
The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. Isaiah 63:4.
Here too 'day' and 'year' stand for a period of time and for a state. In Habakkuk,
Your work, O Jehovah, in the midst of the years make it live, in the midst of the years do You make it known. Habakkuk 3:2.
Here 'years' stands for a period of time and for a state. In David,
'You are God Himself, and Your years have no end. Psalms 102:27.
This statement, in which 'years' stands for periods of time, means that time does not exist with God. The same applies in the present verse where 'the year' of the flood in no way means any one particular year but a period of time that is not determined by a specific number of years. At the same time it means a state. See what has been said already about 'years' in 482, 487, 488, 493.
1. This paragraph is not numbered in the Latin.
Arcana Coelestia #2674
2674. 'And he took bread and a flask of water' means good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'bread' as that which is celestial, or good, dealt with in 276, 680, 2165, and from the meaning of 'water' as that which is spiritual, or truth, dealt with in 28, 680, 739. The expression 'a flask of water' is used because it is a very small amount of truth that people are granted to begin with, that is to say, as much as they are able to receive at that time - that capacity to receive being meant by the words 'he put them on her shoulder', 2676. Anyone may see that these historical details embody arcana from the fact that Abraham, who was rich in flocks and herds, also in silver and gold, sent away his servant-girl who had borne his son, and the boy Ishmael whom he loved much, with no more than some bread and some water in a flask. He could also foresee that they would die once they had used these up, which would indeed have happened if the angel had not come to their aid. What is more, these details regarding the bread and the flask of water, and their being placed on her shoulder, are not really important enough to be mentioned. But this incident did in fact take place, and it has been recorded because these details embody and mean the first state of those who are becoming spiritual, to whom to begin with some good and some truth, and indeed only a small amount, are supplied; and after that their water comes to an end, at which point they receive help from the Lord.
