7111.'To the taskmasters over the people and to their officers, saying' means those in the nearest position to molest, and those in the nearest position to receive. This is clear from the meaning of 'the taskmasters' as those who compel people to serve, dealt with in 6852, and since they do so by means of molestations, 'the taskmasters' also means those who molest, but those in the nearest position to carry it out, who are dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the officers' as those in the nearest position to receive. For the officers came from the children of Israel, but the taskmasters from the Egyptians, as is evident from what follows. Thus in the internal sense 'the officers' are those in the nearest position to receive, and 'the taskmasters' those in the nearest position to molest.

[2] Who exactly are meant may be recognized from those in the next life who molest, introducing falsities and evils, and those who receive these and pass them on. Those who molest, introducing falsities and evils, are the hells. But to achieve their purpose they send out from themselves emissaries through whom they act; and these make their appearance no great distance away from those who are molested. This is done for the reason that the thoughts and intentions of many may by focused through them; otherwise such thoughts and intentions would become diffuse. Those emissaries appear in particular places of their own in the world of spirits, and from the actual places where they appear one can recognize which hell they come from. Some appear overhead at varying heights and angles; others alongside the head, to the right or left as well as behind it; and others again below the head, on various levels in relation to the body, from the head right down to the soles of the feet. They flow in with the kinds of things that are emitted from hell, but a spirit or man can only feel them, and therefore only know of them, as things that are inside himself, as things that he himself thinks and intends. Those emissaries are called 'subordinates', see what has already been shown from experience regarding them in 4403, 5856, 5983-5989. Since these are in the nearest position to molest they are meant by 'the taskmasters'. But those who receive things from them and pass them on are 'the officers'; they are also intermediary spirits. For as stated above, the officers came from the children of Israel, but the taskmasters came from the Egyptians.

[3] Among the Israelite and Jewish people 'officers was a name given to those who were required to tell the people what they had to do, and who were to give orders. For this reason they also sat with the judges and elders in the gates, and told the people the judgements that had been made as well as the commands issued by the leader, as becomes clear from the following places: In Moses,

You shall appoint ¹ judges and officers in all your gates according to your tribes, who will judge the people with righteous judgement. ² Deuteronomy 16:18.

In the same author,

When they go out to war the priest shall speak to the people and warn them that they should not be afraid. After that the officers shall say that he who has built a house should go back, and also the fearful. Deuteronomy 20:1-3, 5, 8, 9.

In Joshua,

Joshua gave orders to the officers to say to the people that they should prepare provisions for the journey, before they crossed the Jordan. Joshua 1:10-11.

In the same book,

At the end of three days it happened, when the officers passed through the middle of the camp, that they gave orders [to the people, saying] that when they saw the ark of the covenant of Jehovah they too were to set out. Joshua 8:33.

The officers' were overseers of the people, distinct and separate from the princes or leaders of the people, see Deuteronomy 1:15. They were distinct and separate from the elders too, Deuteronomy 31:28, and also from the judges, Joshua 8:33.

Fußnoten:

4403. THE GRAND MAN AND CORRESPONDENCE - continued

IN THIS SECTION CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EYE AND WITH LIGHT

I have also been allowed to become aware of and get to know the character of spirits and which province of the body they belonged to from their position and place in relation to myself, and also from the level they were on, and from how far away they were on that level. Those I saw close to me were for the most part the subordinates of whole communities, for communities send spirits from themselves to other spirits, and through these they perceive others' thoughts and affections, and in this manner communicate with others. But those subordinates so-called, or emissary spirits, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be taken as a separate subject. Concerning them I have made the following observations. Those to be seen over and close to my head are ones who teach and also readily allow themselves to be taught. Those beneath the back of my head are ones who act quietly and with circumspection, and those just away from my back act in a similar yet differing manner to these. Those close to my chest or breast are ones who are moved by charity; those close to the loins ones moved by conjugial love; those close to the feet ones who are natural; and those close to the soles of the feet are more inferior members of this last kind. But those close to my face vary in disposition, that variation being determined by their correspondence with the sensory organs located there. Those close to the nostrils, for example, excel in perception; those close to the ears are the obedient; those close to the eyes are the intelligent and wise; and so on.