1988. Abram was a son of ninety years and nine years. That this signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational, is evident from the signification of “nine” when regarded as coming before ten; or what is the same, of “ninety-nine” before a hundred, for Abram was a hundred years old when Isaac was born to him. The nature of the internal sense of the Word may be seen in an especial manner from the numbers, as well as from the names, that occur in the Word; for the numbers therein, whatever they may be, signify actual things, as do the names also; for there is absolutely nothing in the Word that has not what is Divine within it, or that does not possess an internal sense; and how remote this is from the sense of the letter is especially manifest from the numbers and the names; for in heaven no attention is given to these, but to the things that are signified by them. For example, whenever the number “seven” occurs, instead of seven there at once comes to the angels what is holy, for “seven” signifies what is holy, and this from the fact that the celestial man is the “seventh day,” or “Sabbath,” and thus the Lord’s “rest” (n. 84-87, 395, 433, 716, 881). The case is similar with the other numbers, as for example with twelve. Whenever “twelve” occurs, there comes to the angels the idea of all things that belong to faith, for the reason that these were signified by the “twelve tribes” (n. 577). That in the Word numbers signify actual things, may be seen demonstrated in Part First (n. 482, 487, 488, 493, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 893).

[2] The case is the same with the number “ninety-nine;” and that this number signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational, is evident from the signification of a “hundred years,” which was Abram’s age when Isaac was born to him; for by Isaac is represented and signified the Lord’s rational man that is conjoined with His internal man, that is, with the Divine. In the Word, a “hundred” signifies the same as “ten,” for it is formed by the multiplication of ten into ten and “ten” signifies remains (as shown in Part First, n. 576). What the remains in man are, may be seen above (n. 468, 530, 561, 660, 1050), also what the remains in the Lord were (n. 1906). These arcana cannot be set forth further, but everyone may form a conclusion on the subject after he has first made himself acquainted with what remains are (for what they are is at this day unknown), provided it be known that in the Lord’s case remains mean the Divine goods that He procured for Himself by His own power, and by means of which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence.

[3] From all this we may see what is signified by “ninety-nine,” for this number, because it precedes a hundred, signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational. In the Lord’s case, the first rational was represented by Ishmael; and the nature of this rational has been sufficiently shown above (in the preceding chapter 16). But by Isaac is represented the Lord’s Divine rational, as will appear in what follows. From Abram’s staying so long in the land of Canaan (now twenty-four years, that is, ten years before Ishmael was born, and thirteen years after that) without his as yet having a son by his wife Sarai, and from the promise of a son being first given when he was ninety-nine years old, everyone can see that some arcanum is involved. The arcanum was, that he might thereby represent the union of the Lord’s Divine Essence with His Human Essence; and in fact the union of His internal man, which is Jehovah, with His rational.

716. That holy things are signified by “seven” is evident from what has been said before respecting the seventh day, or the sabbath n. 84-87), namely, that the Lord is the seventh day; and that from Him every celestial church, or celestial man, is a seventh day, and indeed the celestial itself, which is most holy because it is from the Lord alone. For this reason, in the Word, “seven” signifies what is holy; and in fact, as here, in the internal sense partakes not at all of the idea of number. For they who are in the internal sense, as angels and angelic spirits are, do not even know what number is, and therefore not what seven is. Therefore it is not meant here that seven pairs were to be taken of all the clean beasts; or that there was so much of good in proportion to evil as seven to two; but that the things of the will with which this man of the church was furnished were goods, which are holy, whereby he could be regenerated, as was said above.

[2] That “seven” signifies what is holy, or holy things, is evident from the rituals in the representative church, wherein the number seven so frequently occurs. For example, they were to sprinkle of the blood and the oil seven times, as related in Leviticus:

Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them; and he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, to sanctify them (Leviticus 8:10-11).

Here “seven times” would be entirely without significance if what is holy were not thus represented. And in another place: When Aaron came into the holy place it is said: He shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle with his finger upon the faces of the mercy seat toward the east; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times (Leviticus 16:14).

And so at the altar:

He shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and sanctify it (Leviticus 16:19).

The particulars here, each and all, signify the Lord Himself, and therefore the holy of love; that is to say, the “blood” the “mercy seat” and also the “altar” and the “east” toward which the blood was to be sprinkled, and therefore also “seven.”

[3] And likewise in the sacrifices, of which in Leviticus:

If a soul shall sin through error, and if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, he shall slay the bullock before Jehovah, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah, toward the veil of the sanctuary (Leviticus 4:2-3, 6).

Here in like manner “seven” signifies what is holy; because the subject treated of is expiation, which is of the Lord alone, and therefore the subject treated of is the Lord. Similar rites were also instituted in respect to the cleansing of leprosy, concerning which in Leviticus:

Of the blood of the bird, with cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop, the priest shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall make him clean. In like manner he was to sprinkle of the oil that was upon the palm of his left hand seven times before Jehovah. And so in a house where there was leprosy, he was to take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and with the blood of the bird sprinkle seven times (Leviticus 14:6-7, 27, 51).Here anyone may see that there is nothing at all in the “cedar wood” the “scarlet” the “oil” the “blood of a bird” nor yet in “seven” except from the fact that they are representative of holy things. Take away from them what is holy, and all that remains is dead, or profanely idolatrous. But when they signify holy things there is Divine worship therein, which is internal, and is only represented by the externals. The Jews indeed could not know what these things signified; nor does anyone at the present day know what was signified by the “cedar wood” the “hyssop” the “scarlet” and the “bird.” But if they had only been willing to think that holy things were involved which they did not know, and so had worshiped the Lord, or the Messiah who was to come, who would heal them of their leprosy-that is, of their profanation of holy things-they might have been saved. For they who so think and believe are at once instructed in the other life, if they desire, as to what each and all things represented.

[4] And in like manner it was commanded respecting the red heifer:

The priest shall take of her blood with his finger and sprinkle of her blood toward the face of the tent of meeting seven times (Numbers 19:4).

As the “seventh day” or “sabbath” signified the Lord, and from Him the celestial man, and the celestial itself, the seventh day in the Jewish Church was of all religious observances the most holy; and hence came the “sabbath of sabbath” in the seventh year (Leviticus 25:4), and the “jubilee” that was proclaimed after the seven sabbaths of years, or after seven times seven years (Leviticus 25:8-9. That in the highest sense “seven” signifies the Lord, and hence the holy of love, is evident also from the golden candlestick and its seven lamps (concerning which in Exodus 25:31-33, 37; 37:17-19, 23; Numbers 8:2-3; Zechariah 4:2) and of which it is thus written by John:

Seven golden lampstands; and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like unto the Son of man (Revelation 1:12-13).

It very clearly appears in this passage that the “lampstand with the seven lamps” signifies the Lord, and that the “lamps” are the holy things of love, or celestial things; and therefore they were “seven.”

[5] And again:

Out of the throne went forth seven torches of fire, burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God (Revelation 4:5).

Here the “seven torches” that went forth out of the throne of the Lord are the seven lights, or lamps. The same is signified wherever the number “seven” occurs in the Prophets, as in Isaiah:

The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the breach of His people (Isaiah 30:26).

Here the “sevenfold light, as the light of seven days” does not signify sevenfold, but the holy of the love signified by the “sun.” See also what was said and shown above respecting the number “seven” (Genesis 4:15). From all this again it is clearly evident that whatever numbers are used in the Word never mean numbers (as was also shown before, (Genesis 6:3).