330. Out of every tribe and tongue. That this signifies from all those who are in truths as to doctrine and as to life, is clear from the signification of a tribe, as denoting all truths and goods in the aggregate (concerning which see above, n. 39); for those things are signified by the twelve tribes, and hence by every tribe is signified something of truth and good, therefore by out of every tribe is signified from all those who are in any kind of truth and good; and from the signification of tongue as denoting the doctrine of life and faith. That tribes signify all truths and goods in the aggregate, will be shown more fully in its proper article below. Similarly, that tongue signifies the doctrine of life and faith, thus religion. (Those [passages] only shall be adduced here that are shown in the Arcana Coelestia concerning the signification of the tribes, namely, the twelve tribes of Israel represented, and thence signified, all truths and goods in the aggregate, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; similarly the twelve apostles of the Lord the like, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 6397. There were twelve, because twelve signifies all, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. Because the twelve tribes represented, and thence signified, all truths and goods in the aggregate, therefore they represented heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996. The twelve tribes signify various things according to the order in which they are named, and thus also all things of heaven and the church with variety, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 et seq., 6337, 6640, 10335; therefore, replies could be given and were given by the Urim and Thummim, on which the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven in precious stones, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905.)

6640. 'Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Cad and Asher' means the whole process from start to finish, that is to say, of the establishment of the Church, which is the subject in what follows next. For the twelve sons of Jacob, and the tribes named after them too, mean all aspects of goodness and truth, that is, all aspects of love and faith in their entirety, see 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335. Yet these meanings vary according to the order in which the names are mentioned, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 and following paragraphs. The variations are therefore countless and involve every single thing that constitutes the Church and the Lord's kingdom, 6737. But what the specific meaning is when the names occur in the present or any other order nobody knows but the Lord alone. Nor does anyone in heaven know unless the Lord makes it known; in heaven the truths and forms of good that are meant are presented visually by means of lights, together with a perception of what the lights mean.

[2] The twelve tribes represented the Lord's kingdom and everything there, and therefore in order that those lights might also be represented, and thereby all the Church's truths and forms of good, twelve precious stones were set ¹ in gold in their proper order, one stone for each tribe. This was called the breastplate and was attached to Aaron's ephod; and they received answers from it by means of the varying flashes of light, which were accompanied either by audible words or by inner perception. From this too it may be recognized that the twelve tribes of Israel mean all the truths and forms of good, in their entirety, of the Lord's kingdom and the Church, and that the meanings vary, depending on the order in which they are mentioned. Here they are mentioned in a different order from that in which they were born, as is evident from the fact that Issachar and Zebulun are mentioned before Dan and Naphtali, though the latter were born before the former. Benjamin too is mentioned before Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, and yet he was born last; and Gad and Asher are mentioned last of all. Something similar is evident in other places in the Word where the names occur in further variations of order.

Fußnoten: