9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

2712. He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. That this signifies the life of the spiritual man as to good, is evident from the signification of “dwelling,” as being predicated of the good of truth, or of spiritual good, that is, of the good of the spiritual man. What its quality is, is described by his “dwelling in the wilderness of Paran” which is to be treated of presently. That “to dwell” is predicated of the good, that is, of the affection, of truth, is evident from many passages in the Word where cities are treated of, by which truths are signified, and as being without an inhabitant, by whom good is signified (n. 2268, 2450, 2451); for truths are inhabited by good; and truths without good are like a city in which there is no one dwelling. So in Zephaniah:

I have made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are desolated, so that there is no inhabitant (Zeph. 3:6).

[2] In Jeremiah:

Jehovah led us through the wilderness, where no man passed through, and where no man dwelt; they had made his land a waste, his cities are burned up, so that there is no inhabitant (Jeremiah 2:6, 15).

In the same:

Every city is forsaken, and no one dwelleth therein (Jeremiah 4:29).

In the same:

In the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast (Jeremiah 33:10);

“streets” denote truths (n. 2336); “without man” denotes no celestial good; “without inhabitant,” no spiritual good; and “without beast,” no natural good. In the same:

The cities of Moab shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein (Jeremiah 48:9).

[3] In the Prophets in every expression there is the marriage of truth and good; and therefore where a city is said to be desolate, it is also added that there is no inhabitant in it; for the reason that the city signifies truths, and the inhabitant good; otherwise it would be superfluous to say that there was no inhabitant, when it has been said that the city was desolate. So likewise the expressions are constant that signify the things of celestial good, those of spiritual good, and those of truth; as in Isaiah:

Thy seed shall possess the nations, and they shall dwell in the desolate cities (Isaiah 54:3); where to “possess” is predicated of celestial goods; and to “dwell in,” of spiritual good. In the same:

Mine elect shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there (Isaiah 65:9); where the signification is the same.

[4] In David:

God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah and they shall dwell there, and shall possess it; the seed also of His servants shall inherit it, and they that love His name shall dwell therein (Psalms 69:35-36);

“dwelling” and at the same time “possessing,” is predicated of celestial good; but “dwelling,” of spiritual good.

In Isaiah:

Saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, ye shall be built (Isaiah 44:26); where “dwelling,” or “inhabiting,” is predicated of the good of the spiritual church, which is “Jerusalem.” To such a degree are the expressions in the Word predicated of their own goods and their own truths, that merely from a knowledge of the predication of these expressions it can be known what subject in general is treated of.