1232. That 'Aram' or Syria means cognitions of good follows from what has been said above as well as from the Word: in Ezekiel,

Aram was your merchant in the multitude of your handiworks; they exchanged for your wares chrysoprase, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and ramoth, ¹ and rubies. Ezekiel 27:16.

This refers to 'Tyre' or the possession of cognitions. Here 'handiworks, chrysoprase, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, ramoth, and rubies' means nothing else than cognitions of good. In Hosea,

Jacob fled into the field of Aram and served for a wife, and for a wife kept guard. And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. Ephraim has provoked to anger most bitterly. Hosea 12:12-14.

Here 'Jacob' stands for the external Church, and 'Israel' for the internal spiritual Church. 'Aram' stands for cognitions of good, 'Egypt' for knowledge that debases, 'Ephraim' for debased intelligence. What these mean in this context cannot possibly be deduced from the literal sense, only from the internal sense where, as has been stated, names mean things of the Church. In Isaiah,

Behold, Damascus has been rejected so that it is not a city; it has become a heap of ruins. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel. Isaiah 17:1, 3.

Here 'the remnant of Aram' stands for cognitions of good which are called 'the glory of Israel'. 'Aram' or Syria also stands in the contrary sense for cognitions of good that have been debased, for it is usual in the Word for an expression to be used in both senses, see Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5.

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