9034. 'And when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave [with a rod]' means if anyone within the Church mistreats a factual truth or an affection for it from his own power. This is clear from the meaning of 'striking' as mistreating, for 'striking' refers to inflicting any kind of hurt; from the meaning of 'a man', here a man from among the children of Israel, as a member of the Church and therefore one in possession of spiritual truth, which is truth derived from the Word and contained in the teachings and belief of the Church, dealt with in 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805; from the meaning of 'male slave' as factual truth, which is truth belonging to the Word, as stated in its literal sense, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'a female slave' as a natural affection, thus an affection for known facts, since these reside in the natural, dealt with in 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, 8993, 8994; and from the meaning of 'a rod' as the power of the natural, dealt with in 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026, at this point a person's own power, since it is speaking in regard to a slave who had been bought. From all this it is evident that 'when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave' means if anyone within the Church mistreats a factual truth in the Word or an affection for it.

[2] The reason why 'a male slave' means truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word is that in general 'a slave' means lower or more external things, because these things serve higher or more internal ones, 2541, 5161, 5164, 5936, 7143. From this general meaning 'a slave' means the natural, because this serves the spiritual, 3019, 3020, 5305, 7998; and following on from this it means factual truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word, for this truth serves spiritual truth belonging to the internal sense. Truth belonging to the internal sense of the Word is the same as genuine truth contained in the teachings that compose the Church's faith.

[3] In what way truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word serves spiritual truth must be stated briefly. A member of the Church first of all learns truth from the literal sense of the Word. This is general truth suited to the understanding of the external man, who dwells in natural light. That truth is received by an external route, which is that of hearing, and is stored in the external man's memory, where there are also various pieces of knowledge gained from the world, 2469-2494. Later on matters stored in this memory come under the vision or gaze of the internal man, who sees things in the light of heaven. The internal man selects and summons from among them truths that are in agreement with the good which flows in from the Lord by way of the soul and which the person has accepted. There the Lord joins the truths to the good. The truths joined in that way in the internal man are called spiritual truths, and the good to which the truths have been joined is called spiritual good. This good, given form by the truths, constitutes the person's spiritual life. The actual truths there are called the truths of faith, and the good is called the good of charity. The good in which the truths have been implanted in that way is the Church with that person.

[4] From all this one may see how truths belonging to the literal sense of the Word serve to give form to spiritual truths, in general to give form to faith and charity which compose spiritual life - life which consists in being fired by an affection for truths because they lead to good, then by an affection for the good that the truths lead to, and finally by an affection for truths that flow from that good.

6426. 'From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the spiritual kingdom possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the shepherd' as one who leads to the good of charity by means of the truth of faith, dealt with in 343, 3795, 6044 (here in the highest sense, since it has reference to the Lord, goodness and truth themselves are meant); from the meaning of 'the stone' as truth, dealt with in 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286, for 'Israel' is spiritual good or the good of truth, 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. And since the good of truth is the essential element of the spiritual Church, 'Israel' means the spiritual Church, and in the highest sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom. From all this it is evident that 'from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the Lord's spiritual kingdom possesses.

[2] The reason why in the highest sense 'the stone of Israel' means the Lord with respect to the truth that His spiritual kingdom possesses is that in general 'the stone' means the temple, and specifically the foundation on which it stands. 'The temple' in turn means the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in John 2:19, 21, and so does its 'foundation' in Matthew 21:42, 44, and in Isaiah 28:16. This meaning of 'the stone' in the highest sense - the Lord in respect to Divine Truth which His spiritual kingdom possesses - is evident in David,

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This has been done by Jehovah; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalms 118:22-23.

'The stone' here is the Lord, as is made clear in Luke,

It is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Whoever falls onto that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:17-18.

These things are spoken by the Lord regarding Himself. In Isaiah,

He is your fear, and He is your dread; for He will be a sanctuary, though He will be a stone to strike against and a rock to stumble over ¹ for both houses of Israel. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces. Isaiah 8:13-15.

Here the Lord is referred to. In the same prophet,

The Lord Jehovih said, Behold I [am He who] will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tested stone, a precious corner-stone, surely founded. He who believes will not be hasty. Isaiah 28:16.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will place them as His glorious horse ² in battle. From Him comes the corner-stone, from Him the tent-peg, from Him the battle-bow. Zechariah 10:3-4.

[3] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. The stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold . . . Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

Here 'the stone' is used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the relative sense to mean His spiritual kingdom. When it says that 'the stone was cut out of the rock' the meaning is that it came out of the truth of faith, for the truth of faith is meant in the Word by 'rock'. And because the truth of faith is meant by 'the stone' and 'the rock', the Lord's spiritual kingdom is also what is meant, since the truth of faith and good ensuing from this truth prevail in that kingdom. Something similar is also meant by 'the stone' on which Jacob slept and which he afterwards set up as a pillar, described as follows,

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And in the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He said, This stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:16-18, 22.

The fact that by 'the stone' the ancients understood the Lord in the highest sense and His spiritual kingdom in the relative sense is also plain to see in Joshua,

Joshua erected the stone under the oak which was in Jehovah's sanctuary. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He spoke to us. And it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:26, 17.

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