7032. 'And I will harden his heart, and he will not send the people away' means obstinacy and so a failure to set free as yet. This is clear from the meaning of 'hardening' as obstinacy, and from the meaning of 'heart' is that a new perception is meant, as the will, dealt with in 2930, 3888, so that the words used here mean an obstinate determination that springs from the will, and therefore from a delight in doing what is evil since what is present in the will is that in which one takes delight, and that in which one takes delight springs from the love one has; and from the meaning of 'not sending the people away' as an obstinate unwillingness to set free, thus a failure to set free as yet. It says here and in places further on that Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart. Such wording is based on appearances and on the general idea about the Divine, that all things are brought about by Him. But this should be understood in exactly the same kind of way as the attribution to Jehovah or the Lord of evil, anger, fury, devastation, and many other things like these should be, 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997.

[2] As regards the obstinacy of those who are steeped in falsities and the resulting evils and in evils and the resulting falsities, it should be recognized that the nature of it is such that it defies description. They never leave off, unless they are deterred by harsh punishments and the fears these create; exhortations and threats have no effect whatever. The reason for this is that for them the delight of life consists in doing evil, a delight which they acquired while they lived in the world, chiefly because they loved solely themselves, not their neighbour, and so did not have any Christian charity. Because people like this do not allow themselves to be led by the Lord, their actions are motivated by their own selfish will, which is evil owing to heredity and also to the actual life they lead. And people whose actions are motivated by their own selfish will do what is evil from a love of evil, since what comes from the will comes from love. From love springs the delight they feel in doing evil, and in the measure that this delight reigns in them obstinacy reigns in them.

[3] It is not evident in the world that this is so, but that is because in the world they are restrained by self-love and love of the world, for they are afraid they would suffer loss of reputation, consequently of monetary gain and of position if they were to do evil openly. Laws and fear for their lives also serve to keep them in check. But if those restraints did not exist they would quickly seek to ruin all who are not favourably disposed towards them, plunder everyone's resources, and ruthlessly kill anyone. This is what the person is like inwardly, that is, as to his spirit, though he may not seem in the world to be like that, as may be seen perfectly clearly from those who are in the next life. Those who have been like that in the world have external things taken away from them and are left to [the desires of] their own will, thus to their own loves; and when they have been left to these nothing gives them greater delight than doing what is evil. They also do it with such obstinate determination that they never leave off, unless, as has been stated, they suffer punishments, after which they sink into hell. All this shows what a person is like who has no charity towards the neighbour, also that everyone's life awaits him, not his external life as a citizen which could be seen in the world, but his spiritual life, which was internal and unseen in the world.

2930. 'If you are willing' means if on account of an affection for truth coming from the heart. This is clear from the meaning of 'soul' in the internal sense. The expression 'with heart and soul' or 'with all the heart and with all the soul' occurs in various places in the Word where with all the will and all the understanding is meant. The fact that man possesses the dual powers of will and understanding, and also that the will is separated from the understanding may be well known to everyone, for we are all able to understand what is good and true but nevertheless will what is evil and false. From the beginning the human being was created in such a way that will and understanding with him were to make one, so that he would not think anything other than what he willed, nor will anything other than what he thought. Such is the state with celestial people and such it was in the celestial Church which was called Man or Adam. But with spiritual people, that is, in the spiritual Church, the first ability is separated from the second, that is to say, that of the understanding is separated from that of the will. A spiritual person is reformed by the Lord as to the former, namely the understanding part of his mind, and then within this there is formed a new will and a new understanding, 863, 875, 895, 897, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256.

[2] The new will there, which is received from the Lord, is what is called 'the heart', while the new understanding is what is called 'the soul'. And when the expression 'with all the heart and with all the soul' is used, with all the will and with all the understanding is meant. This is what is meant by 'heart and soul' in Moses,

This day Jehovah your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and judgements - that you may keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 26:16.

You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5.

In the same author,

Now Israel, what does Jehovah your God require of you except to fear Jehovah your God, to go in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul? Deuteronomy 10:12; 11:13.

In the same author,

In the Book of Kings,

David said to Solomon, Jehovah will establish His Word which He spoke concerning me, saying, If [your] sons take heed to their way to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there will not fail you a man on the throne of Israel. 1 Kings 2:4.

In Matthew,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:29-30.

[3] The same is also said of Jehovah or the Lord because with the member of the Church He is the source of affection for good, which belongs to the will, and of the affection for truth, which belongs to the understanding; as in Samuel,

I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, [who will do] according to what is in My heart and in My soul. 1 Samuel 2:35.

And in Jeremiah,

I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all My heart, and with all My soul. Jeremiah 32:41.

And there are still other places in the Word where 'soul' means the affection for truth, as in Isaiah,

With my soul I desired You in the night; even with my spirit within me I sought You early. For insofar as Your judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9.

Here 'soul' stands for an affection for truth, 'spirit' for an affection for good. 'Judgements' has reference to truths, and 'righteousness' to good, see 2235.

[4] In the same prophet,

The fool speaks folly, to make empty the hungry soul, and causes the [soul] thirsting for drink to fail. Isaiah 32:6.

'The hungry soul', which 'the fool makes empty', stands for the desire for good, while 'the soul thirsting for drink', which 'the fool causes to fail', stands for the desire for truth. In Jeremiah,

Their soul will become like a watered garden, and I will water the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul I will replenish. Jeremiah 31:12, 25.

'The soul' stands for the affection for truth and good. In the same prophet,

All its people groan as they search for bread. They have given their desirable things for food, to revive the soul. A comforter is far from me, one to revive my soul; my sons have been made desolate. They sought food for themselves to revive their soul. Lamentations 1:11, 16, 19.

'The soul' stands for the life of the affection for good and truth, 'food' stands for wisdom and intelligence.

[5] It has been said that 'the soul' means the affection for truth coming from the heart, because some affections for truth exist which do not come from the heart, such as those which come from self-love, which is the desire to be above others; from love of the world, which is the love of gain; and from love of merit. Affections for truth spring in a similar way from these loves, but they are not genuine affections. They come from the will of the flesh, not from the heart. That which comes from the heart comes from the Lord. Furthermore 'the soul' in the Word means in the universal sense all life, see 1000, 1005, 1040, 1742. Indeed in the universal sense the soul constitutes that from which another thing has its being and life. Thus the soul of the body is its spirit, since it is from this that the body has life. The soul of the spirit however is its still more interior life from which it derives its wisdom and intelligence.