7679. 'And Jehovah brought an east wind' means an agent of destruction. This is clear from the meaning of 'an east wind' as an agent of destruction. 'An east wind' has this meaning because it was dry and turbulent, and because it therefore withered the produce of that land, and by its force shattered trees, and ships at sea. This is why that wind, acting as an agent [of destruction], describes the effect that Divine power can have. In addition 'the east' means the good of love and charity, for the Lord is meant by it in the highest sense, 101, 1250, 3708. Also, being Divine, the good of love and charity is in origin very gentle, and consequently is also such in its movements when it passes into heaven. But when it comes down into hell it becomes rough and fierce, because the inhabitants of hell make it so. Therefore the inflow and presence there of that Divine good not only torments them but also devastates them. This too explains why a wind from the east or 'an east wind' means an agent of destruction.

[2] The fact that this wind means an agent of destruction is evident from the places in which it is mentioned in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

Like an east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. Jeremiah 18:17.

In Ezekiel,

The vine that was planted, will it thrive? ¹ When the east wind strikes it, will it not wither completely?. Ezekiel 17:10.

In the same prophet,

That vine has been plucked up in anger, it has been cast down onto the ground, the east wind has dried its fruit. Ezekiel 19:12.

In Hosea,

He will be among his brothers a ferocious one; an east wind will come, Jehovah's wind rising up from the desert, and his spring mill become dry, and his fountain dried up. Hosea 13:15.

In David,

By an east wind You will shatter the ships of Tarshish. Psalms 48:7.

In Ezekiel,

They brought you down to many waters, those who despise you; the east wind broke you in the heart of the seas. Ezekiel 27:26.

From these places it is evident that 'an east wind' means an agent of destruction, because it was a dry wind and a turbulent one. It therefore also means an agent of devastation, as in Hosea,

Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation. Hosea 12:1.

'Ephraim' stands for the Church's understanding, 5354, 6222, 6238. 'Feeding the wind' is multiplying lies, and 'pursuing the east wind' is multiplying devastation. A state of devastation and temptation is also called 'the day of the east wind' in Isaiah 27:7-8.

फुटनोट:

1328. 'And from there Jehovah scattered them over the face ¹ of the whole Earth' means that internal worship ceased to exist. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'scattering' as being dispersed. In the proximate sense those who wanted to build the city of Babel are meant by 'being scattered over the face ¹ of the whole earth'. But because they are people who deprive others of all knowledge of truth, as has been stated, these words at the same time mean the loss of internal worship; for one is the consequence of the other. Here the consequence is meant because this is the third time that this statement is made. That the first Ancient Church had been deprived of cognitions of truth and good is clear from the consideration that the nations which constituted that Ancient Church became for the most part idolatrous, though they still possessed some form of external worship. The lot of idolaters outside the Church is far better than that of idolaters inside it. The former are external idolaters, but the latter are internal. The fact that the lot of the former is better is clear from what the Lord says in Luke 13:23, 28-30; Matthew 8:11-12. This then is the reason why the state of this Ancient Church was altered.

फुटनोट: