6419. Of a daughter, she marcheth upon the wall. That this signifies for fighting against falsity, is evident from the signification of a “daughter,” as being the church (see n. 2362, 3963); here the spiritual church, because this is the subject here treated of; and from the signification of “marching upon the wall,” as being for fighting against falsity, as is plain from what follows: “the archers embitter him, and shoot at him, and hate him, and he shall sit in the strength of his bow,” whereby is signified the fighting of falsity against truth.

[2] “To march upon the wall” is said because in the internal sense the subject treated of is assault on truth by falsities, and defense of truth against falsity; for the spiritual church, which is represented by Joseph, is continually being assaulted, but the Lord continually defends it. Hence in the Word what belongs to this church is compared to a city, which has a wall, outworks, gates, and bars; and by the assaults on that city are described the assaults on truth by falsities; hence also a “city” signifies doctrinal things (n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493), and its “wall” the truths of faith which defend it, and in the opposite sense the falsities which are being destroyed. That a “wall” signifies the truths of faith which defend, is plain in Isaiah:

We have a strong city; salvation will He appoint for walls and bulwark. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faithfulnesses may enter in (Isaiah 26:1).

Again:

Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise (Isaiah 60:18).

Again:

Behold I have graven thee upon the hands, thy walls are continually before Me (Isaiah 49:16);

“walls” denote the truths of faith. Again:

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall not be silent all the day and the night, keeping Jehovah in mind (Isaiah 62:6); where the sense is the same.

In Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, I will turn back the weapons of war wherewith ye fight with the king of Babylon, besieging you without the wall. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand (Jeremiah 21:4-5 (Jeremiah 21:6)).

Again:

Jehovah hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He hath made the rampart and wall to lament; they languish together. Her gates have sunk into the earth; He hath destroyed and broken her bars (Lam. 2:8-9).

In Ezekiel:

The sons of Arvad and thine army were upon thy walls round about; and the Gammadim were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about, they have perfected thy beauty (Ezekiel 27:11);

speaking of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of good and truth.

[3] That such things are signified by a “city” and “walls,” is very evident from the description of the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, which was seen by John. That a new church is signified thereby is plain from all the details; and by the “wall” thereof, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. It is written of this in John:

The holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, having a wall great and high; having twelve gates. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He that spake with me measured the city and its gates, and the wall thereof. The wall thereof was a hundred forty and four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The building of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone (Revelation 21:10-19);

[4] that the “wall” is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and hence the truth of faith from the good of charity, is plain from everything said about the wall, that it “had twelve foundations and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” for by “twelve” are signified all (see n. 3272, 3858, 3913); by the “wall” and its “foundations,” the truths of faith, in like manner as by the “twelve apostles” (n. 3488, 3858, 6397); also that the “wall was one hundred and forty-four cubits,” for by this number the like is signified as by “twelve,” namely all, for it is twelve multiplied into twelve, and because this number when applied to a wall signifies all the truths and goods of faith, it is added that it is the “measure of a man, that is, of an angel;” and also that the “building of the wall was jasper, and its foundations were adorned with every precious stone,” for by “jasper” and “precious stones” are signified the truths of faith (n. 114).

[5] That in the opposite sense a “wall” signifies falsities which are being destroyed, is plain from the following:

A day of tumult in the valley of vision; the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth destroyeth the wall, and there is a shout toward the mountain; for Elam hath borne the quiver, with chariot of man, with horsemen, the horsemen placing have placed themselves even at the gate (Isaiah 22:5-7).

Again:

The fortress of the refuge of thy walls shall He depress, cast down, throw to the earth, even to the dust (Isaiah 25:12).

In Jeremiah:

Go ye up on her walls, and cast down (Jeremiah 5:10).

Again:

I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad (Jeremiah 49:27).

Again:

Lift up a standard against the walls of Babylon, keep the watch, set the watchmen (Jeremiah 51:12).

In Ezekiel:

They shall overthrow the walls of Tyre, and destroy her towers; and I will scrape her dust from her, and make her the dryness of a rock (Ezekiel 26:4).

4493. And they circumcised every male, all that went out of the gate of his city. That this signifies accession to external things, is evident from the signification of “circumcising every male,” as being to be initiated thereby into the representatives and significatives of the descendants of Jacob in respect to the external alone (see n. 4486); and from the signification of “going out of the gate of the city,” as being to recede from the doctrine of the Church among the Ancients, concerning which just above (n. 4492). And because recession from their own doctrine and accession to externals are both signified, it is therefore twice said, “all that went out of the gate of his city.” But it is not at the same time said also, as elsewhere, “they that go into it,” because by “going in” is signified accession to doctrine, and recession from externals, whereas here the contrary is signified.

[2] It is necessary to say how the case herein is. The men of the Most Ancient Church, of the remains of which were Hamor and Shechem with their families, were of a totally different genius and native quality from the men of the Ancient Church; for the men of the Most Ancient Church had a will in which there was soundness, but not so the men of the Ancient Church. Therefore with the men of the Most Ancient Church the Lord could inflow through the will, thus by an internal way; but not so with the men of the Ancient Church, in whom the will had been destroyed; but with these He inflowed into the understanding, thus not by an internal way, but by an external way, as before said (n. 4489). To inflow through the will is to inflow through the good of love, for all good is of the will part; but to inflow through the understanding is to inflow through the truth of faith, for all truth is of the intellectual part. When the Lord regenerated the men of the Ancient Church He formed a new will in their intellectual part.

(That goods and truths were implanted in the will part of the men of the Most Ancient Church, may be seen, n. 895, 927, but in the intellectual part of the men of the Ancient Church, n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 2124, 2256, 4328: That a new will is formed in the intellectual part, n. 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 4328: That there is a parallelism between the Lord and the good that is with man, but not between the Lord and the truth with man, n. 1831, 1832, 2718, 3514 ence the men of the Ancient Church were in comparative obscurity, n. 2708, 2715, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833.) From all this it is evident that the men of the Most Ancient Church were of a totally different genius and native quality from the men of the Ancient Church.

[3] It was for this reason that the men of the Most Ancient Church were internal men and had no externals of worship, and that the men of the Ancient Church were external men and had externals of worship; for the former saw external things through internal ones as in the light of the sun by day, and the latter saw internal things through external ones as in the light of the moon and stars by night. Therefore also in heaven the Lord appears to the former as a sun, but to the latter as a moon (n. 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 4060). In these explications the former are they who are called “celestial,” but the latter “spiritual.”

[4] To illustrate the difference let us take an example: If a man of the Most Ancient Church had read the historic or prophetic Word, he would have seen its internal sense without any previous instruction or explication, and this so fully that the celestial and spiritual things of this sense would have at once occurred to him, and scarcely anything in the sense of the letter; thus the internal sense would have been in clearness to him, but the sense of the letter in obscurity. He would be like one who hears another speaking and gets the meaning without attending to the words. But if a man of the Ancient Church had read the Word he could not have seen its internal sense without previous instruction or explication; thus the internal sense would have been in obscurity to him, but the sense of the letter in clearness. He would be like one who hears another speaking and is intent upon the words while not attending to the meaning, which is thus lost to him. But when a man of the Jewish Church reads the Word, he apprehends nothing beyond the sense of the letter, he is not aware that there is any internal sense, and also denies it; and at the present day the case is the same with a man of the Christian Church.

[5] All this shows what was the difference between those represented by Hamor and Shechem (who being of the remains of the Most Ancient Church were in internals and not in externals), and those signified by the sons of Jacob (who were in externals and not in internals); and it shows further that Hamor and Shechem could not accede to externals and accept those among the sons of Jacob without their internals being closed; thus causing their eternal destruction.

[6] This is the secret reason why Hamor and Shechem with their families were slain, which otherwise would not have been permitted. But this does not exculpate the sons of Jacob from having committed an enormous crime. They knew nothing of this secret reason, and it was not the end they had in view. Everyone is judged according to his end or intention, and that their intention was fraudulent is plainly stated in the thirteenth verse (Genesis 34:13); and when any such crime is permitted by the Lord, it is evil men and their infernal instigators who are the authors of it. Nevertheless all the evil which the evil intend and do to the good is turned by the Lord into good, as in the present instance, in that Hamor and Shechem with their families were saved.