449. Of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed, signifies the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the lowest heaven. This is evident from the representation of "Benjamin" and the tribe named from him, as being the spiritual-celestial in the natural man, as "Joseph" represents it in the spiritual. The spiritual-celestial is truth conjoined to good; for truth regarded in itself is spiritual, and good is celestial; therefore by "Benjamin" and his tribe the conjunction of truth and good in the natural is signified, and thus here the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the lowest heaven; for in the lowest heaven are those who are in natural good and truth from the spiritual and the celestial. Those who are in the lowest heaven are either spiritual-natural or celestial-natural; the spiritual-natural there belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the celestial-natural to His celestial kingdom, therefore the spiritual-natural communicate with the second heaven where all are spiritual, while the celestial-natural communicate with the third heaven where all are celestial (as was said in the article above).

[2] From all this the signification in the Word of "Joseph" and of "Benjamin," who were brothers, can be seen. As "Benjamin" signifies truth conjoined to good in the natural man, and thus truth conjoined to good in those who are in the lowest heaven, so he was born to Jacob last, and was called by him "son of the right hand," (Benjamin, in the original, means son of the right hand); also he was born in Bethlehem, and that city signifies truth conjoined to good in the natural. (That he was born in Bethlehem, see Genesis 35:16-19.) He was born the last because the natural, consisting of truth conjoined to good, is the ultimate of the church with man. For with man there are three degrees of life, the inmost, the middle, and the ultimate; in the inmost degree are those who are in the inmost or third heaven, in the middle degree are those who are in the middle or second heaven, and in the ultimate degree are those who are in the lowest or first heaven; so those who are in the inmost degree are called celestial, those who are in the middle are called spiritual, and those who are in the ultimate degree are called either spiritual-natural, or celestial-natural, and the conjunction of these in the ultimate degree is signified by "Benjamin." (Respecting these three degrees of life in man and angel, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 33, 34, 38, 39, 208, 209, 211, 435.) This now is why Benjamin was born the last of the sons of Jacob.

[3] He was called "the son of the right hand" because "son" signifies truth, and "right hand" signifies the power of truth from good, and in the spiritual world truth that is from good in the natural man has all power. All the power the spiritual man has is in this, because the effecting cause is in the spiritual man, and the effect is in the natural, and all the power of the effecting cause puts itself forth through the effect. (That all the power of the spiritual man is in the natural, and through the natural, see Arcana Coelestia 9836.) For this reason he was called "Benjamin," that is, "the son of the right hand." And as "Bethlehem" has a like signification, namely, truth conjoined to good in the natural man, David too was born there, and also anointed as king (1 Samuel 16:1-14; 17:12); for David as king represented the Lord in respect to truth from good, and this, too, is signified by "king" (as may be seen above, n. 29, 31, 205). For the same reason the Lord was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1, 5, 6) because He was born a king, and truth conjoined to good was with Him from birth. For every infant is born natural, and the natural, because it is next to the external senses and the world, is first opened, and this with all men is ignorant of truth and desirous of evil; but in the Lord alone the natural had a desire for good and a longing for truth; for the ruling affection in man, which is his soul, is from the father; and with the Lord, the affection or soul from the Father was the Divine Itself, which is the Divine good of the Divine love.

[4] Because "Benjamin" and his tribe signify truth conjoined to good in the natural man:

His lot in the land of Canaan was between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph; Jerusalem also, where the Jebusites then were, fell to that tribe for an inheritance (Joshua 18:11-28);

so that the sons of Benjamin dwelt there with the Jews, who afterwards occupied that city. The tribe of Benjamin had its lot among the sons of Joseph, because that tribe represented and thence signified the conjunction of good and truth; for "Judah" signifies the good of the church, and "Joseph" the truth of the church. Jerusalem fell to that tribe because "Jerusalem" signified the church in respect to doctrine and worship, and all doctrine of the church is the doctrine of truth conjoined to good, and all worship is effected according to doctrine through the natural man; for, as was said above, worship is an effect from the effecting cause which is in the spiritual man.

[5] From this the signification of "Benjamin" in the following passages can be seen. In Jeremiah:

In hallowing the sabbath they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the circuits of Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland and from the mountain and from the south, bringing burnt-offering and sacrifice and meal-offering and frankincense (Jeremiah 17:26).

This was done for hallowing the sabbath because the "sabbath" signifies the union of the Divine and the Divine Human in the Lord, and in a relative sense the conjunction of His Divine Human with heaven and with the church, and in general the conjunction of good and truth (See Arcana Coelestia 8495, 8510, 10356, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). "The cities of Judah, the circuits of Jerusalem, and the land of Benjamin," signify truths conjoined to good in the natural man; "the cities of Judah" the truths of good; "the circuits of Jerusalem" the truths of doctrine in the natural man, and "the land of Benjamin" their conjunction; for "cities" signify truths, "Judah" the good of the church, "Jerusalem" the doctrine of truth, "circuits" such things as are round about or below, which are the truths of good in the natural man, and "the land of Benjamin" the church in respect to the conjunction of these in the natural man; "from the lowland, from the mountain, and from the south," signifies good and truth in the natural man from a celestial origin and from a spiritual origin; "lowland" signifying good and truth in the natural man, because in lowlands, that is, below the mountains and hills, those dwell who are in the lowest heaven, and are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural, as was said above; "mountains" signifying those who are in celestial good, and "south" those who are in spiritual good, and thence in the light of truth; "to bring burnt-offering and sacrifice, and meal-offering and frankincense," signifies worship from celestial good and from spiritual good in the natural man; "burnt-offering" signifying worship from celestial good; "sacrifice" worship from spiritual good; "meal-offering and frankincense" good and the truth of good in the natural man. Such is the signification of these words. Why else should it be said that in hallowing the sabbath they should come "from the cities of Judah, from the circuits of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, the mountain, and the south," and why not from the whole land of Canaan?

[6] Because all these particulars signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, like things are also mentioned elsewhere in the same Prophet:

In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the circuits of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that numbereth them (Jeremiah 33:13).

They shall buy fields with silver, and this by writing in a book, and by causing witnesses to witness, in the land of Benjamin, and in the circuits of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, for I will turn back their captivity (Jeremiah 32:8, 44).

In these passages "the land of Benjamin, the circuits of Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, the mountain, the lowland, and the south," have a similar signification as above; thus "Benjamin" signifies the conjunction of truth and good in the natural man, and accordingly the conjunction of truth and good with those who are in the lowest heaven.

[7] In the same:

Gather yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sounding sound the trumpet, and upon the house of the vineyard kindle a conflagration, for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great breaking up (Jeremiah 6:1).

In the spiritual sense this treats of the devastation of the church in respect to truth and good, because it is against Zion and Jerusalem, for "Zion" signifies the good of the church, and "Jerusalem" its truth; and as "the sons of Benjamin" signify the conjunction of good and truth, they are told "to gather themselves out of the midst of Jerusalem, to sound the trumpet, and upon the house of the vineyard to kindle a conflagration;" "to sound the trumpet" signifying combat against that church from truths that are from good; "house of the vineyard" that church itself, and "to kindle a conflagration" its destruction by evil loves; the "north from which the evil looks forth" signifies the falsity of evil, and "a great breaking up" signifies the dispersion of good and truth.

[8] In David:

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest upon the cherubim shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Thy might, and come for salvation to us (Psalms 80:1, 2).

"Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," do not mean Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, but those who are in natural truth and good, and with whom there is a conjunction of these (See above, n. 440), where this is explained).

[9] In the same:

Bless ye God in the assemblies, the Lord from the fountain of Israel. There little Benjamin is over them, the princes of Judah, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali (Psalms 68:26, 27).

Here Benjamin, the princes of Judah, of Zebulun, and of Naphtali, are not meant, but those things of the church that are signified by these tribes; and "little Benjamin" here signifies the innocence of the natural man; the innocence of the natural man is in the conjunction of good and truth there. (This too may be seen explained above, n. 439.)

[10] In the blessing of the sons of Israel by Moses:

Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah, he shall dwell safely by him. He shall cover him all the day, and he shall dwell between His shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12).

"Benjamin" here signifies the Word in the ultimate sense, which is natural; for in this blessing by Moses the Word is described, and each tribe signifies something of it; and as the ultimate sense of the Word, which is natural, has in it a marriage of good and truth, as has been shown in many places, therefore Benjamin is called "the beloved of Jehovah," and it is said "he shall dwell safely by him, and He shall cover him all the day, and he shall dwell between His shoulders," "to dwell between the shoulders" meaning in safety and in power.

[11] The signification of "Benjamin" in the prophecy of Israel the father respecting his son (Genesis 49:27) has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6439-6444). In that prophecy, Benjamin is the last one treated of, because he signifies the ultimate of the church and of heaven; the ultimate is the natural, in which truth is conjoined to good.

[12] Because this is the signification of "Benjamin":

The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin pitched in the wilderness about the tent of meeting, on the west side (Numbers 2:18-24);

and these three tribes signify all who are in natural truth and good, and in the conjunction of these, "Ephraim" signifying truth in the natural man, "Manasseh" good there (as has been shown above), and "Benjamin" the conjunction of these. These tribes pitched on the west side, because in heaven those dwell at the west and at the north who are in the obscurity of good and in the obscurity of truth, thus who are in natural good and truth; but those dwell at the east and at the south in heaven who are in clearness of good and truth. (Respecting this see in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-153.)

[13] From this it can now be seen what "Benjamin" signifies in the Word, namely, the conjunction of good and truth in the natural man, and its conjunction through good with the spiritual; for all good that is good in the natural man flows in from the spiritual man, that is, through the spiritual man from the Lord. Without such influx there is no good in the natural man; therefore "Benjamin" signifies also the conjunction of the spiritual man with the natural, and "Joseph" the conjunction of the celestial man with the spiritual.

440. Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand sealed, signifies the goods of life therefrom. This is evident from the representation and consequent signification of "the tribe of Manasseh," as meaning the voluntary [principle] of the church, and the good of life therefrom. It means the good of life because the good of life makes one with the voluntary of the church or of the man of the church, since that which a man wills he does when he can, for doing is nothing but the will acting, as can be seen from the fact that doing stops when the will stops, and doing goes on as long as there is a will; that which the will of a regenerated man does is called the good of life. For this reason, as the voluntary of the church is signified by "Manasseh" and his tribe, so the good of life is also signified. Moreover, the good of life is the outcome of charity towards the neighbor after regeneration, which is signified by "Asher and Naphtali," like an effect from its cause; for they who are in charity towards the neighbor are regenerated by the Lord, and those who are regenerated are in the good of life, since they act from charity, and all action from charity is good of life.

[2] There are two things that constitute the church, namely, the truth of doctrine and the good of life; both of these must be in a man that he may be a man of the church. "Ephraim and Manasseh" represented and thence signify in the Word these two, "Ephraim" the truth of doctrine, and "Manasseh" the good of life. The truth of doctrine is also called the intellectual of the church, and the good of life is called its voluntary; for truth is of the understanding, and good is of the will; for this reason also "Ephraim and Manasseh" signify the intellectual and the voluntary of the church, "Ephraim" its intellectual, and "Manasseh" its voluntary. That these might be represented and thence signified by "Ephraim and Manasseh" they were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt; for "Joseph" signifies the celestial-spiritual, or the spiritual kingdom itself that is adjoined to the celestial kingdom, and "the land of Egypt" signifies the natural; consequently "Manasseh" signifies the good of the will in the natural born of the celestial-spiritual, and "Ephraim" signifies truth of the understanding in the natural, also born from the same. The nativity of these is thus described in Moses:

And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, For God hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim, For God hath made me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction (Genesis 41:50-52).

The meaning of these words in the spiritual sense can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5347-5356), namely, that the name of the firstborn, "Manasseh," means the new voluntary in the natural and what is its quality; and the name of the second, "Ephraim," means the new intellectual in the natural, and what is its quality; or what is the same, "Manasseh" means the good of the new natural man, and "Ephraim" its truth (See n. 5351, 5354).

[3] That this is the signification of "Manasseh and Ephraim" can be seen from the fact that they were adopted by Jacob as "Reuben and Simeon," which is thus described in Moses:

And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now thy two sons, born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine. They shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance (Genesis 48:3, 5, 6).

As "Reuben" signifies truth in the understanding, which is the truth of doctrine, and "Simeon" truth in the will, which is the good of life, therefore Jacob says that "Ephraim and Manasseh should be to him as Reuben and Simeon;" consequently "Ephraim" signifies intellectual truth, and "Manasseh" voluntary good. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 6234-6241.)

[4] The same can be seen from the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob, then Israel, as follows:

Israel blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me from then unto this day, the Angel that hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them shall my name be called, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth (Genesis 48:15-16).

That here, too, "Ephraim" means intellectual truth, and "Manasseh" voluntary good, both in the natural, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6274-6285). And again, in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Moses, as follows:

Respecting Joseph, In the firstborn of his ox he hath honor, and his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall push the peoples together to the ends of the earth; and these are the myriads of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 33:17).

This may be seen explained above (n. 336[4]).

That "Ephraim" signifies the understanding of truth, and "Manasseh" the will of good, both in the natural, can be seen also from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In the fury of Jehovah of Hosts is the land darkened, and the people are become as fuel of the fire; a man shall not pity his brother; and if he shall cut down on the right hand he shall still be hungry, and if he shall eat on the left hand they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, they together against Judah ¹ (Isaiah 9:19-21).

"Manasseh shall eat Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh," here signifies that every good and truth of the church is to perish, the good through falsity, and the truth through evil, as may be seen above (n. 386, where the particulars are explained).

[5] In David:

Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine, and Ephraim is the strength of My head; Judah is My lawgiver (Psalms 60:7; 108:8).

"Manasseh" here signifies the good of the church, "Ephraim" its truth, and "Gilead" the natural; and since truth from good in the natural has Divine power it is said, "Ephraim is the strength of My head." Divine power is through truth from good in the natural, because the natural is the ultimate into which things interior flow, which are spiritual and celestial, and where they are together and subsist; consequently where they are in fullness, and in this and from this is all Divine operation. For this reason the sense of the letter of the Word, because it is natural, has in it Divine power (respecting which see above, n. 346, and Arcana Coelestia 9836); from this it can be seen why Ephraim is said to be "the strength of Jehovah's head;" Judah is said to be "His lawgiver" because "Judah" signifies internal Divine truth, or the Word in the spiritual sense, and "lawgiver" and "law" have a similar signification.

[6] In the same:

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh stir up Thy might and come for salvation to us (Psalms 80:1, 2).

From the spiritual sense it is clear that these words contain a supplication to the Lord to instruct those who are of the church, and to lead them by truths to good, thus to heaven. The Lord is called "the Shepherd of Israel" because He instructs and leads; it is therefore said, "Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock," "Joseph" meaning those of the church who are in truths from good; "Thou that sittest upon the cherubim" signifies the Lord above the heavens, whence He sends forth the light that illustrates minds, therefore it is said "shine forth." That the light of truth may penetrate even to those who are in natural truth and good, thus to the lowest in the church, is signified by "before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh stir up Thy might;" "Ephraim" meaning those who are in natural truth; natural truth is such truth as the truth of the Word is in the sense of the letter; "Manasseh" means those who are in natural good, which is the delight of doing good and learning truth; "Benjamin" means the conjunctive of truth and good, or the conjoining medium in the natural; "to stir up might" means the penetration of light even to that; "come for salvation to us" means that such may be saved.

[7] Because all the good that the natural man has flows in from the Lord through the spiritual, and without that influx there can be no good in the natural, and because "Manasseh" represented and thus signified good in the natural man from a spiritual origin, therefore to that tribe an inheritance was given both beyond or without Jordan and on this side or within Jordan, that is, to half the tribe beyond or without Jordan, and to the other half on this side or within Jordan (See Numbers 32:33, 39, 40; Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 13:29-31; 17:5-13, 16-18). The land beyond or without Jordan represented and signified the external church, which is with men in the natural man; but the land on this side or within Jordan represented and signified the internal church, which is with men in the spiritual man (on which see above, n. 434. Again, it is good that constitutes the church, and this good flows in immediately out of the spiritual man into the natural, and without this influx the church is not with man; and this is the reason that to the tribe of Manasseh, by which the good of the church was signified, was given an inheritance both within and without Jordan. That spiritual good flows into natural good immediately, but into natural truth mediately, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 3314, 3573, 3576, 3616, 3969, 3995, 4563); thus that there is a parallelism between spiritual good and natural good, but not between spiritual truth and natural truth (n. 1831, 1832, 3514, 3564). That "Manasseh" signifies the good of the church, or the good of life, which is the same as the good of the will, can be seen from the representation and consequent signification of "Ephraim," as being the truth of the church, or the truth of doctrine, which is the same as the truth of the understanding; for these were brethren, and good and truth are called brethren in the Word. (That "Ephraim" signifies the truth of doctrine, and thus the intellectual of the church, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 5354, where many passages from the Word in which Ephraim is mentioned are cited and explained; see also n. 3969, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

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