9277. So shalt thou do to thy vineyard, and to thine olive-yard. That this signifies that so it is with spiritual good and with celestial good, is evident from the signification of a “vineyard,” as being the spiritual church (n. 1069, 9139), thus spiritual good, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor, for this good makes the spiritual church; and from the signification of an “olive-yard,” as being the celestial church, thus celestial good, that is, the good of love to the Lord, for this good makes the celestial church. (What the spiritual church is, and what is its good; and what the celestial church is, and what is its good; and also what is the difference between them, see n. 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7877, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521)

[2] That an “olive-yard” signifies the celestial church, and thus celestial good, is evident from the passages in the Word where the “olive-tree” is mentioned; as in Moses:

Thou shalt plant vineyards and till them, but the wine thou shalt not drink, nor gather; for the worm shall eat it. Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy border, but thou shall not anoint thyself with the oil, for thine olive-tree shall be shaken (Deuteronomy 28:39-40); where the subject treated of is the curse if other gods were worshiped, and if the statutes and judgments were not kept. “Olive-trees in all thy border” denote the goods of celestial love which are from the Lord through the Word in the whole church; “not being anointed with the oil” denotes that nevertheless they are not in this good; “thine olive-tree shall be shaken” denotes that this good will perish. In like manner in Micah:

Thou shalt tread the olive, but shall not anoint thee with oil; and the must, but shalt not drink the wine (Micah 6:15).

[3] In Amos:

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; your many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig-trees, and your olive-trees, shall the caterpillar devour; yet have ye not returned unto Me (Amos 4:9);

“vineyards” denote the goods of faith; and “olive-trees” the goods of love; the punishment for not receiving these goods is signified by “the caterpillar devouring the olive-trees.”

In Habakkuk:

The fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall deceive, and the field shall yield no food (Hab. 3:17); where “the fig-tree” denotes natural good; “the vine,” spiritual good; “the olive,” celestial good; and “the field,” the church.

In Zechariah:

Two olive-trees were beside the lampstand, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side. These are the two sons of pure oil, that stand beside the Lord of the whole earth (Zech. 4:3, 11, 14).

The “two olive-trees beside the lampstand” denote celestial and spiritual good, which are at the Lord’s right and left; “the lampstand” signifies the Lord as to Divine truth.

[4] In the book of Judges:

Jotham said to the citizens of Shechem who made Abimelech king, The trees went to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, which God and men honor in me, and go to sway myself over the trees? And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I cause to cease my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to sway myself over the trees? Then the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. But the vine said unto them, Should I cause to cease my must, which cheereth God and men, and go to sway myself over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come ye, and put your trust in my shadow; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon (Judg. 9:7-15);

what these things specifically involve cannot be known unless it is known what is signified by “the olive-tree,” “the fig-tree,” “the vine,” and “the bramble.” “The olive-tree” signifies the internal good of the celestial church; “the fig-tree,” the external good of that church (n. 4231, 5113); “the vine,” the good of the spiritual church; but “the bramble” signifies spurious good. These words therefore involve that the people who are here meant by the trees, were not willing that either celestial good or spiritual good should reign over them, but spurious good, and that they chose this in preference to the other goods. “Fire out of the bramble” denotes the evil of concupiscence; “the cedars of Lebanon that it would consume” denote the truths of good.

[5] As “the olive-tree” signified the good of love from the Lord and to the Lord, therefore the cherubs in the midst of the house or of the temple were made of olive wood, and in like manner the doors leading to the sanctuary (1 Kings 6:23-33); for the “cherubs” and also the “doors of the sanctuary” signified the guard and providence of the Lord that there should be no approach to Him except through the good of celestial love; and therefore they were of olive wood. From all this it can be seen why the tabernacle and the altar were anointed with oil; also the priests, and afterward the kings; and why the oil of the olive was used for the lamps; for this “oil” signified the good of love from the the Lord, (n. 886, 3728, 4582, 4638); and the “anointing” signified that so they might represent the Lord.

3240. And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan. That this signifies the derivations from the first class, is evident from the representation of Jokshan and of his sons Sheba and Dedan, concerning whom something will be said in what follows. As here there are mere names, and the states and derivations of the Lord’s spiritual church are signified by them, the nature of such states and derivations in general must be declared. The celestial church differs from the spiritual church in this respect: Those who are of the celestial church, and are called celestial, are in love, that is to say they are in the good and truth of love; while those who are of the spiritual church, and are called spiritual, are in faith, that is, they are in the good and truth of faith. The good which the celestial have is that of love to the Lord, and their truth is that of love to the neighbor; whereas the good which the spiritual have is that of charity toward the neighbor, and their truth is that of faith, insofar as this truth is doctrine concerning charity. This shows that the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, as well as His celestial kingdom, has good and truth, but with much difference.

[2] Be it known moreover that they who are in each kingdom are distinguished among themselves by good and truth, for the reason that there are some who are more in good and others who are more in truth. From this then come the derivations, that is, the derivations of good and the derivations of truth. In the Lord’s spiritual kingdom the derivations of good are what are represented by the sons of Jokshan who are named in this verse; but the derivations of truth in this kingdom are what are represented by the sons of Midian who are named in the following verse. Now as there are two classes of the spiritual (those who are more in good, and those who are more in truth), they have therefore two kinds of doctrinals, namely, those of charity and those of faith; doctrinals of charity for those who are in the good of faith and are here signified by the sons of Jokshan; but doctrinals of faith for those who are in the truth of faith and are signified by the sons of Midian.

[3] Sheba and Dedan are those who constitute the first class, that is, those who in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom are in the good of faith, and who have doctrinals of charity. From this it follows that by “Sheba and Dedan” are signified the knowledges of celestial things, or what is the same, those who are in these knowledges, that is, who are in the doctrinals of charity; for doctrinals are knowledges, and the celestial of the spiritual man is that of charity. That “Sheba” and “Dedan” have this signification was shown in Part First (n. 117, 1168, 171, 1172); but there Sheba and Dedan are the great-grandsons of Ham, and are called sons of Raamah; but be it known that there were no such persons as Ham and Japheth and Shem, but that those who after the flood belonged to the church called “Noah” were distinguished as to goods and truths into three classes, and these were the names given to those classes (n. 736, 1062, 1065, 1140, 1141, 1162, and in other places). Nevertheless there were nations that were so called, but these nations were descended from others, as it is here plainly said that Sheba and Dedan were descended from Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah.

[4] That “Sheba” signifies those who are in the knowledges of celestial things, thus who are in the good of faith, is evident from the passages cited above (n. 117, 1171); and that “Dedan” has a similar signification is also evident from the passages cited (n. 1172), and further from the following.

In Isaiah:

The prophecy concerning Arabia: in the forest in Arabia shall ye spend the night, ye companies of Dedan; bring ye waters to meet him that is thirsty, ye inhabitants of the land of Tema, with the bread thereof meet him that wandereth, for they shall wander before swords, before an outstretched sword (Isaiah 21:13-15).

“Spending the night in the forest,” signifies being desolated as to good; for by “Arabia” are meant those who are in celestial things, that is, who are in the good of faith, and “spending the night there in the forest” is being no longer in goods, from which comes desolation, which is also described by “wandering before swords, before an outstretched sword.” Celestial things, that is, the goods of faith, or what is the same, the works of charity in which they are, are signified by “bringing waters to meet him that is thirsty, and meeting with bread him that wandereth.”

[5] In Jeremiah:

I took the cup from the hand of Jehovah, and made all the nations drink unto whom Jehovah sent me: Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and her kings and her princes, to give them up to desolation; Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon; Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are clipped at the corner [of the beard]; all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media, and all the kings of the north (Jeremiah 25:17-19, 22-23, 25-26).

Here also the desolation of the spiritual church is treated of, the different classes of which church are enumerated in order, and are signified by “Jerusalem,” the “cities of Judah,” “Egypt,” “Tyre,” “Zidon,” “Dedan,” “Tema,” “Buz,” “Zimri,” “Elam,” “Media.”

[6] In Ezekiel:

Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all the young lions thereof shall say to thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? Hast thou assembled thine assembly to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil? (Ezekiel 38:13);

treating of Gog, by whom is signified external worship separate from internal, which is idolatrous (n. 1151); “Sheba and Dedan” denote the internal things of worship, namely, the goods of faith; “Tarshish” denotes a corresponding external worship; the “silver, gold, cattle, goods, spoil,” which Gog, or the external of worship separate from the internal, desires to take away, are the knowledges of good and truth for which they fight, and which those defend who are signified by “Sheba and Dedan;” wherefore these are called “young lions.” “Sheba” properly denotes those who are in the knowledges of good; “Dedan” those who are in the knowledges of truth from good.