330. Out of every tribe and tongue, signifies by all who are in truths in respect to doctrine and in respect to life. This is evident from the signification of "tribe," as being all truths and goods in the complex (of which see above, n. 39; for these are meant by the twelve tribes, and therefore each tribe signifies something of truth and good, therefore "out of every tribe" signifies out of all who are in any kind of truth and good. It is evident also from the signification of "tongue," as being the doctrine of life and faith. That "tribes" signify all truths and goods in the complex will be shown more fully below in its own paragraph; likewise that "tongue" signifies the doctrine of life and faith, thus religion. (Here will be presented only what is shown in Arcana Coelestia respecting the signification of "tribes," namely, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signified all truths and goods in the complex, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that the twelve apostles of the Lord have a like signification, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 6397; that there were twelve because "twelve" signifies all, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. Because the twelve tribes represented and thus signified all the truths and goods in the complex they therefore represented heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996. That the twelve tribes signify various things according to the order in which they are named, thus in different ways all things of heaven and the church, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 seq., 6337, 6640, 10335; therefore responses could be given and were given by the Urim and Thummim, where the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven on precious stones, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905)

1963. 'Abram was a son of eighty-six years' means the Lord's state as regards celestial goods acquired through the conflicts brought about by temptations. This is clear from the meaning of 'eighty', a number that is similar to forty in what it embodies, which, as shown already in 730, 862, means temptations; from the meaning of 'six' as conflict, also dealt with already in 720, 737, 900; as well as from the meaning of 'ten' as remnants, dealt with in 576. With the Lord these remnants were acquisitions of celestial goods by which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence; see 1906 (end). These three numbers go to make up the number of eighty-six, which embodies such matters within it, and so means the Lord's state as regards celestial goods that had been acquired through the conflicts brought about by temptations; for all numbers in the Word mean real things, as shown already in 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813. As the numbers mentioned here ¹ are numbers of years, and as they in fact occur in a historical narrative regarding Abram, it does seem as though they are not used to mean such things. But nothing is written in the Word that does not pass into a spiritual or celestial sense when it reaches the angels, for with angels none other than spiritual and celestial ideas exist. When the Word is being read by man, angels neither know nor perceive what eighty-six is, nor are they concerned about what age Abram was when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Rather, when such a number is read, the real things embodied in that number instantly present themselves to them, as when all other expressions are read, these present themselves as the things which they have been shown to mean in the internal sense.

脚注: