7022. 'And Moses took his wife' means the good linked to [the law from God]. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the Lord in respect of the law or truth from God, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'wife' as the good linked to it, dealt with in 4510, 4823. In the internal sense, and also in the highest sense in which the Lord is the subject, 'the wife' who was married to Moses represents the good that had been joined to truth, the reason for this being that every single thing in the spiritual world and in the natural world has the likeness of a marriage within it. The likeness of a marriage exists wherever there is that which is active and that which is passive; and both must be present with each other wherever anything comes into being. Unless they are joined together nothing can possibly be produced. One reason why the likeness of a marriage is present in all things is that all things have a connection with goodness and truth and so with the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of goodness and truth; and the heavenly marriage has a connection with the Divine marriage, which is a marriage of Divine Good and Divine Truth. And another reason is, as has been stated, that nothing can be produced or brought into being unless there is that which is active and that which is passive, and so unless the likeness of a marriage exists. From all this it is plainly evident that the truth of faith devoid of the good of charity cannot produce anything, and neither can the good of charity devoid of the truth of faith. The two must be joined together to bear fruit and to establish the life of heaven in a person. Regarding the likeness of a marriage present in every single thing, see 1432, 2177, 2516, 5194. And since each detail of the Word has the marriage of goodness and truth within it, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 6343, each detail of the Word has heaven within it, for heaven constitutes that actual marriage. And since each detail of the Word has heaven within it, each detail has the Lord within it, because the Lord is the All in all of heaven. All this shows how it comes about that 'the wife of Moses' represents the good that had been joined to truth, even in the highest sense in which the Lord is the subject, in the same way as Sarah the wife of Abraham represents such good, dealt with in 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, and also Rebekah the wife of Isaac, in 3012, 3013, 3077.

2515. 'And said to him' means thought springing from this, that is to say, from the perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving, and also as thinking, dealt with above in 2506. Since it is said here that the thought was derived from the perception, let a brief statement be made about thought. There are thoughts that derive from perception, thoughts that derive from conscience, and thoughts that derive from no conscience. Thoughts deriving from perception exist with celestial people only, that is, with those who are moved by love to the Lord. Such thought is the most internal to exist with man; and it exists with celestial angels in heaven. Perception from the Lord is the means and the source of their thought, and thinking contrary to perception is an impossibility. Thoughts deriving from conscience are of a lower order and exist with spiritual people, that is, with those who in life and in doctrine are moved by good that stems from charity and faith. For them as well, thinking contrary to conscience is an impossibility, for that would be thinking contrary to the good and truth which the Lord dictates to them by means of conscience.

[2] Thoughts deriving from no conscience however exist with people who do not allow themselves to be governed inwardly by good and truth but by evil and falsity, that is, not by the Lord but by themselves. They imagine that they think inwardly just as much as those who do so from conscience and perception, the reason being that they do not know what conscience is, still less what perception is, though the difference between their thought and that of people thinking from conscience or perception is as great as that between hell and heaven. People whose thought is devoid of conscience think from every evil desire and false notion, and so from hell. When they think in any other manner they do so from an outward respectability for the sake of reputation. But people who think from conscience do so from affections for good and truth, and so from heaven. As for the Lord's thought however, this surpasses all human understanding, for it sprang directly from the Divine.