9160. 'The case of both parties shall come even to God, and the one whom God condemns' means enquiry made and decision reached through truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the case shall come even to God' as enquiry made through truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'condemning' as reaching a decision and sentencing the one who transgressed. The reason why 'the case shall come even to God' means enquiry made through truth is that 'to God' implies to the judges who were to enquire into the matter in the light of truth. This also explains the use of the plural in 'the one whom God condemns'. ¹ In the original language God is indeed called El, which is singular, but more often Elohim, which is plural, and the reason for this is that among the angels in heaven the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is divided into a multitude of different forms. For as many as the angels are, so many are the recipients of God's truth, each one receiving it in their own way, 3241, 3744-3746, 3986, 4149, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836. This explains why the angels are called gods, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, and also judges, because judges were not to base their judgements on any ideas of their own but on those which were the Lord's. They were also to base judgements on the Law of Moses, thus on the Word received from the Lord. At the present day also judgements are based on what is the Lord's when they accord with truths and spring from conscience.

[2] The Lord is called 'God' in the Word by virtue of Divine Truth that emanates from Him, and 'Jehovah' by virtue of Divine Good, 4402, 6303, 6905, 7268, 8988. For this reason wherever good is the subject in the Word the name 'Jehovah' is used, and wherever truth is the subject the name 'God' is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7268, 8988; and so 'God' means truth, 4287, 7010, 7268. All this now shows what is meant in verse 8 by 'if the thief is not caught, the master of the house shall be brought to God', and in the present verse by 'the case of both parties shall come even to God, and the one whom God condemns shall repay', as well as what is meant by 'God' in the following places,

Aaron will speak for you to the people; and it will happen, that he will be for you as a mouth, and you will be for him as God. Exodus 4:16.

'Moses' is Divine Truth or the Law, and 'as a mouth' is the teachings drawn from it that Aaron represented, see 7010. Also,

Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. Exodus 7:1.

See 7268. And in the first Book of Samuel,

Formerly in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, he said this, Come, and we will go to the seer. For one called a prophet at the present day was formerly called a seer. 1 Samuel 9:9.

'A seer' or 'a prophet' is God's truth, and teachings based on it regarding truth and good, 2534, 7269.

각주:

6426. 'From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the spiritual kingdom possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the shepherd' as one who leads to the good of charity by means of the truth of faith, dealt with in 343, 3795, 6044 (here in the highest sense, since it has reference to the Lord, goodness and truth themselves are meant); from the meaning of 'the stone' as truth, dealt with in 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286, for 'Israel' is spiritual good or the good of truth, 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. And since the good of truth is the essential element of the spiritual Church, 'Israel' means the spiritual Church, and in the highest sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom. From all this it is evident that 'from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the Lord's spiritual kingdom possesses.

[2] The reason why in the highest sense 'the stone of Israel' means the Lord with respect to the truth that His spiritual kingdom possesses is that in general 'the stone' means the temple, and specifically the foundation on which it stands. 'The temple' in turn means the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in John 2:19, 21, and so does its 'foundation' in Matthew 21:42, 44, and in Isaiah 28:16. This meaning of 'the stone' in the highest sense - the Lord in respect to Divine Truth which His spiritual kingdom possesses - is evident in David,

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This has been done by Jehovah; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalms 118:22-23.

'The stone' here is the Lord, as is made clear in Luke,

It is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Whoever falls onto that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:17-18.

These things are spoken by the Lord regarding Himself. In Isaiah,

He is your fear, and He is your dread; for He will be a sanctuary, though He will be a stone to strike against and a rock to stumble over ¹ for both houses of Israel. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces. Isaiah 8:13-15.

Here the Lord is referred to. In the same prophet,

The Lord Jehovih said, Behold I [am He who] will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tested stone, a precious corner-stone, surely founded. He who believes will not be hasty. Isaiah 28:16.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will place them as His glorious horse ² in battle. From Him comes the corner-stone, from Him the tent-peg, from Him the battle-bow. Zechariah 10:3-4.

[3] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. The stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold . . . Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

Here 'the stone' is used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the relative sense to mean His spiritual kingdom. When it says that 'the stone was cut out of the rock' the meaning is that it came out of the truth of faith, for the truth of faith is meant in the Word by 'rock'. And because the truth of faith is meant by 'the stone' and 'the rock', the Lord's spiritual kingdom is also what is meant, since the truth of faith and good ensuing from this truth prevail in that kingdom. Something similar is also meant by 'the stone' on which Jacob slept and which he afterwards set up as a pillar, described as follows,

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And in the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He said, This stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:16-18, 22.

The fact that by 'the stone' the ancients understood the Lord in the highest sense and His spiritual kingdom in the relative sense is also plain to see in Joshua,

Joshua erected the stone under the oak which was in Jehovah's sanctuary. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He spoke to us. And it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:26, 17.

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