1748. The fact that from the string of a shoe even to its strap symbolizes everything that was unclean on the earthly and bodily levels can be seen from the symbolism of a shoestrap.

In the Word, the foot and heel symbolize the periphery of the earthly level, as shown before, in §259. A shoe is what covers the foot and heel, so it symbolizes an even more peripheral part of the earthly level, which is to say the actual level of the body. A shoe's symbolism depends on the topic at hand. When mentioned in connection with something good, it is taken in a positive sense; when mentioned in connection with something bad, it is taken in a negative sense. The latter is how it is taken here, where the subject is the property of Sodom's king, symbolizing evil and falsity. So the shoestrap symbolizes what is unclean on the earthly and bodily levels. A shoestring symbolizes falsity, and a shoestrap, evil. Because it is so small, it symbolizes what is lowliest of all.

[2] This symbolism of a shoe can also be seen from other places in the Word. When Jehovah appeared to Moses in the middle of the bramble, for instance, he said to Moses:

You are not to come near here; strip your shoes off your feet, because the place on which you are standing is holy land. (Exodus 3:5)

The leader of Jehovah's army said the same thing to Joshua:

Strip your shoe off your foot, because the place on which you are standing is holiness. (Joshua 5:15)

Anyone can see here that a shoe would not detract from the holiness in any way, provided the individual were intrinsically holy. The order is given because the shoe was representing the earthly, bodily periphery, which needs to be shed.

[3] The fact that earthly and bodily things are unclean can be seen in David:

Moab is my wash basin. On Edom I will set my shoe. (Psalms 60:8)

Something similar is involved in the command to the disciples:

If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, coming out of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet. (Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5)

The dust of the feet symbolizes the same thing as a shoe — namely, something made unclean by evil and falsity — because the bottom of the foot means the outer limit of the earthly level. In those days people were engrossed in representation and believed that representation alone, rather than the naked truth, held secrets of heaven within it. That is why they were commanded to shake the dust off.

[4] Since a shoe symbolized the periphery of the earthly level, having a shoe taken off meant being stripped of the outermost dimensions of the earthly plane. As an example, take a man who refused to perform the levirate, ¹ spoken of in Moses:

If a man does not wish to perform the levirate, his sister-in-law shall come up to him in the eyes of the elders and draw his shoe off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, "This is what shall be done to the man who does not build up the house of his brother." And his name in Israel will be called the house of one stripped of his shoe. (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)

This stands for a complete lack of earthly charity.

[5] A shoe symbolizes the outer limit of the earthly level in a good sense too, as can also be seen in the Word. Moses, for instance, says of Asher:

A blessing on Asher because of his sons! Let him be acceptable to his brothers and dip his foot in oil; iron and bronze is his shoe. (Deuteronomy 33:24-25)

The shoe stands for the periphery of the earthly level. A shoe of iron stands for earthly truth; a shoe of bronze, for earthly good. This is indicated by the symbolism of iron and bronze (§§425, 426). Because a shoe symbolized the earthly, bodily periphery, it gave rise to this figure of speech ["from the string of a shoe even to its strap"] that meant the least important, lowliest things of all. The outermost part of our earthly, bodily dimension is the lowliest of everything we have in us, which is what John the Baptist meant when he said,

One mightier than I is coming, and I am not worthy to undo the strap of his shoes. (Luke 3:16; Mark 1:7; John 1:27)

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425. The world is still unaware that bronze symbolizes earthly good, and that every metal named in the Word is a symbol for something in the inner meaning. Gold, for instance, symbolizes heavenly good, silver symbolizes spiritual truth, bronze earthly good, iron earthly truth, and so on with all the rest. The same is true for stone and wood. The gold, silver, bronze, and wood used in the ark and in the tabernacle symbolize these things, as do those used in the Temple, all of which will be taken up later, with the Lord's divine mercy. ¹

These symbolic meanings shine out in the prophets. In Isaiah, for example:

You will suck the milk of the nations, and you will suck the nipple of monarchs. For bronze I will bring in gold; and for iron I will bring in silver; and for wood, bronze; and for stones, iron; and I will make peace your property, and justice your taskmaster. (Isaiah 60:16-17)

This is about the Lord's Coming, his kingdom, and the church whose character is heavenly. "For bronze, gold" means heavenly goodness in place of earthly goodness. "For iron, silver" means spiritual truth in place of earthly truth. "For wood, bronze" means goodness on the earthly level in place of goodness on the bodily level. "For stones, iron" means truth on the earthly level in place of truth gained through the senses. ² In Ezekiel:

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your dealers in human souls; and vessels of bronze they sold as your trade goods. (Ezekiel 27:13)

The subject here is Tyre, which symbolizes those who have spiritual and heavenly riches; the vessels of bronze stand for earthly goodness. In Moses:

... a land whose stones are iron, and from its mountains you will mine bronze. (Deuteronomy 8:9)

Here too the stones stand for truth gained through the senses, iron stands for truth on the earthly plane, or truth in the rational mind, and bronze stands for good on the earthly plane. Ezekiel saw four living creatures (guardian beings) with feet gleaming "like the appearance of burnished bronze" (Ezekiel 1:7), where again bronze symbolizes good on the earthly level, because a person's foot represents the earthly level. Daniel likewise saw:

A man clothed in linen, and his hips were circled with the gold of Uphaz, and his body was like tarshish, ³ his arms and his feet were like the appearance of burnished bronze. (Daniel 10:5-6)

The bronze snake mentioned in Numbers 21:9 represented goodness present in the Lord on the level of the senses and on the earthly plane. See the earlier discussion [§197].

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