Arcana Coelestia #2184
2184. That “butter” is the celestial of the rational; that “milk” is the derivative spiritual; and that a “son of an ox” is the corresponding natural, is evident from the signification of “butter,” of “milk,” and of a “son of an ox.” As regards butter, it signifies in the Word what is celestial, and this from its fatness. (That fat denotes what is celestial was shown in Part First,n. 353; and that “oil,” because fat, is the celestial itself, n. 886) That “butter” also is the celestial, is evident in Isaiah:
Behold, a virgin beareth a son, and shall call His name Immanuel, Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse what is evil, and choose what is good (Isaiah 7:14-15),
where the Lord (who is “Immanuel”) is treated of; and anyone can see that butter is not signified by “butter,” nor honey by “honey;” but that by “butter” is signified His celestial, and by “honey” that which is from the celestial.
[2] In the same:
And it shall come to pass, for the multitude of the making of milk He shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isaiah 7:22),
where the Lord’s kingdom is treated of, and those on earth who are in the Lord’s kingdom. “Milk” here denotes spiritual good, “butter” celestial good, and “honey” the derivative happiness.
[3] In Moses:
Jehovah alone leadeth him, and there is no strange god with him. He maketh him to ride upon the high places of the earth, and to eat the produce of the fields, and He maketh him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of the kidneys of wheat; and of the blood of the grape shalt thou drink unmixed wine [merum] (Deuteronomy 32:12-14).
No one can understand what these things denote unless he knows the internal sense of each one. It appears like a heap of expressions such as are used by the eloquent among the wise ones of the world, and yet every expression signifies the celestial and its spiritual, and also the derivative blessedness and happiness, and all these in a well-ordered series. “Butter of the herd” is the celestial natural, “milk of the flock” is the celestial-spiritual of the rational.
[4] But as regards milk, as before said, this signifies the spiritual from the celestial, that is, the celestial-spiritual. (What the celestial-spiritual is may be seen in Part First,n. 1577, 1824, and occasionally elsewhere.) That “milk” is the spiritual which is from the celestial, comes from the fact that “water” signifies what is spiritual (n. 680, 739); but “milk,” as there is fat in it, signifies the celestial-spiritual, or what is the same, the truth of good; or what is the same, the faith of love or of charity; or what is also the same, the intellectual of the good of the will; and again the same, the affection of truth in which there is inwardly the affection of good; and yet again the same, the affection of knowledges [cognitiones et scientiae] from the affection of charity toward the neighbor, such as exists with those who love the neighbor, and confirm themselves in this love from the knowledges of faith, and also from memory-knowledges, which they love on this account. All these things are the same as the celestial-spiritual, and are predicated according to the subject treated of.
[5] That this is signified, is evident also from the Word, as in Isaiah:
Everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no silver, come ye, buy, and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk without silver, and without price. Wherefore do ye weigh silver for that which is not bread? (Isaiah 55:1-2),
where “wine” denotes the spiritual which is of faith, and “milk” the spiritual which is of love.
In Moses:
He hath washed his garment in wine, and his clothing in the blood of grapes; his eyes are redder than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk (Genesis 49:11-12),
which is the prophecy of Jacob, then Israel, concerning Judah; and by Judah the Lord is here described, and by his “teeth being whiter than milk,” is signified the celestial-spiritual that pertained to His natural.
[6] In Joel:
It shall be in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters (Joel 3:18),
speaking of the Lord’s kingdom; “milk” denotes the celestial-spiritual. In the Word the land of Canaan also (by which the Lord’s kingdom is represented and signified) is called a “land flowing with milk and honey” (as in Numbers 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 26:9, 15; 27:3; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6, 15), and in these passages nothing else is meant by “milk” than an abundance of celestial-spiritual things, and by “honey” an abundance of the derivative happinesses; the “land” is the celestial itself of the kingdom, from which those things come.
[7] As regards the “son of an ox,” it was shown just above that thereby is signified the celestial natural (n. 2180), the celestial natural being the same as natural good, or good in the natural. The natural of man, like his rational, has its good and its truth; for there is everywhere the marriage of good and truth (as said above, n. 2173). The good of the natural is the delight which is perceived from charity, or from the friendship which is of charity; from which delight there comes forth a pleasure which is properly of the body. The truth of the natural is the memory-knowledge [scientificum] which favors that delight. Hence it is evident what the celestial natural is.
Jeremiah 32
1
The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2
Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3
For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4
and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;
5
and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there until I visit him, says Yahweh: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?
6
Jeremiah said, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
7
Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to Buy it.
8
So Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Yahweh, and said to me, Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of Yahweh.
9
I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10
I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11
So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open;
12
and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
13
I commanded Baruch before them, saying,
14
Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.
15
For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.
16
Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh, saying,
17
Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for you,
18
who show loving kindness to thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Yahweh of Armies is his name;
19
great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20
who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among [other] men; and made yourself a name, as in this day;
21
and brought forth your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
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and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23
and they came in, and possessed it, but they didn't obey your voice, neither walked in your law; they have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do: therefore you have caused all this evil to come on them.
24
Behold, the mounds, they are come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and behold, you see it.
25
You have said to me, Lord Yahweh, Buy the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26
Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying,
27
Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?
28
Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
29
and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30
For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says Yahweh.
31
For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
32
because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33
They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
34
But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
35
They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] to Molech; which I didn't command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36
Now therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city, about which you say, It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:
37
Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39
and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.
41
Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
42
For thus says Yahweh: Like as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so will I bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
43
Fields shall be bought in this land, about which you say, It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44
Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, says Yahweh.
