7505. 'An extremely severe pestilence' means an overall annihilation. This is clear from the meaning of 'a pestilence' as a laying waste of truth, and since it says 'an extremely severe pestilence' the annihilation of truth is meant. The fact that 'a pestilence' means a laying waste of truth is evident from the following places in the Word: In Ezekiel,

... when I shall send My four severe ¹ judgements - sword, and famine, and evil wild animal, and pestilence - onto Jerusalem, to cut off man and beast from it. Ezekiel 14:21.

'Cutting off man and beast' stands for the laying waste of good, interior and exterior. In the same prophet,

The sword is without, and pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field will die by the sword, but him that is in the city famine and pestilence will devour. Ezekiel 7:15.

'Pestilence' stands for a laying waste of good. In the same prophet,

Therefore because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your abominations, a third part of you will die from pestilence, and be annihilated [by famine] in your midst. Ezekiel 5:11-12.

'Pestilence' stands for an annihilation of good. In Amos,

I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. ² Amos 4:10.

'The pestilence in the way of Egypt' stands for a laying waste of good and truth by means of falsities, which are 'the way of Egypt'. 'I have killed young men with the sword, along with captured horses' stands for a laying waste of truth, truths being meant by 'young men' and intellectual concepts by 'horses' as above in 7503. In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence that creeps in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noon-day. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The pestilence that creeps in thick darkness' stands for evil that lays waste in concealment; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil which does so out in the open. 'Pestilence' occurs in other places besides these.

Footnotes:

10458. 'And it happened, as he came near the camp' means near to hell, in which that nation was then. This is clear from the meaning of 'the camp of the children of Israel' as heaven and the Church, dealt with in 4236, 10038, so that when they engaged in idolatrous worship, venerating the calf instead of Jehovah, their camp means hell. For what is representative of heaven and the Church is turned into that which is representative of hell when the people turned from the worship of God to worship of the devil, which worship of the calf was. 'The camp' has a similar meaning in Amos,

I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses ¹ , to such an extent that I have caused the stench of your camp to come up also into your nose. Amos 4:10.

This refers to the vastation of truth; and when truth has been laid waste 'the camp' means hell. The fact that it refers to the vastation of truth is evident from the specific details of the verse when looked at in the internal sense. 'The pestilence' means vastation, 7102, 7505; 'the way' means truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, 10422; 'Egypt' that which is external, and also hell, see in the places referred to in 10437; 'the sword' falsity engaged in conflict against truths, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; 'young men' the Church's truths, 7668; 'being killed' being destroyed spiritually, 6767, 8902; 'captivity' deprivation of truth, 7990; 'horses' an enlightened power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534; and 'stench' that which is abominable, emanating from hell, 7161. From all this it is evident that in the internal sense 'the camp' means hell. Hell is also meant in the historical narratives of the Word by the camp of enemies opposed to Jerusalem, and in general of those opposed to the children of Israel.

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