10044. Upon the head of the ram. That this signifies with the whole, is evident from the signification of “the head,” as being the whole man, thus the whole (see n. 10011). That “the head” denotes the whole is because it is the highest, and therein is the inmost of man; and from what is highest proceed all things which are beneath; as also from what is inmost proceed all things which are without, for such is the source in both these cases. The inmost with man is his will and understanding; these in their beginnings are in the head, and what thence proceed are acts, which are effects of the interior things in the body; and therefore when will and understanding are mentioned, the whole man is meant, for from these man is man. The acts of the body also have their all from the will; consequently a man is not regarded from the acts of the body, or works; but from the will in these. For this reason by “soul” in the Word is meant the whole man, and man is called a “soul,” as in Leviticus 4:27; 5:1, 4, 17; 6:2; 17:10, 15 and elsewhere.

[2] There are two things which signify the whole; namely, the highest, and the lowest. That the lowest or ultimate also signifies the whole, is because all the interior things, even from the first or highest, close in the ultimates, and are there together (n. 9828, 9836). Hence it is that the highest, through the ultimate, holds together in connection and in form all the interior things which are intermediate, so that they look to one end (n. 9828). That the ultimate also signifies the whole, is evident from many things in the Word, as that the whole man is called the “flesh” (Genesis 6:12; Numbers 16:22; 27:16; Isaiah 40:5; Zech. 2:13).

[3] As the ultimates also signify all things or the whole, therefore the hair and the beard, which are ultimate outgrowths of man, are taken for all or the whole; as also the feet and their toes; and the fingers of the hands. That the “hair” and “beard” are taken for all or the whole, is evident in Isaiah:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor by the king of Assyria the head, the hair of the feet, and also the beard (Isaiah 7:20);

“the king of Assyria” denotes reasoning such as is that of those who by means of it destroy things Divine (n. 1186); “to shave the head, the hair of the feet, and the beard” denotes to take away the ultimates, for when these are taken away the interior things flow asunder and perish. On this account also a priest was forbidden to shave his head (Leviticus 21:10); and also a Nazirite whose hair was called “the Naziriteship of God” (Numbers 6:1-27; n. 6437, 9407), and is also meant by “the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren” (Genesis 49:25-26; Deuteronomy 33:16). Hence also it is said that “the hairs of the head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30), by which is signified that all things and everything in man is so; also that “a hair of the head shall not perish” (Luke 21:18).

[4] That the feet also and their toes, and the fingers of the hands, signify all things and thus the whole, is evident in John:

Peter said, Lord, Thou shalt wash not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, He that is washed needeth not save to be washed as to his feet, and is wholly clean (John 13:9-10).

The “feet” denote the natural, which is the ultimate (n. 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406). And in what follows in this chapter of Exodus:

Thou shalt put of the blood of the ram upon the lap of Aaron’s ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot (Exodus 29:20);

denoting upon each and all things signified by the “ear,” the “hand,” and the “foot.”

[5] As the highest and the lowest, or what is the same, the first and the last, alike signify all things and each, or the whole with the parts, therefore the omnipotence and omniscience of the Lord are described by His being “the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega” (Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13; Isaiah 41:4).

[6] That all things are held together in connection, and stand together, from the First or Highest through the last or lowest, is thus described in Isaiah:

I am the First, and I am the Last. ¹ My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heaven; when I call them together, they stand together (Isaiah 48:12-13).

The “hand” and “right hand” of Jehovah, or of the Lord, denote omnipotence; “the earth of which He hath laid the foundation” denotes the ultimate or last; “the heaven which He hath stretched out” denotes that which is between the First and the Last; to “call them together that they may stand together” denotes to hold together all the interior things through the ultimate in connection and in form, so that they may look to one end. The one end to which they are to look is “He who is the First and the Last;” ¹ that He is the Lord, is evident in Isaiah:

Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, I am the First and I am the Last ¹ (Isaiah 44:6);

“the King of Israel” denotes the Lord (John 18:37); and that the “Redeemer” is the Lord is manifest.

In Revelation:

These things saith the First and the Last, ¹ who was dead and hath lived again (Revelation 2:8).

[7] That the first holds together all things in connection through the ultimate, can be seen from the Word, and from man. The Word in ultimates is the sense of its letter, and the Word in its first is the Lord, and the Word in its interior things is its internal sense, which is perceived in the heavens, and causes those who are there to look to one end, which is the Lord (concerning this secret, see n. 9360, 9824).

[8] In regard to man: Man in ultimates is the church on earth; Man in the first is the Lord; man in the interior things is heaven, for before the Lord the church and heaven are as one man, from which heaven is called the Grand Man (treated of at the end of many chapters, see the places cited at the end of n. 10030). There is a continual connection, and an influx according to the connection, of all things from the Lord through the heavens to the church on earth. By the heavens are meant the angels who are there; by the church are meant men who are true men of the church; and by Man in the first is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human. That from the First through the last or ultimate all things are held together in connection, and stand together, is meant by the words of the Lord above quoted from Isaiah:

I am the First and I am the Last, My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heaven; when I call them together, they stand together (Isaiah 48:12-13).

(That by “the earth” in the Word is meant the church, has also been abundantly shown, see the places cited in n. 9325.)

[9] An idea of this subject can be had from the ultimate and the inmost with man. His ultimate is the skin, his inmost is the heart, his intermediates or interior things are the viscera. From the heart even to the skin through the viscera there is a continuous connection by means of the blood-vessels, for these proceed from the heart, and terminate in the skin. That the skin is the ultimate that holds together the interior things in connection is plain, for when the skin is taken away the interior things flow asunder. From all this it can be seen whence it is that as the highest or inmost signifies each and all things, so also does the lowest or ultimate.

[10] From all this also is laid open the secret why the Lord glorified His Human even as to its ultimates. The ultimates are called bones and flesh, and therefore the Lord said to His disciples, who supposed that they saw a spirit:

Behold My hands and My feet that it is I Myself; feel Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have (Luke 24:37, 39).

That the Divine Itself was the First in Him, is known, for He was conceived of Jehovah, and that which is conceived of the father is the first of man; that the Lord glorified even the ultimates of His Human is plain from His words above, and also from the fact that He left nothing of His Human in the sepulchre. (That the interior things close and rest in the ultimates, and are there together, and that the ultimates hold together the interior things in connection, even in spiritual things, see n. 9216, 9828; that therefore strength and power are in ultimates, n. 9836; and that therefore holiness is in ultimates, n. 9824; and that in ultimates revelations are made and answers given, n. 9905.)

Footnotes:

9836. It shall have two shoulders joined at the two extremities thereof; and it shall be joined together. That this signifies the preservation, by a complete unition, of good and truth on all sides and forever, with all exertion and power, is evident from the signification of “the shoulders,” as being all force and power (see n. 1085, 4931-4937); but by “putting on the shoulders,” and by “carrying” upon them (as is said in what follows of the two onyx stones on which were graven the names of the sons of Israel), is meant the preservation of good and truth forever (for by “the names of the sons of Israel” are signified all goods and truths in the complex, on which subject see below); from the signification of “being joined together,” and “being conjoined,” as being a complete unition; and from the signification of “the two extremities,” that is, at the right and at the left, as being on all sides (n. 8613).

[2] The case herein is this. By the ephod (as shown above) was represented the external of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and therefore by its shoulder pieces, on which were placed the two onyx stones with the names of the sons of Israel, was represented the perpetual preservation of good and truth; and by the joining together of the ephod on the shoulders, and also before the breast and behind the back, there was represented a complete unition. From this it can be seen what is signified by what is said below about the shoulderpieces and the engravings upon them; namely, the preservation of good and truth forever with all exertion and power; thus the preservation of the heavens. These stones with the names of the sons of Israel were placed on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, by which was represented the external of the spiritual kingdom, for the reason that all preservation depends on the state of the ultimates, for all the interior things cease there, and form a plane there in which they may subsist. Ultimates are like the soles and the feet, on which the whole body stands, and are also like the hands and the arms, by means of which the body exerts its powers, and into which the body transfers its forces. It is also from this that the hands and the arms, as well as the soles and the feet, correspond to the ultimates of heaven. That power and strength reside in ultimates was represented in the Ancient Church by the hair with the Nazirites, in which resided their strength, as is plain from Samson (Judges 14-16), and also their sanctity (n. 3301). (That the hair, which with them was the Naziriteship, corresponds to the ultimates of good and truth, or to good and truth in ultimates, see n. 3301, 5247, 6437)

[3] That power resides in ultimates, and also the conservation of the interiors in their state, can be understood by those who know how the case is in nature with things successive and thence simultaneous; namely, that successive things at last form in ultimates what is simultaneous, in which these successive things are in a like order side by side. Wherefore simultaneous things, which are ultimate, serve successive things, which are prior, as corresponding supports on which they may lean, and thus by means of which they may be preserved.

[4] That “shoulders” signify all force and power in resisting, in breaking, and in acting, is evident in Ezekiel:

Ye push with side and with shoulder, and thrust all the feeble sheep with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad (Ezekiel 34:21).

Egypt is a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by the hand, thou didst break, and didst pierce through all their shoulder (Ezekiel 29:6-7);

“to pierce through all the shoulder” denotes to deprive of all power to comprehend truths; “Egypt” denotes the perverted memory-knowledge which deprives.

[5] In Zechariah:

They refused to hearken, and turned a stubborn shoulder (Zech. 7:11);

“to turn a stubborn shoulder” denotes to resist.

In David:

They thought a wicked device, they did not prevail, for thou shalt offer to them the shoulder (Psalms 21:11-12);

“to offer to them the shoulder” also denotes to resist; thus it denotes power. That “the shoulder” denotes power, is plain from the representatives in the other life, where they who resist seem to oppose the shoulder.

[6] That “to put upon the shoulders and carry” denotes to preserve in a state of good and truth forever with all exertion and power, is evident in Isaiah:

The nations shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and they shall carry thy daughters upon the shoulder (Isaiah 49:22).

The subject here treated of is the New Church; by “the sons” are signified truths, and by “the daughters,” goods; “to carry upon the shoulder” denotes to preserve them. The preservation of good in its state was also represented by the sons of Israel, when they went forth out of Egypt, carrying the dough on the shoulder (Exodus 12:34); and by the sons of Kohath carrying the works of what is holy upon the shoulder (Numbers 7:9).

From this it is that the Lord, who spoke by correspondences, said of the lost sheep when it was found, that “he laid it on his shoulder rejoicing” (Luke 15:5); “the sheep that was lost and was found” denotes the good with the man who repents.

[7] As this was signified by “carrying on the shoulder,” therefore also it is said of the gold and silver which they love and preserve, that “they carry them on their shoulder” (Isaiah 46:7). (That “to carry” denotes also to hold together in its state, see n. 9500.) From all this it is evident what was signified by the names of the sons of Israel engraved on two onyx stones being placed upon the shoulder pieces of the ephod, and by its being said that Aaron should bear or carry them upon his two shoulders for a remembrance (verse 12). That “carrying upon the shoulder,” when said of subjection, signifies servitude, may be seen in Genesis 49:15; Psalms 81:6; Isaiah 9:4; 10:27; Matthew 23:4; Zeph. 3:9; but that when said of command, it signifies supreme power, Isaiah 9:6; 22:22.