478. The reason he is called Adam is that the Hebrew word Adam means man. But the fact that Adam was never used as a proper name, only Man, is quite clear from the consideration that both here and earlier he is spoken of in the plural and not in the singular, and that the term refers to both man and woman. The two together are called Man. Anyone may see from these words that both are included, for it is said, 'He called their name Man on the day in which they were created', and similarly in 1:26, 28, 'Let Us make man in Our image, and they will have dominion over the fish of the sea. This shows also that the subject is not about someone who, when created, was the first human being of all, but about the Most Ancient Church.

7154. Verses 19-21 And the officers of the children of Israel saw themselves to be in evil, ¹ by saying, You shall not reduce your bricks at all, your stint each day. ² And they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing in their way, as they came out from Pharaoh. And they said to them, Let Jehovah see you ³ and judge, because you have caused our odour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.

'And the officers of the children of Israel saw themselves to be in evil' means being close to damnation. 'By saying, You shall not reduce your bricks at all' means because the introduction of falsities was not in any way diminished. 'Your stint each day' means in every state. 'And they met Moses and Aaron' means thought regarding the law from God and the doctrinal teachings derived from it. 'Who were standing in their way, as they came out from Pharaoh' means a manifestation at a time when falsities did not molest quite so much. 'And they said to them' means perception. 'Let Jehovah see you and judge' means Divine disposal. 'Because you have caused our odour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants' means that because of them ⁴ all those who are steeped in falsities feel such a strong aversion to our spirit of obedience. 'To put a sword in their hand to kill us' means that consequently such a burning desire to destroy the Church's truths by means of falsities exists in them.

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