The Bible

 

Genesis 1:28

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28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #52

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52. As long as someone is a spiritual man, the dominion over him runs from external man to internal man, as is said here, 'They will have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air', and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'. When however he becomes celestial and does what is good out of love, then the dominion over him runs from internal man to external man. This is how the Lord describes Himself, and so simultaneously the celestial man, who is a likeness of Him, in David,

You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, flocks and all cattle, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, 1 and the fish of the sea, and that crossing the paths of the seas. Psalms 8:6-8.

Here therefore the beasts are mentioned first, the birds next, and the fish of the sea after that, for the reason that the celestial man starts with love which resides in the will. With the spiritual man it is different. With him fish and birds, which have to do with the understanding, the domain of faith, come first, while beasts come afterwards.

Footnotes:

1. literally, bird of the heavens (or the skies)

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6947

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6947. 'What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod' means the power of the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544; and from the meaning of 'a rod' too as power, dealt with in 4013, 4876, 4936. The reason why it is the power of the Lord's Divine Human is that 'Moses' represents the Lord in respect of the law of God, which is the Word, and this is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human, 6752. The power meant by 'hand' is the power emanating from the Lord's Divine Rational, whereas the power meant by 'the rod' is the power emanating from the Lord's Divine Natural. The reason why 'a rod' is the power emanating from the Lord's Divine Natural is that a rod is like a foot in that it supports the body, and by 'the foot' is meant the natural, 2161, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952; and 'lifting up the hand' is power in the spiritual, while 'lifting up the foot' is power in the natural, see 5727, 5328. And since 'hand' and 'rod' have these meanings, then depending on how high the things described in the internal sense rise Moses was sometimes told, when he was to work miracles, to lift up his hand, at other times his rod.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.