Arcana Coelestia #42
42. Verse 21 And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that creeps, which the waters produced abundantly according to their kinds; and all winged birds according to their kinds; and God saw that it was good.
As has been stated, 'fish' means facts, here facts quickened and brought to life through faith from the Lord. 'Sea monsters' means those facts' general sources, below which and from which details derive. Nothing whatever exists in the universe that does not depend on some general source for its commencement and continuance. In the Prophets sea monsters or whales are mentioned several times, and in those places they mean those general sources of facts. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who represents human wisdom or intelligence - that is, knowledge in general - is called 'a great sea monster', as in Ezekiel,
Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of his 1 rivers, who has said, It is my river and I have made myself. Ezekiel 29:3.
[2] And elsewhere in Ezekiel,
Raise a lamentation over Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him, You are like a monster in the seas, and you have come forth in your rivers, and have troubled the waters with your feet. Ezekiel 32:2
These words mean people who wish to penetrate the mysteries that are part of faith by means of facts, and so from themselves. In Isaiah,
On that day Jehovah will make a visitation with His hard and great and strong sword upon Leviathan the full-length serpent, 2 and upon Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the monsters that are in the sea. Isaiah 27:1.
'Slaying the monsters in the sea' means preventing people's knowing facts even in their general aspects. In Jeremiah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel has devoured me, he has troubled me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a sea monster, he has filled his belly with my delicacies, he has cast me out. Jeremiah 51:34.
This stands for the fact that mankind did swallow cognitions of faith, which are 'the delicacies' here, just as the sea monster swallowed up Jonah. In that story the sea monster stands for people who treat general cognitions of faith as mere facts, and behave accordingly.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin means your; but the Hebrew means his which Swedenborg has in other places where he quotes this verse.
2. i.e. a serpent that is on the move and not coiled up
Genesis 5
1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in God's likeness.
2
He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name "Adam," in the day when they were created.
3
Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
4
The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
5
All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years, then he died.
6
Seth lived one hundred five years, and became the father of Enosh.
7
Seth lived after he became the father of Enosh eight hundred seven years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
8
All the days of Seth were nine hundred twelve years, then he died.
9
Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.
10
Enosh lived after he became the father of Kenan, eight hundred fifteen years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
11
All the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years, then he died.
12
Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel.
13
Kenan lived after he became the father of Mahalalel eight hundred forty years, and became the father of sons and daughters
14
and all the days of Kenan were nine hundred ten years, then he died.
15
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared.
16
Mahalalel lived after he became the father of Jared eight hundred thirty years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
17
All the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety-five years, then he died.
18
Jared lived one hundred sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch.
19
Jared lived after he became the father of Enoch eight hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
20
All the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, then he died.
21
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.
22
Enoch walked with God after he became the father of Methuselah three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
23
All the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years.
24
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
25
Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.
26
Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
27
All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.
28
Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of a son,
29
and he named him Noah, saying, "This same will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Yahweh has cursed."
30
Lamech lived after he became the father of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
31
All the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years, then he died.
32
Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
