Explanation of Isaiah 5
By Rev. John H. Smithson
THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 5
(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)
PARABLES: THE WASTED VINEYARD
1. I WILL now sing to my Beloved, a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved had a vineyard on a high and fruitful hill:
VERSES 1, 2. By "the vineyard which belonged to the Beloved in the horn of a son of oil", is signified the spiritual church, which is principled in truths originating in the good of love, thus which is most excellent, for a "vineyard" signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is principled in truths from good; the inauguration thereof is understood by the "horn of oil", forasmuch as inaugurations were performed by oil out of a horn; and a "son of oil" denotes truth derived from good.
By the "Beloved" is signified the Lord, because the churches are established by Him; wherefore it is said that "He fenced it, and gathered out the stones, and planted a noble vine"; the "noble vine" denoting spiritual truth from a celestial origin, or truth derived from the good of love; by the "grapes" which He expected that it should bring forth, are signified the goods of charity, which are goods of life; and by the "wild grapes" which it brought forth, are signified the evils which are opposed to the goods of charity, or evils of life. Apocalypse Explained 375.
In these words there still lies concealed such an arcanum as cannot be expressed by any forms of speech; for by these words is fully described the conjunction of the Lord's spiritual kingdom with His celestial kingdom, that is, the conjunction of the second heaven with the third, consequently the conjunction of the good of faith in the Lord, which is of the spiritual kingdom, with the good of love to the Lord, which is of the celestial kingdom.
A "vineyard" denotes the spiritual kingdom; "in a horn" denotes in power; thus "a son 'of oil" therein, denotes the external good of love in the celestial kingdom; for this kingdom, which is the inmost heaven of the Lord, is called "oil or olive-yard", because "oil" denotes the good of celestial love. Arcana Coelestia 9139.
2. And He fenced it round, and He cleared it of stones, and He planted it with a noble vine; and He built a tower in the midst of it, and He hewed out also a wine-press therein: and He expected that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.
Verses 2, 4. He built a tower in the midst of it, and He hewed out also a wine-press therein: and He expected that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes, etc. "He built a tower in the midst of it", signifies the interior things .which receive influx, and by which there is a communication with heaven; He also "hewed out a wine-press in it", signifies the production of truth from good; and "He expected it to bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes", signifies the hope of the fructification of those things by virtue of the good of charity, but in vain, because there was iniquity in the place of good. Apocalypse Explained 918.
That "grapes" signify the good of the spiritual man, thus charity, may appear manifest from several passages in the Word, as in Isaiah, - "My Beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil; He expected that it "would bring forth grapes, but it produced wild grapes"; (Isaiah 5:1, 2, 4) where "vineyard" denotes the spiritual church; "He expected it to bring forth grapes", denotes the goods of charity; but "it produced wild grapes", denotes the evils of hatred and revenge. Apocalypse Explained 5117.
3. And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and O man of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.
4. What could have been done more to My vineyard, than I have done unto it? why, then, when I expected that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
Verses 3-6. By "vineyard." is here understood the church with that nation; by "I expected that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes", is signified that there appertained to it evils of the false instead of the goods of truth, which are of the church; by "removing the hedge thereof, and its being eaten up, and by breaking through the wall, and its being trodden down", is signified the destruction thereof as to goods and truths, and invasion by evils and falsities, which are signified by the "thorns and briers" which should come up; by "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it", is signified that there is no longer with them any reception of truth and good, through the Word, out of heaven. Apocalypse Explained 433.
In this passage, in the sense of the letter, the perverse state of the Israelites and Jews is treated of; but in the internal sense the perverse state of the [Christian] church is treated of, as represented by "Israel and Judah"; the "inhabitant of Jerusalem" is the good of the church; "inhabitant" denotes good, or, what is the same thing, those who are principled in good; and "Jerusalem", the church. In like manner, "the house of Israel" is significative; that "house" denotes good, and "Israel" the church; in like manner the "man of Judah", for by "man" is signified truth, and by "Judah" good, but with this difference, that the "man of Judah" denotes truth grounded in the good of love to the Lord, which is called celestial truth, that is, it signifies those who are principled in such truth. Arcana Coelestia 3654.
5. But now, I will indeed make known unto you what I will do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will destroy its wall, and it shall be trodden down:
Verse 5. By the "vineyard" is there signified the church of the Lord, which is called the spiritual church; by "removing the hedge", and "breaking through the wall", is signified to falsify and thus to destroy the truths that defend the church; the "wall" and the "hedge" about the vineyard denote the same as the wall and bulwarks of Jerusalem; by "devouring and treading under foot the vineyard" is signified to vastate the church, so that no good and truth can spring up therein, and thus to destroy it. Apocalypse Explained 632.
6. And I will make it a desolation: it shall not be pruned, neither shall it be weeded; but the brier and the thorn shall spring up in it : and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Verse 6. By these words is understood that there shall not be any understanding of divine Truth or the Word in the church; "vineyard" denotes the church, the "clouds", the Word in the letter, and by their "raining no rain" is signified no understanding of divine Truth, Apocalypse Explained 594.
Here likewise it is said of Jehovah, that "He makes the vineyard a desolation, and commands the clouds that they rain no rain upon it"; when notwithstanding this is not done by Jehovah, that is, by the Lord, for He always flows in as well with the evil as with the good, which is understood by His "sending His rain upon the just and upon the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)
But the cause hereof is in the man of the church, in that he does not receive any influx of divine Truth; for when this is the case with man, he shuts up the interiors of his mind which should receive, and these being shut up, the divine influx is rejected. By the "vineyard, which is made a desolation", is signified the church; by "not being pruned nor weeded", is signified that it cannot be cultivated, and so prepared to receive; by the "brier and thorn which shall come up", are signified the falsities of evil; by "commanding the clouds that they rain no rain", is signified the non-reception of any influx of divine Truth out of heaven. Apocalypse Explained 644.
The state of desolation and vastation with those who are not regenerated, is also treated of in the Word throughout; in this state are they who altogether deny truths, or turn truths into falsities; this is the state of the church towards the end, when there is no longer either faith or charity, as is described in Isaiah 5:5-7.Arcana Coelestia 5376.
7. For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah the plant of His delights: and He looked for judgment, but behold bloodshed! and for justice, but behold an outcry!
Verse 7. And He looked for judgment, but behold bloodshed! and for justice, but behold an outcry! - Speaking also of the vastation of Goodness and Truth. In this passage there occurs a species of reciprocation, as is common with the Prophets, which is such that evil is found in the place of Truth, signified by "bloodshed, or a scab, instead of judgment", and the false principle in the place of Good, signified by "an outcry, instead of justice"; for "judgment" is Truth, and "justice" is Good. That an" outcry" [clamor] signifies, in a bad sense, the false principle, cannot appear unless from the internal sense of the Word. The expression" outcry" sometimes occurs in the Prophets, when treating of vastation and desolation, on which occasion they speak of "howling" and "crying", signifying thereby that what is Good and True is vastated, and in such case by "howling and crying", in the internal sense, is described the false principle, as in Jeremiah, "A voice of the outcry of shepherds, and a howling of the powerful of the flock, because Jehovah lays waste their pasture;"(Jeremiah 25:36) where an "outcry of shepherds" denotes that they were principled in what is false, whence comes desolation. See also in the same Prophet, 47:2, 4; and in Zephaniah, 1:10, 14; and. other passages which might be adduced. Arcana Coelestia 2240.
An intense supplication is expressed in the Word by an "outcry", and this because the supplication, although tacit, of those who supplicate from the heart, is heard as an outcry in heaven. This occurs when men only think, and more if they deeply sigh from a sincere heart. This was represented by an "outcry" [or clamour] in the representative church; and hence it became a ritual among the Jews. It occurs in like manner with those who teach; they are heard in heaven as though they were crying out. Not only the thoughts but, especially the affections, which are of Goodness and Truth, speak in heaven; that they speak, and if ardent, cry out, has been granted me to know from experience, concerning which, of the Lord's Divine Mercy, I shall speak elsewhere. But the affections of what is evil and false are by no means heard in heaven, although a man who makes supplication from such affections, were to cry aloud, at the same tlme pressing his hands closely together [as in prayer], and praising, up his eyes to heaven; such affections are heard in hell and also as an outcry, if they are ardent. Arcana Coelestia 9202.
To "wait [or look] for judgment", is to wait for intelligence from divine Truth, and a life according to the precepts. Arcana Coelestia 9857.
8. Woe unto you who join house to house, who lay field unto field, until there be no place, and you dwell alone in the midst of the land!
9. To Mine ears [says] Jehovah of Hosts: Surely, [these] many houses shall become a desolation; the great and the good ones, without an inhabitant,
Verses 8, 9. In this passage it signifies the man in whom is evil. The house of man's mind is built up of scientifics, knowledges, and truths united with good. For to collect scientifics, and thereby to raise and to build up the external man; is, in its circumstances, not unlike the building of a house; wherefore the like is signified throughout the Word by "building", and by "erecting houses", as in Isaiah 65:21, 22. "House", in this passage, signifies where there is wisdom and intelligence, consequently where there are the knowledges of Good and of Truth. But in Isaiah 5:8, 9, "house" is used in the opposite sense, and denotes scientifics, by which come falsities. Arcana Coelestia 1488.
"House" signifies various things, as the church, good therein, also a man, and likewise his mind both natural and rational. Arcana Coelestia 9150.
Good pertaining to man is, in the Word, compared to a "house", and on this account 'a man who is principled in good is called the "house of God", but internal good is called the "father's house", whereas good which is in the same, degree is called the "house of brethren", but external good, which is the same as natural good, is called the "mother's house"; all good and truth also is thus born namely, -by an influx of internal good as a father into external good as a mother. Arcana Coelestia 3128.
10. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield [scarcely] one bath [of wine], and a homer of seed shall yield [scarcely] one ephah [of corn].
Verses 9, 10. By "ten" is signified all and much, as in the following passage in Isaiah:
"Many houses shall be a devastation, great and fair, without inhabitant; for ten acres of vineyard shall yield [scarcely] one bath"; treating of the desolation of truth with those who are of the church.
By "many houses which shall be a devastation", are signified the men of the church, specially as to truths from good.
By "great and fair", namely, houses, is signified the affection of good and intelligence of truth; for "great is predicated of good and the affection thereof, and "fair" is predicated of truth and the intelligence thereof; but here in the opposite sense.
By "ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath", is signified that in all things appertaining to the church with man, there is scarcely any truth from good; for by the "bath" is signified the same us by "wine", namely, truth derived from good; wherefore, by "ten acres of vineyard", are signified all things of the church with man. Apocalypse Explained 675.
That the number "ten", and also" tenths", signify remains, may appear from the following passage in Isaiah, Isaiah 5:9, 10; speaking of the vastation of things spiritual and celestial.
"Ten acres of vineyard making one bath", signifies that the remains of things spiritual were so few; and "a homer of seed yielding [scarcely] one ephah [of corn]", signifies that there were so few remains of things celestial. Arcana Coelestia 576.
"Ten acres" denote what is full, and also much; in like manner, a "homer"; but a "bath" and an "ephah" signify few', for when ten denote much, a tenth part means a few. Arcana Coelestia 8468.
11. Woe unto them who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink; who continue late in the evening, that wine may inflame them!
Verses 11, 12, 21, 22. These things are said of those who make to themselves doctrinals from self-derived intelligence, and not from the Lord or from the Word, which is from Him, whence they are in mere falsities; wherefore the perverted state of such persons who believe themselves to be enlightened, in consequence whereof they are in falsities of doctrine, and care not for the Word, from which alone the goods and truths of doctrine and of life can be known, is here described; to "rise early, or at the dawn of morning, and continue to evening", signifies their state of illustration; to "run after strong drink", and to be "inflamed with wine", signifies the fabrication of doctrinals from themselves:
"not to regard the work of Jehovah, nor see the operation of His hands", signifies not to attend to the Word and the goods of life and truths of doctrine there discovered; the "work of Jehovah" being predicated of the goods of life, and the "operation of His hands" of the truths of doctrine, each -from the Word; inasmuch as such persons are understood, therefore it is said, "Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent before their own faces"; and to be "wise in their own eyes", signifies from self-derived intelligence, and to be "intelligent before their own faces", signifies from self-derived affection; the "eyes" signifying understanding, and the "faces" affection; "woe to them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink", signifies to, such as aspire after great things, and are ingenious in confirming the falsities which favour the loves of self and their own principles; the "mighty" denoting those who aspire to great things, and "men of strength" those who are ingenious and seem to themselves to be intelligent; "to drink wine" [in a bad sense], is to imbibe falsities, and "to mingle strong drink", is to confirm them; such are all they who are in the love of self, and who seek after the fame of erudition, for such are in their proprium, and cannot be elevated therefrom, wherefore their thought is in the sensual corporeal principle, wherein no truth can, appear, nor spiritual good be perceived; whereas they who are not in the love of self, and seek intelligence for the use of life, are elevated by the Lord from the proprium into the light of heaven, whilst they are ignorant of it, and are thereby enlightened. Apocalypse Explained 376 Apocalypse Explained 376[1-40].
12. And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and the pipe, and wine, are their feasts: but the work of Jehovah they regard not; and the operation of His hands they do not behold.
Verse 12. The "harp", the "viol", the "tabret", the "pipe", and also" wine", are to be here understood in the opposite sense, in which they signify exultations and boastings from the falsities of evil; that such things are here signified, is evident from its being said, "Woe unto them, they regard not the works of Jehovah, nor behold the operation of His hands." A.. Apocalypse Explained 323.
Inasmuch as "wine" signifies the good of love and of faith, therefore in the supreme sense it signifies the Divine Truth from the Divine Good of the Lord, for from this, by influx, man, who receives, has the good of love and of faith. Whereas several expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, so also has "'wine", in which sense it signifies the false principle derived from evil [as in this passage]. Arcana Coelestia 6877.
13. Wherefore My people goes into captivity for want of knowledge; and their glory are men [dying] of hunger, and their multitude are dried up with thirst.
14. Therefore hell has enlarged itself, and has stretched open its mouth without measure: her glory, and her multitude, and her throng, and all who exult in her, shall descend into it.
Verse 13. The desolation or destruction of the church for want of the knowledges of good and truth, is signified by "My, people goes into captivity for want of knowledge"; the Divine Truth which constitutes the church, is signified by "glory"; and that this is not in the church, and consequently neither is good, is signified by the "glory thereof being men [dying] of famine"; "men of famine" denoting those who are in no perception of good, and in no knowledges of truth; and that hence they have no truth, is signified by "the multitude thereof being dry with thirst"; "to be dry with thirst" denoting the defect of truth, and "multitude", in the Word, being predicated of truths. Apocalypse Explained 386.
"Thirst" denotes a defect of truth, and hence a privation of spiritual life. Apocalypse Explained 8568.
"Men of famine", signify a scarcity of celestial knowledges; "a multitude dried up with thirst", signifies a scarcity of spiritual knowledges. Arcana Coelestia 1460.
15. And the [mean] man shall be bowed down, and the [great] man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the haughty shall be cast down:
16. And Jehovah of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God the Holy [One] shall be sanctified in justice.
17. Then shall the lambs feed as on their pastures, and the deserted places of the fat ones shall the [flocks of] strangers consume.
Verse 16. Jehovah shall be exalted in judgment, etc. - Inasmuch as the Lord is Divine Good and Divine Truth, and since by "judgment" is signified Divine Truth, and by "justice" or righteousness Divine Good; therefore, in many places where the Lord is spoken of, "justice and judgment" are mentioned, and in other places that men ought to do "justice and judgment." Apocalypse Revealed 668.
18. Woe unto them who draw iniquity with cords of vanity; and sin, as with the thick traces of a waggon:
19. Who say, Let Him make speed, and let Him hasten His work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and come to pass, that we may know it !
20. Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Verse 18. "Vanity" denotes falsity, and indeed the falsity of doctrine and religion. Arcana Coelestia 2248.
"Cords "of variously twisted appearance and thickness are seen in the other life, and by them are represented various modes of conjunction; hence it is that in the Word "cords" and "ropes" signify, conjoining mediums, thus "cords of vanity" denote conjunctions of falsities, which are productive of iniquity or evil of life. Many passages might be adduced in proof of this, of which the following may suffice, as in Hosea, -
"I have drawn them with the cords of a man, with the thick cords of love"; (Hosea 11:4)
Here "cords" evidently signify conjoining mediums, for "love" is spiritual conjunction,
Again, in Jeremiah,
"My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken"; (Jeremiah 10:20)
Here, too, "cords" are used to signify conjoining find confirming mediums; the "tabernacle" is the church; which is the Lord's heaven upon earth. Arcana Coelestia 9854.
Verse 19. By the "Holy One of Israel" is meant the Lord as to His divine Human and indeed as to the divine Natural; by Israel and Jacob, in the supreme sense, is meant the Lord as to the divine Natural, by "Israel", as to the internal divine Natural, and by "Jacob", as to the external divine Natural. Arcana Coelestia 7091.
Verse 20. To "put darkness for light, and light for darkness, signifies to call the false truth and truth the false; that "darkness" denotes the false and "light" the truth, is evident, for good and evil are first mentioned; therefore, afterwards, mention is made of truth and the false. Apocalypse Explained 526.
Verses 20, 22. That good and truth adulterated is here signified by "bitter", is evident, for it is said, "Woe unto them, that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, by which is, signified the adulteration of good and the falsification of truth; for good is adulterated when good is called evil and evil good, and truth is falsified when darkness is put for light and light for darkness, "darkness" denoting falsities, and "light" denotIng truths; hence it is evident that similar things are signified by "putting sweet for bitter, and bitter for sweet"; also by its being said, "woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; by "mighty to drink wine", are signified those who adulterate the truths of the Word, and by "men of strength to mingle strong drink", are signified those who falsify it; "wine and strong drink" denoting the truths of the Word, and "heroes, or the mighty, and men of strength", those who excel in ingenuity and subtlety In adulterating them. Apocalypse Explained 618.
21. Woe unto them who are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent before their own faces!
Verse 21. That the proprium is nothing but mere evil and the false, was made evident to me from this circumstance, that whatever any spirits spoke at any time from themselves was evil and false, insomuch that whenever it was only given me to know that they did speak from themselves, I knew instantly that what they said was false, notwithstanding the power of persuasion in themselves that what they said was true beyond all possible doubt. The case is the same with men also who speak from themselves. In like manner, whenever any have begun to reason concerning the things which respect spiritual and celestial life, or which relate to faith, it was given me to perceive that they were in a state of doubt, yea, of denial touching such things; for to reason about faith is to doubt and deny it. And whereas this proceeds from themselves, or from the proprium, they are mere falsities into which they fall, consequently into an abyss of darknesses, that is, of falsities; and when they are in this abyss, the least scruple prevails over a thousand truths, which scruple is like a small particle of dust falling on the pupil of the eye, and blindlng it in such a manner that it cannot see the universe, or anything contained therein. Concerning such persons the Lord thus speaks in Isaiah, - "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight [or faces]." (Isaiah 5:21) Arcana Coelestia 215. .
22. Woe unto them who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23. Who justify the guilty for a reward, and take away the justice of the just from him!
Verse 22. They who believe nothing but what they comprehend by things sensual and scientific, were also called mighty to drink, as in Isaiah, "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own sight, Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink." They are called "wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own sight", because they who reason against the truths of faith think themselves wiser than others. Arcana Coelestia 1072 Arcana Coelestia 1072[1-6].
24. Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and, as the flame consumes the chaff, so shall their root become like rottenness, and their blossom shall go up like the dust: because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
Verse 24. That hereby are signified the scientifics of truth, appears from the signification of "blossoms and flowers" as denoting the scientifics of truth: the reason why "blossoms" have this signification is, because they are germinations which precede, and in their manner produce fruits and seeds; for it is known that trees and plants bear blossoms before they bear fruit; the case is the same with man, as to intelligence and wisdom : the scientifics of truth precede, and in their manner produce those things which are of wisdom with man; for they serve his rational principle for objects, and thus for means of growing wise; hence it is that the scientifics of truth are as "blossoms", and the good of life, which is the good of wisdom, as "fruit." Inasmuch as all things which are in the spiritual world have reference to such things as appertain to man, by reason that heaven resembles one man, and corresponds to all the things, even the. most minute, appertaining to man, therefore also all things which are in the natural world, according to their agreement with such things as appertain to man, correspond, represent, and signify. Hence now it may be manifest from what ground it is that "blossoms" signify the scientifics of truth, and in general, truths, and that "fruit", and likewise "seeds", signify goods. That "blossoms" denote the scientifics of truth, and in general, truths, is manifest from the following passage :
"Their root shall be as corruption, and their blossoms as dust, because they have refused the law of Jehovah of Hosts, and have despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel." Arcana Coelestia 9553
25. Wherefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them, and has smitten them: and the mountains tremble, and their carcases are as the dung in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned back, but His hand is stretched out still.
Verse 25. Inasmuch as "a street" signifies the truth of doctrine leading and, in the opposite sense, the false, therefore by "the mud, the mire and the dung of the streets", is signified the false originating in the love of evil; these things are also said from appearances in the spiritual world, for in the cities in that world where falsities from evil reign, the streets appear full of dung, mire, and mud. Apocalypse Explained 652.
The reason why the "stretching out the hand" denotes the dominion of power, is, because the hand or arm has power when it is stretched out; therefore, when it is said of Jehovah, that "He stretched out the hand or arm", it signifies unlimited or infinite power in act. In very many passages also omnipotence is described by "Jehovah stretching out the hand", also by "His stretched out hand", and by "His stretched out arm"; as in Isaiah, - "The anger of Jehovah is kindled against His people, and He has stretched out His hand over them, and has smote them, and the mountains trembled." Arcana Coelestia 7673.
26. And He will erect a standard for the nations afar off, and He will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and, behold, with speed shall they come swiftly:
27. None among them is faint, and none stumbles: none shall slumber or sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed; nor shall the latchet of their shoes be unbound:
Verses 26. That by a "standard", or sign, is signified a calling together to war, is manifest from this consideration, that when convocations were made, whether for journeyings, or for festivals, or for war, they "sounded the trumpet", and also "lifted up a sign or standard" upon the mountains. Arcana Coelestia 8624.
The subject here treated of is concerning those who are in ultimates or lowest things as to the understanding of truth, and as to perception of good; those ultimates are called things sensual, which are the ultimates of the natural man; from these, when separated from the spiritual man, stream forth all the evils and falsities which are in the church and in its doctrines. The evils thence derived are signified by the "nations which shall come from afar", and the falsities by "him who cometh from the end of the earth"; "afar off" and the "end of the earth" signifying those things which are remote from the goods and truths of the church; by the "arrows which are sharp", and by the "bows which are bent", are signified falsities of doctrine prepared to destroy truths; and by the "hoofs of the horses which are accounted as the rock", and by "his wheels which are as the whirlwind", are signified the ultimates of truth, such as are the things in the sense of the letter of the Word, and arguments and confirmations of the false thereby; the "hoofs of horses" denote the ultimates or lowest [principles] of the understanding, in this case of the understanding perverted, because separated from the understanding of the spiritual man; which ultimates being nevertheless from the sense of the letter of the Word, it is said "they are accounted as the rock"; and the "wheels" denote argumentations and confirmations thereby, which, because they appear strong, it is said are" as a whirlwind."Apocalypse Explained 355.
[As to the signification of "horses", see below, Chapter 31:1, 3, the Exposition.]
28. Whose arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are bent; the hoofs of their horses shall be accounted as a rock, and their wheels as a whirlwind:
Verse 28. The reason why hardness is expressed by a "rock", is also from the correspondence of a "rock" with truth from good, for to truth from good appertains all power, but when truth acts against the false from evil, then good is blunted, and the remaining truth acts hardly; truth without good is also hard, but still brittle. Apocalypse Explained 411.
"Arrows" [in a good sense] denote spiritual truths, "bow" doctrine, "horses' hoofs" natural truths, "wheels" the doctrine thereof; which things, having such a signification, are therefore sometimes attributed to Jehovah, to whom they can only be ascribed in a spiritual sense, otherwise they would be empty and improper expressions. Arcana Coelestia 2680.
But in this passage the destroyer of truth is meant, where" arrows" denote falsities, and "bows" the doctrine of the false; the "hoofs of the horses" signify sensual scientifics derived from a perverse intellectual principle; "wheels", the powers of perverting and destroying truths, as "a storm or whirlwind." Arcana Coelestia 8215.
29. Their roaring is like the roaring of a lion; like young lions shall they roar: they shall roar, and shall seize the prey; and they shall bear it away, and none shall deliver.
Verses 29, 30. Here also the "roaring as of a lion, and as of young lions", signifies grief and lamentation over the vastation of divine Truth in the church by the falsities of evil; by "seizing the prey, and none taking it from him", is signified the liberation and salvation of those who are in truths from good. The vastation itself is described by "Lo! darkness, anxiety [or distress], and the light being darkened in the ruins thereof"; "darkness" denotes falsities, "anxiety" denotes evil, the "darkening of the light", the evanescence of divine Truth, and "ruins" signify total subversion. Apocalypse Explained 601.
"Seizing", "rapine", "spoil", and "prey." are predicated of the Lord in the Word, from the circumstance of snatching away and delivering the good. Arcana Coelestia 644:1.
30. In that day shall they roar against them "like the roaring of the sea; and if one look into the land, lo ! darkness, distress, and the light is darkened in the ruins thereof.
Verse 30. This passage relates to the last time of the church, when the Lord shall come in to the world, and judgment be accomplished: inasmuch as at that time there is no longer any good of love or truth of faith, but evil of the false, and the false of evil, it is called a "day of darkness, and of thick darkness." Apocalypse Explained 526.
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Isaiah Chapter 5
1. I will now sing to my Beloved, a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved had a vineyard on a high and fruitful hill:
2. And He fenced it round, and He cleared it of stones, and He planted it with a noble vine; and He built a tower in the midst of it, and He hewed out also a wine-press therein: and He expected that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.
3. And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and O man of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.
4. What could have been done more to My vineyard, than I have done unto it? why, then, when I expected that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5. But now, I will indeed make known unto you what I will do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will destroy its wall, and it shall be trodden down:
6. And I will make it a desolation: it shall not be pruned, neither shall it be weeded; but the brier and the thorn shall spring up in it : and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7. For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah the plant of His delights: and He looked for judgment, but behold bloodshed! and for justice, but behold an outcry!
8. Woe unto you who join house to house, who lay field unto field, until there be no place, and you dwell alone in the midst of the land!
9. To Mine ears [says] Jehovah of Hosts: Surely, [these] many houses shall become a desolation; the great and the good ones, without an inhabitant,
10. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield [scarcely] one bath [of wine], and a homer of seed shall yield [scarcely] one ephah [of corn].
11. Woe unto them who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink; who continue late in the evening, that wine may inflame them!
12. And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and the pipe, and wine, are their feasts: but the work of Jehovah they regard not; and the operation of His hands they do not behold.
13. Wherefore My people goes into captivity for want of knowledge; and their glory are men [dying] of hunger, and their multitude are dried up with thirst.
14. Therefore hell has enlarged itself, and has stretched open its mouth without measure: her glory, and her multitude, and her throng, and all who exult in her, shall descend into it.
15. And the [mean] man shall be bowed down, and the [great] man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the haughty shall be cast down:
16. And Jehovah of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God the Holy [One] shall be sanctified in justice.
17. Then shall the lambs feed as on their pastures, and the deserted places of the fat ones shall the [flocks of] strangers consume.
18. Woe unto them who draw iniquity with cords of vanity; and sin, as with the thick traces of a waggon:
19. Who say, Let Him make speed, and let Him hasten His work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and come to pass., that we may know it !
20. Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21. Woe unto them who are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent before their own faces!
22. Woe unto them who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23. Who justify the guilty for a reward, and take away the justice of the just from him!
24. Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and, as the flame consumes the chaff, so shall their root become like rottenness, and their blossom shall go up like the dust: because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
25. Wherefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them, and has smitten them: and the mountains tremble, and their carcases are as the dung in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned back, but His hand is stretched out still.
26. And He will erect a standard for the nations afar off, and He will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and, behold, with speed shall they come swiftly:
27. None among them is faint, and none stumbles: none shall slumber or sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed; nor shall the latchet of their shoes be unbound:
28. Whose arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are bent; the hoofs of their horses shall be accounted as a rock, and their wheels as a whirlwind:
29. Their roaring is like the roaring of a lion; like young lions shall they roar: they shall roar, and shall seize the prey; and they shall bear it away, and none shall deliver.
30. In that day shall they roar against them "like the roaring of the sea; and if one look into the land, lo ! darkness, distress, and the light is darkened in the ruins thereof.
Arcana Coelestia #576
576. That the number ten means remnants, just as tenths do, becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
Many houses will be a desolation, large and beautiful ones, without inhabitant, for ten acres of vineyard will yield but one bath, and a homer of seed will yield an ephah. Isaiah 5:9-10.
This refers to the vastation of spiritual and celestial things. 'Ten acres of vineyard will yield but one bath' stands for remnants of spiritual things being so few, while 'a homer of seed will yield an ephah' stands for remnants of celestial things being so few. In the same prophet,
And there will be many forsaken places in the midst of the land; and yet there will be a tenth part in it, and this will return; it will be however an uprooting. Isaiah 6:12-13.
'The midst of the land' stands for the internal man, 'a tenth part' for such a small quantity of remnants. In Ezekiel,
You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, the bath containing a tenth of a homer; and the ephah a tenth of a homer, the measure for it shall be after the homer. And the fixed portion of oil, of the bath of oil, shall be a tenth of a bath from a cor, which is ten baths to the homer; for ten baths are a homer. Ezekiel 45:10-11, 14.
The quantities mentioned here relate to holy things, which are Jehovah's. They mean different kinds of holy things. 'Ten' here means remnants of celestial things and so of spiritual things. For what are the specific numerical quantities mentioned in this and in previous chapters of this prophet where the heavenly Jerusalem and the new Temple are the subject, and in other prophets, and also in the various rites of the Jewish Church, if they do not contain sacred arcana?
[2] In Amos,
She has fallen, no more to rise, the virgin of Israel. Thus said the Lord Jehovah, The city that goes forth a thousand will have remnants of a hundred, and that which goes forth a hundred will have remnants of ten to the house of Israel. Amos 5:2-3.
The word 'remnants' is used here, of which only a fraction will remain, for this is only a tenth part, or the remnants of remnants. In the same prophet,
I hate the pride of Jacob and his palaces, and I will shut up the city and all that is in it. And it will be that if ten men will have remained in one house, they will die. Amos 6:8-9.
'Ten' stands for remnants that are not likely to remain. In Moses,
The Ammonite and the Moabite shall not come into the assembly of Jehovah; even the tenth generation belonging to them shall not come into the assembly of Jehovah forever. Deuteronomy 23:3.
'The Ammonite and the Moabite' stands for the profanation of the celestial and the spiritual things of faith, the remnants of which have been dealt with already.
[3] From this it is clear that 'tenths' represents remnants, of which Malachi speaks as follows,
Bring all the tithes 1 to the treasure-house, that there may be plunder in My house, and let them put Me to the test in this matter whether I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing for you. Malachi 3:10.
'That there may be plunder in My house stands for remnants in the internal man, which are likened to 'plunder' because they are implanted, so to speak, by stealth among so many evils and falsities; and by way of such remnants comes every blessing. The fact that the whole of a person's charity comes to him by way of the remnants that are in the internal man was also represented in the Jewish Church by the requirement that once they had paid their tithes, 1 they were then to give to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, Deuteronomy 26:12 and following verses.
[4] Since remnants are the Lord' s alone, tenths are therefore called 'Holiness to Jehovah', and are spoken of in Moses as follows,
All the tithes 1 of the land - of the seed of the land, of the fruit of the tree - are Jehovah's; they are Holiness to Jehovah. All tithes 1 of the herd and of the flock, every tenth one that passes under the (herdsman's) staff shall be Holiness to Jehovah. Leviticus 27:30, 32.
Since the Decalogue consisted of Ten Commandments, or Ten Words, and Jehovah wrote them on tablets, Deuteronomy 10:4, remnants are meant; and the fact that they were written by the hand of Jehovah means that such remnants are the Lord's alone. Their presence in the internal man was represented by the tablets.
Footnotes:
1. or tenths
