1667. That 'twelve years they served Chedorlaomer' means that evils and falsities did not reveal themselves in childhood but were subservient to apparent goods and truths is clear from the representation and meaning of Chedorlaomer, and also from the meaning of those who were subservient to him, as explained above at verses 1-2, and from the meaning of 'twelve' as well. Chedorlaomer together with those mentioned above in verse 1 mean apparent goods and truths present with the Lord - thus His External Man as regards those things. Here Chedorlaomer stands for all who are named in verse 1 taken together, as is clear in addition from what follows, and also from the fact that he was king of Elam, the meaning of which has been dealt with already, namely faith deriving from charity, and here therefore truth and good. For faith and things belonging to faith are nothing but truths, while charity and things belonging to charity are nothing but goods

[2] Here however they are the goods that belong to earliest childhood, which though they appear to be goods are not in fact goods as long as hereditary evil is befouling them, for they have ingrained in them and clinging to them that which derives from self-love and love of the world. Whatever belongs to self-love or love of the world appears at the time to be good, but it is not. Nevertheless it must still be called good during the time it resides in an infant or child who as yet does not know what is truly good. Their ignorance or lack of knowledge excuses it, and their innocence makes it appear as good. The situation is different however when a person has undergone instruction and knows what good and evil are. Such good and truth as exist with a child before instruction is meant by Chedorlaomer.

[3] Their being subservient for twelve years means the whole time that such good and truth remain, for in the internal sense 'twelve' means all things constituting the faith that belongs to charity, that is, faith springing from charity, as also with Elam in Genesis 10:22. And as long as such good and truth reside in a person, whether in childhood or in any other period of his life, evils and falsities can achieve nothing, that is, evil spirits do not dare to do anything or to initiate anything evil, as is quite evident in the case of infants, well-behaved children, and simple hearted people. With them, even though evil spirits, that is, the worst of the devil's crew, were present they could nevertheless achieve absolutely nothing but are held in subjection, which is the meaning here of their being subservient for twelve years to Chedorlaomer.

[4] The reason they are kept in subjection during that time and are subservient is that the individual has not yet acquired to himself a sphere of evil desires and of falsities. Indeed evil spirits and genii are not allowed to operate except into those things a person has acquired through his own actions, not into those he has by heredity. Consequently before a person acquires such spheres to himself, evil spirits are subservient; but as soon as he does acquire them, those evil spirits present with him stream in and try to gain dominion, for they are then situated within his own sphere, and there find a certain delight or their very life - 'where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together'. ¹

Footnotes: