6524. 'The elders of his house' means the things that would accord with good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the elders' as the chief characteristics of wisdom, thus things that accord with good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'house' as good, dealt with in 2559, 3652, 3720, 4982. The reason why 'elders' means the chief characteristics of wisdom is that in the Word 'old people' means those who are wise, and - in a sense detached from persons - wisdom. Since 'the twelve tribes of Israel' meant all truths and forms of good in their entirety, they had princes and also elders set over them. 'Princes' meant the leading truths constituting intelligence, and 'elders' the chief characteristics of wisdom, thus those of good.

[2] For the meaning of 'princes' as the leading truths constituting intelligence, see 1482, 2089, 5044. But as regards the meaning of 'elders' as the chief characteristics of wisdom, and of 'old people' as wisdom, this is evident from the following places: In David,

They will extol Jehovah in the congregation of the people, and in the assembly of the old they will praise Him. Psalms 107:32.

'The congregation of the people' stands for those who are ruled by truths constituting intelligence, since 'congregation' is used with reference to truths, 6355, as also is 'people', 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581; 'the assembly of the old' stands for those who are ruled by good, which belongs to wisdom since wisdom is concerned with life, thus with what is good, whereas intelligence is concerned with knowing, thus with what is true, 1555. In the same author,

I am wiser than the old, because I have kept Your commands. Psalms 119:100.

'The old' plainly stands for one who is wise. Likewise in Job,

In the old there is wisdom, in length of days intelligence. Job 12:12.

In Moses,

You shall rise before grey hair and respect the face of an old person. Leviticus 19:32.

This command was given because 'old people' represented wisdom.

[3] In John,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments, who had on their heads crowns of gold. Revelation 4:4.

'Elders' stands for aspects of wisdom, thus of good. That these are meant by the elders is evident from the description of the elders - they sat on thrones, were clad in white garments, and had crowns of gold on their heads. 'Thrones' are truths constituting intelligence which are derived from good belonging to wisdom, 5313. 'White garments' has a similar meaning, 'garments' being truths, 1073, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5954, and 'white' that which has reference to truth, 3301, 5319. 'Crowns of gold on their heads' are forms of the good of wisdom; for 'gold' is the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, and 'head' is the celestial, the seat of wisdom, 4938, 4939, 5328, 6436. Those who are in the third or inmost heaven, thus who are nearest the Lord, are called the wise, whereas those in the middle or second heaven, thus who are not as near the Lord, are called intelligent.

[4] In the same book,

All the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures. Revelation 7:11.

Again 'the elders' stands for aspects of wisdom, as it does in the following places: In Isaiah,

The boy will uplift himself against the old man, and the despised against the honourable. Isaiah 7:5.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders, glory. Isaiah 24:23.

In Jeremiah,

My priests and my elders breathed their last in the city, for they sought food for themselves, with which they would renew their soul. Lamentations 1:19.

In the same prophet,

Her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is no more. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they become silent. Lamentations 2:9-10.

In the same prophet,

They have ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands, the faces of the old men have not been honoured, the elders have ceased from the gate. Lamentations 5:11-12, 14.

In Ezekiel,

Misery will come upon misery, and rumour will be upon rumour. Therefore they will seek a vision from the prophet, but the law has perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity. Ezekiel 7:26-27.

In Zechariah,

Old men and women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. ¹ Zechariah 8:4.

So that 'the elders' might represent things that constitute wisdom, some of Moses' spirit was taken and imparted to them, by which they prophesied, Numbers 11:16 and following verses.

In the contrary sense 'elders' stands for the things that are the opposites of the aspects of wisdom, Ezekiel 8:11-12.

Footnotes:

3413. 'And filled them up with dust' means by means of earthly things, that is, by means of self-love and love of material gain. This is clear from the meaning of 'dust' as such, dealt with in 249. The meaning is that those who are called 'the Philistines', that is, who are not concerned with life but with doctrine, efface interior truths by means of earthly loves, which are self-love and love of gain. Because of those loves they are called 'the uncircumcised', 2039, 2049, 2056, 2632. Indeed people who are under the influence of those loves cannot avoid 'filling up the wells of Abraham with dust', that is, effacing the interior truths of the Word by means of earthly things, for there is no way in which they are able from these loves to see spiritual things, that is, things which belong to the light of truth from the Lord. In fact those loves introduce darkness, and this banishes that light, for as stated just above in 3412, as the light of truth from the Lord draws nearer, people who are concerned with doctrine alone and not with life are plunged into complete darkness and stupidity. Indeed they become like those in a rage, doing all they can to destroy truths in every way. For self-love and the love of gain are such that they do not allow any truth at all from the Divine to come anywhere near them. Nevertheless those people are able to boast of and pride themselves in the fact that they know truths; indeed they proclaim them with seeming zeal. It is however the fires of self-love and love of gain which inflame them and spur them on, and their zeal is merely the enthusiasm fired by those loves. This becomes quite clear from the fact that even though truths run counter to such persons' actual lives they are able to proclaim them with the selfsame zeal or enthusiasm. These are the earthly things which block the Word itself, the fountain of all truth.