The Bible

 

Ezekiel 27

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1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

2 `And thou, son of man, lift up concerning Tyre a lamentation, and thou hast said to Tyre:

3 O dweller on the entrances of the sea, Merchant of the peoples unto many isles, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: O Tyre, thou -- thou hast said: I [am] the perfection of beauty.

4 In the heart of the seas [are] thy borders, Thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

5 Of firs of Senir they have built to thee all thy double-boarded ships, Of cedars of Lebanon they have taken to make a mast for thee,

6 Of oaks of Bashan they made thine oars, Thy bench they have made of ivory, A branch of Ashurim from isles of Chittim.

7 Of fine linen with embroidery from Egypt hath been thy sail, To be to thee for an ensign, Of blue and purple from isles of Elishah hath been thy covering.

8 Inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad have been rowers to thee, Thy wise men, O Tyre, have been in thee, They [are] thy pilots.

9 Elders of Gebal and its wise men have been in thee, Strengthening thy breach; All ships of the sea and their mariners, Have been in thee, to trade [with] thy merchandise.

10 Persian and Lud and Phut Have been in thy forces -- thy men of war. Shield and helmet they hung up in thee, They -- they have given out thine honour.

11 The sons of Arvad, and thy force, [Are] on thy walls round about, And short swordsmen in thy towers have been, Their shields they have hung up on thy walls round about, They -- they have perfected thy beauty.

12 Tarshish [is] thy merchant, Because of the abundance of all wealth, For silver, iron, tin, and lead, They have given out thy remnants.

13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech -- they [are] thy merchants, For persons of men, and vessels of brass, They have given out thy merchandise.

14 They of the house of Togarmah, [For] horses, and riding steeds, and mules, They have given out thy remnants.

15 Sons of Dedan [are] thy merchants, Many isles [are] the mart of thy hand, Horns of ivory and ebony they sent back thy reward.

16 Aram [is] thy merchant, Because of the abundance of thy works, For emerald, purple, and embroidery, And fine linen, and coral, and agate, They have given out thy remnants.

17 Judah and the land of Israel -- they [are] thy merchants, For wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, And honey, and oil, and balm, They have given out thy merchandise.

18 Damascus [is] thy merchant, For the abundance of thy works, Because of the abundance of all wealth, For wine of Helbon, and white wool.

19 Vedan and Javan go about with thy remnants, They have given shining iron, cassia, and cane, In thy merchandise it hath been.

20 Dedan [is] thy merchant, For clothes of freedom for riding.

21 Arabia, and all princes of Kedar, They [are] the traders of thy hand, For lambs, and rams, and he-goats, In these thy merchants.

22 Merchants of Sheba and Raamah -- they [are] thy Merchants, For the chief of all spices, And for every precious stone, and gold, They have given out thy remnants.

23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, merchants of Sheba, Asshur -- Chilmad -- [are] thy merchants,

24 They [are] thy merchants for perfect things, For wrappings of blue, and embroidery, And for treasuries of rich apparel, With cords bound and girded, for thy merchandise,

25 Ships of Tarshish [are] thy double walls of thy merchandise, And thou art filled and honoured greatly, In the heart of the seas.

26 Into great waters have they brought thee, Those rowing thee, The east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.

27 Thy wealth and thy remnants, Thy merchandise, thy mariners, And thy pilots, strengtheners of thy breach, And the traders of thy merchandise, And all thy men of war, who [are] in thee, And in all thine assembly that [is] in thy midst, Fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy Fall,

28 At the voice of the cry of thy pilots shake do the suburbs.

29 And come down from their ships have all handling an oar, Mariners, all the pilots of the sea, on the land they stand,

30 And have sounded for thee with their voice, And cry bitterly, and cause dust to go up on their heads, In ashes they do roll themselves.

31 And they have made for thee baldness, And they have girded on sackcloth, And they have wept for thee, In bitterness of soul -- a bitter mourning.

32 And lifted up for thee have their sons a lamentation, And they have lamented over thee, who [is] as Tyre? As the cut-off one in the midst of the sea?

33 With the outgoing of thy remnants from the seas, Thou hast filled many peoples, With the abundance of thy riches, and thy merchandise, Thou hast made rich things of earth.

34 The time of [thy] being broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, Thy merchandise and all thy assembly in thy midst have fallen.

35 All inhabitants of the isles have been astonished at thee, And their kings have been sore afraid, They have been troubled in countenance.

36 Merchants among the peoples have shrieked for thee, Wastes thou hast been, and thou art not -- to the age!'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3923

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3923. 'Therefore she called his name Dan' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature is contained in the name Dan, for he was so called from the verb 'to judge'. But although he was given this name from that verb, it nevertheless includes those things meant in the whole of Rachel's utterance 'God has judged me, and also has heard my voice'. That is, the name Dan holds within it the good of life and the holiness of faith, and also in the highest sense the Lord's righteousness and mercy. This general essential of the Church is meant by Dan and represented by the tribe named after Dan, and it is the first that has to be affirmed and acknowledged before a person can be regenerated or become the Church. Unless such goodness and holiness are affirmed and acknowledged, all the other qualities constituting faith and life cannot possibly be received, nor therefore affirmed, still less acknowledged. For anyone whose affirmation does not go beyond faith to the holiness of faith, which is charity - for charity is the holiness of faith - and does not affirm that holiness of faith through the good of life, that is, through charitable works, can no longer have any enthusiasm for the essence of faith since he rejects it. Acknowledgement as well as affirmation is the first general attainment in a person who is being regenerated but the last with one who has been regenerated. This explains why Dan comes first with one who is to be regenerated and Joseph last, for Joseph is the spiritual man himself, but why Joseph comes first with one who has been regenerated and Dan last. The reason for this is that one who is to be regenerated is at the point of beginning to affirm that these qualities - the holiness of faith and the good of life - are truly such. But one who is regenerate - a spiritual man - has arrived at spiritual good itself, and from here he sees the affirmation of those qualities as that which comes last, because the things that constitute the holiness of faith and the good of life have become firmly established in him.

[2] That 'Dan' means this affirmative attitude which must exist first when a person is being regenerated may also be seen from other places in the Word where Dan is mentioned, for example from the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel, concerning his own sons, Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent on the road, an asp on the path, biting the horse's heels; and its rider falls backwards. I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah. Genesis 49:16-18.

'Dan' in this case stands for an affirmative attitude to truth. This attitude is spoken of as a serpent which will be on the road and an asp on the path when someone reasoning about truth does so from sensory evidence. 'Biting the horse's heels' means when that person resorts to the lowest level of the understanding - namely factual knowledge - and bases his conclusions on this. And the fact that when he does so he is drawn away from the truth is meant by 'its rider falls backwards', as a consequence of which it is said that 'I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah'. For 'a serpent' means one who reasons from sensory evidence and from factual knowledge about Divine arcana, see 195-197; 'road' and 'path' mean truth, 627, 2333; 'the horse's heels' means the lowest level of the understanding, which is factual knowledge, 259 - 'a horse' meaning the understanding, 2761, 2762, the lowest level of which is meant by 'the heel'.

[3] In Moses' prophecy regarding the twelve tribes,

To Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp; he leaps out from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22.

'A lion' in the internal sense of the Word means the truth of the Church, on account of its strength, truth being that which fights and overcomes. 'A lion's whelp' therefore stands for the first stage truth passes through, which is one of affirmation and acknowledgement. The phrase 'from Bashan' is used because these begin in the good of the natural. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long are you causing your iniquitous thoughts to lodge within you? For there is a voice of one declaring from Dan, and of one causing iniquity to be heard from Mount Ephraim. Jeremiah 4:14-15.

'From Dan' stands for truth that is to be affirmed, 'from Mount Ephraim' for this being done from the affection for it.

[4] In the same prophet,

Await peace, and no good comes; for a time of healing, and behold, terror! From Dan the snorting of his horses was heard; at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land quaked. And they came and devoured the land and the fulness of it, the city and those dwelling in it. For behold, I am sending into you poisonous serpents which do not respond to charming; and they will bite you. Jeremiah 8:15-17.

'From Dan the snorting of horses was heard' stands for reasoning about truth from an unaffirmative attitude. 'The land which quaked' and 'they devoured the fulness of it' stand for the Church and all things constituting the Church. For people who reason about truth from an unaffirmative or negative attitude destroy everything that is part of faith. 'Poisonous serpents' stands for reasonings, as above.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan came and exchanged wrought iron at your fairs, cassia and calamus were in your trading. Ezekiel 27:19.

This refers to Tyre, which means cognitions of truth and good, 1201. 'Dan' stands for the first truths that are affirmed, 'fairs and tradings' for acquisitions of truth and good, 2967, 'wrought iron' stands for natural truth, which is primary, 425, 426, 'cassia and calamus' for the same, but natural truth from which good flows.

[6] In Amos,

On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Those swearing to the offence of Samaria, who say, Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives, they will both fall and not rise again. Amos 8:13-14.

'Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives' stands for their negative attitude towards everything that constitutes faith and its doctrine - 'way' meaning truth, 627, 2333, and 'Beersheba' doctrine, 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466. The reason a negative attitude towards everything constituting faith is meant is that Dan was the last boundary of the land of Canaan, and Beersheba the first; that is, it was situated in the middle or inmost part of the land. For the land of Canaan represented and meant the Lord's kingdom, and so the Church, 1607, 3038, 3481, and therefore every detail of love and faith, since these constitute the Lord's kingdom and Church. Consequently everything in the land of Canaan was representative, being determined by the distances, positions, and boundaries there, 1585, 1866, 3686.

[7] The first - that is, the central or inmost - point of reference to the land, before Jerusalem became such, was Beersheba; for this was where Abraham and also Isaac lived. But the outermost point of reference or the last boundary was Dan. Consequently when everything in its entirety was meant the phrase 'Dan even to Beersheba' was used, as in the second Book of Samuel,

To transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 3:10:.

In the same book,

David said to Joab, Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 24:2, 15.

In the first Book of Kings,

Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba. 1 Kings 4:25.

This phrase is used in the historical sense to mean every part of the land of Canaan, but in the internal sense everything constituting the Lord's kingdom, and also everything constituting the Church.

[8] Dan means the first boundary, and also - as stated above - the last boundary, for the reason that the affirmative attitude towards truth and good is the first requirement of all when faith and charity begin to be present in a person, but the last when charity and consequently faith are established in him. This is also why the last lot fell to Dan when the land of Canaan was divided up for inheritance, Joshua 19:40 and following verses; for the lot was cast before Jehovah, Joshua 18:6.

[9] That lot fell therefore according to what each tribe represented. And since the lot to Dan did not fall among the inheritances of all the other tribes but beyond their boundaries, Judges 18:1, that tribe was also left out of the description in John, in Revelation 7:5-8, concerning each twelve thousand who had been sealed. For those who merely affirm truth and also good, but go no further, are not within the Lord's kingdom, that is, among those who have been sealed. Even very wicked people may know truths and goods, and may also affirm them; but the true nature of their affirming is recognized from the life they lead.

[10] Dan is also referred to as a boundary in Genesis 14:14, in which verse it is said that Abraham pursued his enemies as far as there, and in which verse Dan has a similar meaning. The city called Dan, it is true, had yet to be built by Dan's descendants at a later time, Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:29; but even at that time it was referred to as the first boundary when one was entering the land of Canaan but the last when one was leaving it, the inmost part of the land being Hebron, and later on Beersheba, where Abraham and Isaac lived.

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