1085. 'They put it on a shoulder' means that they did so with all the power they had, that is to say, they placed a good interpretation on it and excused it. This is clear from the meaning of 'shoulder' as all power. In the Word 'hand' means power, as shown already. 'Arm' means greater power still, while 'shoulder' means all power, as becomes clear also from the following places in the Word: In Ezekiel,

You push with side and with shoulder, and butt with your horns all the weak sheep till you have scattered them abroad. Ezekiel 34:21.

'With side and with shoulder' here stands for all their soul and all their power; and 'butting with horns' stands for all their strength.

[2] In the same prophet,

That all the inhabitants of Egypt may know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they grasp you with the hand you will be broken, and will tear for them every shoulder. Ezekiel 29:6-7.

This refers to people who wish to probe into spiritual truths by means of facts. 'A staff of reed' stands for power of this kind, 'taking with the hand' stands for trusting in it, 'tearing every shoulder' for being deprived of all power so that they may know nothing. In Zephaniah,

That all of them may call on the name of Jehovah to serve Him with one shoulder. Zeph, 3:9.

'One shoulder' stands for doing so with one soul. and so with one power.

[3] In Zechariah,

They refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder. Zechariah 7:11.

This stands for their resisting with all the power they had. In Isaiah,

They hire a smith who makes gold and silver into God. They worship, they even bow down to it. They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it. Isaiah 46:6-7.

'Shoulder' stands for their worshipping the idol with all the power they have, which is 'bearing on the shoulder'.

[4] In the same prophet,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

This refers to the Lord, and at this point to the power He has and exercises - hence the phrase 'upon His shoulder'. In the same prophet,

I will place the key of the house of David on His shoulder, and He will open and none will shut; and He will shut and none will open.

This similarly refers to the Lord, placing on the shoulder the key of the house of David' standing for the power He has and exercises.

'The shoulder' signifies all power. In Ezekiel 29:7, this signifies the power or faculty of understanding truth. 'To dwell between his shoulders,' as in Deuteronomy 33:12, signifies being in security and power.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 1085)

10730. 'And the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a sabbath of rest to Jehovah' means the second state in the regeneration of a person, when that person is joined to the Lord, and in the highest sense means the union of the Lord's Human with the Divine itself. This is clear from the representation of 'the sabbath' as the second state in the regeneration of a person, when a person is governed by good and for that reason is led by the Lord, dealt with in 8510, 8890, 8893, 9274, and in the highest sense as the union of the Human with the Divine itself within the Lord, dealt with in 8495, 10356, 10367, 10374. When the Lord was in the world He first made His Human Divine Truth, but when He left the world He made His Human Divine Good through union with the Divine itself which was within Him. This is represented by 'the sabbath' in the highest sense, hence the use of the words 'a sabbath of rest to Jehovah'. The Lord does things in a similar way for a person whom He is regenerating. First He endows the person with truths, after which He uses the truths to join him to good, thus to Himself. This is what 'the sabbath' represents in the relative sense; for the regeneration of a person is an image of the glorification of the Lord, that is, as the Lord glorified His Human, so He regenerates a person.

[2] Strictly speaking, 'the sabbath' means rest and peace, because when the Lord united His Human to the Divine itself He had peace. For now conflicts had come to an end and all things in the heavens and in the hells had been restored to order, so that not only did He Himself have peace but also angels in heaven and people on earth dwelt in peace and safety.

[3] Since these two processes are the all-embracing realities on which everything else in the Church is dependent, only the sanctifying of the sabbath, which serves to mean those two realities, is declared here ¹ . For the most all-embracing reality is that the Lord has united His Human to the Divine itself, as a result of which a person can dwell in peace and safety. And it is also an all-embracing reality that a person should be joined to the Lord, which is effected through regeneration bringing him that peace and safety. This also was why the sabbath among the Israelite nation was the chief representative and was the chief sign of the covenant with Jehovah, that is, of being joined to the Lord, see 10357, 10372, a covenant being a joining together.

Footnotes: