9093. And they shall divide the silver of it. That this signifies that the truth thereof shall be dissipated, is evident from the signification of “dividing,” as being to banish and dissipate (see n. 6360, 6361); and from the signification of “silver,” as being truth (n. 1551, 2048, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999). That “to divide” denotes to dissipate, is because if those things which have been associated together are divided, they are also scattered, as he who divides his mind destroys it. For the mind of man is an association of two parts, one part being called the understanding, the other the will. He who divides these two parts scatters the things which belong to one part, for one part must live from the other; consequently the other also perishes. It is the same with him who divides truth from good, or what is the same, faith from charity. He who does this destroys both. In a word, all things which ought to be united in a one, if divided perish.

[2] This division is meant by the Lord’s words in Luke:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will prefer the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).

That is, by faith serve the Lord, and by love the world; thus acknowledge truth, and do evil. He who does this has a divided mind, from which comes its destruction. From all this it is evident whence it is that “to divide” denotes to dissipate; as is also evident in Matthew:

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall divide him, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (Matthew 24:50-51); where “to divide” denotes to separate and remove from goods and truths (n. 4424), thus to dissipate.

[3] In Moses:

Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement; and their wrath, for it was hard. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (Genesis 49:7); where Israel speaks prophetically of Simeon and Levi. By Simeon and Leviticus are there represented those who are in faith separate from charity (n. 6352), by Jacob and Israel the church external and internal, and also the external and internal man (n. 4286, 4598, 5973, 6360, 6361). “To divide them in Jacob” denotes to expel them from the external church; and “to scatter them in Israel” denotes from the internal church; thus to dissipate the goods and the truths of the church appertaining to them.

[4] That “dividing” has this signification is also plain from the words written on the wall when Belshazzar king of Babel, together with his lords, his wives, and his concubines, drank wine from the vessels of gold and of silver which belonged to the temple that was at Jerusalem. The writing was:

Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided (Daniel 5:2-4, 25-28); where “divided” means separated from the kingdom. In this passage it is plain how all things were at that time representative. In it is described the profanation of good and truth, which is signified by “Babel” (that Babel” denotes profanation, see n. 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326); “vessels of gold and of silver” denote the goods of love and the truths of faith from the the Lord, (n. 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917). Profanation is signified by “drinking therefrom, and at the same time praising the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone,” as we read in the fourth verse of the chapter, which denote evils and falsities in a series (n. 4402, 4544, 7873, 8941). By the “temple at Jerusalem” from which the vessels came, is signified in the supreme sense the Lord, in the representative sense His kingdom and church (n. 3720). The kingdom of Belshazzar being “divided” signified the dissipation of good and truth, and he himself being “slain that night” signified the loss of the life of truth and good, thus damnation; for “to be divided” denotes to be dissipated; “a king” denotes the truth of good (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148); the like is signified by “kingdom” (n. 1672, 2547, 4691); “to be slain” denotes to be deprived of the life of truth and good (n. 3607, 6767, 8902); and the “night” in which he was slain denotes a state of evil and falsity (n. 2353, 7776, 7851, 7870, 7947). From this it is plain that all things there were representative.

[5] It says in David:

They divided My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast a lot (Psalms 22:18).

They divided His garments, casting a lot; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet (Matthew 27:35).

The soldiers took His garments, and made four parts; and the tunic, the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore, Let us not divide it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 19:23-24).

He who reads these words and knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word, is not aware that anything secret lies hidden in them, when yet in each word there is a Divine secret. The secret was that Divine truths had been dissipated by the Jews, for the Lord was the Divine truth; and hence He is called “the Word” (John 1). “The Word” denotes Divine truth; His garments represented truths in the external form; and His tunic, truths in the internal form; the division of the garments represented the dissipation of the truths of faith by the Jews. (That “garments” denote truths in the external form, see n. 2576, 5248, 5954, 6918; also that “a tunic” denotes truth in the internal form, n. 4677.) Truths in the external form are such as are those of the Word in the literal sense; but truths in the internal form are such as are those of the Word in the spiritual sense. The division of the garments into four parts signified total dissipation, in like manner as the division in Zechariah 14:4, and in other passages; likewise the division into two parts, as we read of the veil of the temple (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). The rending of the rocks also at that time (Matthew 27:51) represented the dissipation of all things of faith, for a “rock” denotes the Lord as to faith, consequently it denotes faith from the Lord.

5702. 'Since that is an abomination to the Egyptians' means that they are in a contrary position. This is clear from the representation of 'the Egyptians' as those with whom order has been inverted, 5700; and from the representation of 'the Hebrews', to eat with whom was an abomination to the Egyptians, as those with whom genuine order exists, 5701. Thus the two are set in contrary positions, and this gives rise to strong dislike and at length to what is an abomination. Regarding this abomination, it should be recognized that people with whom an inverted state of order, that is, evil and consequent falsity, exists, thereby come at length to acquire a strong dislike for the goodness and truth of the Church the moment they hear it referred to. This is even more true when they hear reference made to the interior aspects of that goodness and truth; they find these so abominable that so to speak they feel nauseated and wish to vomit. This is what I have been told and shown to be so when I have wondered why the Christian world does not accept the interior teachings of the Word. Spirits from the Christian world have appeared on the scene and have been compelled to hear about the interior teachings of the Word; they were then so nauseated by these that they said they felt within themselves the great need to vomit. I have also been told that this is what the Christian world is like virtually everywhere at the present day. The reason it is like this is that it has no affection for truth for its own sake, still less any affection for good motivated by good. Anything they think or say that is based on the Word or their religious teachings is due to habit followed since early childhood and to religious custom, and so is something external devoid of anything internal.

[2] The fact that all aspects of the Hebrew Church, the one established at a later time among the descendants of Jacob, were an abomination to the Egyptians is evident not only from their refusal even to eat with them but also from the fact that sacrifices, in which the Hebrew Church made its main worship consist, were an abomination to them, as is evident in Moses,

Pharaoh said, Go away, sacrifice within the land. But Moses said, It is incorrect to do so, for we shall be sacrificing to Jehovah our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians; behold, if we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians in their eyes, will they not stone us? Exodus 8:25-26.

Also, feeding cattle and being a shepherd was an abomination to them, as is evident again in Moses,

Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. Genesis 46:34.

Thus every aspect of that Church was an abomination to the Egyptians. The reason was that initially even the Egyptians had been among those who constituted the representative Ancient Church, 1238, 2385. But after that they rejected the God of the Ancient Church, who was Jehovah or the Lord, and served idols, in particular calves. Also the actual representatives and meaningful signs of the celestial and spiritual realities of the Ancient Church, which they came to know while part of that Church, were turned by them into magical practices. This being so, order with them became inverted, as a consequence of which everything constituting the Church was an abomination.