9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

3049. And every good of his lord was in his hand. That this signifies the goods and truths of these knowledges with the natural man, is evident from the signification of “every good of his lord,” as being both good and truth; for in itself truth is good, because from good; and truth is the form of good, that is to say, when good is formed so as to be perceived intellectually, it is then called truth: and also from the signification of “hand,” as being power (see n. 878); “in his hand” therefore meaning that which he had. In themselves general memory-knowledges are not goods, nor are they alive; it is the affection of them that causes them to be goods, and to be alive; for when there is this affection they are for the sake of use; since no one is affected by any memory-knowledge or truth except for some use; use makes it a good; and such as the use is, such is the good.

5293. And let them gather all the food. That this signifies all things that are of use, is evident from the signification of “gathering,” as being to bring together and preserve; and from the signification of “food,” as being things that are of use. In the internal sense “food” properly signifies the things that nourish the soul of man, that is, that nourish him after death, for he then lives as a soul or spirit, and no longer needs material food, but spiritual food, which consists in everything that is of use, and everything that is conducive to use. That which is conducive to use is to know what is good and true; that which is of use is to will and do what is good and true. These are the things that nourish the angels, and are therefore called spiritual and heavenly food. Man’s mind within which are his interior understanding and interior will, or his intentions or ends, is not nourished by any other food even while he lives in the body. Material food does not penetrate to the mind, but only to the things of the body, which that food sustains to the end that this mind may enjoy its food while the body enjoys its food, that is, that this mind may be sound in a sound body.

[2] That “food” in the spiritual sense denotes everything that is of use, is because all man’s knowing, and all his understanding and being wise, and therefore all his willing, ought to have use for their end; hence the quality of his life is according to the quality of his use. That “food” in the internal sense denotes everything that is of use, is plain from these words of the Lord:

Jesus said to the disciples, I have food to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My food is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to perfect His work (John 4:32-34); and in another place:

Labor not for the food that perisheth, but for that food that remaineth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for Him hath God the Father sealed (John 6:27).