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.

3148. And the feet of the men that were with him. That this signifies the purification of all things belonging to Him, in the natural man, is evident from the signification of “feet,” as being the things of the natural man (see n. 2162); and from the signification of “the men that were with him,” as being all things there. It was the custom for travelers, when they came into any house, to wash their feet; as when the brethren of Joseph were introduced into Joseph’s house (Genesis 43:24); and when the Levite and his attendant were received into the house of the old man (Judges 19:21); and when Uriah on his return home was commanded by David to go down to his house and to wash his feet (2 Samuel 11:8). The reason was that traveling and journeying signified what relates to instruction, and thence to life (see n. 1293, 1457, 1463, 2025); and that these were to be purified was shown above; and further, lest the impurity understood in the spiritual sense should adhere, and defile the house, that is, the man; as is also evident from the fact that the disciples were to shake off the dust of the feet, if the city or the house would not receive peace (Matthew 10:14).

3071. And I will give thy camels drink also. That this signifies the enlightenment of all memory-knowledges in the natural man therefrom, is evident from the signification of “camels,” as being general memory-knowledges, thus these knowledges in general, or all (see above, n. 3048); and from the signification of “giving to drink,” as being to enlighten. That “drawing water” denotes to instruct, was shown above (n. 3058); thus to “give to drink” denotes to enlighten; for enlightenment comes from instruction.