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Arcana Coelestia #9371

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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.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7439

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7439. Let My people go, that they may serve Me. That this signifies that they should release those who are of the spiritual church in order that they may worship their God in freedom, is evident from the signification of “letting go,” as being to release; from the representation of the sons of Israel, here “My people,” as being those who are of the spiritual church (n. 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223); and from the signification of “serving Jehovah,” as being to worship. That they should worship in freedom is plain from what follows (verses 21-23), and also from the fact that all worship which is truly worship must be in freedom.

[2] The sons of Israel being called “the people of Jehovah” was not because they were better than other nations, but because they represented the people of Jehovah, that is, those who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. That they were not better than other nations is plain from their life in the wilderness, in that they did not at all believe in Jehovah, but in their hearts believed in the gods of the Egyptians, as is evident from the golden calf which they made for themselves, and which they called their gods who had brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 32:8). The same is evident also from their subsequent life in the land of Canaan, as described in the historicals of the Word, and from what was said of them by the prophets, and finally from what was said of them by the Lord.

[3] For this reason also few of them are in heaven, for they have received their lot in the other life according to their life. Therefore do not believe that they were elected to heaven in preference to others; for whoever so believes, does not believe that everyone’s life remains with him after death, nor that man must be prepared for heaven by his whole life in the world, and that this is done of the Lord’s mercy, and that none are admitted into heaven from mercy alone, regardless of how they have lived in the world. Such an opinion about heaven and the Lord’s mercy is induced by the doctrine of faith alone, and of salvation by faith alone without good works; for those who hold this doctrine have no concern about the life, and so believe that evils can be washed away like dirt by water, and thus that man can in a moment pass into the life of good, and consequently be admitted into heaven. For they do not know that if the life of evil were taken away from the evil, they would have no life whatever, and that if they who are in a life of evil were admitted into heaven, they would feel hell in themselves, and this the more grievously, the more interiorly they were admitted into heaven.

[4] From all this it can now be seen that the Israelites and Jews were by no means elected, but only accepted to represent the things that belong to heaven; and that this must needs be done in the land of Canaan, because the Lord’s church had been there from the most ancient times, and from this all the places there became representative of heavenly and Divine things. In this way also the Word could be written, and the names in it could signify such things as belong to the Lord and His kingdom.

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

The Bible

 

Joshua 15

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1 The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.

2 Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;

3 and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh Barnea, and passed along by Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka;

4 and it passed along to Azmon, went out at the brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border.

5 The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the Sea at the end of the Jordan.

6 The border went up to Beth Hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

7 The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at En Rogel.

8 The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward.

9 The border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border extended to Baalah (the same is Kiriath Jearim);

10 and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (the same is Chesalon), and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah;

11 and the border went out to the side of Ekron northward; and the border extended to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

12 The west border was to the shore of the great sea. This is the border of the children of Judah according to their families.

13 To Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron).

14 Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

15 He went up against the inhabitants of Debir: now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.

16 Caleb said, "He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife."

17 Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

18 It happened, when she came, that she had him ask her father fore a field. She got off of her donkey, and Caleb said, "What do you want?"

19 She said, "Give me a blessing. Because you have set me in the land of the South, Give me also springs of water." He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

21 The farthest cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,

23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,

24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (the same is Hazor),

26 Amam, Shema, Moladah,

27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,

28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,

29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem,

30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,

31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,

32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

33 In the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,

34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,

35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

36 Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim); fourteen cities with their villages.

37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,

38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish,

41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan,

43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,

44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages;

46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline.

48 In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,

49 Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (which is Debir),

50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan,

53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,

54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Jutah,

56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,

57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,

59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

60 Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,

62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.

63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn't drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.