9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

581. For their tails were like serpents, and had heads, signifies that from sensual knowledges [scientifica] which are fallacies, they reason craftily. This is evident from the signification of "tails," here, the tails of horses, as being knowledges [scientifica] which are called sensual because they are the ultimates of the understanding (See above, n. 559); from the signification of "serpent," as being the craftiness of the sensual man (of which presently); and from the signification of "having heads," as meaning to reason by means of such knowledges; for the "head" signifies intelligence, therefore "to have a head" signifies to be intelligent. To reason by means of such knowledges is meant, because the "head," in reference to the sensual man, signifies knowledge [scientia] and fatuous thought therefrom (See above, n. 577), and accordingly also reasonings by means of sensual knowledges. From this it can be seen that "the tails of the horses were like serpents, and had heads," signifies that from sensual knowledges which are fallacies they reason craftily. These are called fallacies because sensual knowledges become fallacies when man reasons from them concerning spiritual things; as for example, that dignities and wealth are real blessings; that glory, such as belongs to the great in the world, is that in which heavenly blessedness consists; and that the Lord desires adoration from man for His own glory, and other like things; these are fallacies when applied to things spiritual, since the sensual man thinks in this way, and cannot know otherwise because he is not endowed with intelligence.

[2] That "serpents" signify in the Word the sensual man in respect to craftiness and in respect to prudence, can be seen from the following passages. In Moses:

The serpent was more crafty than any wild beast of the field which Jehovah God had made (Genesis 3:1).

"Serpent" here does not mean a serpent, but the sensual man, and in a general sense the sensual itself, which is the ultimate of the human understanding; "the man and his wife" signify the Most Ancient Church, which fell away when the men of that church began to reason from sensual knowledges [scientifica] respecting Divine things, which is signified by "eating of the tree of knowledge;" their craftiness in reasoning respecting Divine things from the sensual is described by the reasoning of the serpent with Adam's wife, by which they were deceived. The serpent is said to have been "more crafty than any wild beast of the field," because it is poisonous and its bite is therefore deadly, and because it hides itself in lurking places. "Poison" signifies craft and deceit, and therefore the "bite" of the serpent signifies deadly hurt; and the lurking places from which it bites, and in which it conceals itself, signify craftiness.

[3] It is to be known that all beasts signify affections such as are in man, and "serpents" signify the affections of the sensual man, for the reason that they creep on the belly upon the ground as does the sensual of man, for this is in the lowest place, and creeps as it were upon the ground beneath all the other faculties. Moreover, sensual men in the spiritual world dwell in the lower parts, and cannot be elevated towards the higher parts, since they are in externals, and from these they judge and form conclusions respecting everything. Again, the evil who are in the hells are mostly sensual, and many of them crafty; when, therefore, they are looked at from the light of heaven they appear like serpents of various kinds; and this is why the devil is called a "serpent." The infernals are also crafty because evil conceals in itself all craftiness and malice, as good does all prudence and wisdom. (On this see the work on Heaven and Hell 576-581, where The Malice and Wicked Arts of Infernal Spirits are treated of.)

[4] This, then, is why the devil or hell is called "a serpent" in the following passages. In Revelation:

The dragon, the old serpent, the devil and Satan, which seduceth the whole world (Revelation 12:9, 14, 15; 20:2).

In David:

They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; adder's poison is under their lips (Psalms 140:3);

which signifies their crafty and delusive deception. In the same:

Their poison is like the poison of a serpent (Psalms 58:4).

In Job:

He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him (Job 20:16)

And in Isaiah:

They hatched adder's eggs, and wove spider's webs; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and when one is crushed there breaketh out a viper (Isaiah 59:5).

This is said of evil men, who by deceit and craft seduce others in spiritual things; the hidden evils to which they allure by their craftiness are signified by "adder's eggs, which they are said to hatch;" their deceitful falsities are signified by "the spider's webs which they weave;" the deadly hurt when they are received is signified by "he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and when one is crushed there breaketh out a viper."

[5] Because the Pharisees were such they are called by the Lord:

Serpents, a generation of vipers (Matthew 23:33).

That the craftiness and malice of such can do no harm to those whom the Lord protects is signified by the following in Isaiah:

The suckling shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den (Isaiah 11:8).

The "suckling" and the "weaned child" signify those who are in the good of innocence, that is, those who are in love to the Lord; and "the hole of the adder" and the "basilisk's den" mean the hells in which are deceitful and crafty spirits, and the entrances into these appear like gloomy holes, and within they are like dens.

[6] That the craft and malice of infernal spirits can do no harm to those whom the Lord protects is signified also by these words of the Lord:

That the disciples would have power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

Also that they would have power to take up serpents, and to drink any deadly thing, and it would not hurt them (Mark 16:18).

"To tread on serpents" signifies to despise and make light of the deceits, craft, and wicked arts of the infernal crew; therefore it is added, "and over all the power of the enemy;" "the enemy" is that crew, and "his power" its craftiness.

[7] The malice and craftiness of infernal spirits, who, taken together, are called "the devil" and "Satan," are also meant by "serpents" in the following passages. In Moses:

Jehovah God led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion (Deuteronomy 8:15).

The journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness represented and thence signified the temptations of the faithful; the infestations at such times from the hells by evil spirits and genii are signified by "serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions."

[8] In Isaiah:

Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smiteth thee is broken; for from the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, whose fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent (Isaiah 14:29).

"Philistia" signifies faith separate from charity; the misleading of many by the sophistries by which that faith is confirmed is signified by "from the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, whose fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." In Jeremiah:

Behold I send among you serpents, basilisks, against which there shall be no charm, and they shall bite you (Jeremiah 8:17).

The voice thereof shall go like that of a serpent (Jeremiah 46:22).

In Amos:

Although they hide themselves ¹ before My eyes in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent to bite them (Amos 9:3).

Craftiness is signified also in Isaiah by:

Leviathan the crooked serpent (Isaiah 27:1).

[9] That "serpents" signify craftiness, and also the prudence with sensual men, is evident from the words of the Lord in Matthew:

Be ye prudent as serpents and simple as doves (Matthew 10:18).

Those who are in good are called "prudent," and those who are in evil are called "crafty," for prudence is of truth from good, and craftiness is of falsity from evil; and as this was said to those who were in good, "serpents" here mean prudence.

[10] Because the craftiness of the evil is diabolical those who are in it are said "to eat the dust." In Moses:

It was said to the serpent, Be thou accursed above all beasts, and above all the wild beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (Genesis 3:14).

In Isaiah:

Dust shall be the serpent's bread (Isaiah 65:25).

And in Micah:

They shall lick the dust like a serpent (Micah 7:17);

"dust" signifying what is damned, and "to go upon the belly" signifying the sensual, which is the ultimate of life in man; and as this is the ultimate of life, it is in no intelligence or wisdom, but in craftiness and cunning, which are contrary to intelligence and wisdom.

[11] In Moses:

Dan shall be a serpent upon the way, an arrow serpent on the path, biting the horse's heels, and his rider ² shall fall backwards (Genesis 49:17).

What this prophecy respecting Dan signifies no one can know unless he knows what is signified by a "horse" and its "heels," also by a "serpent;" a "horse" signifies the understanding of truth, and a "rider" intelligence; a "serpent" signifies the sensual, which is the ultimate of the intellectual life; "the heels of a horse" signify truths in ultimates, which are sensual knowledges; that the sensual by means of reasonings from fallacies, does harm to and leads astray the understanding is signified by "the serpent biteth the horse's heels and his rider shall fall backwards." This is said of Dan, because the tribe named from him was the last of the tribes, and thence signified the last things (ultimates) of truth and good, consequently the ultimates of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 1710, 3923, 6396, 10335, where this prophecy is explained).

[12] The sensual, which is the ultimate of the intellectual life, is signified also by:

The stretched-serpent (Isaiah 27:1; Job 26:13);

also by:

The serpent into which the rod of Moses was changed (Exodus 4:3, 4; 7:9-12).

(See Arcana Coelestia 6949, 7293.) Again, sensual things which are the ultimates of man's life are signified by:

The fiery serpents sent among the people who wished to return to Egypt (Numbers 21:6);

while the healing of the bite of such serpents by the Lord's Divine sensual is signified by:

The brazen serpent set upon a standard, by looking upon which they revived (Numbers 21:5-9).

The expression, the Lord's Divine sensual, is used, because the Lord when He was in the world glorified, that is, made Divine, His whole Human even to its ultimates, as can be seen from the fact that He left nothing in the sepulcher, and that He said to the disciples:

That He hath bones and flesh, which a spirit doth not have (Luke 24:39, 40).

The ultimate sensual, which was also glorified or made Divine by the Lord, is signified by that "brazen serpent" set upon a standard, respecting which the Lord Himself thus spake in John:

As Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:14, 15).

The Lord was represented before the Israelitish and Jewish people by such a sign, because they were merely sensual, and the sensual man in looking to the Lord is unable to elevate his thought beyond and above the sensual; for everyone looks to the Lord according to the elevation of his understanding, the spiritual man looking to the Divine rational, and so on. This makes evident that "the brazen serpent" signifies also the sensual, but the glorified or Divine sensual of the Lord.

Footnotes: