9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

7873. 'And on all the gods of Egypt I will make judgements' means their falsities which are to be damned. This is clear from the meaning of 'gods' as falsities, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'making judgements' as being damned, for to judge or to make judgements is to point either to life or to death; a judgement that points to life means salvation, one that points to death means damnation. The term 'gods' is used many times in the Word. When angels are called such, truths are meant, see 4295, 4402, 7268, and therefore in the contrary sense 'the gods of the nations' means falsities, 4402, 4544. The reason why truths are referred to as 'gods' is that truth emanates from God Himself and is in itself of God. Consequently those who receive that truth are called 'gods'. Not that they are gods; rather, the truth with them is of God. This explains why in the original language God is referred to by the plural noun Elohim. God Himself is Divine Goodness, but what emanates from Him is Divine Truth which fills the whole of heaven. So then, because 'god' means truth, falsity is meant by that word in the contrary sense.