2. En las partes proféticas de la Palabra se hace mención frecuentemente al caballo, pero hasta ahora nadie ha sabido que "un caballo" significa el entendimiento, y su "jinete" el que es inteligente; y esto, posiblemente porque parece extraño y maravilloso que "un caballo" quiera decir tal cosa en el sentido espiritual, y por ello en la Palabra. Pero sin embargo, que esto es así se puede evidentemente aparecer por muchos pasajes de ella, de los cuales sólo referiré aquí algunos. En la profecía de Israel, se dice de Dan:

“Será Dan serpiente junto al camino, víbora junto a la senda, que muerde los cascos del caballo, de modo que cae su jinete hacia atrás” (Génesis 49:17-18).

Nadie puede entender lo que significa esta profecía respecto de una de las tribus de Israel si no conoce lo que significan "serpiente", "caballo", y su "jinete”. Sin embargo, todos saben que aquí está oculto un sentido espiritual; que por lo mismo lo que toda expresión significa, puede verse en la obra Arcanos Celestiales (ns. 6398, 6399, 6400, 6401), en donde está explicada esta profecía.

En Habacuc:

“Dios…para que cabalgues sobre tus caballos, sobre tus carros de salvación… Tú marchas sobre el mar con tus caballos” (Habacuc 3:8, 15).

Que "caballos" significa aquí lo que es espiritual es evidente, porque se trata de Dios. De otro modo ¿que podrían significar esas palabras? diciendo que "Dios cabalga en sus caballos, y que anda sobre el mar con los caballos. "

En Zacarías:

“En aquel día habrán sobre las campanillas de los caballos el rótulo “Santidad a Jehovah” (Zacarías 14:20).

En el mismo:

“En aquel día dice Jehovah: heriré a todo caballo de aturdimiento, y a su jinete de locura; pues que sobre la casa de Jehovah abriré compasivo mis ojos, y heriré de ceguera a todos los caballos de los pueblos” (Zacarías 12:4-5).

Aquí se trata de la devastación de la iglesia, la que tiene lugar cuando ya no queda entendimiento de ninguna verdad; y lo que se describe que acontecerá “al caballo y su jinete”, es también lo que significa “herir a todo caballo con aturdimiento”, y “herir a todos los caballos de los pueblos con ceguera. ” ¿Qué tiene en común todo esto con la iglesia?

En Job:

“…porque Dios le ha privado de sabiduría, y no le dio entendimiento. Cuando bate las alas a su tiempo, levantadas en alto, se ríe del caballo y su jinete. (Job 39:17, 18, 19 e seg).

Es muy evidente que "el caballo" aquí significa el entendimiento.

De la misma manera en David, cuando dice:

“Jehovah cabalga sobre la palabra de verdad” (Salmos 45:4).

Y en muchos otros pasajes. Además, ¿quién puede conocer la razón por qué fueron llamados Elías y Eliseo "el carro de Israel y el jinetes en él”, y por qué "el criado de Elías vio la montaña llena de caballos y carros de fuego", si no se conoce lo que se entiende por “carros” y lo que se representa por "Elías y Eliseo”? Porque Eliseo dijo a Elías:

“¡Padre mío! ¡Padre mío! Carros de Israel y su caballería!” (2 Reyes 2:11, 12).

Y el rey Joás dijo a Eliseo:

“¡Padre mío!¡Padre mío!¡Carro de Israel y sus caballeros!” (2 Reyes 13:14).

Y, hablando del criado de Eliseo, se dice:

“Jehovah abrió los ojos del mozo, y vio:¡y he aquí que el cerro estaba lleno de caballos y carros de fuego en derredor de Eliseo!” (2 Reyes 6:17).

La razón por la que Elías y Eliseo fueron llamados "carro de Israel y sus caballería” es porque ambos representaban al Señor como la Palabra, y "un carro" significa la doctrina de la Palabra, y “hombres a caballo” o “jinetes” significan inteligencia. Que “Elías” y “Eliseo” representaban al Señor como la Palabra, puede verse en los Arcanos celestiales (ns. 5247, 7643, 8029, 9327). Y que "carros" significa doctrina según la Palabra, (ns. 5321, 8215).

3021. 'Put now your hand under my thigh' means being bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power, dealt with in 878, and from the meaning of 'the thigh' as the good of conjugial love, dealt with in what follows. A binding of this good to that power is indeed the meaning, as is clear from the consideration that those who were bound by an obligation to carry out some matter connected with conjugial love put their hand, according to ancient custom, under the thigh of the one to whom they were so bound, and in so doing swore by him. This was done because 'the thigh' meant conjugial love, and 'the hand' power, or the full extent of whatever one's capability might be. For all parts of the human body correspond to spiritual and celestial things in the Grand Man, which is heaven, as shown in 2996, 2998, and will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown more extensively later on. The thighs themselves, together with the loins, correspond to conjugial love. Those things were well known to the most ancient people, and for that reason so many customs came down from them, including that of putting their hands under the thigh when being bound by an obligation to carry out something connected with the good of conjugial love. Their knowledge of such things, which was valued most highly by the ancients, and belonged among the chief things that constituted their knowledge and intelligence, is totally lost today, so much so that not even the existence of any such correspondence is known, and for this reason people will probably be astounded that such things are meant by that custom. Here, because the subject is the betrothal of Isaac his son to another member of Abraham's family, and the oldest servant was called on to perform that task, this custom was therefore followed.

[2] It has been stated that 'the thigh', because of its correspondence, means conjugial love, and this may also be seen from other places in the Word, for example, from the procedure to be followed when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery, in Moses,

The priest shall make the woman take the oath of a curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, Jehovah will make you a curse and an oath in the midst of your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh fall away and your belly swell. When he has made her drink the water, then it will happen, if she has defiled herself and committed a trespass against her husband, that the water causing the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse in the midst of her people. Numbers 5:21, 27.

'The falling away of the thigh' means the evil of conjugial love, which is adultery. Every other detail in the same procedure had some specific meaning, so that not even the smallest detail fails to embody something, though anyone reading the Word who has no concept of its sacredness will wonder why such things are included there. It is because 'the thigh' means the good of conjugial love that the expression 'those coming out of the thigh' is used frequently, as in a reference to Jacob,

Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will go out from your thighs. Genesis 35:11.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt, who came out of his thigh. Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5.

And in a reference to Gideon, Gideon had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh. Judges 8:30.

[3] Since 'the thigh' and 'the loins' mean the things that belong to conjugial love they also mean those that belong to love and charity, the reason being that conjugial love underlies every other kind of love, see 686, 2733, 2737-2739. These all have the same source - the heavenly marriage - which is a marriage of good and truth, regarding which see 2727-2759. For 'the thigh' means the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, as may be seen from the following places: In John,

He who sat on the white horse had on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Word, and so the Lord, who is the Word, see 2760-2762. 'Robe' means Divine Truth, 2576, and for that reason He is called 'King of kings', 3009. From this it is evident what 'the thigh' means, namely the Divine Good which flows from His love, on account of which He is also named 'Lord of lords', 3004-3011. And this being the Lord's essential nature, it is said that He had a name written on His robe and on His thigh, for 'name' means essential nature, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006.

[4] In David,

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your glory and honour! Psalms 45:3.

This refers to the Lord. 'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 'thigh' for the good of love. 'Girding the sword on the thigh' means that the truth which He was to use in the fight was allied to the good of love. In Isaiah,

Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isaiah 11:5.

This too refers to the Lord. Because 'righteousness' has reference to the good that flows from love, 2235, it is called 'the girdle of His loins', while 'truth' because it comes from good, is called 'the girdle of His thighs'. Thus 'loins' is used in reference to the love within good, and 'thighs' to the love within truth.

[5] In the same prophet'

None will be weary, and none will stumble in Him. He will not slumber nor sleep. Nor has the girdle of His thighs been loosed, nor the thong of His shoes torn away. Isaiah 5:27.

This refers to the Lord. 'The girdle of His thighs' stands, as above, for the love within truth. In Jeremiah Jehovah told the prophet to buy a linen girdle and put it over his loins but not dip it in water. He was then told to go away to the Euphrates and hide it in a cleft of the rock. When he went back at a later time to retrieve it from that place it was spoiled, Jeremiah 13:1-7. 'A linen girdle' stands for truth, but the placing of it over his loins was representative of the fact that truth was the outward expression of good. Anyone may see that these actions are representative. Their meaning however cannot be known except from correspondences, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with at the ends of certain chapters further on.

[6] It is similar with the meaning of the things seen by Ezekiel, Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar: Ezekiel saw,

Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man (Homo) upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about. From the appearance of His loins and upwards, and from the appearance of His loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it like the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud on the day of rain; so was the appearance of the brightness round about, thus was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of Jehovah. Ezekiel 1:26-28.

This scene was clearly representative of the Lord and His kingdom. 'The appearance of His loins upwards and the appearance, of His loins downwards' is descriptive of His love, as is evident from the meaning of 'fire' as love, 934, and from the meaning of 'brightness' and of 'the rainbow' as wisdom and intelligence from that love, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] Daniel saw,

A man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and whose body was like tarshish, ¹ and whose face was like the appearance of lightning and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet were like the shine of burnished bronze. Daniel 10:5-6.

What each of these expressions means - the loins, the body, the face, the eyes, the arms, and the feet - does not become clear to anyone except from representations and correspondences involved in these. From these it is evident that in what Daniel saw the Lord's heavenly kingdom was represented, in which Divine Love constitutes the loins, and 'the gold of Uphaz' with which He was girded, the good resulting from wisdom that is grounded in love, 113, 1551, 1552.

[8] In Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was fine gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet partly iron, partly clay, Daniel 2:32-33. This statue represented consecutive states of the Church. The head of gold represented the first state, which was celestial because it was a state of love to the Lord; the breast and arms of silver represented the second state, which was spiritual because it was a state of charity towards the neighbour; the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third state, which was a state of natural good meant by 'bronze', 425, 1551 - natural good being love or charity towards the neighbour as this exists on a lower level than spiritual good - while the feet of iron and clay were the fourth state, which was a state of natural truth meant by 'iron', 425, 426, and also a state involving complete lack of cohesion with good, which is meant by 'clay'.

From all this one may see what is meant by the thighs and loins, namely conjugial love primarily, and from this love every genuine kind of love, as is evident from the places quoted and also from Genesis 32:25, 31-32; Isaiah 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Psalms 69:23; Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35-36. The thighs and loins also mean in the contrary sense those loves that are the reverse of conjugial love and all genuine loves, namely self-love and love of the world, 1 Kings 2:5-6; Isaiah 32:10-11; Jeremiah 30:6; 48:37; Ezekiel 29:7; Amos 8:10.

Footnotes:

2737. With those who live in conjugial love the interior parts of the mind are open through heaven even to the Lord, for that love flows in from the Lord through that which is inmost in man. From this influx of that love they have the Lord's kingdom within them, and from it they have genuine love towards little children, for the sake of the Lord's kingdom. From that influx also they are receptive of heavenly loves more than anybody else, and with them more than anybody else mutual love is present, for mutual love flows from conjugial love as a stream from its source.