1000. The symbolism of soul as life is established by the symbolism of the soul in many passages of the Word. 1 In the Word, soul in general symbolizes all life, both inward life (or that of the inner self) and outward life (or that of the outer self). Since it symbolizes all life, it also symbolizes the specific kind of life possessed by the people to whom it is attributed. Here it is used in connection with the life that a regenerate person has, which is separate from the person's will. As noted earlier, the new life that a spiritual person who has been reborn receives from the Lord is completely separate from human will or human autonomy [§§730:1; 731; 848; 933:2, 3]. That is to say, it is completely separate from the person's own life, which is not life (although that is what it is called) but death, because it is the life of hell. So in the present verse, the flesh in its soul that they were not to eat means flesh together with its soul. That is, they were not to mingle this new life, which is the Lord's, with the evil, unsavory life that is a human being's. In other words, they were not to mingle the new life with human will, or human selfhood.
Footnotes:
1. For other passages in which Swedenborg discusses the meaning of the word "soul" in Scripture, see §§2930, 7021; see also note 2 in §1005. The connection between the soul and life in the Bible is even closer than Swedenborg indicates. The most common word for "soul" in the Hebrew Bible is נֶפֶשׁ (neṕeš), and נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה (neṕeš ḥayyā; literally, "living soul") denotes living beings in general (see Brown, Driver, and Briggs 1996, page 659 right column, under נֶפֶשׁ [neṕeš], Strong's 5315, definition 2). In the Greek of the New Testament, ψυχή (psyché) frequently denotes "soul" and "life" almost indistinguishably. See Luke 9:24, where the word is generally translated "life," but could be understood as "soul": "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it" (New Revised Standard Version). See also Matthew 2:20; 6:25; 10:39; 20:28; Mark 3:4; 8:35; 10:45; Luke 6:9; 12:22-23; 14:26; 17:33; John 10:11, 15, 17; 12:25; 13:37-38; 15:13; Acts 20:10, 24; 27:22; Romans 11:3; 16:4; Philippians 2:30. [RS, JSR]
