1868. It would take too long to prove from the Word at this point that these nations symbolize such things, and there is no need to do it here, since the nations are merely named. Some of them have been discussed before. It was noted at §§567, 581, 1673, for instance, that the Rephaim symbolize persuasive lies; at §1680 that an Amorite symbolizes evil; above at verse 16 that a Canaanite symbolizes evil [§1857:1]; and at §1574 that a Perizzite symbolizes falsity. The specific symbolism of the other nations will be described later, by the Lord's divine mercy, where they come up. 1
[2] In regard to the "nations" that need to be banished from the Lord's kingdom, the case is this: In the other world, evil, diabolical spirits crave nothing more than to go up into the world of spirits and plague good spirits. But every time they do, they are thrown out. It is the same as in people who are regenerating: the falsity and evil that have taken possession of them are subdued and scattered and are replaced with the truth and goodness that belong to the Lord's kingdom. These evil influences were represented by the nations that the children of Jacob expelled from the land of Canaan, and likewise by the Jews themselves, who were driven out later. 2
[3] The same thing happened at one time to many other nations that represented similar influences. These included the Horites, driven from Mount Seir by Esau's descendants (as told in Deuteronomy 2:12, 22); the Avvim, driven off by the Caphtorim (as told in Deuteronomy 2:23); the Emim or Rephaim, driven off by the Moabites (as told in Deuteronomy 2:9, 10, 11); the Zamzummim, by the Ammonites (as told in Deuteronomy 2:19, 20, 21); and many others mentioned in the prophets. 3
Sacred Scripture, or the Word (Continued)
Footnotes:
1. Kadmonites are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. Kenites and Kenizzites are mentioned in Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles; but Secrets of Heaven, which does not extend beyond Exodus, does not treat the inner meaning of these people. For the symbolism of Hittites, see §§289, 1203:2, 2913, 3470:1, 6858. For that of Jebusites, see §6860. Swedenborg explains the symbolism of Girgashites in the previous section. [LHC]
2. For a list of the nations that the Israelites were commanded to expel from the land of Canaan, see Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 3:10; the biblical account records, however, that not all members of all those nations were expelled (1 Kings 9:20-21). The expulsion of the Jews from Palestine occurred through three major events: 1. the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 b.c.e., as a result of which the inhabitants were dispersed throughout the Middle East and absorbed into local populations (these are the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel;" see 2 Kings 17:8-23); 2. the relocation of much of the population of the southern kingdom of Judah to Babylon under the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587-586 b.c.e. (a number of these displaced persons were allowed to return by the Persian king Cyrus in 538 b.c.e. following his conquest of Babylon; see 2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 36:5-23; Ezra 1); and 3. the expulsion of practically the entire population of Judea by the Romans following the Jewish War of 66-73 c.e. After this point there was only an extremely small Jewish population in Palestine until the twentieth century. [RS]
3. For examples in the prophets of nations driven out of their own lands, see Isaiah 20; Jeremiah 48; 49; Ezekiel 16:53; 30:13-26; Amos 1:3-15; Zephaniah 2:4-7. [LSW]
