709. The name Jehovah is used because the topic under consideration is charity. 1
In the last chapter, from verse 9 to the end, the name used is not Jehovah but God, because the subject there was the preparation of "Noah" — in other words, the people of the church called Noah — in respect to their intellectual possessions, which have to do with faith. 2 Here, however, the subject is their preparation as to the contents of the will, which are a matter of love. When ideas in the intellect are under consideration, or in other words, the truth that faith discloses, the name God is used. When the intent of the will is under consideration, or in other words, the good effects of love, the name Jehovah is used. It is not the concerns of the intellect or matters of faith that constitute religion, you see, but the concerns of the will or matters of love. Jehovah is present in our love and charity, not in our faith, unless our faith is a result of love or charity. For this reason the Word compares faith to the night but love to the day. Genesis 1 is an example, where in talking about the great lights it says that the greater light — the sun, symbolizing love — rules by day and the smaller one — the moon, symbolizing faith — rules by night (Genesis 1:14, 16). 3 Something similar occurs in the prophets, in Jeremiah 31:35; 33:20; Psalms 136:8-9; and in the Book of Revelation 8:12.
Footnotes:
1. This passage is reminiscent of Kabbalistic teachings that the names of God reflect different aspects of the divine nature. The name יהוה (YHVH), "Yahweh" or "Jehovah," is associated with the merciful aspect of the divine; אֱלֹהִים ('ĕlōhîm), "God," with the severe aspect (Gikatilla 1994, 248). Here Swedenborg associates Jehovah with charity, Elohim with faith. [RS]
2. For a summary of changes preparatory to rebirth in the people called "Noah," see §§600-604, 608-609. [LHC]
3. For a discussion of these verses, see §§30-36 above. [RS]
