Arcana Coelestia #4815
4815. 'That Judah went down from his brothers' means the descendants of Jacob, in particular the tribe of Judah which was separated from the rest. This is clear from the representation of 'Judah' in the universal sense as the descendants of Jacob, and in a particular sense as the tribe called the tribe of Judah; and from the meaning of 'going down from his brothers' as being separated from the rest of the tribes, here as a departure into evil worse than theirs. 'Going down' implies a decline into evil, since 'going up' implies a lifting up to what is good, 3084, 4539. The reason for this is, as also stated already, that the land of Canaan represented the Lord's kingdom, and Jerusalem and Zion in that land the inmost part of this kingdom. But the regions outside the boundaries of that land represented things outside the Lord's kingdom, namely falsity and evil. Consequently the expression 'to go down' was used when going from Zion and Jerusalem towards the boundaries of the land, but 'to go up' when going from the boundaries towards Jerusalem and Zion. This is why 'going up' implies a lifting up to truth and goodness, and 'going down' a decline into falsity and evil. As the reference here is to the falsity and evil into which the tribe of Judah declined, the expression 'Judah went down' is used, and after that 'he turned aside to a man, an Adullamite', 'turning aside' meaning that it declined into falsity and then into evil.
[2] It is well known that the tribe of Judah was separated from the rest of the tribes. The reason for the separation was so that the tribe might represent the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the rest of the tribes His spiritual kingdom. This being so, Judah also describes, in the representative sense, the celestial man, and in the universal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom, 3654, 3881. The rest of the tribes however were referred to by the single term 'the Israelites', for in the representative sense Israel describes the spiritual man, and in the universal sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom, 3654, 4286.
[3] The decline of the tribe of Judah into evil worse than that of the rest is the particular meaning of these words - 'and Judah went down from his brothers, and turned aside'. The departure of the tribe of Judah into evil worse than that of the rest is clear from many places in the Word, in particular in the Prophets, as in Jeremiah,
Her treacherous sister Judah saw when, because of all the ways in which estranged Israel committed adultery, I sent her away and gave her a decree of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she also went and committed whoredom, so much so that with the voice of her whoredom she profaned the land; she committed adultery with stone and wood. Yet for all this treacherous Judah has not returned to Me. Estranged Israel has justified her soul more than treacherous Judah. Jeremiah 3:7-11.
And in Ezekiel,
Her sister did indeed see, yet she corrupted her own love more than she, and her own acts of whoredom beyond her sister's acts of whoredom. Ezekiel 23:11-end.
These, in addition to many others elsewhere, are references to Jerusalem and Samaria, that is, to the tribe of Judah and the tribes of Israel.
[4] Described in the internal sense of this chapter is the way in which that tribe sank into falsity, and from this into evil, and at length into that which was wholly idolatrous. This, it is true, is described in the internal sense even before that tribe was separated from the rest and before it came to be as mentioned above. But that which is contained in the internal sense is Divine, and to the Divine future things are also present ones. See what was foretold about that nation in Deuteronomy 31:16-21; 32:15-43.
Ezekiel 23:11-49
11
And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12
She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13
Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14
And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,
15
Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
16
And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
18
So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
19
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20
For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21
Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
22
There, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
23
The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
24
And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
25
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
26
They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
27
Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
28
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:
29
And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
30
I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
31
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.
32
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.
33
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
34
Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
35
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
36
The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
37
That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
38
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
39
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
40
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
41
And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
42
And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43
Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
44
Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
45
And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
46
For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
47
And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
48
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
49
And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
