238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

Voetnoten:

3923. 'Therefore she called his name Dan' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature is contained in the name Dan, for he was so called from the verb 'to judge'. But although he was given this name from that verb, it nevertheless includes those things meant in the whole of Rachel's utterance 'God has judged me, and also has heard my voice'. That is, the name Dan holds within it the good of life and the holiness of faith, and also in the highest sense the Lord's righteousness and mercy. This general essential of the Church is meant by Dan and represented by the tribe named after Dan, and it is the first that has to be affirmed and acknowledged before a person can be regenerated or become the Church. Unless such goodness and holiness are affirmed and acknowledged, all the other qualities constituting faith and life cannot possibly be received, nor therefore affirmed, still less acknowledged. For anyone whose affirmation does not go beyond faith to the holiness of faith, which is charity - for charity is the holiness of faith - and does not affirm that holiness of faith through the good of life, that is, through charitable works, can no longer have any enthusiasm for the essence of faith since he rejects it. Acknowledgement as well as affirmation is the first general attainment in a person who is being regenerated but the last with one who has been regenerated. This explains why Dan comes first with one who is to be regenerated and Joseph last, for Joseph is the spiritual man himself, but why Joseph comes first with one who has been regenerated and Dan last. The reason for this is that one who is to be regenerated is at the point of beginning to affirm that these qualities - the holiness of faith and the good of life - are truly such. But one who is regenerate - a spiritual man - has arrived at spiritual good itself, and from here he sees the affirmation of those qualities as that which comes last, because the things that constitute the holiness of faith and the good of life have become firmly established in him.

[2] That 'Dan' means this affirmative attitude which must exist first when a person is being regenerated may also be seen from other places in the Word where Dan is mentioned, for example from the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel, concerning his own sons, Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent on the road, an asp on the path, biting the horse's heels; and its rider falls backwards. I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah. Genesis 49:16-18.

'Dan' in this case stands for an affirmative attitude to truth. This attitude is spoken of as a serpent which will be on the road and an asp on the path when someone reasoning about truth does so from sensory evidence. 'Biting the horse's heels' means when that person resorts to the lowest level of the understanding - namely factual knowledge - and bases his conclusions on this. And the fact that when he does so he is drawn away from the truth is meant by 'its rider falls backwards', as a consequence of which it is said that 'I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah'. For 'a serpent' means one who reasons from sensory evidence and from factual knowledge about Divine arcana, see 195-197; 'road' and 'path' mean truth, 627, 2333; 'the horse's heels' means the lowest level of the understanding, which is factual knowledge, 259 - 'a horse' meaning the understanding, 2761, 2762, the lowest level of which is meant by 'the heel'.

[3] In Moses' prophecy regarding the twelve tribes,

To Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp; he leaps out from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22.

'A lion' in the internal sense of the Word means the truth of the Church, on account of its strength, truth being that which fights and overcomes. 'A lion's whelp' therefore stands for the first stage truth passes through, which is one of affirmation and acknowledgement. The phrase 'from Bashan' is used because these begin in the good of the natural. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long are you causing your iniquitous thoughts to lodge within you? For there is a voice of one declaring from Dan, and of one causing iniquity to be heard from Mount Ephraim. Jeremiah 4:14-15.

'From Dan' stands for truth that is to be affirmed, 'from Mount Ephraim' for this being done from the affection for it.

[4] In the same prophet,

Await peace, and no good comes; for a time of healing, and behold, terror! From Dan the snorting of his horses was heard; at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land quaked. And they came and devoured the land and the fulness of it, the city and those dwelling in it. For behold, I am sending into you poisonous serpents which do not respond to charming; and they will bite you. Jeremiah 8:15-17.

'From Dan the snorting of horses was heard' stands for reasoning about truth from an unaffirmative attitude. 'The land which quaked' and 'they devoured the fulness of it' stand for the Church and all things constituting the Church. For people who reason about truth from an unaffirmative or negative attitude destroy everything that is part of faith. 'Poisonous serpents' stands for reasonings, as above.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan came and exchanged wrought iron at your fairs, cassia and calamus were in your trading. Ezekiel 27:19.

This refers to Tyre, which means cognitions of truth and good, 1201. 'Dan' stands for the first truths that are affirmed, 'fairs and tradings' for acquisitions of truth and good, 2967, 'wrought iron' stands for natural truth, which is primary, 425, 426, 'cassia and calamus' for the same, but natural truth from which good flows.

[6] In Amos,

On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Those swearing to the offence of Samaria, who say, Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives, they will both fall and not rise again. Amos 8:13-14.

'Your God lives, O Dan, and the way of Beersheba lives' stands for their negative attitude towards everything that constitutes faith and its doctrine - 'way' meaning truth, 627, 2333, and 'Beersheba' doctrine, 2723, 2858, 2859, 3466. The reason a negative attitude towards everything constituting faith is meant is that Dan was the last boundary of the land of Canaan, and Beersheba the first; that is, it was situated in the middle or inmost part of the land. For the land of Canaan represented and meant the Lord's kingdom, and so the Church, 1607, 3038, 3481, and therefore every detail of love and faith, since these constitute the Lord's kingdom and Church. Consequently everything in the land of Canaan was representative, being determined by the distances, positions, and boundaries there, 1585, 1866, 3686.

[7] The first - that is, the central or inmost - point of reference to the land, before Jerusalem became such, was Beersheba; for this was where Abraham and also Isaac lived. But the outermost point of reference or the last boundary was Dan. Consequently when everything in its entirety was meant the phrase 'Dan even to Beersheba' was used, as in the second Book of Samuel,

To transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 3:10:.

In the same book,

David said to Joab, Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Samuel 24:2, 15.

In the first Book of Kings,

Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba. 1 Kings 4:25.

This phrase is used in the historical sense to mean every part of the land of Canaan, but in the internal sense everything constituting the Lord's kingdom, and also everything constituting the Church.

[8] Dan means the first boundary, and also - as stated above - the last boundary, for the reason that the affirmative attitude towards truth and good is the first requirement of all when faith and charity begin to be present in a person, but the last when charity and consequently faith are established in him. This is also why the last lot fell to Dan when the land of Canaan was divided up for inheritance, Joshua 19:40 and following verses; for the lot was cast before Jehovah, Joshua 18:6.

[9] That lot fell therefore according to what each tribe represented. And since the lot to Dan did not fall among the inheritances of all the other tribes but beyond their boundaries, Judges 18:1, that tribe was also left out of the description in John, in Revelation 7:5-8, concerning each twelve thousand who had been sealed. For those who merely affirm truth and also good, but go no further, are not within the Lord's kingdom, that is, among those who have been sealed. Even very wicked people may know truths and goods, and may also affirm them; but the true nature of their affirming is recognized from the life they lead.

[10] Dan is also referred to as a boundary in Genesis 14:14, in which verse it is said that Abraham pursued his enemies as far as there, and in which verse Dan has a similar meaning. The city called Dan, it is true, had yet to be built by Dan's descendants at a later time, Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:29; but even at that time it was referred to as the first boundary when one was entering the land of Canaan but the last when one was leaving it, the inmost part of the land being Hebron, and later on Beersheba, where Abraham and Isaac lived.