3306. And Isaac was a son of sixty years when she bare them. That this signifies the state of the Divine rational at that time, is evident from what has been said above concerning numbers (n. 3252, 3275). But what the number “sixty” involves may be seen from the simple numbers of which it is composed, namely, five and twelve, for five times twelve are sixty; what “five” signifies may be seen above (n. 649, 1686); and what “twelve” (n. 3272). It is composed also of six and ten, for six times ten are sixty. What “six” signifies may be seen above (n. 720, 737, 900); and what “ten” (n. 576, 2284, 3107). It is composed also of two and thirty, for twice thirty are sixty. What “two” signifies may be seen above (n. 720, 900, 1335, 1686); and what “thirty” (n. 2276). As the number “sixty” is composed of these simple numbers, it involves the things signified by them in their order, all of which signify the state in which the Lord’s Divine rational then was. These things are manifest before the angels in clear light from the Lord; but before man, especially one who believes that no arcanum is concealed in the numbers mentioned in the Word, they cannot be unfolded; both on account of his incredulity, and also because so many contents cannot be reduced into a series suitable to man’s apprehension.

720. That “pairs” signify things relatively profane, is evident from the signification of the number “two.” A “pair” or “two” not only signifies marriage (and is, when predicated of the heavenly marriage, a holy number), but it also signifies the same as “six.” That is to say, as the six days of labor are related to the seventh day of rest, or the holy day, so is the number “two” related to “three;” and therefore the third day in the Word is taken for the seventh, and involves almost the same, on account of the Lord’s resurrection on the third day. And hence the Lord’s coming into the world, and in glory, and every coming of the Lord, is described equally by the “seventh” and by the “third” day. For this reason the two days that precede are not holy, but relatively are profane. Thus in Hosea:

Come and let us return unto Jehovah, for He hath wounded, and He will heal us; He hath smitten and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him (Hosea 6:1-2).

And in Zechariah:

It shall come to pass in all the land, saith Jehovah, that two parts therein shall be cut off and die, and the third shall be left therein; and I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined (Zechariah 13:8-9).

And that silver was most pure when purified seven times appears in Psalms 12:6; from all of which it is plain that as “seven” does not signify seven, but things that are holy, so by “pairs” are signified not pairs, but things relatively profane; and therefore the meaning is not that the unclean beasts, or evil affections, in comparison with the clean beasts, or good affections, were few in the proportion of two to seven, for the evils in man are far more numerous than the goods.