9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

2812. And he laid the wood in order. That this signifies the righteousness which was adjoined to it, is evident from the signification of the “wood of a burnt-offering,” as being the merit of righteousness (see above, n. 2784, 2798); and from the signification of “laying the wood in order upon the altar,” as being to adjoin that righteousness to the Human Divine. The merit of righteousness is adjoined when it is there, and when there is confidence from truth that it belongs to Him.

5045. Gave into Joseph’s hand all the bound ones that were in the prison house. That this signifies from Himself over all falsities, namely, truth governing in a state of temptations, is evident from the signification of “giving into Joseph’s hand,” as being into his power, the “hand” being power (see n. 5008); thus meaning that it was from Himself, for what is effected from His power is effected from Himself-by “Joseph” being meant in the internal sense the Lord, as often shown above; and from the signification of the “bound ones in the prison house,” as being falsities (as shown above, n. 5037, 5038). Thus by “the prince of the prison gave into Joseph’s hand all the bound ones that were in the prison house,” is signified truth governing in a state of temptations from Himself over all falsities; that is, that the truth by which He governed falsities in a state of temptations was from Himself. Here, and in what follows to the end of this chapter, in the internal sense the subject treated of is the Lord, how He from His own power governed in a state of temptations, that is, overcame the hells, which were in evils and falsities and were continually pouring them into mankind. That the Lord by His own power overcame and subdued the hells, and thus glorified or made Divine the Human in Himself, may be seen above (n. 1616, 1749, 1755, 1813, 1904, 1914, 1921, 1935, 2025, 2026, 2083, 2159, 2574, 2786, 2795, 3036, 3381, 3382, 4075, 4286, 5005). This is evident from many passages in the Word, as from this in John:

I lay down My soul, that I may take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (John 10:17-18

That the passion of the cross was the last of the temptations, and that by it the Lord fully glorified the Human in Himself, that is, made it Divine, is also plain from many passages in the Word, as in John 13:31-32; 17:1, 5; Luke 24:26.