9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

3703. And He said, I am Jehovah the God of Abraham thy father. That this signifies the Lord, that from Him that good comes, is evident from the fact that Jehovah is the Divine being itself of the Lord, who from the Divine good is called “the God of Abraham.” (That Abraham represents the Lord as to the Divine good, may be seen above, n. 2172, 2198.) And because the Divine good is that from which are all celestial and spiritual goods, and derivatively all truths also, it is here said “Abraham the father,” and indeed, “thy father,” that is, the father of Jacob, when yet Isaac was his father. That in the internal sense “father” signifies good, is because good is that from which all things are in both general and particular, and truth is that through which they all come into manifestation; thus from the marriage of good and truth. Heaven itself, which consists of nothing else than the Divine marriage of good and truth, is from the Divine marriage of good and truth and of truth and good in the Lord.

[2] In universal nature also all things both in general and in particular have relation to good and truth; for there are represented in nature the celestial and spiritual goods and truths of heaven; and in heaven are represented the Divine goods and truths of the Lord. From this it is evident that good is like a father, and truth is like a mother; and that therefore in the internal sense of the Word by “father” is signified good, and by “mother,” truth, and indeed the good and truth from which the lower or derived goods and truths have their birth, which are relatively as daughters and sons, and therefore in the Word are also called “daughters” and “sons” (n. 489-491, 2362). They are also relatively as brothers and sisters, as grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as sons-in-law, mothers-in-law, and daughters-in-law; in a word, as kinships and connections in every degree, and this from the marriage of good, which is the father, with truth which is the mother. (That in the heavens all things in general and particular are circumstanced according to the relationships of love and faith in the Lord, or what is the same, of good and truth, may be seen above, n. 685, 917, 2739, 3612; and that on this account the most ancient people compared each and all things to marriage, n. 54, 55; see also n. 718, 747, 1432, 2508, 2516, 2524, 2556)

[3] That in the internal sense of the Word “father” signifies good, may be seen from many passages, as from the following.

In Isaiah:

Hearken to Me ye that regard righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah; look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged; look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and I will multiply him. For Jehovah will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah (Isaiah 51:1-3); where the subject is the Lord and His advent, as is evident from each particular; and who as to Divine truth is called a “rock” and a “pit”; and as to Divine good, “Abraham the father.” And as the Divine marriage of good and truth is represented by Abraham and Sarah (see n. 1468, 1901, 1965, 1989, 2011, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507, 2833, 2836, 2904, 3245, 3251, 3305), it is said, “Abraham your father and Sarah who bare you.” For this reason also it is said that they should “look unto the rock and unto the pit,” and also “to Abraham their father and unto Sarah”; and this is why there at once follow the words, “Jehovah will comfort Zion,” whereby is meant the celestial church (n. 2362), and “He will comfort her waste places, and make her wilderness like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah.”

[4] The same is signified by “Abraham” in other passages of the Word where he is called “father,” as in John:

Jesus said, I speak that which I have seen with My father; and ye do the things which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s sons ye would do the works of Abraham; Ye do the works of your father (John 8:38-39, (John 8:30, 41).

And in Matthew:

Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And lo the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down, and cast into the fire (Matthew 3:9-10).

And in Luke:

When the poor man Lazarus died, he was carried up by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died, and was buried; and when he was in hell he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom; and he cried and said, Father Abraham have mercy on me; I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house (Luke 16:22-24, 27).

In these passages it is evident that Abraham is not meant, but the Lord as to Divine good. (That Abraham is unknown in heaven, and that when mention is made of him from the Word, the Lord is understood, may be seen above, n. 1834, 1876, 1989, 3305)

[5] That in the internal sense “father” signifies good, may be seen from the following passages.

In Moses:

Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16).

That this precept, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, is true in both senses; and that in the internal sense “honoring father and mother” is to love good and truth, and in good and truth the Lord, may be seen above (n. 2609, 3690). That “days upon the land” are the consequent states of good in the Lord’s kingdom, is evident from the signification of “days,” as being states (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788); and from the signification of “Canaan,” which is here “the land,” as being the Lord’s kingdom (see n. 1607, 3038, 3481); and that “to belong” is predicated of good (n. 1613).

[6] Because of this signification of “father and mother,” in the representative Jewish Church many laws were enacted concerning parents and sons, in all of which in the internal sense is signified good and truth, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine good and Divine truth. As in Moses:

And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, dying he shall die. And he that curseth his father or his mother, dying he shall die (Exodus 21:15, 17).

Again:

Every man that hath cursed his father, or his mother, killing he shall be killed; he that hath cursed his father or his mother, his bloods shall be upon him (Leviticus 20:9).

And again:

Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother: and all the people shall say Amen (Deuteronomy 27:16).

In Ezekiel:

Behold the princes of Israel, every man according to his arm, have been in thee to shed blood; in thee have they set light by father and mother (Ezekiel 22:6-7).

In Moses:

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not obey them; then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of the city, and unto the gate of his place; and all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die (Deuteronomy 21:18-19, 21).

[7] In all these passages, in the sense of the letter, by “father and mother” are meant father and mother; but in the internal sense good and truth; and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine good and Divine truth; as also the Lord Himself teaches in Matthew:

Jesus stretched forth His hand upon His disciples, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren; for whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in the heavens, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother (Matthew 12:49).

And again:

Be not ye called Master; for one is your Master, Christ; but all ye are brethren. And call ye not your father on earth; for one is your Father, who is in the heavens (Matthew 23:8-9

it is not here forbidden to be called master, and to be called father on earth; but what is forbidden is to acknowledge at heart any other father than the Lord; that is, when mention is made of “master” and “father,” the Lord is to be understood, who in the supreme sense is represented by them; according to what was said above (n. 3702) concerning the most ancient people who were celestial men-that whatever they perceived on earth was to them a means of thinking concerning the Lord.

[8] The like is implied in what the Lord spake to one of His disciples, who said:

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father; but Jesus said unto him, Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:21-22);

for relatively to the Father in heaven, or to the Lord, a father on earth is as the dead to the living. Thus the very law concerning honoring parents is as it were dead, unless in it there are honor, worship, and love to the Lord; for that law descends from this Divine law; and hence comes that which is really living in that law; wherefore the Lord said, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.” The same is also signified by what Elijah said to Elisha:

Elijah passed by Elisha, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee? (1 Kings 19:19-20).

That by Elijah was represented the Lord, may be seen above

(preface to chapter 18 and n. 2762).

[9] In Malachi:

Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5-6).

In Luke, the angel said to Zacharias concerning his son John:

And he shall go before His face, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons (Luke 1:17);

Here it is manifest that by “fathers” and “sons” are not meant fathers and sons, but the goods and truths of the church, which the Lord was about to restore.

[10] In Malachi:

Jehovah will be magnified from over the border of Israel. A son shall honor his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is Mine honor? If I be a master, where is My fear? (Malachi 1:5-6); where “father” denotes those who are in the good of the church; and “master,” those who are in the truth of the church; “father” manifestly denoting the Lord as to Divine good; and “master,” or “lord,” as to Divine truth.

[11] In David:

My father and my mother have forsaken me, but Jehovah taketh me up (Psalms 27:10); where “father and mother” denote good and truth, which are said to have “forsaken” man when he takes note that of himself he is not able to do anything good, or to know anything true: that it is not to be understood as if David was forsaken by his father and mother is manifest.

[12] Again:

Thou art far fairer than the sons of men; the king’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is inwrought with gold. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth (Psalms 45:2, 13, 16); where the Lord is treated of; “instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons,” denotes that Divine truths shall be as Divine goods; the “king’s daughter” signifies the love of truth; the “clothing inwrought with gold” signifies the quality of this truth derived from good. Inasmuch as the subject here is the Lord and His Divine Human, as is evident from the whole psalm and the particulars in it, it is evident that each and all things therein have a like predication; thus that by the “king’s daughter” is not meant a king’s daughter, nor that her clothing was inwrought with gold, nor that instead of fathers should be her sons, nor that these should be princes in all the earth; but that Divine celestial and spiritual things are what are signified by each expression. (That “daughter” is affection or love, may be seen above, n. 490, 491, 2362; that “king” is Divine truth,, n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009; that “gold” is good, n. 113, 1551, 1552; that “inwrought” is predicated of natural memory-knowledge, n. 2831; here therefore of Divine natural truth; that “clothing” is such truths as invest good, n. 297, 2576; that “sons who are instead of fathers” signify truths of good, in this case Divine truths as Divine goods, n. 264, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 1729, 1733, 2159, 2623, 2803, 2813; that “princes in the whole earth” are the primary things of the Lord’s kingdom and church; that “princes” are primary things, n. 1482, 2089; that “earth” is the Lord’s kingdom and church, n. 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355)

[13] In Moses:

Jehovah had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you out of all peoples, as at this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and no longer harden your neck (Deuteronomy 10:15-16); where in the internal sense “fathers” denote the Ancient and Most Ancient Churches, which were so called from the love of good and truth in which they were; from the love of good the most ancient people who were celestial men, and from the love of truth the ancient, who were spiritual men. Their goods and truths in the church are what are called the “seed which God chose.” That Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and his twelve sons are not the fathers here meant, and that the Israelitish and Jewish people are not the seed, is very evident; but this is said of them and to them in order that the internal sense may have some outward form intelligible to man.

[14] In Isaiah:

The child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable. When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, Thou hast raiment, thou shalt be a prince unto us, he shall say, In my house is neither bread nor raiment, ye shall not make me a prince of the people (Isaiah 3:5-7); where in the internal sense the perverted state of the church is treated of, when truth is no longer acknowledged as truth, and it is not known what good is. A “man taking hold of his brother in the house of his father” denotes the acknowledging of everything to be good; “raiment” denotes truth (n. 1073, 2576); “prince,” the primary of doctrine therefrom (n. 1482, 2089); “there is no bread nor raiment in my house” denotes that there was neither good nor truth (that “bread” signifies good, see above, n. 276, 680, 3478; that “raiment” signifies truth, n. 297, 2576).

[15] From the representation of good and truth by father and mother, and also by daughters and sons, there were in the representative churches numerous laws which had from this what was Divine in them; as these which follow:

And the daughter of a priest, if she profane herself by committing whoredom, she profaneth her father, she shall be burned with fire (Leviticus 21:9); where the “daughter of a priest” denotes the affection of good; “father,” the good from which this affection is; “committing whoredom” denotes to profane good. (What is meant by “committing whoredom” may be seen above, n. 2466, 2729, 3399; and what by “profaning,” n. 1008, 1010, 1059, 2051, 3398, 3399.) Also, that if the daughter of a priest be a widow, or be divorced, and she has no seed, she shall return to the house of her father, as in her youth, and shall eat of the bread of her father; there shall no stranger eat thereof (Leviticus 22:13).

[16] Likewise this law:

When thou shalt see among the captives a wife of beautiful form, and thou hast a desire unto her, to take her to thee for a woman, then thou shalt bring her into the midst of thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails, and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall sit in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a month of days; and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt know her, and she shall be to thee for a woman (Deuteronomy 21:11-13).

All things in this law in both general and particular are representative of natural truth, in that after it has been purified from falsities it is adopted by good; such truth is signified by a “wife in captivity, beautiful in form”; purification from falsities is signified by “bringing her into the midst of the house, shaving her head, paring her nails, putting off the raiment of her captivity, and bewailing her father and mother”; adoption is signified by “afterwards going in unto her, knowing her, and taking her for a woman.”

[17] The laws we read of in the Word relating to marriages, that these were to be contracted within the tribe and the family; and also the laws of inheritances, that these were not to pass from tribe to tribe, also had their origin from the same source, namely, from the celestial and spiritual marriage in the Lord’s kingdom, or from the marriage of good and truth, which two are signified by “father and mother”; and in like manner the laws enacted concerning the degrees of consanguinity allowed and forbidden: each law in the Word that bears on these matters has reference inwardly to the law of consociation and conjunction of good and truth in heaven, and to the consociations of evil and falsity in hell, which are separate from the former. (Concerning the degrees allowed and forbidden see Leviticus 20; concerning inheritances, that they should not pass from tribe to tribe, and concerning marriages that they should be contracted within the tribe, see Numbers 27, verses 7-9; and in other places; that in the heavens all things in general and particular are disposed according to the consanguinities and affinities of good and truth, see above, n. 685, 917, 2739, 3612)

[18] Because the Israelitish people represented the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, and thus the heavenly order there, it was also commanded that they should be distinguished according to tribes, and according to families, and according to the houses of their fathers (Numbers 26); and also that according to this order they should measure out the camp around the tent of the congregation, and likewise that they should journey according to the same order, as is written in Moses:

Every man by his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers’ houses, over against the tent of the congregation shall the sons of Israel measure out the camp; and so also were they to go forward (Numbers 2:2, 34).

And therefore:

When Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, the spirit of God came upon him, and he uttered an enunciation, saying, How goodly are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, thy habitations, O Israel; as the valleys are they planted; as gardens by the river’s side (Numbers 24:5-6, etc.).

In this prophecy neither Jacob nor Israel is meant, but the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, and His church in the lands, which were represented by that order in which Balaam then saw them, as is manifest from the words therein.

[19] From what has been said it may also be known what is signified in the internal sense of the Word by “orphans,” that is by those who are without a father; namely, those who are in a state of innocence and charity, and desire to know and to do what is good, and are not able. In such a state especially are those out of the church, of whom the Lord takes care, and in the other life adopts as sons; and because these are signified by “orphans,” therefore when these are mentioned in the Word, in many passages there are also mentioned “sojourners” and “widows;” for by “sojourners” are signified those who are being instructed in goods and truths (n. 1463); and by “widows” those who are in a state of good and not so much in truth, and those who are in a state of truth and not so much in good, and yet desire to be therein. Inasmuch as by these three terms— “orphans,” “sojourners,” and “widows”—somewhat similar is signified in a series, therefore as before said, in many passages they are mentioned together (see Deuteronomy 14:29; 16:14; 24:17, 19; Jeremiah 7:6; 22:3; Ezekiel 22:7; Zech. 7:10; Psalms 9 4:6; 146:9). From what has been said it may now be seen what is signified in the genuine sense by “father,” namely, good; and that in the supreme sense it signifies the Lord.

[20] But as most expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has “father;” and in this sense it signifies evil; and in like manner “mother,” which in the genuine sense signifies truth, but in the opposite sense falsity. That this is so, may be seen from the following passages.

In David:

The iniquity of his fathers shall be remembered with Jehovah; and the sin of his mother shall not be blotted out (Psalms 109:14).

Again:

They turned back and dealt treacherously, like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow (Psalms 78:57).

In Moses:

And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity, in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them (Leviticus 26:39).

In Isaiah:

Prepare ye slaughter for his sons, for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up and possess the earth, and fill the face of the earth with cities (Isaiah 14:21).

Again:

I will recompense your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together (Isaiah 65:6-7).

[21] In Jeremiah:

The houses of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets; who say to wood, Thou art my father; and to stone, Thou hast begotten me; for they have turned their neck unto Me, and not the face (Jeremiah 2:26-27).

Again:

I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his companion; and they shall perish (Jeremiah 6:21).

Again:

The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle a fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18).

And in Ezekiel:

I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Therefore the fathers shall eat their sons, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds (Ezekiel 5:9-10);

speaking of the profanation of what is holy. Again:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem, Thy tradings and thy nativity are of the land of the Canaanite; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite (Ezekiel 16:3).

[22] In Matthew:

The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father his son; and the children shall rise up against parents, and shall put them to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake. I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:21-22, 35-37; Luke 12:49, 52-53).

Everyone that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29; Luke 18:29-30; Mark 10:29-30).

In Luke:

If any man cometh unto Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own soul also, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26).

[23] In Mark:

And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father his children; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death; for ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake (Mark 13:12-13; Luke 21:16-17);where the consummation of the age, and the state of the church, perverted as to good and truth, is described; in that evil will rise up against truth, and falsity against good. That in the opposite sense by “father” is signified evil, is manifest from the passages already adduced, and also from this in John:

Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, ye would love Me; for I went forth and am come from God. Ye are of your father the devil, and the desire of your father it is your will to do; he was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because the truth is not in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father thereof (John 8:42, 44).

2813. And bound Isaac his son. That this signifies the state of the Divine rational thus about to undergo as to truth the last degrees of temptation, is evident from the signification of “binding,” and also of “Isaac his son.” That to “bind” is to put on the state for undergoing the last degrees of temptation, is evident from the fact that he who is in a state of temptation is no otherwise than as bound or chained. That “Isaac the son” is the Lord’s Divine rational, here as to truth, may be seen above (n. 2802, 2803). All the genuine rational consists of good and truth. The Lord’s Divine rational as to good could not suffer, or undergo temptations; for no genius or spirit inducing temptations can come near to Good Divine, as it is above all attempt at temptation. But Truth Divine bound was what could be tempted; for there are fallacies, and still more falsities, which break in upon and thus tempt it; for concerning Truth Divine some idea can be formed, but not concerning Good Divine except by those who have perception, and are celestial angels. It was Truth Divine which was no longer acknowledged when the Lord came into the world, and therefore it was that from which the Lord underwent and endured temptations. Truth Divine in the Lord is what is called the “Son of man,” but Good Divine is what is called the “Son of God.” Of the “Son of man” the Lord says many times that He was to suffer, but never of the Son of God. That He says this of the Son of man, or of Truth Divine, is evident in Matthew:

Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered, unto the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn Him, and shall deliver Him unto the Gentiles to mock and to scourge, and to crucify (Matthew 20:18-19).

Jesus said to His disciples, Behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners (Matthew 26:45).

In Mark:

Jesus began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

It is written of the Son of man, that He shall suffer many things, and be set at nought. And the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; but when He is killed He shall rise again on the third day (Mark 9:12, 31).

Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him unto the Gentiles, and they shall mock Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again (Mark 10:33-34).

The hour is come; behold the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners (Mark 14:41).

In Luke:

The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again (Luke 9:22, 44).

We go up to Jerusalem, where all the things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished; He shall be delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully entreated, and spit upon, and they shall scourge and kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again (Luke 18:31-33).

The angel said to the women, Remember what He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again (Luke 24:6-7).

[2] In all these places by the “son of man” is meant the Lord as to Truth Divine, or as to the Word in its internal sense, which was rejected by the chief priests and scribes, was shamefully entreated, scourged, spit upon, and crucified, as may be clearly evident from the fact that the Jews applied and arrogated everything to themselves according to the letter, and were not willing to know anything about the spiritual sense of the Word, and about the heavenly kingdom, believing that the Messiah was to come to raise up their kingdom above all the kingdoms of the earth, as they also believe at this day. Hence it is manifest that it was Truth Divine which was rejected by them, shamefully treated, scourged, and crucified. Whether you say Truth Divine, or the Lord as to Truth Divine, it is the same; for the Lord is the Truth itself, as He is the Word itself (n. 2011, 2016, 2533 at the end).

[3] The Lord’s rising again on the third day also involves that Truth Divine, or the Word as to the internal sense, as it was understood by the Ancient Church, will be revived in the consummation of the age, which is also the “third day” (n. 1825, 2788); on which account it is said that the Son of man (that is, Truth Divine) will then appear (Matthew 24:30, 37, 39, 44; Mark 13:26; Luke 17:22, 24-26, 30; 21:27, 36).

[4] That the “Son of man” is the Lord as to Truth Divine, is evident from the passages adduced, and further from the following.

In Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world. In the consummation of the age the Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend (Matthew 13:37, 41-42); where the “good seed” is the truth; the “world” is men; “He that soweth the seed” is the Son of man; and the “things that offend” are falsities.

In John:

The multitude said, We have heard out of the Law that the Christ abideth forever; and how sayest Thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man ? Jesus answered them, A little while is the Light with you; walk while ye have the Light, that darkness overtake you not; for he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may become the sons of Light (John 12:34-35); where, when they asked who the Son of man is, Jesus answered concerning the Light, which is the Truth, and that He is the Light or Truth in which they should believe. (As regards the Light which is from the Lord, and which is the Divine Truth, see above, n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 1619-1632)

[5] But that the Son of God, or the Lord as to Good in His Human Divine could not be tempted, as was said above, this is manifest also from the Lord’s answer to the tempter, in the Evangelists:

The tempter said, If Thou art the Son of God cast Thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:6-7Luke 4:9-12).