4453. “做买卖, 置产业” 表因他们交流而将彼此一致的教义. 这从 “做买卖” 和 “置产业” 的含义清楚可知: “做买卖” 是指为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们 (参看2967节), 因此在这地 “做买卖” 表示进入哈抹的儿子示剑及其城所表示的良善与真理的认知; “置产业” 是指合一, 因而是指彼此一致. “做买卖” 之所以表示为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们, 是因为在天上, 就是照内义觉悟圣言的地方, 是没有买卖的; 事实上, 天上没有金, 银, 或诸如在这个世上用来交易的那类事物; 因此, 当我们在圣言中读到 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 时, 是以灵义来理解的, 在天上被感知为与 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 相对应的某种事物, 一般来说, 是认知的获取和交流, 具体来说是所提到的物体所指的实体. 例如, 若提到 “金”, 就理解为爱与智慧的良善 (113, 1551, 1552节); 若提到 “银”, 就理解为属于聪明和信仰的真理 (1551, 2048, 2954节); 若提到人们在古时用来交易的 “母绵羊”, “公绵羊”, “小山羊” 或 “羔羊”, 就理解为诸如这些动物所表示的那类事物, 等等.

如以西结书:

告诉推罗, 你居住海口, 跟众民到许多海岛交易; 他施人因你多有各类的财物, 就作你的客商, 拿银, 铁, 锡, 铅兑换你的货物. 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人都用人口与你交易, 拿铜器兑换你的商品. 底但人与你交易; 许多海岛成了你手里的货品. 亚兰人因你的手工艺品很多, 就作你的客商; 犹大和以色列地的人都与你交易; 他们用米匿的麦子, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香兑换你的商品. 大马色人因你的手工艺品很多, 又因你多有各类的财物, 就拿黑本酒和沙哈 (Zahar) 羊毛与你交易. 威但人和雅完人拿纺成的线兑换你的货物. 底但人用马车的敞篷与你交易. 亚拉伯人和基达的一切首领都作你手下的客商, 用羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊与你交易. 示巴和拉玛的商人与你交易, 他们用各类上好的香料, 各类的宝石和黄金兑换你的货物. 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 示巴的商人和亚述人, 基抹人与你交易. 这些商人以美好的货物与你交易, 用蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服; 盛华丽衣服香柏木的宝箱, 用绳捆着兑换你的货物. 他施的船只接连成帮为你运货, 你便在海心丰满, 极其荣华. (以西结书 27:3, 12-13, 15-19, 21-25)

由此处和圣言中的许多其它经文明显可知, “交易”, “商品”, “货品” 和 “货物” 无非是指与良善并真理的认知有关的事物. 因为若非推罗的交易活动表示属灵和属天的事物, 预言的圣言与这些活动有什么相干呢? 既如此, 那么显而易见, 不仅 “货物” 表示其它事物, 而且此处所提到的民族也表示拥有这些其它事物的人民. 还显而易见, 若不凭内义, 没有人知道所有这些表示什么; 如不知道他施, 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人, 底但人, 亚兰人, 犹大, 以色列, 威但人, 雅完, 底但人, 阿拉伯人, 示巴, 拉玛, 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 亚述人, 基抹人表示什么; 也不知道他们的货物表示什么, 如银, 铁, 锡, 铅, 铜器, 麦子, 米匿, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香, 黑本酒, 沙哈羊毛, 纺成的线, 马车敞篷, 羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊, 香料, 宝石, 黄金, 蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服, 捆绳, 香柏木制成的物件. 这些及类似事物表示教会和主国度的良善与真理, 以及对这些良善与真理的认知. 正因推罗表示认知 (1201节), 所以此处论述的主题是推罗. 由于这类财物, 也就是良善与真理, 就存在于主的教会和国度中, 故表示主的教会和国度的迦南地自上古时代就具有一个源于表示货物或货品的词的名字, 因为这就是原文中 “迦南” 这个名的含义. 综上所述, 明显可知在这地 “做买卖” 是什么意思.

3316. 'Jacob boiled pottage' means matters of doctrine when massed together. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' as the doctrine of natural truth, dealt with in 3305, and so as matters of doctrine within the natural man, and from the meaning of 'pottage' as a massing together of such matters of doctrine. Indeed 'boiling pottage' is massing together; for the verb in the original language is strictly speaking the noun for 'pottage' - as if you were to say 'he pottaged pottage', that is, he massed it together. It is the first state in the joining together of good and truth that is described in this verse and in those that follow to the end of the chapter. The first state of one who is being regenerated - that is, with whom truth is being joined to good - is a state in which first of all matters of doctrine regarding what is true are massed together, without any definite order, in his natural man, that is, in the storehouse there called the memory. The matters of doctrine present there at that time may be compared to the undigested particles of some ingredient, not compounded with anything else but massed together, and may be compared to a kind of chaos. But the chaos exists to the end that they may be brought into an ordered condition; for with anything that is brought into an ordered condition chaos exists at first. This is what is meant by the pottage that Jacob boiled, that is, massed together. Those matters of doctrine are not brought into an ordered condition by anything within themselves but by the good that must enter into them; and the amount of good entering into them, also the essential nature of that good, determine how far they become ordered and the nature of their then ordered condition. When good first craves and desires matters of doctrine, to the end that they may be joined to itself, it is seen in the form of an affection for truth. These are the considerations meant by 'Esau said to Jacob, Let me sip now from the red [pottage], this red [pottage]'.

[2] Such considerations do indeed appear to be quite remote from the sense of the letter, but nevertheless when man reads these words and understands them according to the sense of the letter, the angels who reside with him at the time do not have any [natural] idea at all of pottage, or of Jacob, or of Esau, or of red, or of sipping from red [pottage]. Instead they have a spiritual idea of them, which is altogether different and remote from that natural idea. The idea of those persons and objects is instantly converted into a spiritual idea. And so it is with everything else in the Word, such as, for example, when one reads of bread there the angels do not perceive bread but instead of bread instantly perceive celestial love and things that belong to celestial love, which is love to the Lord. And when one reads in the Word of wine they do not perceive wine but instead of wine spiritual love and the things that belong to that love, which is love towards the neighbour. Accordingly when one reads of pottage or soup they do not perceive pottage or soup but matters of doctrine that are not as yet joined to good, and thus a disordered massing together of them. This shows the essence and character of angels' thought and perception, and how remote these are from man's thought and perception. If a person when in a holy frame of mind were to think as they do - such as during the Holy Supper - and instead of bread were to perceive love to the Lord, and instead of wine love towards the neighbour, his thought and perception would then be similar to the angels' who in that case would draw nearer to him till at length it would be possible for them to share their thoughts with him, though only insofar as good was at the same time present in that person.

[3] That 'pottage' or soup means a massing together may be seen also from what is said about the sons of the prophets and Elisha in the Book of Kings,

Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, for they did not know [what they were]. And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, while they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it. And he said, Then bring flour. And he threw it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people. And they ate, and there was no harm in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.

In the internal sense these words have an altogether different meaning from what they do in the sense of the letter, that is to say, 'a famine in the land' means a dearth of cognitions of good and truth, 1460; 'the sons of the prophets' means those who teach, 2543; 'pottage' facts badly massed together; 'flour' truth which is obtained from good, or that which is spiritual obtained from that which is celestial, 2177. Thus the description of Elisha throwing the flour into the pot, at which point it ceased to contain anything harmful, means that those facts, massed together so, were put right by means of spiritual truth from the Lord's Word - for 'Elisha' represented the Lord as to the Word, 2762. Devoid of this spiritual sense the story about the pottage and the change effected by the flour would not have been worthy of mention in the most holy Word. As with the rest of the miracles in the Word, all of which conceal what is Divine within them, this miracle was performed for the sake of representing those things.