140. That thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, signifies those who have been illustrated in respect to the understanding, and who teach truths, and yet love to destroy by craft those who are of the church. This is evident from the historicals of the Word respecting Balaam and Balak, understood in the spiritual sense; and these must first be told. Balaam was a soothsayer from Pethor of Mesopotamia, and was therefore called by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelitish people; but this Jehovah prevented, and granted him to speak prophetically, yet he afterwards counseled with Balak how to destroy that people by craft, by leading them away from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of Baal-peor. Here, therefore, by "Balaam" those are meant who have been illuminated in respect to the understanding, and who teach truths, and yet love to destroy by craft those who are of the church. That Balaam was a soothsayer is evident from these words in Moses:

The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went to Balaam with the rewards of enchantment in their hand (Numbers 22:7).

When Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not as in former times to meet with divinations (Numbers 24:1).

And in Joshua:

Balaam also, the son of Beor, the diviner, did the sons of Israel slay with the sword upon their slain (Joshua 13:22).

That he was called by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the people of Israel, see Numbers 22:5, 6, 16, 17; Deuteronomy 23:3, 4; but that Jehovah prevented this, and granted him to speak prophetically, Numbers 22:9, 10, 12, 20; 23:5, 16; the prophecies which he uttered may be seen Numbers 23:7-15, 18-24; 24:5-9, 16-19, 20-24; all which things are truths, because it is said that:

Jehovah put a word into his mouth (Numbers 23:5, 6, 12, 16).

[2] That afterwards he counseled with Balak to destroy the people of Israel by craft, by leading them away from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of Baal-peor, is evident from these words in Moses:

In Shittim the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat and bowed down to their gods. Especially did Israel join himself unto Baal-peor. Therefore there were killed of Israel twenty and four thousand (Numbers 25:1-3, 25:9, 25:18).

They slew Balaam amongst the Midianites; and the sons of Israel led captive all the women of the Midianites; which was of the counsel of Balaam, to deliver them to prevarication against Jehovah, in the matter of Peor (Numbers 31:8-9, 31:16).

That by "Balaam" those are meant who have been illustrated in respect to the understanding, and who teach truths, follows from what has now been shown, for he spoke prophetically truths about Israel, and also about the Lord; that he spoke truths about the Lord also may be seen in his prophecy (Numbers 24:17). To speak prophetically about Israel is to speak not about the Israelitish people, but about the church of the Lord, which is signified by "Israel." The illustration of his understanding he himself describes in these words:

The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, the saying of the man whose eyes are opened, the saying of him who heareth the words of God, who falls prostrate, and has his eyes uncovered (Numbers 24:3-4, 24:15-18).

"To have the eyes opened," or "to have them uncovered," is to be illustrated in respect to the understanding, for "eyes" in the Word signify the understanding (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 2701, 4410-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, 10569).

[3] That "Balaam" also means those who love to destroy by craft those who are of the church is evident also from what has been shown above; moreover, when he rode upon the ass, he continually thought upon the use of enchantments for destroying the sons of Israel; and when he was not able to do this by curses, he counseled Balak to destroy them by calling them to the sacrifices of his gods, and by their committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab. By the "sons of Israel," whom he wished to destroy, is signified the church, because the church was instituted among them (See Arcana Coelestia 6426, 8805, 9340).

[4] The arcanum respecting the she-ass on which Balaam rode, which turned aside three times out of the way from the angel seen with a drawn sword, and its speaking to Balaam, I will here briefly explain. When Balaam rode upon the ass he continually meditated enchantments against the sons of Israel; the riches with which he should be honored were in his mind, as is evident from what is said of him:

He went not as in former times to meet with divinations (Numbers 24:1).

In heart, he was also a soothsayer, therefore when left to himself, he thought of nothing else. By the "she-ass" upon which he rides is signified, in the spiritual sense of the Word, the intellectual illustrated; consequently to ride on a she-ass or a mule was the distinction of a chief judge or a king (See above, n. 31; and in Arcana Coelestia 2781, 5741, 9212). The angel with the drawn sword signifies Divine truth illustrating and combating against falsity (See above, n. 131). Therefore that "the ass turned aside three times out of the way" signifies that the understanding when illustrated did not agree with the thought of the soothsayer; this also is meant by what the angel said to Balaam:

Behold, I went forth to withstand thee, because thy way is evil before me (Numbers 22:32).

By "way," in the spiritual sense of the Word, is signified that which a man thinks from intention (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 479, 534, 590; and in the small work on The Last Judgment 48). That he was withheld from the thought and intention of using enchantments by the fear of death is manifest from what the angel said to him:

Unless the ass had turned aside before me, surely now I had even slain thee (Numbers 22:33).

[5] It sounded to Balaam as if the ass spoke to him, yet she did not speak, but the speech was heard as if from her. That such was the case has often been shown me by living experience; it has been granted me to hear horses seemingly speaking, when yet the speech was not from them, but was seemingly from them. This actually occurred in Balaam's case, that the story might be so related in the Word for the sake of the internal sense in every particular of it. That sense describes how the Lord protects those who are in truths and goods, that they may not be harmed by those who speak from seeming illustration, and yet have the disposition and intention to lead astray. He who believes that Balaam could harm the sons of Israel by enchantments is much deceived; for enchantments could have availed nothing against them; this Balaam himself confessed when he said:

Divination avails not against Jacob, nor enchantments against Israel (Numbers 23:23).

Balaam could lead that people astray by craft, because that people were such in heart; with the mouth only they worshiped Jehovah, but in heart they worshiped Baal-peor, and because they were such this was permitted.

[6] It is to be noted, moreover, that a man can be in illustration in respect to the understanding, and yet in evil in respect to the will; for the intellectual faculty is separated from the voluntary with all who are not regenerated, and only with those who are regenerated do they act as one; for it is the office of the understanding to know, to think, and to speak truths, but of the will to will the things that are understood, and from the will, or from the love, to do them. The divorcement of the two is clearly manifest with evil spirits; when these turn themselves towards good spirits, they, too, understand truths, and also acknowledge them, almost as if they were illustrated; but as soon as they turn themselves away from good spirits, they return to the love of their will and see nothing of truth, and even deny the things they have heard (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 153, 424, 455).

[7] To be able to have the understanding illustrated is granted to man, for the sake of reformation; for in man's will every evil resides, both that into which he is born and that into which he introduces himself; and the will cannot be corrected unless man knows, and by the understanding acknowledges, truths and goods, and also falsities and evils; in no other way can he turn away from the latter and love the former. (More may be seen on the will and the understanding in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 28-35.)

5089. 'And they were in custody for days' means that they lay in a state when they were cast aside for a long time. This is clear from the meaning of 'days' as states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850; so that 'for days' here means lying in a particular state for a long time - in a state when they were cast aside, meant by 'custody', 5083. A more lengthy explanation of the details contained in the internal sense here is not possible because they are not the kind of matters about which any idea can be gained with the help of things in the world, such as details about the celestial-of-the-spiritual man, about this man's state within the natural when the interior natural is being made new, and after that when it has been made new and the exterior natural has been cast aside. But some idea of these matters and others like them can be gained from things in heaven, which is the kind of idea that does not pass into any notion gained from things in the world, except in the case of people who, in their thinking, can be led away from sensory impressions.

[2] Unless a person's thought can be raised above sensory impressions so that these are beheld as existing so to speak beneath him, he cannot possibly discern any interior aspect of the Word, let alone things of heaven such as are totally removed from those of the world, since the senses take hold of them and stifle them. This explains why people who rely on their senses and have focused their attention on known facts rarely understand anything about the things of heaven; for they have immersed their thoughts in the kinds of things that belong to the world, that is, in terms and in definitions formed from these, and so in what the senses perceive, from which they can no longer be raised up and so preserved in a way of looking at things that is higher than the senses. Nor can their thought range freely any longer over the whole field of matters recorded in the memory, selecting those which agree and casting aside those which are contrary, and using those which are in any way appropriate. For their thought is locked up and immersed in terms, as has been stated, and consequently in sensory impressions, so that it cannot look round about. This is the reason why the learned possess less belief than the simple, and also indeed why they possess less discernment in heavenly matters. For the simple can view something from a position that is above mere terms and above known facts, and so above sensory evidence. This the learned cannot do; their viewpoint is based on terms and known facts because their mind is immersed in these. Thus they are bound so to speak in a dungeon or prison.