103. We can tell from the books of Moses that there was a Word among the ancients because he mentioned it and excerpted from it (Numbers 21:14-15, 27-30). We can tell that the narrative portions of that Word were called “The Wars of Jehovah, ” and that the prophetic portions were called “Pronouncements.” Moses quoted the following from the historical narratives of that Word:

Therefore it says in The Book of the Wars of Jehovah, “Waheb in Suphah and the rivers Arnon, a watercourse of rivers that goes down to [where] Ar is inhabited and rests along the border of Moab.” (Numbers 21:14-15)

In that Word as in ours, the wars of Jehovah were understood to be, and served to describe in detail, the Lord’s battles against hell and his victories over it when he would come into the world. These same battles are meant and described time after time in the historical narratives of our Word - in Joshua’s battles against the nations of the land of Canaan, for example, and in the wars of the judges and the kings of Israel.

[2] Moses quoted the following from the prophetic portions of that Word:

Therefore those who make pronouncements say, “Come to Heshbon! The city of Sihon will be built up and fortified, because fire has gone out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab, those who occupy the heights of Arnon. Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, people of Chemosh; he has made his sons fugitives and sent his daughters into captivity to Sihon, king of the Amorites. With arrows we have dealt with them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon, and we have spread destruction as far as Nophah, which extends to Medeba.” (Numbers 21:27-30)

Translators change [the title of] this to “Composers of Proverbs, ” but it should be called “Makers of Pronouncements” or “Prophetic Pronouncements, ” as we can tell from the meaning of the word moschalim in Hebrew. It means not only proverbs but also prophetic utterances, as in Numbers 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15 where it says that Balaam gave forth his pronouncement, which was actually a prophetic utterance and was about the Lord. In these instances each of his pronouncements is called a mashal in the singular. There is also the fact that what Moses quoted from this source are not proverbs but prophecies.

[3] We can see that this Word was similarly divine or divinely inspired from a passage in Jeremiah where we find almost the same words:

A fire has gone out from Heshbon and a flame from the midst of Sihon, which has devoured the corner of Moab and the top of the children of tumult. Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been carried off into captivity and your daughters into captivity. (Jeremiah 48:45-46)

Further, both David and Joshua mention another prophetic book of the former Word, The Book of Jasher or The Book of the Righteous One. Here is where David mentions it:

David lamented over Saul and over Jonathan and wrote, “‘To Teach the Children of Judah the Bow.’ (You will find this written in The Book of Jasher.)” (2 Samuel 1:17-18)

Here is where Joshua mentions it:

Joshua said, “‘Come to rest, O sun, in Gibeon; and, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon.’ Is this not written in The Book of Jasher?” (Joshua 10:12-13)

Then too, I have been told that the first seven chapters of Genesis are right there in that ancient Word, so that not the slightest word is missing.

6775. 'And the priest of Midian had seven daughters' means holy things belonging to that Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'a priest's daughters' as things that belong to the Church, for 'a daughter' means a Church, see 2362, 3963, 6729, and 'a priest' the good of love, 1728, 3670, 6148, so that 'a priest's daughters' means a Church so far as its good is concerned; from the meaning of 'Midian' as people who are guided by the truths that go with simple good, dealt with just above in 6773; and from the meaning of 'seven' as that which is holy, dealt with in 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268. Thus 'the priest of Midian had seven daughters' means holy things belonging to the Church among those who are guided by the truths that go with simple good. The people said to be governed by simple good are those who keep up the external practices of the Church and who in simplicity take the Word literally, each one believing it according to his own understanding. They also lead lives that accord with what they believe, and so are governed by good, depending on the nature of that good, which is determined by the truths that guide them. That good brings an internal dimension of the Church to these people, but because they are not guided by truths of a more internal kind, the good entering in becomes something general and accordingly vague, since spiritual light is unable to fall on particular aspects and thereby illuminate things distinctly. The kind of people spoken of here have heaven granted to them in the next life as determined by the nature of their good, which depends on their truths. People such as these are meant here by 'Midian'; but properly speaking they are those outside the Church who lead a good life in keeping with their type of religion.