3623. 'What would life hold for me?' means, and so there would not be any conjunction. This is clear from the meaning of 'life' as conjunction by means of truths and goods. For when it was not possible for any truth from a common stem or genuine source to be joined to natural truth, there could not be any alliance of the natural to the truth of the rational, in which case it seemed to the rational as though its own life were no life, 3493, 3620. This is why here 'what would life hold for me?' means, and so there would not be any conjunction. Here and in other places the word 'life' in the original language is plural, and the reason for this is that in man there are two powers of life. The first is called the understanding and is the receptacle of truth, the second is called the will and is the receptacle of good. These two forms or powers of life make one when the understanding is rooted in the will, or what amounts to the same, when truth is grounded in good. This explains why in Hebrew the noun 'life' is sometimes singular, sometimes plural. The plural form of that noun is used in all the following places, Jehovah God formed the man, dust from the ground; and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7. Jehovah God caused to spring up out of the ground every tree desirable to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the middle of the garden. Genesis 2:9. Behold, I am bringing a flood of waters over the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the spirit of life. Genesis 6:17.

They went in to Noah into the ark, two by two from all flesh in which there is the spirit of life. Genesis 7:15 (in 780).

Everything which had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils breathed its last. Genesis 7:12.

In David,

I believe [I am going] to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13.

In the same author,

Who is the man who desires life, who loves [many] days, that he may see good? Psalms 34:12

In the same author,

With You, O Jehovah, is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. Psalms 36:9.

In Malachi,

My covenant with Levi was [a covenant] of life and peace. Malachi 2:5.

In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jeremiah 21:8.

In Moses,

To love Jehovah your God, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land. Deuteronomy 30:20.

In the same author,

It is not an empty word from you; for it is your life, and through this word you will prolong your days in the land. Deuteronomy 32:47.

And in other places too the plural form of the noun 'life' is used in the original language because, as has been stated, there are two kinds of life which yet make one. It is similar with the word 'heavens' in the Hebrew language, in that the heavens are many and yet make one, or like the expression 'waters' above and below, in Genesis 1:7-9 , by which spiritual things in the rational and in the natural are meant which ought to be one through being joined together. As for the plural form of 'life', when this is used both the life of the will and that of the understanding are meant, and therefore both the life of good and that of truth are meant. For man's life consists in nothing else than good and truth which hold life from the Lord within them. Devoid of good and truth, and of the life which these hold within them, no one is human. For devoid of these no one would ever have been able to will or to think anything. Everything that a person wills originates in good or in that which is not good, and everything he thinks originates in truth or in that which is not truth. Consequently man possesses two kinds of life and these make one when his thinking flows from his willing, that is, when truth which is the truth of faith flows from good which is the good of love.

10011. 'And pour it on his head, and anoint him' means a representative sign of Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'pouring oil on Aaron's head' as Divine Good suffusing the Lord's whole Human, for 'oil' means Divine Good, 4582, 9474, 'Aaron' the Lord in respect of Divine Good, 9806, and 'head' the whole Human; and from the meaning of 'anointing' as a representative sign of this thing, dealt with in 9474, 9954. The reason why 'the head' means the whole Human, or the whole person, is that everything in the human being comes down from the head; for the body is an extension from the head. Therefore also what a person thinks or wills, an activity that takes place in the head, presents itself in the body as an effect. The situation with the head is like that with what is highest or inmost in the heavens. This comes down and flows into heavens below, bringing them into being and making them extensions from itself. Therefore also the human head corresponds to the inmost heaven, the body down to the loins to the middle heaven, and the feet to the lowest heaven. In short, in things that are extensions only that which is inmost has life essentially. From this it is evident that since God is the inmost in all things, or what amounts to the same thing, is the highest of them all, from Him alone comes the life that all things possess. Therefore insofar as a person receives what is of God he has life within him.

[2] Furthermore the oil that a priest was anointed with flowed from the top of his head right down onto his body, as may be seen in David,

It is like the good oil upon the head running down onto Aaron's beard, which runs down over the collar ¹ of his garments. Psalms 133:2.

In Matthew,

A woman poured an alabaster flask of balm over Jesus' head as He reclined [at the table]. Jesus said, She has poured this balm over My body to [prepare it for] the tomb. Matthew 26:7, 12.

And in Mark,

A woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly spikenard ² ; and breaking the alabaster flask she poured it over Jesus' head. And Jesus said, This woman has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Mark 14:3, 8.

From these places it is also evident that 'anointing the head' is anointing the whole body.

[3] The use of 'the head' to mean the whole person is further clear from very many places in the Word, for example in Isaiah,

The redeemed of Jehovah will return, and will come to Zion with song, and everlasting joy upon their heads. Isaiah 35:10.

In Moses,

Let the precious things of the produce of the sun, the firstfruits of the mountains of the east, and the precious things of the earth come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the Nazirite among his brothers. Deuteronomy 33:14-16.

In Jeremiah,

Jehovah's storm will burst upon the heads of the wicked. Jeremiah 30:23.

In Ezekiel,

I will bring their way upon their own heads. Ezekiel 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.

[Similar words occur in] Joel 3:4, 7; Obadiah verse 15. In Ezekiel,

Woe to those who make veils upon the head [of persons] of every stature to hunt souls! Ezekiel 13:18.

In David,

God will bruise the head of [His] enemies, the hairy scalp ³ . Psalms 68:21.

From all these places it is now evident that 'head' is used to mean the whole person, so that 'pouring oil on Aaron's head' means Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. While He was in the world the Lord made Himself Divine Truth, and when He left the world He made Himself Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9315(end), 9199(end).

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