9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

7571. And upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt. That this signifies every truth of the church in the natural mind, is evident from the signification of “herb,” as being truth (of which in what follows); from the signification of “field,” as being the church (of which above, n. 7557); and from the signification of “the land of Egypt,” as being the natural mind (of which also above, n. 7569). That “herb” signifies truth is because the “land” signifies the church, also a “field;” and hence all the produce from it signifies either the truth that is of faith, or the good that is of charity, for these are of the church. By the “herb of the field” is meant all in general that comes from the field, as is plain from the Lord’s parable in Matthew:

The kingdom of the heavens is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field, but when the herb sprouted forth and bore fruit, then appeared the tares (Matthew 13:24, 26); where “the herb” stands for the produce of the field. That by “the herb” is here signified the truth of the church, and by “tares” falsity is evident; it is indeed a comparison, but all the comparisons in the Word are from significatives (n. 3579).

In David:

Who causeth grass to sprout forth for the beast, and herb for the ministry of man; to bring forth bread out of the earth (Psalms 104:14); where also “herb” stands for the produce of the field, and by it in the internal sense is here signified truth.

[2] In the same:

In pastures of herb He will make me lie down, unto the waters of rests He will lead me, He will create anew my soul (Psalms 23:2-3);

“pastures of herb” denote the spiritual nourishment which is of the soul, and therefore it is said “He will create anew my soul.”

In Isaiah:

The waters of Nimrim shall be desolations, because the grass is dried up, the herb is consumed, there is no green thing (Isaiah 15:6).

I will make waste mountains and hills, and I will dry up all their herb, and I will make the rivers islands, and I will lead the blind in a way that they have not known (Isaiah 42:15).

How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein the beasts and the bird shall be consumed (Jeremiah 12:4).

The hind calved in the field, but forsook it, because there was no herb, and the wild asses stood on the hills, they snuffed the wind like whales because there was no herb (Jeremiah 14:5-6).

Be not afraid, ye beasts of my fields, for the habitations of the wilderness are become grassy, for the tree will bear her fruit, the fig tree and the vine will yield its strength (Joel 2:22).

When the locusts had completed the devouring of the herb of the land, I said, O Lord Jehovih, forgive, I beseech Thee; how shall Jacob stand when he is little? (Amos. 7:2.)

Ask ye of Jehovah the latter rain in season; Jehovah will make clouds, and will give them a shower of rain, to a man herb in the field (Zech. 10:1).

The fifth angel sounded, and it was said that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree (Revelation 9:1, 4).

[3] Everyone can see that in these passages grass and herb are not meant, but instead of them such things as are of the church; that by the “herb of the land” and the “herb of the field” is meant the truth which is of faith is plain. Without such a spiritual sense no one would ever know why it should be said, in John, when the fifth angel sounded, that “they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing”; nor would anyone know what is meant in Jeremiah, “The hind calved in the field, but forsook it, because there was no herb, and the wild asses snuffed the wind like whales because there was no herb”; nor what is meant in many other passages. From this it is evident how little the Word is understood, and how earthly an idea would be had of very many things contained therein, unless it were known what they signify; at least that there is what is holy in every detail.

9642. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards of the dwelling-place' as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of 'the side (or corner)', when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the south, southwards' ¹ as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. 'The south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by 'the north'. This then is why 'the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

[2] The same things are meant by 'the south' in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. 'Saying to the north' means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. 'Saying to the south' means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to 'withhold' [those sons and daughters], but the former 'to give them up'.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 20:46-21:2.

'The south' here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions 'the forest of the field towards the south' and 'the forest of the south' are used. 'A forest' is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas 'a garden' is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of 'setting one's face the way of the south, and dropping [one's words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south', and then of 'set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel'. 'Jerusalem' and 'the land of Israel' mean the Church, and 'the sanctuaries' there things of the Church.

[4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul ² and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isaiah 58:10.

'Darkness' and 'thick darkness' stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, 'light' and 'midday' for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day; ³ hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isaiah 16:3.

'In the middle of the day' stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for ⁴ battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south, ⁵ for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jeremiah 6:4.

'Going up into the south' stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south, ⁵ and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

[5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; 'the arrow that flies by day' stands for falsity which is taught openly; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil that is openly present in people's lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

[6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, ⁶ it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, 'the he-goat of the she-goats' being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. 'The horn's growing towards the south' stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, 'towards the east' for directing it against forms of good, and 'towards the glorious [land]' for directing it against the Church. 'Towards the host of heaven' stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and 'casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars' stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. 'The king of the south' means the light of truth derived from the Word, and 'the king of the north' reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

[8] Because 'the south' meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Numbers 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and 'the twelve tribes' which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. 'The tribe of Reuben' meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, 'the tribe of Simeon' the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and 'the tribe of Gad' works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

[9] From all this it is now clear what 'the south side' means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by 'the four winds', as in the Book of Revelation,

... angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Revelation 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Revelation 20:7-8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ⁷ Matthew 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and 'a temple' meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.

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