11. Hoofdstuk 1. Over het Goede en het Ware.

Alle dingen in het heelal, die volgens de Goddelijke Orde zijn, hebben betrekking op het Goede en het Ware. Er bestaat niets in de hemel en niets in de wereld, dat niet op die twee betrekking heeft. De oorzaak hiervan is dat beide, zowel het goede als het ware, voortgaan uit het Goddelijke, waaruit alle dingen zijn.

330. Out of every tribe and tongue, signifies by all who are in truths in respect to doctrine and in respect to life. This is evident from the signification of "tribe," as being all truths and goods in the complex (of which see above, n. 39; for these are meant by the twelve tribes, and therefore each tribe signifies something of truth and good, therefore "out of every tribe" signifies out of all who are in any kind of truth and good. It is evident also from the signification of "tongue," as being the doctrine of life and faith. That "tribes" signify all truths and goods in the complex will be shown more fully below in its own paragraph; likewise that "tongue" signifies the doctrine of life and faith, thus religion. (Here will be presented only what is shown in Arcana Coelestia respecting the signification of "tribes," namely, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signified all truths and goods in the complex, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that the twelve apostles of the Lord have a like signification, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 6397; that there were twelve because "twelve" signifies all, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. Because the twelve tribes represented and thus signified all the truths and goods in the complex they therefore represented heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996. That the twelve tribes signify various things according to the order in which they are named, thus in different ways all things of heaven and the church, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 seq., 6337, 6640, 10335; therefore responses could be given and were given by the Urim and Thummim, where the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven on precious stones, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905)

1180. Verse 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

'The beginning of his kingdom' means that such worship began in this manner. 'Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar' means that these types of worship existed in those areas. At the same time these nations mean the types of worship themselves, whose external features appear holy but whose interiors are unholy.