3021. Put I pray thy hand under my thigh. That this signifies pledging it according to its power to the good of conjugial love, is evident from the signification of “hand,” as being power (see n. 878); and from the signification of “thigh,” as being the good of conjugial love, concerning which in what follows. That it is pledging to the extent of its power, is evident from the fact that they who were pledged to anything that related to conjugial love, by an ancient rite placed the hand under the thigh of him to whom they were being pledged, and in this manner they were put under oath by him; and this for the reason that the “thigh” signified conjugial love, and the “hand” power, or so far as was possible; for all the parts of the human body correspond to spiritual and celestial things in the Grand Man which is heaven, as was shown above (n. 2996, 2998); and as will be shown more fully, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter. The thighs themselves together with the loins, correspond to conjugial love.

These things were well known to the men of the most ancient times; and therefore they had a number of rites based on this correspondence, of which one was that they placed the hands under the thigh when they were pledged to any good of conjugial love. The knowledge of such things, which was in highest esteem among the ancients, and was one of the chief things of their knowledge and intelligence, is at this day wholly lost; so completely that it is not even known that there is any correspondence; and some may therefore wonder that such things are signified by the rite here described. The rite is mentioned in the present case because the betrothing of Isaac to some one of the family of Abraham is treated of, and the discharge of the duty was intrusted to the elder servant.

[2] That as before said the “thigh” from correspondence signifies conjugial love, may also be seen from other passages in the Word; as from the process enjoined when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery.

In Moses:

The priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing; and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath in the midst of thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy belly to swell. And when he hath given her the water to drink, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and hath trespassed a trespass against her husband, that the waters that are accursed shall enter into her and become bitterness, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall be a curse among her people (Numbers 5:21, 27).

That the “thigh should fall away,” signified evil relating to conjugial love, that is, it signified adultery. The other particulars mentioned in the same process signify each of them some special thing belonging to the subject, so that there is not the least thing that does not involve something, however surprising this may seem to a man who reads the Word without any idea of its sanctity. Because of the signification of the “thigh” as being the good of conjugial love, mention is sometimes made of “coming forth from the thigh”—as is said of Jacob:

Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come forth from thy thighs (Genesis 35:11).

And in another place:

Every soul that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came forth from his thigh (Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5).

And of Gideon:

Gideon had seventy sons that came forth from his thigh (Judges 8:30).

[3] And as the “thighs” and the “loins” signify the things belonging to conjugial love, they also signify the things of love and charity, for the reason that conjugial love is the fundamental love of all loves (see n. 686, 2733, 2737-2739); for all loves are from the same origin, that is, from the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth (see n. 2727-2759). That the “thigh” signifies the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, is evident from the following passages.

In John:

He that sat on the white horse had upon His vesture and upon His thigh a name written: King of kings, and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

That He who sat on the white horse is the Word, thus the Lord who is the Word, may be seen above (n. 2760-2762); also that “vesture” is the Divine truth (n. 2576); therefore He is called “King of kings” (n. 3009). Hence it is plain what the “thigh” is, namely, the Divine good which is of His love; from which He is also called “Lord of lords” (n. 3004-3011). And because this is the Lord’s quality, it is said that He “had thereon a name written;” for “name” signifies quality (n. 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006).

[4] In David:

Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Mighty One, in Thy glory and honor (Psalms 45:3);

speaking of the Lord; where “sword” denotes truth combating (n. 2799); and “thigh” the good of love; to “gird the sword upon the thigh” signifies that the truth from which He would fight would be from the good of love.

In Isaiah:

Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs (Isaiah 11:5);

speaking here too of the Lord; and because “righteousness” is predicated of the good of love (n. 2235), it is called the girdle of the loins;” and because truth is from good, it is called the “girdle of the thighs;” thus “loins” are predicated of the love of good, and “thighs” of the love of truth.

[5] In the same:

None shall be weary nor stumble in Him, He shall not slumber nor sleep, neither is the girdle of His thighs loosed, nor the latchet of His shoes broken off (Isaiah 5:27).

This again is said of the Lord, and the “girdle of His thighs” denotes the love of truth, as before.

In Jeremiah:

Jehovah said unto Jeremiah that he should buy a linen girdle and put it on his loins, but should not pass it through water; and that he should go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole of the rock; and having done this, when he went and took it from the place, it was marred (Jeremiah 13:1-6).

The “linen girdle” denotes truth, and “putting it on the loins” was a representative that truth was from good. Everyone can see that these are representatives, and their signification cannot be known except from correspondences, concerning which of the Lord’s Divine mercy something will be said at the end of certain chapters.

[6] So too with the signification of the things seen by Ezekiel, by Daniel, and by Nebuchadnezzar. As in Ezekiel:

Above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the appearance of a burning coal, as the appearance of fire within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about Him; as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about, so was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah (Ezekiel 1:26-28).

That this was representative of the Lord and of His kingdom is evident; and that the appearance of the loins upward and the appearance of the loins downward has reference to His love, is evident from the signification of “fire,” as being love (n. 934); and from the signification of “brightness” and a “rainbow” as being the derivative wisdom and intelligence (n. 1042, 1043, 1053).

[7] Concerning Daniel it is said:

A man appeared to him clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz; his body also was like the tharshish stone, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and feet like the shining of burnished brass (Daniel 10:5-6).

What is signified by these particulars—by “loins,” “body,” “face,” “eyes,” “arms,” and “feet”—can appear to no one except from representations and their correspondences. From these it is evident that the Lord’s celestial kingdom is thus represented, in which the “loins” are Divine love; and the “gold of Uphaz” with which these were girded, is the good of wisdom which is from love (n. 113, 1551, 1552).

[8] Concerning what was seen by Nebuchadnezzar we read in Daniel:

The head of the statue was good gold; its breast and its arms were silver; its belly and thighs were brass; the feet were part iron and part clay (Daniel 2:32-33).

By that statue were represented the successive states of the church; by the “head which was gold,” the first state, which was celestial, because it was a state of love to the Lord; by the “breast and arms which were silver,” the second state, which was spiritual, as it was a state of charity toward the neighbor; by the “belly and thighs which were brass,” the third state, which was a state of natural good (for this is “brass,” n. 425, 1551). Natural good is of love or charity toward the neighbor in a degree below spiritual good. By the “feet which were iron and clay” is meant the fourth state, which was one of natural truth (which is “iron,” n. 425, 426); and also of no coherence with good (which is “clay”). From all these things it may be seen what is signified by the “thighs” and the “loins,” namely, in the chief place conjugial love, and from this all genuine love, as is evident from the passages quoted, and likewise from others (Genesis 32:25, 32; Isaiah 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Psalms 69:23; Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35-36). In the opposite sense also are signified the opposite loves, which are the loves of self and of the world (see 1 Kings 2:5; Isaiah 32:10-11; Jeremiah 30:6; 48:37; Ezekiel 29:7; Amos 8:10).

2799. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. That this signifies the good of love and the truth of faith, is evident from the signification of “fire,” as being the good of love (see n. 934); and from the signification of a “knife,” as being the truth of faith. That the knife used upon the victims in the sacrifices signified the truth of faith, may be seen from the signification of a “sword” or “little sword” in the Word; for instead of “knife” it is said “little sword.” Both have the same signification, but with the difference that the knife used for sacrifices signified the truth of faith, but a sword truth combating; and as a knife is rarely mentioned in the Word, for a secret reason to be mentioned presently, we may show what a “sword” signifies. A “sword” in the internal sense signifies the truth of faith combating, and also the vastation of truth; and in the opposite sense falsity combating, and the punishment of falsity.

[2] I. That a “sword” signifies the truth of faith combating, may be seen from the following passages.

In David:

Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One, prosper in Thy glow and Thy majesty, ride upon the word of truth, and Thy right hand shall teach Thee wonderful things (Psalms 45:3-4); where the Lord is treated of, the “sword” denoting truth combating. In the same:

Let the merciful exult in glory, let them sing upon their beds; let the high praises of God be in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand (Psalms 149:5-6).

In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath called Me from the womb; from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of My name, and He hath made My mouth like a sharp sword, and hath made Me a polished arrow (Isaiah 49:1-2);

a “sharp sword” denotes truth combating; and a “polished arrow,” the truth of doctrine (see n. 2686, 2709). In the same:

Asshur shall fall by the sword not of a man; and the sword not of man shall devour him; and he shall flee before the sword, and his young men shall become tributary (Isaiah 31:8);

“Asshur” denotes reasoning in Divine things (n. 119, 1186); the “sword not of a man, and not of man,” falsity; the “sword before which he shall flee,” truth combating.

[3] In Zechariah:

Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee; I who have bent Judah for Me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim, and have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Javan, and I will make thee as the sword of a mighty man, and Jehovah shall be seen over them, and His arrows shall go forth as the lightning (Zech. 9:12-14).

The “sword of a mighty man” denotes truth combating.

In John:

In the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like unto the Son of man; He had in His right hand seven stars; out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was as the sun shining in his strength (Revelation 1:13, 16).

Again:

These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword; I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth (Revelation 2:12, 16).

The “sharp two-edged sword” manifestly denotes truth combating, which was therefore represented as a “sword going out of the mouth.”

[4] In the same:

Out of the mouth of Him that sat upon the white horse proceeded a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and they were slain by the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which came forth out of His mouth (Revelation 19:15, 21); where it is manifest that the “sword out of His mouth” is truth combating. (That He who sat upon the white horse is the Word, and thus the Lord who is the Word, may be seen above, n. 2760-2763.) Hence it is that the Lord says in Matthew:

Think not that I came to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).

Also in Luke:

Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his garment, and buy a sword; they said, Lord, behold here are two swords; and Jesus said, It is enough (Luke 22:36-38); where nothing else is meant by a “sword” than the truth from which and for which they would combat.

[5] In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground; and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the war out of the land; and will make them to lie down securely (Hos. 2:18); where the Lord’s kingdom is treated of; by “breaking the how, the sword, and the war,” is signified that there is no combat there respecting doctrine and truth.

In Joshua:

Joshua lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold there stood a man over against him, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he said to Joshua, I am prince of the army of Jehovah; and Joshua fell on his face to the earth (Josh. 5:13-14).

This was when Joshua entered with the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan, by which is meant the entrance of the faithful into the Lord’s kingdom. Truth combating, which is of the church, is the “drawn sword in the hand of the prince of the army of Jehovah.”

[6] But that by “little swords” or “knives” is signified the truth of faith, may be seen from the fact that they were used not only in the sacrifices, but also in circumcision. For use in circumcision they were of stone, and were called “little swords of flint,” as is manifest in Joshua:

Jehovah said unto Joshua, Make thee little swords of flint, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him little swords of flint, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins (Josh. 5:2-3).

That circumcision was a representative of purification from the love of self and the world, may be seen above (n. 2039, 2632); and as this purification is effected by the truths of faith, therefore little swords of flint were used (n. 2039, 2046 at the end).

[7] II. That a “sword” signifies the vastation of truth, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? Desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; who will comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets (Isaiah 51:19-20);

“famine” denotes the vastation of good; and the “sword” the vastation of truth; to “lie at the head of all the streets,” is to be deprived of all truth. (That a “street” is truth may be seen above, n. 2336; and what vastation is, at n. 301-304, 407-408, 410-411) In the same:

I will number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because I called, and ye did not answer; I spake, and ye did not hear (Isaiah 65:12).

[8] In the same:

By fire and by the sword will Jehovah judge all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be many (Isaiah 66:16).

The “slain of Jehovah” denote those who are vastated.

In Jeremiah:

Spoilers are come upon all the hillsides in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the one end of the land; even to the other end of the land no flesh hath peace; they have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns (Jeremiah 12:12-13).

The “sword of Jehovah” plainly denotes the vastation of truth. In the same:

They have lied against Jehovah, and said, It is not He, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword nor famine; and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them (Jeremiah 5:12-13).

[9] In the same:

I will visit upon them; the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine (Jeremiah 11:22).

In the same:

When they offer burnt-offering and meat-offering I will not accept them; for I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovih, behold the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, and ye shall not have famine (Jeremiah 14:12-13).

In the same:

The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence (Jeremiah 32:24, 36).

In the same:

I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers (Jeremiah 24:10).

[10] In these passages by “the sword, the famine, and the pestilence” vastation is described; by the “sword” the vastation of truth, by the “famine” the vastation of good, and by the “pestilence” a wasting away even to consumption.

In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber’s razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head, and upon thy beard; and take thee balances to weigh, and divide them. A third part shalt thou burn with fire in the midst of the city; a third part thou shalt smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. A third part shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw out a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:1-2, 12, 17).

Here the vastation of natural truth is treated of, which is thus described. In the same:

The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him (Ezekiel 7:15).

[11] In the same:

Say to the land of Israel, Thus said Jehovah, Behold I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the just and the wicked. Because I will cut off from thee the just and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath, it shall not return any more. The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said Jehovah, Say a sword, a sword, it is sharpened and also furbished; it is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning. Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih to the sons of Ammon, and to their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is furbished to devour because of the lightning, whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee (Ezekiel 21:3-5, 8-10, 28-29).

Nothing else is here signified by the “sword” than vastation, as is manifest from the particulars in the internal sense.

[12] In the same:

The king of Babel shall break down thy towers with his swords; by reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; by reason of the noise of the rider, and of the wheel, and of the chariot, thy walls shall shake; with the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets (Ezekiel 26:9-11).

What Babel is, may be seen above (n. 1326); and that it vastates (n. 1327).

In David:

If he turn not, God will whet His sword, He will bend His bow, and make it ready (Psalms 7:12).

In Jeremiah:

I said, Ah Lord Jehovih surely deceiving Thou hath deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; and the sword hath reached even to the soul (Jeremiah 4:10).

[13] In the same:

Declare ye in Egypt, and make it to be heard in Migdol, Stand forth and prepare thee, for the sword shall devour round about thee (Jeremiah 46:14).

A sword is upon the Chaldeans, and upon the inhabitants of Babel, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men; a sword is upon her boasters, and they shall be foolish; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed; a sword is upon her horses, and upon her chariots, and upon all the mixed multitude that is in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed; a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up (Jeremiah 50:35-38);

a “sword” manifestly denotes the vastation of truth, for it is said, “a sword is upon the wise men, upon the boasters, upon the mighty men, upon the horses and the chariot, and upon the treasures,” and that “drought is upon the waters, and they shall be dried up.”

[14] In the same:

We have given the hand to Egypt, to Asshur, to be satisfied with bread. Servants have ruled over us, there is none to deliver us out of their hand; we got our bread with our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lam. 5:6, 8-9).

In Hosea:

He shall not return into the land of Egypt, and Asshur he shall be his king, because they refused to return to Me, and the sword shall hang over his cities, and shall consume his bars, and shall devour them, because of their counsels (Hos. 11:5-6).

In Amos:

I have sent among you the pestilence in the way of Egypt, I have slain your young men with the sword, with the captivity of your horses (Amos 4:10);

“in the way of Egypt” denotes the memory-knowledges which vastate, when they reason from them on Divine things; the “captivity of the horses” denotes the intellectual faculty deprived of its endowment.

[15] III That a “sword” in the opposite sense signifies falsity combating, may be seen in David:

My soul lieth in the midst of lions, the sons of men are set on fire; their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).

Behold they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips, for who doth hear? (Psalms 59:7).

In Isaiah:

Thou art cast forth out of thy sepulchre as an abominable branch, as the raiment of the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot (Isaiah 14:19); where Lucifer is treated of.

In Jeremiah:

In vain have I smitten your sons, they received no correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: have I been a wilderness unto Israel? (Jeremiah 2:30-31).

[16] In the same:

Go not forth into the field, and walk not in the way, for there is the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side (Jeremiah 6:25-26).

In the same:

Take the cup of the wine of fury, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it; and they shall drink, and reel, and be mad because of the sword that I will send among you. Drink ye and be drunken, and spew and fall, and rise no more because of the sword (Jeremiah 25:15-16, 27).

In the same:

Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put that handle the shield, and the Ludim that handle and bend the bow. For that is a day of the Lord Jehovih of Armies, a day of vengeance; and the sword shall devour, and be satisfied, and shall be drunken with their blood (Jeremiah 46:9-10).

[17] In Ezekiel:

They shall strip thee of thy garments, and take the jewels of thy glory, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and they shall bring up an assembly against thee; and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords (Ezekiel 16:39-40); where the abominations of Jerusalem are treated of.

In Zechariah:

Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock; the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened (Zech. 11:17).

In Hosea:

Against me have they thought evil; their princes shall fall by the sword, because of the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt (Hos. 7:15-16).

[18] In Luke:

There shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people; for they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all the nations; and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations (Luke 21:23-24); where the Lord is speaking of the consummation of the age; and in the sense of the letter, of the dispersion of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem; but in the internal sense, of the last state of the church. By “falling by the edge of the sword,” is signified that there is no longer any truth, but mere falsity; by “all nations” are signified evils of every kind, among which they should be led captive; that “nations” are evils may be seen above (n. 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868); also that “Jerusalem” is the church (n. 2117), which is thus “trodden down.”

[19] IV. That a “sword” also signifies the punishment of falsity, is evident in Isaiah:

In that day Jehovah with His hard, and great, and strong sword, will visit upon leviathan the long serpent, and upon leviathan the crooked serpent, and will slay the whales that are in the sea (Isaiah 27:1); where those are treated of who by reasonings from sensuous things and from memory-knowledges enter into the mysteries of faith; the “hard and great and strong sword” denotes the punishments of the falsity therefrom.

[20] Where we read that they were “given over to the edge of the sword and slain by it,” sometimes both man and woman, boy and old man, ox and herd, and ass, in the internal sense the punishment of the condemnation of falsity is signified (as in Josh. 6:21; 8:24-25; 10:28, 30, 37, 39; 11:10-12, 14; 13:22; 19:47; Judges 1:8, 25; 4:15-16; 18:27; 20:37; 1 Samuel 15:8, 11; 2 Kings 10:25 and other places). Hence it was commanded that a city which should worship other gods should be smitten with the sword, be utterly destroyed, and be burnt up with fire, and be a heap forever (Deuteronomy 13:13, 15-17); the “sword” denoting the punishment of falsity; and “fire” the punishment of evil. The angel of Jehovah standing in the way against Balaam with a drawn sword (Numbers 22:31) signified the truth which resisted the falsity in which Balaam was; and for that reason also he was killed with a sword (Numbers 31:8).

[21] That a “sword” in the genuine sense signifies truth combating, and in the opposite sense falsity combating, also the vastation of truth, and the punishment of falsity, has its origin from the representatives in the other life; for when anyone there speaks what he knows to be false, there then immediately come down over his head as it were little swords, and strike terror; and besides, truth combating is represented by things that have a point, like swords; for indeed truth without good is of this nature, but when together with good it has a rounded form and is gentle. From this origin it comes to pass that whenever a “knife,” or “spear,” or “little sword,” or “sword” is mentioned in the Word, to the angels there is suggested truth combating.

[22] But the reason that a knife is seldom mentioned in the Word, is that there are evil spirits in the other life who are called “knifers,” at whose side there appear knives hanging; for the reason that they have such a brutal nature that they wish to cut everyone’s throat with the knife. Hence it is that “knives” are not mentioned, but “little swords” or “swords;” for as these are used in combats, they suggest the idea of war, and thus of truth combating.

[23] As it was known to the ancients that a little sword, a little lance, and a knife signify truth, the nations to whom this came by tradition were accustomed to pierce and lacerate themselves with little swords, little lances, or knives, at the time of their sacrifices, even to blood; as we read of the priests of Baal:

The priests of Baal cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and little lances, even till the blood gushed out (1 Kings 18:28).

That all the weapons of war in the Word signify things which belong to spiritual combat, and each one something specific, may be seen above (n. 2686).