8199. 'The whole night' means in the state of obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of 'night' as a state of obscurity so far as the truth and good of faith are concerned, dealt with in 1712, 6000. Here 'night' is used to mean the obscurity immediately following temptations, for those who are delivered from them pass into obscurity first before moving on into clearness. The falsities and evils that were introduced by the hells still cling to them for quite some time and are dissipated only gradually.

1686. 'Four kings with five' means the union existing with the latter four and the lack of union with the other five. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'four' and from the meaning of 'five'. Consisting of two pairs, 'four' means union, as also does two when it has regard to things that are married, as also noted in 720. 'Five' however means disunity because it is associated with fewness, as shown in 649. All things depend for their particular meanings on the subjects to which they refer.