1
神记念挪亚和挪亚方舟里的一切走兽牲畜。神叫风吹地，水势渐落。
9
但遍地上都是水，鸽子找不着落脚之地，就回到方舟挪亚那里，挪亚伸手把鸽子接进方舟来。
11
到了晚上，鸽子回到他那里，嘴里叼着一个新拧下来的橄榄叶子，挪亚就知道地上的水退了。
13
到挪亚六百零一岁，正月初一日，地上的水都乾了。挪亚撤去方舟的盖观看，便见地面上乾了。
17
在你那里凡有血肉的活物，就是飞鸟、牲畜，和一切爬在地上的昆虫，都要带出来，叫他在地上多多滋生，大大兴旺。
19
一切走兽、昆虫、飞鸟，和地上所有的动物，各从其类，也都出了方舟。
20
挪亚为耶和华筑了一座坛，拿各类洁净的牲畜、飞鸟献在坛上为燔祭。
886. That 'olive' means the good that stems from charity is clear not only from the meaning of 'olive' but also from the meaning of 'oil' in the Word. Olive oil in addition to spices was used to anoint priests and kings, and it was also used in the lamps. Concerning the former, see Exodus 30:24, and the latter, Exodus 27:20. The reason olive oil was used in anointing and in lamps was that it represented everything celestial and so everything good that stems from love and charity. Oil is in fact the essential element of the tree, its soul so to speak, as the celestial or the good that stems from love and charity is the essential element or soul itself of faith. This is the origin of its representation. That 'oil' means that which is celestial or the good that stems from love and charity may be confirmed from many places in the Word, but since the olive itself is referred to here, let some that confirm the meaning solely of the olive be quoted. In Jeremiah,
Jehovah called your name, Green Olive Tree, fair with shapely fruit. Jeremiah 11:16.
The name given here applies to the Most Ancient or celestial Church, which was the basis of the Jewish Church. Consequently all the representatives of the Jewish Church had regard to celestial things, and through the latter to the Lord.
[2] In Hosea,
His branches will go out and his beauty will be like the olive, and his smell like that of Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.
This refers to the Church that is to be established. Its beauty is 'the olive', that is, the good that stems from love and charity, while 'the smell like that of Lebanon' is resulting affection for the truth of faith. 'Lebanon' stands for its cedars, which meant spiritual things, or the truths of faith.
In Zechariah,
Two olive trees beside the lampstand, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. These are the two sons of pure oil, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:3, 11, 14.
Here 'the two olive trees' stands for the celestial and the spiritual, and so for love which belongs to the celestial Church and for charity which belongs to the spiritual Church. These stand to the right and to the left of the Lord. 'The lampstand' here means the Lord, just as it used to represent Him in the Jewish Church. 'The lamps' are celestial things from which spiritual things radiate like rays of light, or light itself, from a flame. In David,
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots. Psalms 128:3.
Here 'a wife like a vine' stands for the spiritual Church, and 'sons' stands for the truths of faith which are called 'olive shoots' because they stem from the goods of charity. In Isaiah,
Gleanings will be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries on the top of the [highest] branch. Isaiah 17:6.
This refers to the remnants residing with a person. 'Olives' stands for celestial remnants. In Micah,
You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and tread the new wine but not drink wine. Micah 6:15.
And in Moses,
You will plant and dress vineyards but not drink wine. You will have olive trees within all your borders but not anoint yourself with oil. Deuteronomy 28:39-40.
The subject here is the abundance of doctrinal detail concerning the goods and truths of faith which they rejected because of the kind of people they were. From these quotations it becomes clear that 'a leaf' means the truth of faith and 'olive' the good that stems from charity. And similar things are meant by 'the olive leaf which the dove was carrying in its mouth', that is, a small measure of the truth of faith deriving from the good that stems from charity was now showing itself with the member of the Ancient Church.
