6432. 'The blessings of the breasts' means with affections for goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the breasts' as affections for goodness and truth. 'The breasts' means those affections because the breasts communicate with the generative organs, and for that reason they too belong to the province of conjugial love (regarding that province see 5050-5062). Now conjugial love corresponds to the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of goodness and truth (for conjugial love comes down from that marriage, see 2618, 2728, 2729, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835, 6179), and therefore 'the breasts' means affections for goodness and truth. In addition they derive that meaning from the fact that the breasts are what feed infants and so mean, through the affection that goes with breast-feeding, conjugial love when joined to the love of offspring.

[2] The same affections are also meant by 'the breasts' in Isaiah,

You will suck the milk of nations, and the breasts of kings you will suck. Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron silver. Isaiah 60:16-17.

'Sucking the breasts of kings' stands for good obtained from truth, for by 'kings' truths are meant, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. 'The milk of nations' and 'the breasts of kings' plainly mean some profoundly spiritual matter, for those words would otherwise be meaningless. The fact that goodness and truth are meant is clear from the words that follow, which are 'Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron silver'; for 'bronze' is natural good, 425, 1551, and 'gold' celestial good, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658; 'iron' is natural truth, 425, 426, and 'silver' spiritual truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112.

[3] In Ezekiel,

As regards increase, I gave you to be like the seed of the field, out of which you grew up and matured and reached full beauty; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Ezekiel 16:7.

This refers to Jerusalem, which here means the Ancient spiritual Church. 'Breasts that were formed' stands for interior affections for goodness and truth, 'your hair had grown for exterior affections belonging to the natural - 'hair' being the natural as regards truth, see 3301, 5247, 5569-5573. These words plainly contain a spiritual sense which is not visible in the letter, for without that sense why would it say of Jerusalem that its breasts were formed and its hair had grown?

[4] In the same prophet,

Two women, the daughters of one mother, committed whoredom in Egypt. In their youth they committed whoredom; there their breasts were squeezed, and there they contemplated their virgin busts. Ezekiel 23:2-3, 8, 21.

This passage in Ezekiel states that the two women are Jerusalem and Samaria, by whom Churches are meant in the internal sense. The statement that in their youth they committed whoredom with Egypt means that they falsified the truths of the Church by their use of factual knowledge - 'committing whoredom' is falsifying truths, see 2466, 4865, and 'Egypt' is factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702. Consequently 'their breasts were squeezed' stands for affections for goodness and truth that became perverted through falsifications. The fact that the women's whoredom and the squeezing of their breasts mean such things can be seen by those who are prepared to look into what is meant in the description of those women.

[5] In Hosea,

Contend with your mother, let her remove her whoredoms from her sight, ¹ and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest perhaps I strip her naked, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. Hosea 2:1, 3.

'Mother' here stands for the Church, 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, whoredoms' for falsifications of truth, 2466, 4865, 'adulteries' for adulterations of good, 2466, 2729, 3399. Consequently 'adulteries from between her breasts' stands for adulterated affections for goodness and truth, 'stripping naked' for depriving of all truth, 1073, 4958, 5437, 'making like a wilderness, setting like a dry land, and slaying with thirst' for the annihilation of all truth.

[6] In the same prophet,

Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Hosea 9:14.

'Dry breasts' stands for affections for neither truth nor good. In Isaiah,

O women without anxiety, stand still, hear My voice; O confident daughters, perceive My speech with your ears. Strip and make yourself bare, and gird [sackcloth] around your waist ² - people beating themselves on their breasts for the fields of unmixed wine, and the fruitful vine. Isaiah 32:9, 11-12.

'Daughters' stands for affections, 2362, 3024, 3963, 'being stripped bare' for being deprived of truth, 1073, 4958, 5433, 'girding [sackcloth] around one's waist' for suffering grief over good that has been lost, 'beating on breasts' for suffering grief over the good of truth that has been lost. Since these things are meant, it also says 'for the fields of unmixed wine, and the fruitful vine'; for 'the field' is the Church in respect of good, thus the Church's good, 2971, 3196, 3310, 3766, and 'vine' is the spiritual Church, and therefore the good of truth, 5113, 6375, 6376.

[7] In the Book of Revelation,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe, and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts. Revelation 1:12-13.

'Golden lampstands' are truths of good, 'the Son of Man' is Divine Truth, 'surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts' the good of love. Anyone may deduce from the holiness of the Word that the things John saw concealed within themselves realities such as belong to the Lord's kingdom and His Church; for what holiness would there be in making predictions about kingdoms in the world? From this one may recognize that they are heavenly things that are meant by 'lampstands' and by 'the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe, and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts'.

[8] In Luke,

A certain woman lifted up her voice out of the crowd; ³ she said about Jesus, Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts that You sucked. But Jesus said, Rather than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Luke 11:27-28.

The Lord's reply shows what 'blessed is the womb' and what 'the breasts' mean - 'those who hear the Word of God and keep it', thus affections for truth which exist with those who hear the Word or God, and affections for good which exist with those who keep it, that is, put it into practice.

脚注:

5728. Genesis 44

1. And he commanded the one who was over his house, saying, Fill the men's pouches with food, as much as they can carry; and put each one's silver in the mouth of his pouch.

2. And you are to put my cup, the cup made of silver, in the mouth of the pouch of the youngest, and his silver for grain; and he did according to Joseph's word which he spoke.

3. Morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses.

4. They went out of the city, not far distant. And Joseph said to the one who was over his house, Rise up, pursue the men and overtake them; and you are to say to them, Why are you repaying evil for good?

5. Is not this what my lord drinks from; and does he not certainly practise divination in this? You have done evil in what you have done.

6. And he overtook them, and spoke those words to them.

7. And they said to him, Why does my lord speak words such as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing as this.

8. Behold, the silver which we found in the mouth of our pouches we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; and how could we steal from your lord's house silver or gold?

9. With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die; and we also will be slaves to my lord.

10. And he said, Now also, according to your words, so let it be: He with whom it is found will be my slave, and you will be innocent.

11. And they hurried and caused to come down, each one his pouch to the earth; and they opened each one his pouch.

12. And he searched; he began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's pouch.

13. And they rent their clothes; and each one loaded his ass, and they returned to the city.

14. And Judah and his brothers entered Joseph's house, and he, he was still there; and they fell before him to the earth.

15. And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that a man such as I certainly practises divination?

16. And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord, what shall we speak? And how shall we be acquitted? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord's slaves, even ourselves, even he in whose hand the cup was found.

17. And [Joseph] said, Far be it from me to do this; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he will be my slave, and you, go up in peace to your father.

18. And Judah approached him and said, By me, ¹ my lord, let your servant, I beg you, speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for as you are, so is Pharaoh.

19. My lord questioned his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother?

20. And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, the youngest one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left to his mother, and his father loves him.

21. And you said to your servants, Cause him to come down to me, and I will set my eye on him.

22. And we said to my lord, The boy cannot leave his father; and should he leave his father, [his father] will die.

23. And you said to your servants, If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.

24. And so it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him my lord's words.

25. And our father said, Return, buy us a little food.

26. And we said, We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us we will go down, for we cannot see the man's face if our youngest brother is not with us.

27. And your servant my father said to us, You know that my wife bore me two sons.

28. And one went out from me, and I said, He has surely been torn to pieces; and I have not seen him since.

29. And you are taking this one also from before my face, and should harm befall him, you will cause my grey hair to go down in evil to the grave.

30. And now, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, and his soul being bound up with his soul,

31. It will be, when he sees that the boy is not there, that he will die, and your servants will cause the grey hair of your servant our father to go down in sorrow to the grave.

32. For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, If I do not bring him back to you I shall be sinning against my father all my days.

33. And now, I beg you, let your servant stay instead of the boy, a slave to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brothers.

34. For how am I to go up to my father, and the boy is not with me? Perhaps I shall see the evil which will come upon my father.

CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with the intermediary between the internal celestial man and the external natural man. First comes a description which shows that from itself the internal celestial man filled the intermediary with spiritual truth. The intermediary is 'Benjamin', while the spiritual truth present there is 'Joseph's silver cup'; the internal celestial man is 'Joseph', and the external natural man is 'the ten sons of Jacob'.

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