450. Amongst these twelve tribes, from each of which twelve thousand are said to be sealed, the tribe of Dan is not mentioned, but in its stead the tribe of Manasseh. The reason of this is, that the tribe of Dan represented and signified such as are now treated of in this chapter of whom John thus speaks:

"After this I saw, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, out of every nation, and [of all] tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (verse 9).

For these are they who were not in the very (ipsis) truths of heaven and of the church, but in the good of life according to the doctrinals of their religion, which, for the most part, were not genuine truths, but falsities, and yet were accepted by the Lord as truths, because they were in the good of life, in consequence of which the falsities of their religion were not tinctured with evil, but inclined to good. The reason why they were taken instead of the tribe of Dan, is, that the tribe of Dan was the last of the tribes, and therefore in the kingdom of the Lord, signifies the ultimates, in which those are who are in the good of life and of faith according to their religion, in which there are no genuine truths. Concerning the tribe of Dan, see the Arcana Coelestia 1710, 3920, 3923, 6396, 10335).

10335. 'And I, behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan' means those in whom the good and truth of faith are present, among whom the Church is to be established. This is clear from the representation of 'Aholiab' as those in whom the good and truth of faith are present. The reason why these are represented by Aholiab is that he was from the tribe of Dan, and that tribe means those in whom the good and truth of faith are present, see 3923, 6396. And the reason why these two - Bezalel from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan - were chosen to carry out the work, by which Divine celestial and spiritual realities would be represented, was that by Bezalel all those in whom the good of love is present should be understood, and by Aholiab all those in whom the good and truth of faith are present. Thus those who are in the inmost parts of heaven and the Church should be understood by Bezalel, and those who are in the last and lowest parts of them by Aholiab. And when they who are inmost and those who are last and lowest are referred to by name, all who are within the whole of heaven and within the whole of the Church should be understood. For this matter, see above in 10329; and when reference is made to what is first and what is last all things should be understood, 10044.

[2] The tribe of Judah was also in reality the first of the tribes, and the tribe of Dan the last of them. The fact that the tribe of Judah was in reality the first of the tribes is clear from father Israel's blessing of his sons in Genesis 49, where Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, who were the firstborn, are cursed, and Judah is blessed. See regarding Reuben there, verses 3, 4; regarding Simeon and Levi, verses 5-7; and regarding Judah, verses 8-12. And the fact that Dan was the last of the tribes, see 1710, 3923, 6396. The inmost heaven furthermore is inhabited by those in whom the good of love to the Lord exists, and the lowest by those in whom the truth of faith springing from good is present. The expression 'in whom the truth of faith springing from good is present' is used because the truth of faith is not the truth of faith present in a person unless it springs from good; for truth is born from good. Therefore unless good resides within truth there is no soul and so no life within it. Those in whom the truths of faith springing from good are present inhabit the lowest parts of heaven, but not those in whom the truths of faith are devoid of good; the latter do not inhabit heaven. Since the truth of faith acts as a servant to the good of love, as what is last does to what is first, it says of Aholiab that Jehovah appointed him to be with Bezalel, that is, to be his assistant; and of Bezalel it says that Jehovah filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work, verse 3.