10062. 'And on the thumb of their right hand' means the resulting power of understanding in the middle heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the thumb' as the power of good exercised through truth, or truth in its power springing from good, and the resulting power of understanding, dealt with below. The reason why the power of understanding in the middle heaven is meant is that 'the blood' which was put on the thumb means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens, dealt with above in 10060, at this point therefore the resulting power of understanding. For 'the blood on the tip of the right ear' means the power of perception in the inmost heaven; as a result 'the blood on the thumb of the right hand' means the power of understanding in the middle heaven, while [that on] 'the big toe of the right foot' means the power of understanding in the last and lowest heaven. For the things that belong to the inmost heaven are meant by the head and parts of the head, and therefore this heaven's power of perception is meant here by 'the right ear', since the ear is part of the head. The things that belong to the middle heaven are meant by the body and parts of the body, and therefore the power of understanding is meant here by 'the right hand', while those things that belong to the lowest heaven are meant by the feet and parts of the feet. Regarding such correspondence of the heavens with the human being, see above in 10030 and the places referred to there. In the inmost heaven furthermore exists the ability to perceive truth springing from good; in the middle heaven however no ability to perceive truth exists, only the ability to understand it. And the like is so in the lowest heaven, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684.

[2] 'The thumb of the right hand' - which means truth in its power springing from good, and the resulting power of understanding in the middle heaven - seems, it is true, to be something too small and insignificant to mean heaven; for how, it may be asked, can the thumb come to have so great and significant a meaning? But it should be remembered that the last and lowest or outermost part of any member of the body has the same meaning as the whole member. 'The hand' means the whole power of the body, and the power which the body possesses is exercised through the arms and hands. Regarding what is last or outermost, that it means all or the whole, in the same way as what is first and highest, see above in 10044.

[3] For the meaning of 'the hands' as power and the fact that all power belongs to truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 10019; and for the meaning of 'the right hand' as the power of truth springing from good, and 'the left hand' as truth through which comes good, 10061. The reason why the power of understanding is what should be understood is that all the power of understanding is composed of truths, whereas all the power of will is composed of forms of good. For everything in the world and in heaven has connection with truth and with good, and the human understanding has been provided for truths and the will for forms of good. Therefore since truth in its power is meant by 'the hands', the understanding as well is meant by them.

[4] Because the thumb, like the hands, meant the power that belongs to truth springing from good, it was the practice in ancient times among the nations, and also among the Israelite people, to cut off the thumbs and big toes of their enemies, Judges 1:6-7; this represented the removal of all power from them. In the thumb furthermore resides the main power of the hand, for when the thumb has been cut off the hand no longer has the strength to fight in battle. Just as the thumb means power, so do 'the fingers', as in David,

Jehovah trains my hands for conflicts, and my fingers for war. Psalms 144:1.

In the same author,

When I look at the heavens, the work of Your fingers ... Psalms 8:3.

In Luke,

Jesus said, If I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come to you. Luke 11:20.

10060. 'And take some of its blood' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of 'blood', in reference to a sacrifice or burnt offering, as Divine Truth, dealt with above in 10026, 10033, at this point Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Human, transmitted and received in the heavens; for this is the subject in what immediately follows. It was stated above in 10057 that a person who is being regenerated experiences two states, the first being a time when truth is implanted and joined to good, the second when the person is governed by good and good is the source of his actions. In this second state the truths present with him emanate from good, for good is the standpoint from which he sees them, speaks of them, and acts them out. Good is present in everything at this time, as the soul is within a person, or as the heart is within the body, which one who is wise also discerns in the words and actions of those who are governed by good. From this idea of a person's regeneration it is possible to have some conception of the glorification of the Lord's Human; for the way in which the Lord regenerates a person is akin to the way in which He glorified His Human, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. For the first state of glorification of His Human involved the implanting of Divine Truth and uniting of this Truth to the Divine Good. While He was in the world therefore the Lord made His Human Divine Truth; He also united it to the Divine Good that was within Him and in so doing made it Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end). The second state of His glorification is one in which the Divine Truth emanates from Divine Good; that Truth is His Divinity as this is present in the heavens. The first state of the glorification of the Lord's Human is described in the internal sense by the things stated regarding the sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram, dealt with in verses 10-18 of the present chapter. But the second state is described by those that immediately follow regarding the second ram, which is called 'the ram of fillings [of the hand]'. From all this it is evident that 'blood' here means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, transmitted and received in the heavens.