7619. 'Through the hand of Moses' means by means of the law from God. This is clear from the meaning of 'through the hand of someone' as through an intermediary, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Moses' as the law from God, dealt with in 6771, 6827. The reason why 'speaking through the hand of someone' means by means of that person or through an intermediary is that 'the hand' means power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7518. Thus 'the hand of someone' is power exercised vicariously, which is the same as through an intermediary; for what is done through an intermediary is done through the power that another has within him. This explains the occurrence of that way of speaking in the Word, such as in the Books of Kings, which mentions a number of times the Word that Jehovah spoke 'through the hand of someone'; for example, He spoke through the hand of Ahijah the prophet, 1 Kings 14:18; through the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite, 1 Kings 15:29; through the hand of Jehu the prophet, 1 Kings 16:7, 12; through the hand of Joshua, 1 Kings 16:34; through the hand of Elijah, 1 Kings 17:16; and through the hand of Jonah the prophet, 2 Kings 14:25.

6292. 'Place your right hand on his head' means that good should accordingly occupy the first place. This is clear from the meaning of 'placing the right hand on a head' as considering to occupy the first place, as above in 6269, 6287. The placing of his hand by one on the head of another when he was going to bless belonged to a custom received from the ancients. For the head is where a person's actual powers of understanding and will reside, whereas the body is where actions in response and in obedience to them are located. Thus 'placing a hand on the head' was a representative act, denoting that a blessing should be imparted to a person's understanding and will, thus to his real self. That same custom originating in those ancient times remains even to this day and is followed at ordinations as well as in blessings.