222. And I will write upon him the name of my God. That this signifies their quality according to Divine truth implanted in the life is evident from the signification of writing upon any one, when it is said to be done by the Lord, as denoting to implant in the life, concerning which we shall speak presently, also from the signification of name, as denoting the quality of their state (concerning which see above n. 148); and from the signification of God, as denoting Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven, and thus the Lord in heaven (see n. 220); for the Lord is above the heavens, for He appears to those who are in heaven as a Sun (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell. n. 116-125). The Divine proceeding from the Sun of heaven, which is called Divine truth, and which constitutes heaven in general and in particular, is what in the Word is meant by God; hence it is that the angels are called gods, and that the term for God, in the Hebrew tongue, is Elohim, in the plural. From these considerations it is clear why the Lord here says, "the name of my God;" also above, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God" (n. 219), and in what follows, "I will write upon him the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (n. 223).

The reason why writing upon any one denotes to implant in the life is, that to write is to commit anything to paper from the memory, thought and mind, in order that it may remain; therefore, in the spiritual sense it signifies that which will remain in the life of man, inscribed and implanted in him. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into the spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper, or in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when it is implanted in faith and love; for love and faith constitute the spiritual life of man.

[2] Because to write signifies to implant in the life, therefore also it is said of Jehovah, or the Lord, that He writes, and that He has written in a book, by which is meant what is inscribed by the Lord on man's spirit, that is, in his heart and soul, or, what is the same, in his love and faith. As, in David:

"My bone was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret; upon thy book were all the days written when they were formed, and not one of them is wanting" (Psalms 139:15, 16).

Again:

"Let them be blotted out of the book of lives, and not be written with the just" (69:28).

In Daniel:

"The people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (12:1).

In Moses:

"Blot me, I pray out of the book which thou hast written. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:32, 33).

In the Apocalypse:

"A book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals," which no one was able to open but the Lamb only (5:1).

Again:

"All whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb" shall worship the beast (13:8; 17:8).

And again:

"I saw that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (20:12, 13, 15).

And again:

And none shall enter into the New Jerusalem except "those that are written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:27).

From these passages it is not to be understood that the persons referred to are written in a book, but that all the things of faith and love are inscribed on man's spirit (as is evident from what is said upon this subject in the work, Heaven and Hell 461-469).

[3] That to write, in the Word, signifies to inscribe and implant in the life, is also evident from other passages where it is mentioned; as in Jeremiah:

"I will put my law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart" (31:33).

To put the law in the midst of them, denotes Divine truth in them, in the midst, signifies inwardly in man (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and to write it on their heart, is to impress it upon the love, for the heart signifies the love (see Arcana Coelestia 7542, 9050, 10336). In Ezekiel:

"The prophet saw the roll of a book written within and without, and there were written thereon lamentations, mourning and woe" (2:9, 10; 3:1-3).

By the roll of a book written within and without is signified the state of the church at that time, thus the quality of the life of those who belonged to the church; therefore the roll of the book here mentioned has a signification similar to that of the book of life mentioned above; and because their life was destitute of the goods of love and truths of faith, it is said, that "There was written thereon, lamentations, and mourning and woe."

By the law being written upon tables of stone, and with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4:13; 9:10),

was signified that it must be impressed on the life (Arcana Coelestia 9416); for by the law, in the strict sense, the ten precepts of the Decalogue are meant, but in a broad sense, the whole Word (see Arcana Coelestia 6752, 7463). By stone is signified truth, and there it signifies Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). The same is signified by

The words of the law being written upon the twelve stones taken out of Jordan (Deuteronomy 27:2-4, 8; Josh. 4:3, and the following verses).

[4] In Ezekiel:

"Son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions: and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, and his companions. Afterwards join them one to another into one stick, that they may both be one in my hand" 37:16, 17).

What these things signify no one can know unless he knows what was represented by Judah, and what by Joseph. By Judah was represented the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and by Joseph his spiritual kingdom; and by writing for them upon two sticks of wood, was signified the state of the love, and thence of the life of both. Their conjunction into one heaven was signified by joining them one to another into one piece, that they might be one in my hand. The signification of this is similar to that of the Lord's words,

"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd" (John 10:16).

The reason why the writing was to be upon wood was, because wood signifies good, and it is good which conjoins. (But these things will be clearer from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the spiritual kingdom before the Lord's coming was not like it was after his coming, n. 6372, 8054: that the spiritual especially were saved by the coming of the Lord into the world, and that they were then conjoined with those who were of His celestial kingdom into one heaven, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8159, 8321, 9684. That there are two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual, and three heavens, and that they are conjoined into one heaven, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28, and 29-40. That by Judah, in the representative sense, is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363: that by Joseph is signified the Lord's spiritual kingdom, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417: that by Ephraim is signified the Intellectual of the spiritual church, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296: that by wood is signified the good of love, n. 643, 3720, 8354.)

[5] In Isaiah:

"This one shall say, I am of Jehovah; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel" (44:5).

These things are said concerning the Lord and His Divine Human. By Jacob and by Israel, where the Lord is treated of, is signified His human; and that it was also Jehovah is meant by one saying, "I am of Jehovah," and by subscribing with his own hand unto Jehovah. (That, in the highest sense, Israel and Jacob denote the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 4286, 4570, 6424.)

[6] In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah the hope of Israel, all that forsake me shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed" (17:13, 14).

To be written in the earth, is to be condemned on account of the state of the life, because by earth is signified what is condemned (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2327, 7418, 8306).

[7] Hence it is evident what is signified by the Lord's writing with his finger on the earth, as recorded in John:

"The Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery; they said, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act." They asked whether, according to the law of Moses, she should be stoned. "Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the earth, and rising said, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the earth." These things being heard they went out one after another, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman to whom he said, "Where are thine accusers; hath no man condemned thee? And he said, Go and sin no more" (John 8:3-11).

By the Lord writing on the earth, is signified the same as above in Jeremiah, where it is said, "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth," namely, that they were equally condemned on account of adulteries; therefore Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

That the Lord twice wrote on the earth in the temple, signified, in the spiritual sense, their condemnation for adulteries. For the Scribes and Pharisees were those who adulterated the goods and falsified the truths of the Word, consequently of the church; and adulteries in the spiritual sense are adulterations of good and falsifications of truth (as may be seen above, n. 141, 161); therefore also He called that nation an adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38).

5354. 'And the name of the second he called Ephraim' means a new area of understanding within the natural, and the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421; and from the representation of 'Ephraim' as the area of understanding within the natural, dealt with below. What the new area of understanding and what the new area of will are, meant by 'Ephraim and Manasseh', must be stated first. It is indeed well known in the Church that a person must be born again, that is, be regenerated, so that he may enter the kingdom of God. This is well known because the Lord has declared it quite explicitly in John 3:3, 5; yet What being born again implies is still known to only a few. And the reason for this is that few know what good and evil are. The reason people do not know what good and evil are is that they do not know what charity towards the neighbour is. If they did know what this was they would also know what good was, and from good what evil was; for everything is good that springs out of genuine charity towards the neighbour.

[2] But with no one can this good have its origin in the person himself, for it is something utterly heavenly flowing into him from the Lord. This heavenly good is flowing in constantly, but evils and falsities stand in the way and prevent the reception of it. So that it may be received therefore it is necessary for the person to remove the evils and, so far as he possibly can do so, the falsities too, and thereby bring himself into a condition to receive that good flowing in. When, after evils have been removed, he accepts the inflow of good he acquires a new will and a new understanding. The new will enables him to feel a sense of delight in doing good to his neighbour without any selfish end in view, and the new understanding enables him to take delight in learning what goodness and truth are for their own sakes and for the sake of the life he should lead. Because this new understanding and new will are brought into being by what flows in from the Lord, the person who has been regenerated therefore acknowledges and believes that the goodness and truth for which he feels an affection do not originate in himself but in the Lord, and also that what does originate in himself or is properly his own is nothing but evil.

[3] From all this one may see what is meant by being born again, and also what is meant by a new will and a new understanding. But regeneration, which brings the new will and the new understanding into being, does not take place in a single instant. Rather, it is taking place from earliest childhood through to the final phase of life, and after that for ever in the next life; and it is accomplished by Divine means that are countless and beyond description. In himself the human being is nothing but evil which is constantly radiating from him as if from a furnace and is constantly trying to smother good while it is still being born. The removal of that kind of evil and the firm implantation of good in its place cannot be effected except through the whole course of a person's life; nor can it be effected except by Divine means which are countless and beyond description. At the present time scarcely anything is known about these means, for the reason that people do not allow themselves to be regenerated. Nor do they believe that regeneration is anything, because they do not believe in a life after death. The process by which regeneration takes place, a process involving things beyond description, constitutes the major part of angelic wisdom; and that process is of such a nature that no angel can ever completely exhaust all there is to know about it. This is the reason why in the internal sense of the Word it is the chief matter that is dealt with.

[4] It is evident from very many places in the Word that 'Ephraim' means a new understanding within the natural, above all in the prophet Hosea, who makes many references to Ephraim, the following among them,

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me, that you have altogether committed whoredom, O Ephraim; Israel has been defiled. Israel and Ephraim will collapse through their iniquity; Judah also will collapse with them. Ephraim will become a lonely place on the day of reproach. ¹ And I will be like a moth to Ephraim, and like a worm to the house of Joseph. And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound; and Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb, and he could not cure you. Hosea 9:3, 5, 9, 11-13.

After this in the same prophet,

When I healed Israel the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and the evils of Samaria; for they practised a lie, and a thief came, a band spread itself outside. And Ephraim was like a silly dove with no heart; they called on Egypt, they went away to Assyria. When they go I will stretch My net over them. Hosea 7:1, 11-12 and following verses.

[5] And further on in the same prophet,

Israel has been swallowed up, now they are going to be among the gentiles, like a vessel in which there is no desire. When they went up to Assyria [they were like] a wild ass alone by himself; Ephraim procures lovers ² with a prostitute's hire. Hosea 8:8-9.

Israel will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. Hosea 9:3.

Ephraim has encompassed Me with a lie, and the house of Israel with deceit; and Judah will have dominion still with God and with the saints of the Faithful One. ³ Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation and they make a covenant with the Assyrian, and oil is carried down into Egypt. Hosea 11:11; 12:1.

[6] Ephraim is referred to by this prophet in many other places besides these, such as Hosea 4:16-18; 5:3, 5, 9, 11-13; 7:8-9; 9:8, 11, 13, 16; 10:6, 11; 11:3, 8-9; 12:8, 14; 13:1, 12; 14:8. In all these places 'Ephraim' is used to mean the area of understanding within the Church, Israel' the spiritual area within it, and 'Judah' the celestial area. Also, since the area of understanding within the Church is meant by 'Ephraim', frequent reference is therefore made to Ephraim going away into Egypt or into Assyria. This is because 'Egypt' means factual knowledge and 'Assyria' reasonings based on this; and factual knowledge and reasonings are things associated with the understanding. For the meaning of Egypt' as factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 3325, 4749, 4964, 4966; and for that of 'Asshur' or 'Assyria' as reason or reasoning, 119, 1186.

[7] The understanding area of the Church is meant in a similar way by 'Ephraim' in the following places: In Zechariah,

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and I will cut off the battle bow; on the other hand he will speak peace to the nations. And his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. I will bend Judah for Me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow; and I will rouse your sons, O Zion, together with your sons, O Javan. Zechariah 9:9-10, 13.

This refers to the Lord's Coming, also to the Church among the gentiles. 'Cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem' stands for the entire understanding which the Church possesses. 'Filling Ephraim with the bow' stands for imparting a new understanding. For 'the chariot' means doctrinal teaching, see 5321; 'the horse' means the power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and 'the bow' too means doctrinal teaching, 2685, 2686, 2709. Doctrinal teaching is dependent on the power of understanding, for to the extent that a person understands it, he believes it; his understanding of doctrinal teaching determines what his faith is like.

[8] For this reason the children of Ephraim are called 'archers' in David,

The children of Ephraim who were armed (they were archers) turned back on the day of battle. Psalms 78:9.

In Ezekiel,

Son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick and write on it, Joseph's - the stick of Ephraim and of the whole house of Israel, his companions. After that join them together, one to the other into one stick for you, that both may be one in your ⁴ hand. Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph which is in the hands of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will add them who are on it to the stick of Judah, and will make them into one stick, that they may be one stick in My hand. Ezekiel 37:16-17, 19.

Here also 'Judah' is used to mean the celestial area within the Church, 'Israel' the spiritual area within it, and 'Ephraim' the understanding area. The idea that these will be made one through the good of charity is meant by the promise that one stick will be made out of two. For 'a stick' means good which is the good of charity and of works motivated by charity, see 1110, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943.

[9] In Jeremiah,

It is a day [when] the watchmen will cry from mount Ephraim, Arise, let us go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God. I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim will be My firstborn. Jeremiah 31:6, 9.

In the same prophet,

I have surely heard Ephraim bewailing, You have chastised me and I was chastised, like an unruly calf. Direct me, that I may be directed. Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me? Is he not a delightful child? For after I have spoken against him I will surely remember him again. Jeremiah 31:18, 20.

In the same prophet,

I will bring back Israel to his own habitation so that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan; and on mount Ephraim and in Gilead his soul will be satisfied. Jeremiah 50:19

In Isaiah,

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the falling flower and the glory of its beauty, which is on the head of a valley of fat ones confused by wine. Isaiah 28:1.

[10] In all these places too 'Ephraim' means the area of understanding within the Church. The area of understanding within the Church is that understanding which members of the Church have about truth and goodness, that is, about matters of doctrine regarding faith and charity. Thus it is the notions, conceptions, or ideas which they possess about these matters. Truth forms the spiritual area of the Church, and good the celestial area. But one member's understanding of truth and goodness is different from another's, and therefore the nature of each member's understanding of truth determines the kind of truth known to him. And the same is so with each person's understanding of goodness.

[11] What the Church's area of will, meant by 'Manasseh', is exactly can be recognized from the area of understanding, which is 'Ephraim'. The nature of the Church's will is similar to that of its understanding in that it varies from one member to another. 'Manasseh' means that area of will in Isaiah,

Through the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth the earth has been darkened, and the people have become as fuel for the fire; a man will not spare his brother. A man will eat the flesh of his own arm; Manasseh [will consume] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they are against Judah.

'A man will eat the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh [will consume] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh' stands for the member of the Church when his will acts in opposition to the activity of his understanding, and his understanding acts in opposition to the activity of his will.

[12] In David,

God has spoken by means of His holiness, I will exalt, I will divide up Shechem and portion out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; and Ephraim is the strength of My head. Psalms 60:6-7.

In the same author,

Turn Your ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead ⁵ Joseph like a flock; You who are seated upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Your power. Psalms 80:1-2.

Here also 'Ephraim' stands for the area of understanding within the Church and 'Manasseh' for the area of will there. The same meaning is also evident from the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob before he died, and in addition from the fact that Jacob accepted Ephraim in place of Reuben, and Manasseh in place of Simeon, Genesis 48:3, 5. For Reuben had represented the Church's area of understanding, which is faith in the understanding, or doctrine, 3861, 3866. Also, Simeon had represented faith in action - or obedience and the will to put truth into practice - from which charity springs and through which charity expresses itself; thus he represented truth realized in action, which is good belonging to the new will, 3869-3872.

[13] The reason why Jacob, who by then was Israel, blessed Ephraim more fully than Manasseh, by placing his right hand on the former and his left on the latter, Genesis 48:13-20, was the same as the one involved in Jacob's procurement for himself of Esau's birthright. It was also the same as what was involved in the birth of Perez and Zerah, Judah's sons by Tamar; though he was the firstborn, Zerah nevertheless came out after Perez, Genesis 38:18-30. The reason this happened was that the truth of faith, which belongs to the understanding, seems to occupy the first place while a person is being regenerated, and the good of charity, which belongs to the will, seems to occupy the second. But in actual fact good occupies the first place, as is plain to see once the person has been regenerated. On this subject, see 3314, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926.

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