447. Verse 8. Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand sealed, signifies the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the third heaven. This is evident from the representation and consequent signification of "Zebulun" and the tribe named from him, as meaning the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the third heaven; because "Zebulun" in the Hebrew means cohabitation, and cohabitation signifies in the spiritual sense conjunction, such as exists with those who love each other. Here "Zebulun" signifies the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the third heaven, because the nine preceding tribes signify all those who are in the heavens and who come into the heavens; and there are three heavens, the inmost, the middle, and the lowest, and no one comes into heaven except those whom the Lord conjoins to Himself; therefore the three tribes last mentioned signify conjunction with the Lord, "the tribe of Zebulun" the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the third heaven, "the tribe of Joseph" the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the second heaven, and "the tribe of Benjamin" the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the lowest heaven.

[2] "Zebulun" signifies in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord, in the internal sense the Lord's conjunction with heaven and the church; and in particular, the conjunction of good and truth therein, for by this conjunction the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the three heavens and in the church is effected; for with such the Lord flows in with the good of love and charity, and conjoins that good to the truths that are with them, and thereby conjoins man and angel to Himself. This is what is signified by "cohabitation," which is the meaning of "Zebulun." That this is the meaning of "Zebulun" can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 3960, 3961), where the words of Leah his mother when he was born are explained, which are as follows:

And Leah conceived, and bare a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; this time will my husband cohabit with me, because I have borne him six sons; and she called his name Zebulun (Genesis 30:19, 20).

[3] From this signification of "Zebulun" what is signified by him in the following passages can be seen. As in the prophecy of Israel respecting his sons:

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas; and he shall dwell at a haven of ships; and his side shall be unto Zidon (Genesis 49:13).

Here "Zebulun" signifies the conjunction of good and truth, which is called the heavenly marriage; "to dwell at a haven of the sea" signifies the conjunction of things spiritual with natural truths, "seas" meaning knowledges (scientifica), which are natural truths; "to dwell at a haven of ships" signifies the spiritual conjunction with doctrinals from the Word, "ships" meaning doctrinals and knowledges of all kinds; "his side shall be unto Zidon" signifies extension to the knowledges of good and truth from the celestial kingdom. (For further explanation of this see Arcana Coelestia 6382-6386.)

[4] The like is meant in the prophecy of Moses respecting the sons of Israel:

Of Zebulun he said, Be glad, Zebulun; in thy going out, and Issachar in thy tents. They shall call the peoples unto the mountain; there they shall sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the abundance of the seas, and the hidden things of the secret things of the sand (Deuteronomy 33:18, 19).

Here, too, "Zebulun" signifies the marriage of good and truth, as may be seen in the preceding article n. 445, where the prophecy is explained. So again in the prophecy of Deborah and Barak in the book of Judges:

Out of Machir shall come down lawgivers, and out of Zebulun they that draw the staff of the scribe. Zebulun was a people that devoted the soul to death, and Naphtali upon the heights of the field. The kings came, they fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of silver. They fought from heaven; the stars from their courses fought with Sisera (Judges 5:14, 18-20).

This prophecy treats of the combat of truth from good against falsity from evil; "the king of Canaan" who reigned in Hazor, and "Sisera" the captain of his army who fought against Barak and Deborah, signify the falsity of evil, and "Barak and Deborah" the truth of good; and as "the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun" signify combat from truth that is from good, "the tribe of Naphtali" combat, and "the tribe of Zebulun" the conjunction of good and truth, therefore these two tribes only, and not the other tribes, were taken to fight (See Judges 4:6). That this was what this combat signified can be seen from the prophecy uttered by Barak and Deborah, which treats in the spiritual sense of the victory of truth from good over falsity from evil, and of the purification and reformation of the church. So here "Out of Machir shall come down lawgivers" signifies that the truths of good shall flow forth from the good of life, for "Machir" has a like signification as "Manasseh," because Machir was the son of Manasseh (Genesis 50:23; Joshua 13:31); and "lawgivers" signify those who are in the truths of good, and in an abstract sense the truths of good; "and out of Zebulun they that draw the staff of the scribe" signifies intelligence from the conjunction of truth and good, "Zebulun" signifying here, as above, the conjunction of truth and good, and the "staff of the scribe" intelligence. "Zebulun was a people that devoted the soul to death, and Naphtali upon the heights of the field," signifies combat in the natural man by means of truths from the spiritual man and from its influx and conjunction, "the heights of the field" signifying the interior things that are of the spiritual man, from which the natural man combats; "the kings came, they fought, then fought the kings of Canaan" signifies the falsities of evil against which is combat; "in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo" signifies those falsities and of what quality they are; "they took no gain of silver" signifies that they took and carried away nothing of truth from good, "silver" meaning truth from good; "they fought from heaven, the stars from their courses fought with Sisera" signifies combat by means of the knowledges of truth and good, which are from the Lord through heaven, "stars" meaning such knowledges, and "courses" truths.

[5] Again, "Zebulun and Naphtali" signify the conjunction of truth and good through combat against falsities and evils, and consequent reformation. In Matthew:

Jesus leaving Nazareth, came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations; the people sitting in darkness saw a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death to them did light spring up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent ye, for the kingdom of the heavens hath come nigh (Matthew 4:13-17; Isaiah 9:1, 2).

In Isaiah this was evidently said respecting the Lord, for it is said "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet;" therefore "the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and Galilee of the nations," signify the establishment of the church with the Gentiles that are in the good of life and that receive truths and are thus in the conjunction of good and truth, and in combat against evils and falsities. That this means the establishment of the church and the reformation of such nations is evident also from its being said "beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations," and also "the people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death did light spring up."

[6] "Zebulun and Naphtali" signify in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and the Lord's Divine Human by means of temptations admitted into Himself, and victories gained by His own power; as in David, Psalms 68:27-29 (which may be seen explained above, n. 439. Because of this signification of "Zebulun":

The tribe of Judah, together with the tribe of Issachar and the tribe of Zebulun, pitched to the east about the tent of meeting (Numbers 2:3-10);

for the encampments of the sons of Israel about the tent of meeting represent and thence signify the arrangements of the angelic societies in heaven; and to the east in heaven are those who are in conjunction with the Lord through love to Him; for "the tribe of Judah" represented love to the Lord, and "the tribe of Zebulun" conjunction with Him.

440. Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand sealed, signifies the goods of life therefrom. This is evident from the representation and consequent signification of "the tribe of Manasseh," as meaning the voluntary [principle] of the church, and the good of life therefrom. It means the good of life because the good of life makes one with the voluntary of the church or of the man of the church, since that which a man wills he does when he can, for doing is nothing but the will acting, as can be seen from the fact that doing stops when the will stops, and doing goes on as long as there is a will; that which the will of a regenerated man does is called the good of life. For this reason, as the voluntary of the church is signified by "Manasseh" and his tribe, so the good of life is also signified. Moreover, the good of life is the outcome of charity towards the neighbor after regeneration, which is signified by "Asher and Naphtali," like an effect from its cause; for they who are in charity towards the neighbor are regenerated by the Lord, and those who are regenerated are in the good of life, since they act from charity, and all action from charity is good of life.

[2] There are two things that constitute the church, namely, the truth of doctrine and the good of life; both of these must be in a man that he may be a man of the church. "Ephraim and Manasseh" represented and thence signify in the Word these two, "Ephraim" the truth of doctrine, and "Manasseh" the good of life. The truth of doctrine is also called the intellectual of the church, and the good of life is called its voluntary; for truth is of the understanding, and good is of the will; for this reason also "Ephraim and Manasseh" signify the intellectual and the voluntary of the church, "Ephraim" its intellectual, and "Manasseh" its voluntary. That these might be represented and thence signified by "Ephraim and Manasseh" they were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt; for "Joseph" signifies the celestial-spiritual, or the spiritual kingdom itself that is adjoined to the celestial kingdom, and "the land of Egypt" signifies the natural; consequently "Manasseh" signifies the good of the will in the natural born of the celestial-spiritual, and "Ephraim" signifies truth of the understanding in the natural, also born from the same. The nativity of these is thus described in Moses:

And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, For God hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim, For God hath made me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction (Genesis 41:50-52).

The meaning of these words in the spiritual sense can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5347-5356), namely, that the name of the firstborn, "Manasseh," means the new voluntary in the natural and what is its quality; and the name of the second, "Ephraim," means the new intellectual in the natural, and what is its quality; or what is the same, "Manasseh" means the good of the new natural man, and "Ephraim" its truth (See n. 5351, 5354).

[3] That this is the signification of "Manasseh and Ephraim" can be seen from the fact that they were adopted by Jacob as "Reuben and Simeon," which is thus described in Moses:

And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now thy two sons, born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine. They shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance (Genesis 48:3, 5, 6).

As "Reuben" signifies truth in the understanding, which is the truth of doctrine, and "Simeon" truth in the will, which is the good of life, therefore Jacob says that "Ephraim and Manasseh should be to him as Reuben and Simeon;" consequently "Ephraim" signifies intellectual truth, and "Manasseh" voluntary good. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 6234-6241.)

[4] The same can be seen from the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob, then Israel, as follows:

Israel blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me from then unto this day, the Angel that hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them shall my name be called, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth (Genesis 48:15-16).

That here, too, "Ephraim" means intellectual truth, and "Manasseh" voluntary good, both in the natural, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6274-6285). And again, in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Moses, as follows:

Respecting Joseph, In the firstborn of his ox he hath honor, and his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall push the peoples together to the ends of the earth; and these are the myriads of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 33:17).

This may be seen explained above (n. 336[4]).

That "Ephraim" signifies the understanding of truth, and "Manasseh" the will of good, both in the natural, can be seen also from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In the fury of Jehovah of Hosts is the land darkened, and the people are become as fuel of the fire; a man shall not pity his brother; and if he shall cut down on the right hand he shall still be hungry, and if he shall eat on the left hand they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, they together against Judah ¹ (Isaiah 9:19-21).

"Manasseh shall eat Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh," here signifies that every good and truth of the church is to perish, the good through falsity, and the truth through evil, as may be seen above (n. 386, where the particulars are explained).

[5] In David:

Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine, and Ephraim is the strength of My head; Judah is My lawgiver (Psalms 60:7; 108:8).

"Manasseh" here signifies the good of the church, "Ephraim" its truth, and "Gilead" the natural; and since truth from good in the natural has Divine power it is said, "Ephraim is the strength of My head." Divine power is through truth from good in the natural, because the natural is the ultimate into which things interior flow, which are spiritual and celestial, and where they are together and subsist; consequently where they are in fullness, and in this and from this is all Divine operation. For this reason the sense of the letter of the Word, because it is natural, has in it Divine power (respecting which see above, n. 346, and Arcana Coelestia 9836); from this it can be seen why Ephraim is said to be "the strength of Jehovah's head;" Judah is said to be "His lawgiver" because "Judah" signifies internal Divine truth, or the Word in the spiritual sense, and "lawgiver" and "law" have a similar signification.

[6] In the same:

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh stir up Thy might and come for salvation to us (Psalms 80:1, 2).

From the spiritual sense it is clear that these words contain a supplication to the Lord to instruct those who are of the church, and to lead them by truths to good, thus to heaven. The Lord is called "the Shepherd of Israel" because He instructs and leads; it is therefore said, "Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock," "Joseph" meaning those of the church who are in truths from good; "Thou that sittest upon the cherubim" signifies the Lord above the heavens, whence He sends forth the light that illustrates minds, therefore it is said "shine forth." That the light of truth may penetrate even to those who are in natural truth and good, thus to the lowest in the church, is signified by "before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh stir up Thy might;" "Ephraim" meaning those who are in natural truth; natural truth is such truth as the truth of the Word is in the sense of the letter; "Manasseh" means those who are in natural good, which is the delight of doing good and learning truth; "Benjamin" means the conjunctive of truth and good, or the conjoining medium in the natural; "to stir up might" means the penetration of light even to that; "come for salvation to us" means that such may be saved.

[7] Because all the good that the natural man has flows in from the Lord through the spiritual, and without that influx there can be no good in the natural, and because "Manasseh" represented and thus signified good in the natural man from a spiritual origin, therefore to that tribe an inheritance was given both beyond or without Jordan and on this side or within Jordan, that is, to half the tribe beyond or without Jordan, and to the other half on this side or within Jordan (See Numbers 32:33, 39, 40; Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 13:29-31; 17:5-13, 16-18). The land beyond or without Jordan represented and signified the external church, which is with men in the natural man; but the land on this side or within Jordan represented and signified the internal church, which is with men in the spiritual man (on which see above, n. 434. Again, it is good that constitutes the church, and this good flows in immediately out of the spiritual man into the natural, and without this influx the church is not with man; and this is the reason that to the tribe of Manasseh, by which the good of the church was signified, was given an inheritance both within and without Jordan. That spiritual good flows into natural good immediately, but into natural truth mediately, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 3314, 3573, 3576, 3616, 3969, 3995, 4563); thus that there is a parallelism between spiritual good and natural good, but not between spiritual truth and natural truth (n. 1831, 1832, 3514, 3564). That "Manasseh" signifies the good of the church, or the good of life, which is the same as the good of the will, can be seen from the representation and consequent signification of "Ephraim," as being the truth of the church, or the truth of doctrine, which is the same as the truth of the understanding; for these were brethren, and good and truth are called brethren in the Word. (That "Ephraim" signifies the truth of doctrine, and thus the intellectual of the church, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 5354, where many passages from the Word in which Ephraim is mentioned are cited and explained; see also n. 3969, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

Imibhalo yaphansi: