9338. 'And inherit the land' means when governed by good, thus when regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'inheriting' as receiving as an heir, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the land', at this point the land of Canaan, as the Lord's kingdom, thus heaven, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3705, 3686, 4240, 4447, so that 'inheriting the land' means receiving heaven as an heir to it. The proper way to understand the word 'heir', when used in reference to heaven, is a person who has life from the Lord, 2658, 2851, 3672, 7212, thus who is governed by good received from the Lord, who therefore has been regenerated. The fact that a person is in heaven, and so has been regenerated, when he is governed by good received from the Lord, see 9274 and the places referred to there.

[2] The fact that 'inheriting' has this meaning, when used in reference to heaven, is evident in Matthew,

Then the King will say to those who are at His right hand, Come, O blessed of My Father, possess as an inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:34-35, 40.

'Possessing as an inheritance the Lord's kingdom (or heaven)' is said here in regard to those governed by good; and the actual forms of the good of charity in their proper order are also enumerated. Finally it is said, 'Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me'. People are called the Lord's brothers if they are governed by good, 6756, thus also if they practise good; for good is the Lord present with a person. And this is why it says, 'Insofar as you did it to one of [the least of] these My brothers' (not simply 'brothers').

[3] In Revelation,

He who overcomes will receive all things by inheritance, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:7.

It says here of those who overcome that they will receive all things by inheritance; and because they are heirs they are called 'sons'. 'Overcoming' means using good and truth to fight with, for evil is overcome by means of good, and falsity by means of truth.

[4] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it by inheritance; and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Psalms 69:35-36.

Here 'possessing by inheritance' has regard to those governed by celestial good, and 'inheriting' to those governed by spiritual good. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good is the good of charity towards the neighbour, 9277. In Isaiah,

He who trusts in Me will inherit the land, and will possess by inheritance My holy mountain. Isaiah 57:13.

[5] From all this it is evident what was meant by the division of the land of Canaan into twelve inheritances for the twelve tribes of Israel, in Chapters 14-19 of Joshua, and in Chapter 47:13-end and Chapter 48 of Ezekiel. For 'the land of Canaan' meant the Lord's kingdom, or heaven, 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447, and 'the twelve tribes' meant all forms of good and all truths in general and in particular, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640. 'Twelve inheritances' accordingly meant heaven with all its heavens and communities, which divide off one from the next on the basis of forms of the good of love and consequently of truths of faith, 7836, 7891, 7996, so that in the abstract sense [without reference to persons] those inheritances mean forms of good themselves which originate in the Lord and therefore are the Lord in heaven.

[6] For heaven is nothing other than Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. The angels there are recipients of truth in good; and in the measure that they receive it they constitute heaven. Also - and this is an arcanum - the Lord dwells with an angel, and similarly with man, only in that which is His own with the angel or man; for the Divine must dwell in what is of God, not in what is of the self with anyone. This is meant by the Lord's words regarding His union with those governed by the good of love, in John,

On that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who loves Me keeps My word, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:20, 23.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

The glory which You have given Me I have given to them that they may be one even as We are one, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:22, 26.

6640. 'Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Cad and Asher' means the whole process from start to finish, that is to say, of the establishment of the Church, which is the subject in what follows next. For the twelve sons of Jacob, and the tribes named after them too, mean all aspects of goodness and truth, that is, all aspects of love and faith in their entirety, see 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335. Yet these meanings vary according to the order in which the names are mentioned, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 and following paragraphs. The variations are therefore countless and involve every single thing that constitutes the Church and the Lord's kingdom, 6737. But what the specific meaning is when the names occur in the present or any other order nobody knows but the Lord alone. Nor does anyone in heaven know unless the Lord makes it known; in heaven the truths and forms of good that are meant are presented visually by means of lights, together with a perception of what the lights mean.

[2] The twelve tribes represented the Lord's kingdom and everything there, and therefore in order that those lights might also be represented, and thereby all the Church's truths and forms of good, twelve precious stones were set ¹ in gold in their proper order, one stone for each tribe. This was called the breastplate and was attached to Aaron's ephod; and they received answers from it by means of the varying flashes of light, which were accompanied either by audible words or by inner perception. From this too it may be recognized that the twelve tribes of Israel mean all the truths and forms of good, in their entirety, of the Lord's kingdom and the Church, and that the meanings vary, depending on the order in which they are mentioned. Here they are mentioned in a different order from that in which they were born, as is evident from the fact that Issachar and Zebulun are mentioned before Dan and Naphtali, though the latter were born before the former. Benjamin too is mentioned before Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, and yet he was born last; and Gad and Asher are mentioned last of all. Something similar is evident in other places in the Word where the names occur in further variations of order.

Imibhalo yaphansi: