Arcana Coelestia #866
866. 'A raven' means falsities. This in a general way becomes clear from what has been stated and shown already about birds meaning intellectual concepts, rational concepts, and facts, and in like manner the opposite of these, which are reasonings and falsities. Both sets of things are described in the Word by various species of birds, things of a true understanding by harmless, beautiful, and clean birds, those of a false understanding however by harmful, ugly, and unclean ones, each depending on the species of truth or falsity under description. Gross and impenetrable falsities are described by 'owls' and 'ravens' - by owls because they live in the darkness of the night, by ravens because they are black; as in Isaiah,
The owl and the raven will dwell in it. Isaiah 34:11.
Here the subject is the Jewish Church, and the fact that nothing but falsities, described as 'the owl and the raven', resided in it.
Genesis 8:15-22
16
"Go out of the ship, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.
17
Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth."
18
Noah went forth, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.
19
Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.
20
Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21
Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike everything living, as I have done.
22
While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
