3881. 'Therefore she called his name Judah' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421. That nature is contained in the internal sense of these words spoken by Leah - 'This time I will confess Jehovah', dealt with immediately above in 3880. That is to say, in the highest sense those words mean the Lord and the Divinity of His Love, in the internal sense the Word and also the Lord's celestial kingdom, and in the more exterior sense doctrine from the Word which the celestial Church has. But as yet scarcely anyone knows that these things are meant in the Word when the name Judah is mentioned, the reason being that the historical descriptions of the Word are thought to be simply historical descriptions, and the prophetical utterances to belong among such things as have fallen into oblivion, except for some of them from which doctrinal inferences may be drawn out. No belief exists that those descriptions and utterances have a spiritual sense within them, because at the present day no knowledge exists of what the spiritual sense is, or indeed of what the spiritual is. And the chief reason for this is that the life which people lead is the natural life. This is such that when they have that life as their end in view or it is the only life they desire, it blots out both spiritual knowledge and faith - so much so that when spiritual life and a spiritual sense are spoken of, these are like something that does not really exist or else are something unpleasant and depressing which, because it does not accord with natural life, they find distasteful. Such being the condition of the human race at the present day it neither understands nor wishes to understand by the names mentioned in the Word anything else than the nations, peoples, individual persons, regions, cities, mountains, or rivers, which those names denote. Yet in the spiritual sense names mean real things.

[2] That 'Judah' in the internal sense means the Lord's celestial Church, in the universal sense His celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself may be seen from many places in the Old Testament where Judah is mentioned, for example, from the following: In Moses,

You are Judah; your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father will bow down to you. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey you have gone up, my son. He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like an old lion; who will rouse him up? The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes; and to him will be the gathering of peoples. Binding his ass's colt to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to a choice vine, he will wash his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red from wine, and his teeth white from milk. Genesis 49:8-12.

[3] Nobody can know the meaning of this prophetical declaration about Judah uttered by Jacob, who by then was Israel - not even one expression used there - except from the internal sense. He cannot know for example what is meant by 'his brothers will praise him' and 'his father's sons will bow down to him', or by 'his going up from the prey like a lion's whelp', and 'his crouching and lying down like a lion'. Nor can he know what is meant by 'Shiloh', by 'binding his ass's colt to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to a choice vine', by 'washing his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes', by 'eyes red from wine', or by 'teeth white from milk'. As has been stated, these expressions cannot possibly be understood by anyone except from the internal sense, yet all of them - each one - mean celestial things belonging to the Lord's kingdom, also things that are Divine. The same words also foretell that the Lord's celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, were to be represented by Judah. All these things declared by Jacob will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed in the explanations of the chapter in which they occur.

[4] Similar examples involving the name Judah occur elsewhere, especially in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel,

You son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions'. And take another stick and write on it, For Joseph - the stick of Ephraim and of the whole house of Israel, his companions - and join them together, one to the other into one stick for you, and they will be one in your, hand. I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king to them all. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. And they will walk in My judgements, and keep My statutes and do them. And they will dwell in the land which I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers dwelt. And they will dwell in it, they and their sons, and their sons' sons even for ever. And David My servant will be their prince for ever, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will bless them, and multiply them, and I will grant My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Thus will My dwelling-place be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Ezekiel 37:15-28.

Anyone who takes Judah, Israel, Joseph, Ephraim, and David in this passage to mean those actual people will believe all these things will actually take place as described in the sense of the letter. That is to say, he will believe that Israel is going to be reunited with Judah, as well as the tribe of Ephraim; also that David is going to reign as king; that in this manner they are going to dwell in the land given to Jacob for ever, and that at that time an eternal covenant will exist with them and the sanctuary will be in the midst of them for ever. But in fact the meaning of this passage has nothing whatever to do with that nation but with the Lord's celestial kingdom meant by 'Judah', and His spiritual kingdom meant by 'Israel', and with the Lord Himself meant by 'David'. From this it is quite evident that names are not used to mean actual persons but things that are celestial and Divine.

[5] The same is so with the following words in Zechariah,

Many peoples and numerous nations will come to seek Jehovah Zebaoth in Jerusalem and to placate Jehovah's face. Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will take hold; and they will take hold of the hem of a man of Judah, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Zechariah 8:22-23.

Those who take these words literally will say, as the Jewish nation believes still, that being a prophecy not yet fulfilled it is going to be fulfilled in the future. These say that they are going to go back to the land of Canaan, that many from every nation and tongue will follow them, and take hold of the hem of a man of Judah and plead to be allowed to follow. They say that at that time God - that is to say, the Messiah, whom Christians call the Lord - will be among them, to whom they must first be converted. This would be the true implication of these words if 'a man of Judah' were used to mean a man of Judah. But in fact the internal sense at this point deals with a new spiritual Church among gentiles, and 'a man of Judah' means saving faith which results from love to the Lord.

[6] That 'Judah' is not used to mean Judah but, as has been stated, means in the internal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom which was represented in the Church established among Judah or the Jews, becomes quite clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

When the Lord raises an ensign for the nations He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the envy of Ephraim will depart, and the enemies of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. Isaiah 11:12-13.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will reign as king, and prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6.

In Joel,

Then you will know that I am Jehovah your God, who dwell in Zion, My holy mountain; and Jerusalem will be holy. It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah will flow with water; and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah and will water the river of Shittim. Judah will abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Joel 3:17-18, 20.

[7] In Zechariah,

On that day I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. And on the house of Judah I will open My eyes, and every horse of the peoples I will strike with blindness. And the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, I will strengthen for myself the inhabitants of Jerusalem in Jehovah Zebaoth their God. On that day I will set the leaders of Judah like a hearth of fire in sticks of wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they will devour to the right and to the left all the peoples round about, and Jerusalem will yet again be inhabited in her own place, in Jerusalem. And Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, may not exalt itself over Judah. On that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitant of Jerusalem, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Jehovah in front of them. And I will pour out over the house of David and over the inhabitant of Jerusalem a spirit of grace. Zechariah 12:4-10.

This refers to the Lord's celestial kingdom, where truth should not have dominion over good but ought to be subordinate to it, truth being meant by 'the house of David' and 'the inhabitant of Jerusalem', and good by 'Judah'. From this it is evident why first it is said that 'the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, will not exalt itself over Judah', and after this that 'the house of David will be like God, and like the angel of Jehovah', and that 'a spirit of grace will be poured out over it and over the inhabitant of Jerusalem'. For such is the state when truth is subordinate to good or faith to love. 'The horse which will be struck with panic, and the horse of the peoples with blindness' is self-intelligence, see 2761, 2762, 3217.

[8] In the same prophet,

On that day there will be on the horses' bells, Holiness to Jehovah. And the pots in the house of Jehovah will be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth. Zechariah 14:20-21.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom. In Malachi,

Behold, I am sending My angel, who will prepare the way before Me, and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. Who can endure the day of His coming? Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of old and as in former years. Malachi 3:1-2, 4.

This plainly refers to the Coming of the Lord. The meaning is that Judah and Jerusalem's minchah was not, as is well known, acceptable but that worship flowing from love, Judah's minchah, and worship flowing from faith rooted in love, Jerusalem's minchah, are acceptable.

[9] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, Again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I turn again their captivity: Jehovah bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy mountain! And Judah and all its cities will dwell in it together. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers. Jeremiah 31:23-24, 27, 31-32.

In David,

The Lord chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved, and built His sanctuary as the heights, as the earth He founded it for ever. Psalms 78:68-69.

[10] From these places and very many others which have not been mentioned one may see what 'Judah' means in the Word. They show that 'Judah' does not mean the Jewish nation, for that nation was anything but the celestial Church or the Lord's celestial kingdom; for so far as love to the Lord, charity towards the neighbour, and faith; went they were the worst nation of all. This has been so from their earliest forefathers, namely the sons of Jacob, even to the present day. But in spite of this such people were able to represent the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom, see 3479-3481. For in representations no attention is paid to the person who represents, only to what is represented by him, 665, 1097 (end), 1361, 3147, 3670.

[11] But when they did not adhere to the religious observances commanded by Jehovah or the Lord but deviated from them into acts of idolatry they no longer represented those things but such as are contrary to them, namely those of hell and the devil, according to the Lord's words in John,

You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not take a stand on the truth. John 8:44

Such is the meaning of 'Judah' in the contrary sense, as becomes clear from the following: In Isaiah,

Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their tongue and their works are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of His glory to anger. Isaiah 3:8.

In Malachi,

Judah has acted faithlessly, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, and Judah has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, for he loved and married the daughter of a foreign god. Malachi 2:11.

And in addition in the following places - Isaiah 3:1 and following verses;

8:7-8; Jeremiah 2:28; 3:7-11; 9:26; 11:9-10, 12; 13:9; 14:2; 17:1; 18:11-13; 19:7; 32:35; 36:31; 44:12, 14, 26, 28; Hosea 5:5; 8:14; Amos 2:4-5; Zephaniah 1:4; and many times elsewhere.

6435. 'Even as far as the desire of the everlasting hills' means as far as celestial mutual love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the everlasting hills' as aspects of mutual love, dealt with below; for the vision that the spiritual Church may arrive at that love is meant by 'even as far as the desire of the everlasting hills'. Before other places in the Word are introduced to show that mutual love is meant by 'the everlasting hills' something must be said first about what one means by mutual love, a goal which the member of the spiritual Church represented by 'Joseph' has more than enough to do to reach. What has often been stated and shown already shows that there are two kingdoms constituting heaven - the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The difference between those two kingdoms is that the internal good of the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord, while its external good is the good of mutual love. Members of that kingdom are governed by the good of love, not by truth that is called the truth of faith; for such truth is so integrated into the good of that kingdom that it cannot be seen in isolation from good. This being so, members of that kingdom cannot even utter the word faith, 202, 103, 4448; for with them the good of mutual love stands in place of the truth of faith. But in the spiritual kingdom the good of charity towards the neighbour constitutes the internal aspect of it and the truth of faith the external aspect.

[2] From all this one may see what the difference is between the two kingdoms, and also that they meet each other, in that the external aspect of the celestial kingdom coincides with the internal of the spiritual kingdom through an intermediary called the celestial of the spiritual. For as stated above, the external of the celestial kingdom is the good of mutual love, and the internal of the spiritual kingdom is the good of charity towards the neighbour. But the good of mutual love is more internal than the good of charity towards the neighbour, because the former springs from the rational, the latter from the natural. But although the good of mutual love, which is the external of the celestial Church, is more internal, while the good of charity towards the neighbour is more external, the Lord nevertheless joins the two kinds of good together through, as has just been stated, an intermediary, and in that way joins the two kingdoms together.

[3] To distinguish between the external good of the celestial Church and the internal good of the spiritual Church, let the former kind of good be called in what follows below the good of mutual love and let the latter kind be called the good of charity towards the neighbour - a difference that has not been observed in previous sections. Once these things are known, what is meant by 'even as far as the desire of the everlasting hills', one of Israel's blessings regarding this spiritual Church, can be stated, which is the vision that the spiritual kingdom may rise above the good of charity and reach even as far as the good of mutual love which belongs to the celestial kingdom, and thus the two kingdoms may be joined together at a very deep level. These are the things that are meant by those words.

[4] Very many places in the prophetical part of the Word mention mountains and hills, by which forms of the good of love are meant in the internal sense. 'Mountains' means the good of love to the Lord, which is the internal of the celestial kingdom, while 'hills' means the good of mutual love, which is the external of the same kingdom. But when the spiritual kingdom is the subject 'mountains' means the good of charity towards the neighbour, which is the internal of that kingdom, while 'hills' means the truth of faith, which is its external. It should be recognized that every one of the Lord's Churches is internal and external; and so too are both His kingdoms.

[5] This meaning of 'hills' becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

In the latter days it will be, that the mountain of Jehovah will be on the top of the mountains, and raised above the hills. Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1.

'The mountain of Jehovah', which is Zion, stands for the Lord's celestial kingdom, thus for the good of that kingdom, which is the good of love to the Lord, and so in the highest sense is the Lord Himself since all love and all good in the celestial kingdom are the Lord's.

[6] 'Mount Zion' has the same meaning in other places in the Word; and by 'its hill' is meant the good of mutual love, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. Isaiah 31:4.

Here 'hill' stands for the good of mutual love; and since 'hill' means the good of mutual love, and 'mountain' the good of celestial love, which is that of love to the Lord, it says 'Jehovah will come down to fight on that mountain'. Jehovah does not fight actually on Mount Zion and its hill; rather, where the good of love exists, that is what the Lord, meant here by Jehovah, fights for, that is, He fights for those with whom that good exists. If He ever did fight for Zion and Jerusalem, it was because they represented the celestial Church. This also explains why Mount Zion was called holy, and so also why Jerusalem was termed holy, when in fact it was unclean, as is evident in the Prophets where its abominations are referred to.

[7] In David,

The mountains will bring peace, and the hills, in righteousness. Psalms 72:3.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, mountains and all hills. Psalms 148:9.

In the same author,

The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. ¹ Psalms 104:4, 6.

In the same author,

A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of hills is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you leap up, O mountains, hills of mountains? God desires to inhabit it; yes, Jehovah will inhabit it perpetually. Psalms 68:15-16.

In these places 'mountains' stands for celestial love, and 'hills' for spiritual love. Mountains are obviously not what is meant, nor hills, nor even those who were on mountains and hills.

[8] In Isaiah,

It will be that on every high mountain, and on every lofty hill, there will be brooks, streams of water. Isaiah 30:25.

'Streams of water' stands for cognitions of good and truth, which are said to be 'on every high mountain, and on every lofty hill', for those cognitions flow from forms of the good of celestial and spiritual love.

[9] In Habakkuk,

Jehovah stood and measured the earth; He looked and scattered the nations, because the eternal mountains were dissolved, the everlasting hills sank down. Habakkuk 3:6.

'The eternal mountains' stands for the good of love that existed with the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, and 'the everlasting hills' for the good of mutual love that existed with that Church - the former good being its internal, the latter its external. When that Church is what is meant in the Word, there is frequently added, because it was the Most Ancient Church, the word 'eternal', as in the expression 'the eternal mountains' used here, and in the expression 'eternal days' or 'days of eternity' used elsewhere, 6239. Also added was the word 'everlasting', as in the expression 'the everlasting hills' used here, as well as 'as far as the desire of the everlasting hills' appearing in Israel's prophetic utterances. From this one may see that 'the everlasting hills' means forms of the good of mutual love belonging to the celestial Church or the Lord's celestial kingdom.

[10] Something similar occurs in Moses' prophetic utterance concerning Joseph,

. . . in regard to the first fruits of the mountains of the east, and to the precious things of the eternal hills . . . Let them come upon the head of Joseph. Deuteronomy 33:15-16.

In Isaiah,

The mountains and the hills will resound with song, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12.

In Joel,

On that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah will flow with water. Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13.

In Ezekiel,

My sheep wander in all the mountains and on every high hill, and over all the face of the earth they were dispersed. I will give them and the places around My hill a blessing, and I will send down the rain in its season. Ezekiel 34:6, 26.

In Jeremiah,

On all the hills in the wilderness those who cause devastation have come, for the sword of Jehovah is devouring. Jeremiah 11:12.

In these places forms of the good of celestial love are meant by 'the mountains', and much the same, but in a lower degree, by 'the hills'.

[11] Because mountains and hills were signs that meant things such as these, Divine worship as well took place in the Ancient Church on mountains and hills. And later still the Hebrew nation set up altars on mountains and hills, offering sacrifice and incense there; or where there were no hills they built high places. But that worship became idolatrous, owing to the fact that they considered the actual mountains and hills to be holy and gave no thought at all to the holy things that they were signs of; and because that worship had become idolatrous the Israelite and Jewish people were forbidden to practise it, for those people were extremely prone, more than all others, to engage in idolatrous worship. But so as to retain that representative feature of mountains and hills which had existed in ancient times, Mount Zion was selected, which in the highest sense represented the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, and in the relative sense the Divine Celestial and Divine Spiritual in His kingdom.

[12] Since mountains and hills were signs meaning such things, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son on one of the mountains in the land of Moriah. it was also on a mountain that the Lord appeared to Moses, and from upon a mountain that the Law was proclaimed; for He appeared to Moses on Mount Horeb, and the Law was proclaimed on Mount Sinai. And in addition the temple in Jerusalem was built on a mountain.

[13] The fact that it was an age-old religious practice that led those people to celebrate sacred worship on mountains and hills, and that subsequently led the gentiles, also idolatrous Israelites and Jews, to offer sacrifice and incense on them, is evident in Jeremiah,

Your adulterous acts and your neighings, the wickedness of your whoredom committed on the hills, in the field - I have seen your abominations. Jeremiah 13:27.

This refers to Jerusalem. In Ezekiel,

When their slain will be in the midst of their idols, around their altars on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, and under every green tree, and under every entangled oak. Ezekiel 6:13.

In Jeremiah,

On every high hill, and under every green tree, you are a sinful prostitute. Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6.

And there are other places besides these - 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 16:4; 17:10.

[14] Because idolatrous worship was performed on mountains and hills, the evils of self-love are meant by them in the contrary sense, as in Jeremiah,

[I saw] the mountains; and behold, they are shaken, and all the hills are overturned. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and every bird of the air had flown away. Jeremiah 4:24-25.

In Isaiah,

Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low. Isaiah 40:4.

In the same prophet,

Behold, I have made you into a new threshing-sledge ² provided with sharp points. You are to thresh the mountains and crush them, and you are to make the hills like chaff. Isaiah 41:15.

In the same prophet,

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up every plant on them. Isaiah 42:15.

In Micah,

Hear now what Jehovah is saying, Arise, contend with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Micah 6:1.

In Jeremiah,

Lost sheep have My people been, their shepherds have led them astray, O rebellious mountains. They have gone from mountain onto hill, they have forgotten their resting-place. ³ Jeremiah 50:6.

And there are other places besides these, such as Jeremiah 16:16; Nahum 1:5-6.

[15] The reason why 'mountains and hills meant forms of the good of celestial and spiritual love was that they were places that rose up above the earth, and places that rose up high meant things belonging to heaven, and in the highest sense those belonging to the Lord. For 'the land of Canaan' meant the Lord's heavenly kingdom, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447; consequently everything in that land had a spiritual meaning, its mountains and hills meaning the kinds of things that are 'high'. For when the most ancient people, who belonged to the celestial Church, went up a mountain, the idea of height came to mind, and from height the idea of what was holy, for the reason that Jehovah or the Lord was said to live in the most high places, and also for the reason that 'height' in the spiritual sense was the good of love, 650.

Imibhalo yaphansi: