Spiritual Meaning of EXODUS 2:15-19
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AC 6770. Verses 15-19. And Pharaoh heard this word, and he sought to kill Moses. And Moses fled from before Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he dwelt by a well. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came, and drew, and filled the troughs, to give drink to their father‘s flock. And the shepherds came, and drove them away; and Moses arose, and helped them; and he gave drink to their flock. And they came unto Reuel their father, and he said, Wherefore hasted ye to come today? And they said, An Egyptian man delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds; and also drawing he drew for us, and gave drink to the flock. "And Pharaoh heard this word, and he sought to kill Moses," signifies that false memory-knowledge, noticing this, willed to destroy the truth which is of the law from the Divine; "and Moses fled from before Pharaoh," signifies that it was being separated from falsities; "and dwelt in the land of Midian," signifies life in the church with those who are in simple good; "and he dwelt by a well," signifies study there in the Word; "and the priest of Midian had seven daughters," signifies the holy things of that church; "and they came, and drew," signifies that they were instructed in truths from the Word; "and filled the troughs," signifies that from this they enriched the doctrine of charity; "to give drink to their father’s flock," signifies that thereby they who were in good were instructed; "and the shepherds came, and drove them away," signifies that the teachers who were in evils set themselves in opposition; "and Moses arose and helped them," signifies aid from the truths which are of the law from the Divine; "and he gave drink to their flock," signifies that from this they who are in good were instructed; "and they came unto Reuel their father," signifies conjunction with the good itself of that church; "and he said, Wherefore hasted ye to come today?" signifies perception that now conjunction was sure; "and they said, An Egyptian man delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds," signifies because true memory-knowledge, which is of the church, prevailed over the power of the doctrine of falsity from evil; "and also drawing he drew for us," signifies that he instructed from the Word; "and gave drink to the flock," signifies those who were of the church there.

AC 6771. And Pharaoh heard this word, and he sought to kill Moses. That this signifies that false memory-knowledge, noticing this, willed to destroy the truth of the law from the Divine, is evident from the signification of "to hear," as being to notice (n. 5017); from the representation of Pharaoh, as being memory-knowledge that is opposed to the truths of the church, thus falsity (n. 6651, 6679, 6683); from the signification of "to kill," as being to destroy (n. 6767), thus "to seek to kill" is to will to destroy; and from the representation of Moses, as being the law Divine and truth Divine (n. 6752), thus truth which is of the law Divine. It is said "truth of the law Divine," not "the law Divine," because the subject treated of is still the progress of the law Divine in the Lord‘s Human. From all this it is evident that by "Pharaoh heard this word and sought to kill Moses" is signified that false memory-knowledge, noticing this, willed to destroy the truth which is of the law Divine.

AC 6772. And Moses fled from before Pharaoh. That this signifies that it was separated from falsities, is evident from the signification of "fleeing," as being to be separated; and from the representation of Moses, as being truth which is of the law from the Divine (n. 6771). Here now begins the fifth state of the progression of the law Divine in the Lord’s Human, and in the relative sense of the progression of truth Divine with the man who is being regenerated, which is a state of separation from falsities, and of adjunction with the truths of simple good. Afterward follows the sixth state, which is that of adjunction with good.

AC 6773. And he dwelt in the land of Midian. That this signifies life among those who are in simple good, is evident from the signification of "to dwell," as being life (n. 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451, 6051); and from the signification of "Midian," as being those who are in the truths of simple good (n. 3242, 4756, 4788). It is said "the land," because the church is signified, there these persons are. "Land" is the church, (n. 6767).

AC 6774. And he dwelt by a well. That this signifies study there In the Word, is evident from the signification of "to dwell," as being life (n. 6773), here, the study of the life; and from the signification of a "well," as being the Word (n. 2702, 3424). The Word is sometimes called a "well," sometimes a "fountain;" when called a "well," the Word is signified as to the literal sense, and when a "fountain," the Word is signified as to the internal sense (n. 3765). He is here said "to dwell by a well," because the Word is signified as to the literal sense; for this is the first sense with those who are being regenerated and are advancing to truth Divine, who are here treated of in the internal sense. They also who are in the truths of simple good, who are here meant by "Midian," care for no other sense than the literal.

AC 6775. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters. That this signifies the holy things of that church, is evident from the signification of the "daughters of a priest,"as being the things of the church. "Daughter‘ is the church, (n. 2362, 3963, 6729); and "priest" is the good of love, (n. 1728, 3670, 6148); thus by the "daughters of a priest," is signified the church as to good; from the signification of "Midian," as being those who are in the truths of simple good (n. 6773); and from the signification of "seven," as being what is holy (n. 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268). Thus by "the priest of Midian had seven daughters" are signified the holy things of the church with those who are in the truths of simple good. Those are said to be in simple good who are in the externals of the church, and in simplicity believe the Word as to its literal sense, each according to his apprehension, and who also live according to what they believe, thus in good such as are their truths. The internal of the church flows in with them through good, but as they are not in interior truths, the good that flows in becomes general, thus obscure; for spiritual light cannot there flow into the singulars, and thus clearly enlighten things. They who are of this character in the other life have heaven bestowed on them according to the quality of the good from the truths. Such are they who are here meant by "Midian;" but in the proper sense they are people out of the church, who live in good according to their religiosity.

AC 6776. And they came, and drew. That this signifies that they were being instructed in truths from the Word, is evident from the signification of "drawing," as being to be instructed in the truths of faith, and to be enlightened (n. 3058, 3071). That this was from the Word, is signified by the "well" from which they drew. A "well" is the Word, (n. 6774).

AC 6777. And they filled the troughs. That this signifies that from this they enriched the doctrine of charity, is evident from the signification of" filling from a well," as being to enrich from this, or from the Word; and from the signification of a "trough," as being the doctrine of charity. That a "trough" or "basin" is the doctrine of charity, is because it is a trough of wood into which water is drawn from a well to give drink to flocks; for what is of "wood" in the internal sense signifies the good of charity (n. 3720); "to draw" signifies to be instructed (n. 3058, 3071); the "water" which is drawn, signifies the truth of faith (n. 2702, 3058, 4976, 5668); the "well" from which it is drawn signifies the Word (n. 2702, 3424, 6774); and "to give drink to the flocks" signifies to instruct in good from the Word (n. 3772). From all this it is evident that a "trough" is the doctrine of charity.

AC 6778. To give drink to their father’s flock. That this signifies that thereby they who were in good were instructed, is evident from the signification of "to give to drink," as being to instruct (n. 3772); from the signification of "flock," as being those who learn and are led to the good of charity (n. 343, 3772, 5913, 6048); and from the representation of Reuel, who is here the "father," and who was a "priest," as being the good of that church where are they who are in the truth of simple good (n. 6773, 6775).

AC 6779. And the shepherds came, and drove them away. That this signifies that the teachers who were in evils set themselves in opposition, is evident from the signification of "shepherds," as being those who teach and lead to the good of charity (n. 343, 3795, 6044), here those who teach, but as they are in evils do not lead to the good of charity; from the signification of "driving away," as being to set themselves against; and from the signification of "daughters," who are those whom they drove away, as being the things of the church (n. 6775). By "shepherds" are here indeed signified those who teach, but who do not lead to the good of charity, because they are in evils. For those who are in evils never acknowledge that charity and its works contribute to salvation, because they cannot acknowledge what is contrary to their life, as this would be contrary to themselves. And because they are in evils, they do not even know what charity is, nor therefore what the works of charity are. They teach faith; by this they justify; and by it they promise heaven. These are they who set themselves against the doctrine of charity which is from the Word, consequently against those who are in the truth of simple good, who are signified by the "daughters of the priest of Midian," whom the shepherds drove away from the well, after they had drawn and filled the troughs to give drink to the flock.

AC 6780. And Moses stood up and helped them. That this signifies aid from the truths which are of the law from the Divine, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being truth which is of the law from the Divine (n. 6771); and from the signification of "helping," as being to, bring aid.

AC 6781. And he gave drink to their flock. That this signifies that from this they who were in good were instructed, is evident from the signification of "to give to drink," as being to instruct (n. 3069, 3092, 3772); and from the signification of a "flock," as being those who learn and are led to the good of charity (n. 343, 3772, 5913, 6048); thus those who are in good.

AC 6782. And they came to Reuel their father. That this signifies conjunction with the good itself of that church, is evident from the signification of "coming to" anyone, as being to be conjoined; and from the representation of Reuel, as being good, because he was a priest. A "priest" is the good of love, (n. 1728, 3670, 6148). The conjunction which is here signified, is that of the truths of the church with its good.

AC 6783. And he said, Wherefore hasted ye to come today? That this signifies perception that now conjunction was sure, is evident from the signification of "saying," in the historicals of the Word, as being perception; and from the signification of "hasting to come," as being sure conjunction. "To hasten" denotes what is sure, (n. 5284); and "to come" is conjunction, (n. 6782). Here sure conjunction is not meant by the daughters hasting to come to their father, but by the truth which is of the law from the Divine, which is represented by Moses: this is what was perceived.

AC 6784. And they said, An Egyptian man delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds. That this signifies because true memory-knowledge, which was adjoined to the church, prevailed over the power of the doctrine of falsity from evil, is evident from the signification of "an Egyptian man," as being true memory-knowledge; for by a "man" is signified truth (n. 3134), and by an "Egyptian" memory-knowledge (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 4967, 5700, 6004, 6692). That Moses is here called "an Egyptian man," is because by Moses is here represented truth such as they have who are in truth of simple good, which is signified by the "daughters of the priest of Midian." They are in such truth because they are men of the external church (n. 6775); therefore also it is said, "true memory-knowledge which was adjoined to the church." And from the signification of "delivering from the hand of the shepherds," as being that true memory-knowledge prevailed over the power of falsity from evil; for "to deliver" is to prevail, because he who delivers out of the hand of others, prevails over them. The "hand" is power, (n. 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544); and "shepherds" are teachers, here teachers of falsity from evil, (n. 6779); and because they are teachers, they are also such doctrine).

[2] That true memory-knowledge prevails over the power of the doctrine of falsity from evil, is because the Divine is in all truth from good, whereas in falsity from evil there is the contrary, and what is contrary to the Divine does not prevail at all. Therefore in the other life a thousand who are in falsity from evil prevail not at all against one who is in truth from good; but at the presence of this one the thousand flee, and if they do not flee they are tortured and tormented. It is said falsity from evil, because this is truly falsity, whereas falsity not from evil, but from ignorance of the truth, is not so. Evil is that which is opposite to heaven, but not falsity from ignorance; nay, if in the ignorance there is anything of innocence, then this falsity is accepted by the Lord as truth; for they who are in such falsity receive truth.

AC 6785. And also drawing he drew for us. That this signifies that he instructed from the Word, is evident from the signification of" drawing," as being to instruct in the truths of faith, and to be enlightened (n. 3058, 3071). That it was from the Word, is signified by the "well" from which they drew. A "well" is the Word, (n. 6774).

AC 6786. And gave drink to the flock. That this signifies those who are of the church there, is evident from the signification of "flock," as being those who are in good, and who suffer themselves to be instructed (n. 343, 3772, 5913, 6048); here those who are of the church there, who, as was shown above, are they who are in the truth of simple good, and are signified by "Midian." "Flock" signifies both good, and the church, that is, those who are in good and are of the church, because the two are so conjoined that one cannot be separated from the other; for he who is in the good of faith is a church, and he who is a church is in the good of faith.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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