Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 23:5-6
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AC 2918. Verses 5, 6. And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord, thou art a prince of God in the midst of us; in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre from burying thy dead. "The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him," signifies a reciprocal state with those who are of the new church; "Hear us," signifies reception; "my lord, thou art a prince of God in the midst of us," signifies the Lord as to the good and truth Divine with them; "in the choice of our sepulchres," signifies good pleasure as to regeneration; "bury thy dead," signifies that so they would come forth from night and be raised up into life; "none of us shall withhold his sepulchre from thee," signifies that they were all prepared to receive regeneration; "from burying thy dead," signifies so that they might come forth from night and be raised up.

AC 2919. The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him. That this signifies a reciprocal state with those who are of the new church, is evident from the signification of "answering," when assent is given to that which is asked, as being what is reciprocal; and from the signification of the "sons of Heth," as being those with whom there is to be a new spiritual church (n. 2913).

AC 2920. Hear us. That this signifies reception, is evident from the signification of "hear us" when it is a mode of answering to express assent, as being reception.

AC 2921. My lord, thou art a prince of God in the midst of us. That this signifies the Lord as to the good and truth Divine with them, is evident from the signification of "lord," and of a "prince of God;" and from the signification of "in the midst of us." That it is said "Lord" where good is treated of, is evident from the Word of the Old Testament; for there Jehovah is now called Jehovah, now God, now Lord, now Jehovah God, now the Lord Jehovih, now Jehovah Zebaoth; and this from a hidden cause which can be known only from the internal sense. In general, when the subject is the celestial things of love, or good, it is said "Jehovah;" but when it is the spiritual things of faith, or truth, it is said "God;" when both together are treated of, it is said "Jehovah God;" but when the Divine power of good or omnipotence is treated of, it is said "Jehovah Zebaoth," that is, "Jehovah of Armies," and likewise "Lord," so that " Jehovah Zebaoth" and "Lord" are of the same sense and signification. From this, namely, the power of good, men and angels are also called "lords;" and in the opposite sense those are called "servants" in whom there is no power, or who have power from the former. From all this it may be seen that here "my lord" in the internal sense signifies the Lord as to good; which will be illustrated from the Word in the passages that follow. "Prince of God," however, signifies the Lord as to the power of truth, or as to truth; as is evident from the signification of a "prince," or of "princes," as being primary truths (n. 1482, 2089); and also from its being said "prince of God," for it is said "God" where truth, and "Jehovah" where good is treated of, (n. 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822). That "in the midst of us" means among them, or with them, is evident without explication.

[2] That in the Word of the Old Testament "Jehovah Zebaoth" and "Lord" are of the same sense and signification, is evident in Isaiah:--

And in another place:--

In Malachi:--

Still more plainly in Isaiah:--

from which it is plain that "Jehovah Zebaoth" and "the Lord" have the same meaning.

[3] But the name "Lord Jehovih" is used especially when the aid of omnipotence is sought and implored, as in Isaiah:--

That the name "Lord Jehovih" is used when such and is sought, may be seen further in (Isa. 25:8; 40:10; 48:16; 50:4, 5, 7, 9; 61:1; Jer. 2:22; Ezek. 8:1; 11:13, 17, 21; 12:10, 19, 28; 13:8, 13, 16, 18, 20; 14:4, 6, 11, 18, 20, 21; Micah 1:2; Ps. 71:5, 16); and frequently elsewhere.

[4] And besides this in the Word of the Old Testament the name "Lord" involves the like as "Jehovah," namely, that it is said "Lord" when good is treated of; wherefore also "Lord" is similarly distinguished from "God" as "Jehovah" is distinguished from "God." As in Moses:--

In David:--

[5] But in the Word of the New Testament, with the Evangelists and in the Apocalypse, "Jehovah" is nowhere named; but instead of "Jehovah" it is said "Lord," and this from hidden causes of which we shall speak below. That in the Word of the New Testament it is said "Lord," instead of "Jehovah," is very plain in Mark:--

The same is thus written in Moses:--

where it is plain that "the Lord" is said instead of "Jehovah." So too in John:--

But in Isaiah we read:--

Here "the Lord" is said instead of "Jehovah;" or "the Lord God Almighty" instead of "Jehovah Zebaoth"; that the "four animals" are seraphim or cherubim is plain in (Ezekiel 1:5, 13-15, 19; 10:15). That "the Lord" in the New Testament is "Jehovah," is also evident from many other passages, as in Luke:--

an "angel of the Lord" meaning an "angel of Jehovah." In the same:--

"unto the Lord their God" meaning "unto Jehovah God." In the same:--

"the Lord God" here is instead of "Jehovah God." In the same:--

here too "the Lord" is instead of "Jehovah." In the same:--

"the Lord God," is instead of "Jehovah God." In the same:--

an angel of "the Lord," and the glory of "the Lord," instead of an angel of "Jehovah," and the glory of "Jehovah." In Matthew:--

"in the name of the Lord," instead of "in the name of Jehovah." Besides many other passages, as (Luke 1:28; 2:15, 22-24, 29, 38, 39; 5:17; Mark 12:10, 11).

[6] Among the hidden causes of their calling Jehovah "the Lord," were the following. If at that time it had been said that the Lord was the Jehovah so often named in the Old Testament (n. 1736), men would not have accepted it, for they would not have believed it; and moreover the Lord did not become Jehovah as to the Human also until He had completely united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human to the Divine (n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1745, 1815, 2156, 2751). The full unition was accomplished after the last temptation, which was that of the cross; and for this reason, after the resurrection the disciples always called Him "the Lord" (John 20:2, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25; 21:7, 12, 15-17, 20; Mark 16:19, 20); and Thomas said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). And because the Lord was the Jehovah so often named in the Old Testament, He therefore also said to the disciples:--

and these words signify that He was Jehovah God; for He is here called "Lord" as to good, and "Master" as to truth. That the Lord was Jehovah is also meant by the words of the angel to the shepherds:--

He is called "Christ" as the Messiah, the Anointed, King; and "Lord" as Jehovah; "Christ" in respect to truth, and "Lord" in respect to good. One who does not closely study the Word could not know this, for he would think that our Saviour was called Lord, like others, from the common title of reverence; when yet He was so called because He was Jehovah.

AC 2922. In the choice of our sepulchres. That this signifies good pleasure as to regeneration, is evident from the signification of "choosing," of "choice," and of "chosen," as being what is wished for, or what is of good pleasure; and from the signification of a "sepulchre," as being resurrection and regeneration (n. 2916).

AC 2923. Bury thy dead. That this signifies that so they would come forth from night and be raised up into life, is evident from the signification of being "buried," as being to rise again, or to be raised up to life (n. 2916); and from the signification of the "dead," as being night in respect to the goods and truths of faith (n. 2908, 2912, 2917).

AC 2924. None of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre. That this signifies that they were all prepared to receive regeneration, is evident from the signification of a "sepulchre," as being regeneration (n. 2916), and from the signification of "not withholding," as being willingness to receive.

AC 2925. From burying thy dead. That this signifies that they might come forth from night and be raised up, is evident from the signification of being "buried," and of "dead," as being to be raised up from night in respect to the goods and truths of faith (n. 2923), where the same words occur.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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