Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 49:22-26
[2] "To march upon the wall" is said because in the internal sense the subject treated of is assault on truth by falsities, and defense of truth against falsity; for the spiritual church, which is represented by Joseph, is continually being assaulted, but the Lord continually defends it. Hence in the Word what belongs to this church is compared to a city, which has a wall, outworks, gates, and bars; and by the assaults on that city are described the assaults on truth by falsities; hence also a "city" signifies doctrinal things (n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493), and its "wall" the truths of faith which defend it, and in the opposite sense the falsities which are being destroyed. That a "wall" signifies the truths of faith which defend, is plain in Isaiah:--
We have a strong city; salvation will He appoint for walls and bulwark. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faithfulnesses may enter in (Isa 26:1).
Again:--
Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise (Isa. 60:18).
Again:--
Behold I have graven thee upon the hands, thy walls are continually before Me (Isa. 49:16);
"walls" denote the truths of faith. Again:--
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall not be silent all the day and the night, keeping Jehovah in mind (Isa. 62:6);
where the sense is the same. In Jeremiah:--
Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, I will turn back the weapons of war wherewith ye fight with the king of Babylon, besieging you without the wall. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand (Jer. 21:4, 6).
Again:--
Jehovah hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He hath made the rampart and wall to lament; they languish together. Her gates have sunk into the earth; He hath destroyed and broken her bare (Lam. 2:8, 9).
In Ezekiel:--
The sons of Arvad and thine army were upon thy walls round about; and the Gammadim were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about, they have perfected thy beauty (Ezek. 27:11);
speaking of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of good and truth.
[3] That such things are signified by a "city" and "walls," is very evident from the description of the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, which was seen by John. That a new church is signified thereby is plain from all the details; and by the "wall" thereof, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. It is written of this in John:--
The holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, having a wall great and high; having twelve gates. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He that spake with me measured the city and its gates, and the wall thereof. The wall thereof was a hundred forty and four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The building of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone (Rev. 21:10-19);
[4] that the "wall" is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and hence the truth of faith from the good of charity, is plain from everything said about the wall, that it " had twelve foundations and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb," for by "twelve" are signified all (n. 3272, 3858, 3913); by the "wall" and its "foundations," the truths of faith, in like manner as by the "twelve apostles" (n. 3488, 3858, 6397); also that the "wall was one hundred and forty-four cubits," for by this number the like is signified as by "twelve," namely all, for it is twelve multiplied into twelve, and because this number when applied to a wall signifies all the truths and goods of faith, it is added that it is the "measure of a man, that is, of an angel;" and also that the "building of the wall was jasper, and its foundations were adorned with every precious stone," for by "jasper" and "precious stones" are sign, fled the truths of faith (n. 114).
[5] That in the opposite sense a "wall" signifies falsities which are being destroyed, is plain from the following:--
A day of tumult in the valley of vision; the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth destroyeth the wall, and there is a shout toward the mountain; for Elam hath borne the quiver, with chariot of man, with horsemen, the horsemen placing have placed themselves even at the gate (Isa. 22:5-7).
Again:--
The fortress of the refuge of thy walls shall He depress, cast down, throw to the earth, even to the dust (Isa. 25:12).
In Jeremiah:--
Go ye up on her walls, and cast down (Jer. 5:10).
Again:--
I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad (Jer. 49:27).
Again:--
Lift up a standard against the walls of Babylon, keep the watch, set the watchmen (Jer. 51:12).
In Ezekiel:--
They shall overthrow the walls of Tyre, and destroy her towers; and I will scrape her dust from her, and make her the dryness of a rock (Ezek. 26:4).
[2] How much power there is in truth has been made evident to me by what it has been given me to see in the other life. A certain spirit who was in natural truth, because during his life in this world he had been a just man, passed through a number of hells, and spoke with me from thence, and described them; he was in power and strength so great that the infernal spirits could not at all infest him, so that he passed safely from one hell into another, which is quite impossible for those who are not in truth. From all this it is evident that by "sitting in the strength of a bow" is signified to be safe by means of the truth of doctrine: that it is by truth fighting, follows from what goes before, where it is said that "the archers shoot at him and hate him."
. And the arms of his hands are made strong. That this signifies the power of the forces for fighting, is evident from the signification of "arms" and "hands," as being powers, (n. 878, 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544); that it is the power of the forces for fighting is clear, because fighting is what is being treated of. . By the hands of the mighty Jacob. That this signifies by the omnipotence of the Lord’s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of "hands," as being power (n. 6424), and in the supreme sense, in which the Lord is treated of, omnipotence (n. 878, 3387, 4592, 4933); and from the signification of the "mighty Jacob," as being the Lord‘s Divine natural, thus His Divine Human (n. 1893, 3305, 3576, 3599, 4286, 4538, 6098, 6185, 6276). That it is the Lord who is meant by the "mighty Jacob," is evident also in David:--Who sware to Jehovah, he vowed unto the mighty Jacob, Surely I will not come into the tent of my house until I find out a place for Jehovah, the habitations of the mighty Jacob (Ps. 132:2, 3, 5).
And in Isaiah:--
That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty Jacob (Isa. 49:26).
Again:--
Hear O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen, I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thy sons; this one shall say, I am Jehovah’s, and that one will call Himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write with his hand Jehovah‘s, and will surname himself with the name of Israel (Isa. 44:1, 3, 5).
That "Israel" also in the supreme sense denotes the Lord, is evident in Hosea:--
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1);
that it is the Lord who is here meant by "Israel" is evident in Matthew:--
Joseph went with the boy into Egypt, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son (Matthew 2:14, 15).
[2] From all this it is evident that by "from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel" is signified that from this is all the good and truth of the Lord‘s spiritual kingdom. That in the highest sense the "stone of Israel" denotes the Lord in respect to the truth that is in His spiritual kingdom, is because by "stone" in general is signified the temple, and specifically its foundation, and by the "temple" is signified the Lord’s Divine Human (John 2:19, 21), and also by its foundation (Matt. 21:42, 44; Isa. 28:16). That in the highest sense a "stone" denotes the Lord as to the Divine truth that is of His spiritual kingdom, is evident in David:--
The stone which the architects rejected, is become the head of the corner. This was done from Jehovah: it is marvelous in our eyes (Ps. 118:22, 23).
That the "stone" here is the Lord, is evident in Luke:--
It is written, The stone which the architects rejected, the same is become the head of the comer; whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder (Luke 20:17, 18);
these words the Lord speaks concerning Himself. And in Isaiah:--
Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread; for He shall be for a sanctuary, although a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to the two houses of Israel; many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken (Isa. 8:13-15);
where the subject treated of is the Lord. Again:--
Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I will lay for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, of a precious corner, of a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not hurry (Isa. 28:16).
In Zechariah:--
Jehovah Zebaoth shall visit His flock, the house of Judah, and shall make them as a horse of glory in war; from Him is the corner stone, from Him the nail, from Him the war bow (Zech. 10:3, 4).
[3] In Daniel:--
Thou sawest even until a stone was cut out which was not done with hands, and it smote the image upon its feet, that were iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. The stone that smote the image became a great rock, and filled the whole earth. The God of the heavens shall make a kingdom rise up that shall not be destroyed forever, nor shall His kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the rock, which was not done with hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold (Daniel 2:34, 35, 44, 45);
here by a "stone" in the highest sense is meant the Lord, and in the relative sense His spiritual kingdom; that the stone was "cut out of a rock" signifies that it was from the truth of faith, for this is signified in the Word by a "rock;" and as the truth of faith is signified by "stone" and "rock," it is the Lord‘s spiritual kingdom that is also signified, for this is in the truth of faith, and from this in good.
[4] By the "stone" also upon which Jacob slept, and which he afterward set for a pillar, the like is signified, of which it is written:--
Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not; and he feared, and said, How terrible is this place! this is nothing but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had set for his pillows, and set it for a pillar, and poured oil upon the head of it; and he said, This stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s house (Gen. 28:16-18, 22).
That in the highest sense the ancients understood the Lord by a "stone," and in the representative sense His spiritual kingdom, is also clear in Joshua:--
Joshua set up a stone under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said unto the universal people, Behold, this stone shall be to us for a witness; for it hath heard all the discourses of Jehovah, which He spake to us and it shall be for a witness against you, lest ye deny your God (Joshua 24:26, 27).
[2] Hence it is evident that the good of the spiritual church is impure; and because it is impure, the spiritual cannot be admitted into heaven except by Divine means. The veriest Divine means was that the Lord came into the world and made the Human in Himself Divine; by this the spiritual were saved. But because the good with them is impure, they must needs be infested by evils and falsities, and thus be in combats; but the Lord provides that by means of these combats the impurity in them may gradually be purified, for the Lord fights for them. This is what is signified by "the daughter marched upon the wall," and by "the archers embittered him, and shot at him, and hated him, and he shall sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob, from whence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel."
[3] See what has already been said about those who are of the spiritual church, namely, that they are in obscurity as to truth and the derivative good (n. 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3246, 3833, 6289); that this obscurity is illumined by the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 2716); that before the Lord‘s coming there was not such a spiritual kingdom as after His coming (n. 6372); that the Lord came into the world in order to save the spiritual; and that they are saved by means of the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969). Hence also it is plain that by "the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob, from whence is the shepherd the stone of Israel," is signified the power of fighting derived from the omnipotence of the Lord‘s Divine Human, whence is all the good and truth in the spiritual kingdom (n. 6424-6426).
. By the God of thy father, and He shall help thee. That this signifies that He is the God of the Ancient Church, is evident from the representation of Jacob, who here is the "father," as being the Ancient Church (n. 4439, 4514, 4680, 4772). This church was a spiritual church, and in it the Lord was worshiped, who is here meant by the "God of the Ancient Church," from whom is help in the combats spoken of above. . And with Shaddai. That this signifies the Lord the Benefactor after temptations, is evident from the signification of "Shaddai," the Lord being so called relatively to temptations, and to benefactions after temptations (n. 1992, 3667, 4572, 5628). . And He shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above. That this signifies with good and truth from within, is evident from the signification of "blessings," as being the multiplication of truth and the fruitfulness of good; "blessing" in the spiritual sense being nothing else; and from the signification of "heaven above," as being from within, for the heaven of man is in his interiors, because the man who is in the good of life is as to his interiors in society with angels, thus in heaven, and as to his exteriors is in society with men, thus in the world. Therefore when man receives the good and truth which flow in from the Lord through heaven from within, he is "blessed with the blessings of heaven above." . With the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath. That this signifies with the memory-knowledges that are in the natural, is evident from the signification of "being blessed with blessings," as being to be endowed with such things as are from the spiritual world; and from the signification of the "deep that lieth beneath," as being the memory-knowledges in the natural. It is relatively to the interiors (which are "heaven") that the natural is called "the deep that lieth beneath" (n. 6430); and as the natural is signified by "the deep that lieth beneath," memory-knowledges are also signified, for these together with their delights are in the natural, and make its life, especially with the spiritual man, because by means of memory-knowledges he is introduced into truths, and by means of truths into good; from which it is evident that by "being blessed with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath" is signified to be endowed with memory-knowledges, thus with truths, in the natural. By the "deep" are also signified the truths of memory-knowledge in the natural in the blessing of Joseph in Moses:--Blessed of Jehovah be his land; for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, for the deep also that lieth beneath (Deut. 33:13).
[2] These affections are also signified by the "breasts" in Isaiah:--
Thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron silver (Isa. 60:16, 17);
"to suck the breasts of kings" denotes good from truth, for by "kings" are signified truths (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148). That by the "milk of the nations," and by the "breasts of kings," there is signified something hidden which is spiritual, is manifest, for otherwise they would be words without meaning; that good and truth are signified is plain from what follows: "for brass I will bring gold, and for iron silver;" "brass" being natural good (n. 425, 1551), "gold" celestial good (n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658), "iron" natural truth (n. 425, 426), and "silver" spiritual truth (n. 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112).
[3] And in Ezekiel:--
As to the increase I made thee as the bud of the field, whence thou didst increase and grow up, and thou attainedst to ornament of ornament; thy breasts were made firm, and thy hair grew (Ezek. 16:7);
this is said of Jerusalem, by which is here signified the Ancient Spiritual Church; the "breasts" being "made firm" denotes interior affections of good and truth; "thy hair grew" denotes exterior affections which are of the natural. "Hair" is the natural as to truth, (n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573). That in these words there is a spiritual sense which does not appear in the letter, is plain; for without that sense what could be meant by saying of Jerusalem that "her breasts were made firm, and her hair grew?"
[4] In the same:--
There were two women the daughters of one mother who committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth, there were their breasts pressed, and there they touched the teats of their virginity (Ezek. 23:2, 3);
that the "two women" are Jerusalem and Samaria, is there said, by whom in the internal sense are signified churches; by their "committing whoredoms in their youth with Egypt," is signified that they falsified the truths of the church by means of memory-knowledges. "To commit whoredom" is to falsify truths, (n. 2466, 4865); and "Egypt" is memory-knowledge, (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702); hence "their breasts were pressed" denotes that the affections of good and truth were perverted by means of falsifications. That such things are signified by the "whoredom of the women," and by the "pressing of their breasts," is evident to those who look into the meaning of the description of these women.
[5] In Hosea:--
Plead ye with your mother, let her put away her whoredoms from her faces, and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest I strip her naked, and make her as a wilderness, and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst (Hosea 2:2, 3);
"mother" denotes the church (n. 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581); "whoredoms" denote falsifications of truth (n. 2466, 4865); "adulteries," adulterations of good (n. 2466, 2729, 3399); hence "adulteries from between the breasts" denote the affections of good and truth adulterated; "to strip naked" denotes to deprive of all truth (n. 1073, 4958, 5433); "to make her as a wilderness, to set her as a land of drought, and to slay her with thirst" denotes to extinguish all truth.
[6] Again:--
Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts (Hosea 9:14);
where "dry breasts" denote affections not of truth and good. And in Isaiah:--
Stand still ye women that are secure, hear my voice; ye daughters that are confident, with your ears perceive my discourse; strip and make thyself bare, and gird upon the loins; they smite themselves upon the breasts for the fields of pure wine and the fruitful vine (Isa. 32:9, 11, 12);
where "daughters" denote affections (n. 2362, 3024, 3963); "to be made bare" denotes to be deprived of truth (n. 1073, 4958, 5433); "to gird themselves upon the loins" denotes to be in grief on account of lost good; "to smite upon the breasts," denotes to be in grief on account of lost good of truth; and because these things are signified, it is said "for the fields of pure wine and the fruitful vine;" for a "field" denotes the church as to good, thus the good of the church (n. 2971, 3196, 3310, 3766), and a "vine" denotes the spiritual church, consequently the good of truth (n. 5113, 6375, 6376).
[7] In the Revelation:--
I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle (Rev. 1:12, 13);
the "golden lampstands" denote the truths of good; the "Son of man" denotes the Divine truth; "girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle" denotes the good of love. That these things seen by John involve such things as are of the Lord’s kingdom and His church, everyone may conclude from the sanctity of the Word; for what sanctity would there be in making predictions about the kingdoms of this world? Hence it may be seen that heavenly things are signified by the "lamp stands," and by the "Son of man being clad with a garment down to the feet, and being girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle."
[8] In Luke:--
A certain woman from the people lifted up her voice and said concerning Jesus, Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the breasts which Thou hast sucked. But Jesus said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it (Luke 11:27, 28);
from the Lord‘s answer it is plain what is signified by a "blessed womb," and what by "breasts," namely, those who hear the Word of God and keep it; thus the affections of truth which those have who hear the Word of God; and the affections of good which those have who keep or do it.
. And of the womb. That this signifies their conjunction, namely, the conjunction of good and truth, is evident from the signification of "the womb," as being the inmost of conjugial love; and as conjugial love comes forth from the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of good and truth, therefore this conjunction is signified by the "womb." The inmost of conjugial love is signified by the "womb" (n. 4918); and conjugial love comes forth from the heavenly marriage, or from the conjunction of good and truth in heaven, (n. 2618, 2728, 2729, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835, 6179). . The blessings of thy father shall prevail above the blessings of my progenitors. That this signifies that this church has spiritual good from the natural, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the spiritual church (n. 6417); from the representation of Israel, here the "father," as being spiritual good from the natural (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); and from the representation of Isaac and Abraham, here the "progenitors," as being in the supreme sense the Lord’s internal Divine--"Isaac," the internal Divine Human, or the Lord‘s Divine Rational (n. 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 3012, 3194, 3210); and "Abraham" the Lord’s Divine Itself (n. 2011, 3251, 3439, 4615); but in the relative sense "Abraham and Isaac" denote the internal of the Lord‘s kingdom and church (n. 6098, 6185, 6276). From all this it may in some measure be seen what is signified by "the blessings of thy father shall prevail over the blessings of my progenitors," namely, that the spiritual church should have good from the natural or external man, but not from the rational or internal man; for the good of the man of the spiritual church is in the natural, nor does it go further; but the good of the celestial church is in the rational. That this is the meaning cannot possibly be known unless it is known what Israel and Abraham and Isaac represent, and also where and whence is the good of the spiritual church. . Even to the desire of the hills of an age. That this signifies to celestial mutual love, is evident from the signification of the "hills of an age," as being the things of mutual love. That the spiritual church may come to this love, is signified by "even to the desire of the hills of an age." Before it is shown from other passages of the Word that by the "hills of an age" is signified mutual love, it must first be told what is meant by the mutual love to which the man of the spiritual church, represented by Joseph, busies himself in arriving. From what has frequently been said and shown above, it is evident that there are two kingdoms which constitute heaven, namely, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The difference between these two kingdoms is that the internal good of the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord, and its external is the good of mutual love; they who are of this kingdom are in the good of love, but not in the truth which is called the truth of faith, for this is in the good of this kingdom, insomuch that it cannot be seen separately from good, and therefore they who belong to this kingdom cannot even mention faith (n. 202, 203, 4448), because with them instead of the truth of faith there is the good of mutual love. But as regards the spiritual kingdom, its internal is the good of charity toward the neighbor, while its external is the truth of faith.[2] From all this it is evident what is the difference between these two kingdoms, and also that they agree in the fact that the external of the celestial kingdom coincides with the internal of the spiritual kingdom, through the intermediate which is called the "celestial of the spiritual." For as before said the external of the celestial kingdom is the good of mutual love, and the internal of the spiritual kingdom is the good of charity toward the neighbor; but the good of mutual love is more interior than the good of charity toward the neighbor, because the former is from the rational, but the latter is from the natural. But although the good of mutual love (which is the external of the celestial church) is more interior, and the good of charity toward the neighbor is more exterior, nevertheless, as just said, the Lord conjoins these goods by an intermediate, and thus conjoins these two kingdoms.
[3] In order to make a distinction between the external good of the celestial church and the internal good of the spiritual church, in the following pages we may call the former good the good of mutual love, and the latter the good of charity toward the neighbor, which difference has not been heretofore observed. These things being first known, it may be said what is signified by "even to the desire of the hills of an age," which is among the blessings of Israel concerning this spiritual church, namely, that the spiritual kingdom may rise above the good of charity even to the good of mutual love, which is of the celestial kingdom; and that in this way these two kingdoms may be intimately conjoined: this is what is signified by these words.
[4] In very many passages of the prophetic Word mention is made of "mountains and hills," and by them in the internal sense are signified the goods of love--by "mountains" the good of love to the Lord, which is the internal of the celestial kingdom; and by "hills" the good of mutual love, which is the external of the same kingdom; but where the spiritual kingdom is treated of, then by "mountains" is signified the good of charity toward the neighbor, which is the internal of this kingdom, and by "hills" the truth of faith, which is its external. Be it known that every church of the Lord is internal and external, and so is each of His kingdoms.
[5] That such is the signification of "hills," is evident from the following passages:--
In the latter days the mountain of Jehovah shall be for the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills (Isa. 2:2; Micah 4:1);
the "mountain of Jehovah," which is Zion, denotes the Lord’s celestial kingdom, thus the good of this kingdom, which is of love to the Lord; thus in the supreme sense it is the Lord Himself, for all the love and all the good in the celestial kingdom belong to the Lord.
[6] The like is signified by the "mountain of Zion" elsewhere in the Word, and by the "hill thereof" the good of mutual love, as in Isaiah:--
Jehovah Zebaoth shall come down to fight upon the mountain of Zion, and upon the hill thereof (Isa. 31:4);
where "hill" denotes the good of mutual love; and as by a "hill" is signified the good of mutual love, and by a "mountain" the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord, it is said that "Jehovah would descend to fight upon that mountain." Jehovah does not fight upon the mountain of Zion and the hill thereof; but where the good of love is, it is for this, that is, for those who are in it, that the Lord (in this passage "Jehovah") fights. If He fought for Zion and for Jerusalem, it is because they represented the celestial church. Therefore also the mountain of Zion was called holy, and Jerusalem also was said to be holy, when yet in itself it was filthy, as is plain from the prophets, where its abominations are treated of.
[7] In David:--
The mountains shall bring peace, and the hills in righteousness (Ps. 72:3).
In the same:--
Praise Jehovah ye mountains, and all hills (Ps. 148:9).
In the same:--
The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like the sons of the flock (Ps. 114:4, 6).
Again:--
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of hills is the mountain of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye mountains, ye hills of mountains? God desires to dwell in it, Jehovah also shall dwell forever (Ps. 68:15, 16).
In these passages "mountains" denote celestial love, and "hills" spiritual love; that mountains are not here meant, nor hills, nor they who were upon mountains and hills, is very manifest.
[8] In Isaiah:--
There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every lifted up hill, streams, channels of waters (Isa. 30:25);
"channels of waters" denote the knowledges of good and of truth, which are said to be "upon every high mountain and lifted up hill" because these knowledges flow from the goods of celestial and spiritual love.
[9] In Habakkuk:--
Jehovah stood and measured the earth; He saw and dispersed the nations, because the mountains of eternity were scattered, and the hills of an age humbled themselves (Habakkuk 3:6);
the "mountains of eternity" denote the good of love of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial; the "hills of an age," the good of mutual love that belonged to that church; the former being its internal, the latter its external. When that church is meant in the Word, seeing that it was the most ancient one, "eternity" is sometimes added, as here the "mountains of eternity," and elsewhere the "days of eternity" (n. 6239); and an "age" also is added, as here the "hills of an age," and also in the prophetic utterance of Israel: "to the desire of the hills of an age." Hence it is evident that by the "hills of an age" are signified the goods of mutual love, which are of the celestial church, or of the Lord‘s celestial kingdom.
[10] So in Moses, in his prophetic utterance about Joseph:--
Of the first-fruits of the mountains of the east, and of the precious things of the hills of eternity, let them come on the head of Joseph (Deut. 33:15, 16).
In Isaiah:--
The mountains and the hills shall resound with singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isa. 55:12).
In Joel:--
In that day the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters (Joel 3:18; Amos. 9:13).
In Ezekiel:--
My sheep wander in all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and upon all the faces of the earth are they scattered. I will make them, the compass of My hill, a blessing; and I will send down the rain in its season (Ezek. 34:6, 26).
In Jeremiah:--
Wasters are come upon all the hills in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth (Jer. 12:12).
In these passages the goods of celestial love are signified by "mountains;" and likewise by "hills," but in a lower degree.
[11] Because "mountains" and "hills" signified such things, in the Ancient Church their Divine worship also was upon mountains and upon hills; and afterward the Hebrew nation set altars upon mountains and hills, and there sacrificed and burnt incense; and where there were no hills, they constructed high places. But because this worship became idolatrous, through holding the mountains and hills themselves holy, and thinking nothing at all about the holy things which they signified, this worship was therefore forbidden the Israelitish and Jewish people, because that people was more prone to idolatry than any other. In order however that this representative which had been in ancient times might be retained, the mountain of Zion was chosen, and by it in the supreme sense was represented the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love, and in the relative sense the Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual in His kingdom.
[12] As such things were signified, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son upon one of the mountains in the land of Moriah; and the Lord was also seen upon a mountain by Moses, and the Law was promulgated from the elevation of a mountain, for He was seen by Moses upon Mount Horeb, and the Law was promulgated upon Mount Sinai; and the temple of Jerusalem was also built upon a mountain.
[13] That from an ancient rite holy worship was held upon mountains and hills, and afterward the Gentiles and also the idolatrous Israelites and Jews sacrificed and burnt incense thereon, is plain in Jeremiah:--
Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the wickedness of thy whoredom, upon the hills in the field, I have seen thine abominations (Jer. 13:27);
speaking of Jerusalem. In Ezekiel:--
When their pierced ones shall be in the midst of their idols, round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the heads of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every tangled oak (Ezek. 6:13).
In Jeremiah:--
Upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou transgressing harlot (Jer. 2:20; 3:6; 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 16:4; 17:10).
[14] Because idolatrous worship took place upon mountains and hills, by them are signified in the opposite sense the evils that belong to the love of self; as in Jeremiah:--
The mountains, and lo they are shaken, and all the hills are overturned. I beheld and lo there was no man, and all the birds of heaven had flown away (Jer. 4:24, 25).
In Isaiah:--
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be humbled (Isa. 40:4).
In the same:--
Behold I have put thee for a thresher of a new thresher, set with spikes; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and shalt make the hills as chaff (Isa. 41:15).
Again:--
I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage (Isa. 42:15).
And in Micah:--
Hear ye I pray what Jehovah speaketh: Arise, contend thou with the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice (Micah 6:1).
In Jeremiah:--
My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have misled them, refractory mountains, they have gone from a mountain upon a hill, they have forgotten their fold (Jer. 50:6; Jer. 16:6; Nahum 1:5, 6).
[15] The reason why "mountains" and "hills" signified the goods of celestial and spiritual love, was that they were prominent above the earth, and by things prominent and high were signified those which were of heaven, and in the supreme sense which were of the Lord. For the "land of Canaan" signified the Lord‘s heavenly kingdom (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); hence all things in that land were significative, the "mountains" and "hills" being significative of such things as are high; for when the most ancient people who were of the celestial church ascended a mountain they thought of height, and from height, of what is holy, because Jehovah or the Lord was said to dwell "in the highest," and because in the spiritual sense "height" denoted the good of love (n. 650).
. They shall be on the head of Joseph. That this signifies these things as to the interiors, is evident from the signification of "head," as being the interiors, because all things of man are there in their first principles, and it is also from correspondence that the interior things are signified by the head. Hence the "neck" signifies what is intermediate; the "body," exterior things; and the "feet" with the "soles," outermost ones. This correspondence is from the fact that heaven bears relation to a Great Man; the inmost heaven, where is the Lord’s celestial kingdom, relates to the head of that man; the middle or second heaven, where is the spiritual kingdom, to the body; and the ultimate or first heaven, to the feet (n. 4938, 4939, 5328, 6292). . And on the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren. That this signifies as to the exteriors, is evident from the signification of the "crown of the head of a Nazirite," as being exterior things; and from the representation of the sons of Israel, who here are "his brethren," as being spiritual truths in the natural (n. 5414, 5879, 5951), which also are relatively exterior, for the man of the spiritual church is in the good of truth, and this good is interior, because in the interior natural. That a "Nazirite" signifies exterior things is because the Nazirites represented the Lord as to the Divine natural, which is the external Divine Human. That this was what they represented is evident from the fact that the Naziriteship is the hair, and that its sanctity consisted in the hair, which was for the sake of the representation that has been mentioned; for the hair corresponds to and hence signifies what is natural (n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573). This is also plain from those who made a vow of Naziriteship, who were then forbidden to shave their hair (Num. 6:5); and afterward, when they had completed the days of the Naziriteship, they were to shave the head at the door of the tent, and to put the hair into the fire under the sacrifice of the peace-offering (Num. 6:13, 18). This is further evident from Samson, who was a Nazirite, in that his strength consisted in his hair (Judges 13:3, 5; xvi); (n. 3301). Hence it is written in Jeremiah:--Cut off the hair of thy Naziriteship, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the hills (Jer. 7:29).
From these passages it is evident that by the "crown of the head of a Nazirite" are signified exterior things, for the crown of the head of a Nazirite is where his hair is. This is the secret signified by the Nazirites in the Word.
. From all that Israel foretold about Joseph, it is also evident that in each detail there is an internal sense, and that without this sense scarcely anything is understood. He who looks only at the sense of the letter may believe that these things that were said about Joseph would happen to his descendants through Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. 48:1). But in their history in the books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, nothing of the kind is found; for they were not blessed above the rest of the tribes, and they like the rest were led into captivity and dispersed among the Gentiles; from which it is evident that what is stated in the sense of the letter is not signified, but something else that is in the internal sense. Also that without the internal sense it is impossible to know what all these things about Joseph involve--as that Joseph is "the son of a fruitful one, a fruitful one over a fountain, of a daughter, she marcheth upon the wall; the archers imbitter him, and shoot at him, and hate him; and he shall sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob, from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel;" that "the blessings of his father shall prevail above the blessings of his progenitors, even to the desire of the hills of an age;" and that "they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren;" all and each of which things are such that no one can know what they mean except from the internal sense. GENESIS 49:22-26 previous - next - text - summary - Genesis - Full Page
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