Spiritual Meaning of
Spiritual Meaning of |
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That when nakedness has reference to the head, which is baldness, it signifies the loss of the intelligence of truth and the wisdom of good, is evident in Isaiah:--
In that day shall the Lord shave by the king of Asshur the head and the hair of the feet, and shall consume the beard (Isa. 7:20);
to shave the head denotes to deprive of the internal truths of the church; to shave the hair of the feet, and to consume the beard, denotes to deprive of its external truths; by the king of Asshur denotes by means of reasonings from falsities. It is plain to everyone that neither the head, nor the hair of the feet, nor the beard, was to be shaved by the king of Asshur, and yet that these expressions are significative. That the head denotes the interior things of wisdom and intelligence, (AC 6292, 6436, 9166, 9656); that the king of Asshur denotes reasoning, (AC 119, 1186); hair, the external truth of the church, (AC 3301, 5247, 5569-5573); the feet also denote external or natural things, (AC 2162, 3147, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952). That the beard denotes sensuous memory-knowledges, which are ultimate truths, is evident from those passages in the Word where the beard is mentioned.
[4] Again:--
On all the heads is baldness, every beard is cut off (Isa. 15:2);
where the meaning is the same. Again:--
Baldness shall come upon Gaza; how long will thou cut thyself? (Jer. 47:5).
Shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads. They shall cast forth their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be for an abomination (Ezek. 7:18, 19);
baldness upon all heads denotes the loss of the intelligence of truth and wisdom of good; and because this is signified it is also said they shall cast forth their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be for an abomination; for silver denotes the truth of intelligence, and gold the good of wisdom (AC 1551, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932). It is evident that baldness upon all heads is not meant, that they were not to cast forth their silver into the streets, and that gold was not to be an abomination.
[5] Again:--
Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Shave not your heads, neither rip open your garments; lest ye die, and He be angry with the whole assembly (Lev. 10:6).
The priests, the Levites, shall not shave the head, and shall not let down their hair (Ezek. 44:20).
As Aaron and his sons represented the Lord as to Divine good and as to Divine truth (AC 9806, 9807), and as by a shaven head, and by ripped garments, was signified the loss of these, therefore it was forbidden to shave the head and to rip open their garments; and it is said, lest ye die, and He be angry with the whole assembly, by which is signified that thus would perish the representative of the Lord as to Divine good and as to Divine truth, thus the representative of the church.
from AC 9960
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| Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). | Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002. | www.BibleMeanings.info |