ACV9 S37 7651-7693

CLICK TO PRINT READING CLICK TO GO TO COMMENTS 7651 Verses 7-11. And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? And Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go ye, serve Jehovah your God; who and who are going? And Moses said, We will go with our boys, and with our old men; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flock and with our herd, will we go, because we have a feast of Jehovah. And he said unto them, So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe; see ye that evil is before your faces. Not so; go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah; because this ye seek. And he drove them out from the faces of Pharaoh. "And Pharaoh's servants said unto him," signifies a warning from those who are in fear; "How long shall this man be a snare to us?" signifies that thus they would be caught by their own evil; "let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God," signifies that it would be prudent to leave them, so that they may worship the Lord their God; "knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing?" signifies that from what has happened it can be known that all who harass those simple ones are cast down into hell, whence there is no escape; "and Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh," signifies the presence of truth Divine in consequence; "and he said unto them," signifies inclination; "Go ye, serve Jehovah your God," signifies that they shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord; "who and who are going?" signifies whether any would remain; "and Moses said," signifies the answer; "We will go with our boys, and with our old men," signifies the simple and the wise; "with our sons and with our daughters," signifies those who are in the affection of truth, and those who are in the affection of good; "with our flock and with our herd will we go," signifies those who are in interior good, and those who are in exterior good; "because we have a feast of Jehovah," signifies the worship of the Lord by all and each; "and he said unto them," signifies derision; "So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe," signifies as if the Lord would be with them if they were left; "see ye that evil is before your faces," signifies that in the desire there is no good; "not so," signifies denial; "go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah," signifies that they who are in confirmed truths shall be left so that they may worship the Lord; "because this ye seek," signifies that thus they have what they wish; "and he drove them out from the faces of Pharaoh," signifies that the will of the infesters was quite contrary to truth Divine. 7652 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him. That this signifies a warning from those who are in fear, is evident from the signification of "saying," when done by those who see their own destruction, to those in the society who are determined, as being a warning; and from the signification of "Pharaoh's servants," as being those who infest who are of a lower condition and are in fear; that they are in fear, is plain from their words, "how long shall this man be a snare to us? Send the men away, that they may serve Jehovah their God, knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing?" which words are clearly from fear; and also from the fact that by "Pharaoh's servants" are meant the evil who infest, and the evil never advise what is good except from fear (see n. 7280). 7653 How long shall this man be a snare to us? That this signifies that thus they would be caught by their own evil, is evident from the signification of "this man being a snare," as being to be caught by their own evil, and thus brought into the evil of the penalty. 7654 Let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God. That this signifies that it would be prudent to leave them, so that they may worship the Lord their God, is evident from the signification of "to let go," as being to leave; and from the signification of "serving Jehovah," as being to worship the Lord their God (as above, n. 7500, 7540, 7641). 7655 Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? That this signifies that from what has happened it can be known that all who harass those simple ones are cast down into hell, whence there is no escape, is evident from the signification of "knowest thou not yet?" as being that from what has happened it can be known; from the signification of "to perish," as being to be cast down into hell, whence there is no escape-in the spiritual sense this is signified by "perishing," in like manner as by "dying" or "death," which denotes damnation and hell (see n. 5407, 6119, 7494);-and from the signification of "Egypt," as being infestation (n. 7278), thus also those who infest. But as it is these infesters who are speaking, it is not said "who infest," but "who harass;" for the evil excuse their evil and make light of it; nor is it said that they harass "those of the spiritual church," but "those who are simple," for the evil call all those "simple" who are of the church and live according to its truths and goods, that is, a life of faith and of charity. 7656 And Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh. That this signifies the presence of truth Divine in consequence, is evident from the signification of "being brought back," as being to be made present; and from the representation of Moses and Aaron, as being truth Divine, Moses internal, and Aaron external (see n. 7089, 7382). 7657 And he said unto them. That this signifies inclination, is evident from what follows, in that under the impulse of fear he was willing to let them go. This will or inclination is contained in "he said unto them." 7658 Go ye, serve Jehovah your God. That this signifies that they shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord, is evident from the signification of "serving Jehovah," as being to worship the Lord (see n. 7500, 7540, 7641, 7654). That "go ye," or "go ye away," when said by Pharaoh to Moses with respect to the sons of Israel," denotes that they should be left is evident. 7659 Who and who are going? That this signifies whether any would remain, is evident without explication. 7660 And Moses said. That this signifies the answer, is evident. 7661 We will go with our boys, and with our old men. That this signifies the simple and the wise, is evident from the signification of "boys," when joined to "old men," as being the simple, for "old men" denote the wise (see n. 3183, 6524, 6890). 7662 With our sons and with our daughters. That this signifies those who are in the affection of truth and those who are in the affection of good, is evident from the signification of "sons," as being the truths of the church (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373), thus the affections, because truths without affection are not anything; and from the signification of "daughters," as being goods (n. 489-491), thus the affections of good (n. 2362, 3963). 7663 With our flock and with our herd will we go. That this signifies those who are in interior good and those who are in exterior good, is evident from the signification of "flock," as being interior good; and of "herd," as being exterior good (see n. 5913, 6048). By the words in this verse, that "they would go with their boys and their old men, and with their sons and with their daughters, and with their flock and with their herd," is meant in the internal sense everything that belongs to the church, both the external and the internal church. The things of the external church are meant by "boys, sons, and herd;" and the things of the internal church by "old men," "daughters," and "flock;" for "old men" denote wisdom; "daughters," the affections of good; and "flock," good itself, which are of the internal church; whereas "boys" denote simplicities; "sons," the affections of truth; and "herd," external good, which are of the external church. 7664 Because we have a feast of Jehovah. That this signifies the worship of the Lord by all and each, is evident from the signification of a "feast," as being worship from a glad mind (see n. 7093). That it denotes the worship of the Lord is because "Jehovah" in the Word denotes the Lord (n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6905, 6945, 6956); that it denotes worship by all and each, is plain from what immediately precedes, where it is said that "they would go with their boys and their old men, with sons and with daughters, and with flock and herd." 7665 And he said unto them. That this signifies derision, is evident from the words which Pharaoh says: "So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe," which are words of derision, and which signify, as if the Lord would be with them if they were left. 7666 See ye that evil is before your faces. That this signifies that in the desire there is no good, is evident from the signification of "faces," as being the interiors in respect to the affections and the derivative thoughts (see n. 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4797, 5102, 5168, 5695, 6604); and as "faces" denote the affections, they denote also the desires. Hence it is that "evil before your faces" signifies that in the affections or in the desire there is no good. 7667 Not so. That this signifies denial, is evident without explication. 7668 Go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah. That this signifies that they who are in confirmed truths shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord, is evident from the signification of "go ye," as being that they shall be left (as above, n. 7658); from the signification of "young men," as being truths confirmed (of which in what follows); and from the signification of "serving Jehovah," as being to worship the Lord (as above, n. 7654, 7658, 7664). That "young men" denote those who are in confirmed truths, is because by "sons,...