ACV9 S35 7600-7622

CLICK TO PRINT READING CLICK TO GO TO COMMENTS 7600 Verses 31-35. And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax was a stalk. And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, because they were hidden. And Moses went out of the city from before Pharaoh, and spread out his palms unto Jehovah; and the voices and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the voices had ceased, and he sinned yet more, and made heavy his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was made firm, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, as Jehovah had spoken by the hand of Moses. "And the flax," signifies the truth of the exterior natural; "and the barley," signifies its good; "were smitten," signifies that they were destroyed; "for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax was a stalk," signifies that this good and truth stood forth and looked downward; "and the wheat and the spelt," signifies the good of the interior natural and its truth; "were not smitten," signifies that they were not destroyed; "because they were hidden," signifies because they did not stand forth, and because they tended inward; "and Moses went out of the city from before Pharaoh," signifies separation from them; "and spread out his palms unto Jehovah," signifies intercession; "and the voices and the hail ceased," signifies that there was an end of this state; "and the rain was not poured upon the earth," signifies that these falsities no more appeared; "and Pharaoh saw," signifies a noticing; "that the rain and the hail and the voices had ceased," signifies that there was an end of this state; "and he sinned yet more," signifies as yet a withdrawal; "and made heavy his heart, he and his servants," signifies obstinacy; "and the heart of Pharaoh was made firm," signifies that from evil they were determined; "and he did not let the sons of Israel go," signifies that they did not leave them; "as Jehovah had spoken," signifies according to the prediction; "by the hand of Moses," signifies by means of the law from the Divine. 7601 And the flax. That this signifies the truth of the exterior natural, is evident from the signification of "flax," as being truth, but truth of the exterior natural (of which below; that the natural is exterior and interior, see n. 4570, 5118, 5497, 5649; consequently that the truth and good therein are interior and exterior, n. 3293, 3294). The truth and good of the exterior natural are signified by "the flax and the barley," and the good and truth of the interior natural by "the wheat and the spelt."[2] The subject treated of in this and in the following verse is the truths and goods which were destroyed and vastated, and the goods and truths which were not destroyed and vastated; thus the truths and goods which were stored up and reserved for use, and those which were not stored up and reserved. For when the evil are being vastated, that is, when they are being separated from truths and goods, and are left to their own evils and falsities, they are then vastated in respect to those truths and goods which are in the exterior natural, and which are adjoined there to falsities and evils. That these truths and goods look downward, and therefore cannot be reserved, will be seen below (n. 7604, 7607); but the truths and goods of the interior natural are not vastated, but are brought further inward, and are there reserved for use; and then the communication between the interior natural and the exterior is so far closed that nothing of good and truth can inflow from the interior natural into the exterior natural, except only something general, to enable them to reason, and to string together arguments to confirm falsities and evils. Those goods and truths which are reserved, are signified in the Word by "remains" (as to which see n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 576, 661, 798, 1738, 1906, 2284, 5135, 5342, 5344, 5897-5899, 6156, 7556).