signs which I have set in them, and that ye may know that I am Jehovah. And Moses and Aaron came unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, How long dost thou refuse to be humbled before Me? let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if thou refuse to let My people go, behold to-morrow I bring the locust into thy border; and it shall cover the surface of the land, that one shall not be be able to see the land; and it shall devour the residue of that which is escaped that is left to you from the hail; and it shall devour every tree that sprouteth forth to you out of the field; and thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which thy fathers saw not, nor thy fathers' fathers, since the day that they were upon the ground even unto this day. And he looked back, and went out from before Pharaoh. "And Jehovah said unto Moses," signifies a command; "Come unto Pharaoh," signifies the presence of truth from the Divine with those who infest; "because I have made heavy his heart, and the heart of his servants," signifies that they all in general were determined; "that I may put these My signs in the midst of them," signifies that the evil may know that they are in evil, and that the good may be enlightened as to the state of those within the church who live evilly; "and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt," signifies that they who are in truth and good may know what befalls those who are of the church and infest the upright; "and My signs which I have set in them," signifies that they may be enlightened with respect to the state of those who are of the church and live evilly; "and that ye may know that I am Jehovah," signifies that thus it may be known to them that the Lord is the only God; "and Moses and Aaron came unto Pharaoh," signifies the presence of truth Divine; "and said unto him," signifies discernment; "Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews," signifies a command from the Lord, who is the God of the church; "How long dost thou refuse to be humbled before Me?" signifies disobedience; "let My people go, that they may serve Me," signifies that they should leave those who are of the spiritual church, that they may worship the Lord; "for if thou refuse to let My people

go," signifies if they would not leave them; "behold to-morrow I bring the locust into thy border," signifies that falsity will take possession of their extremes; "and it shall cover the surface of the land," signifies the ultimates of the natural mind thence derived; "that one shall not be able to see the land," signifies the consequent darkening of the whole natural mind; "and it shall devour the residue of that which is escaped that is left to you from the hail," signifies the consuming of all things that have anything from truths; "and it shall devour every tree that sprouteth forth to you out of the field," signifies thus the consuming of all the knowledges which they have from the church; "and thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians," signifies that falsity will reign in each and all things in the natural, from its interior to its outermost; "which thy fathers saw not, nor thy fathers' fathers, since the day that they were upon ground even unto this day," signifies that from ancient time such falsity has not been in the church as there is there; "and he looked back, and went out from before Pharaoh," signifies privation of discernment, and separation.

the

7630. And Jehovah said unto Moses. That this signifies a command, namely, one that was to be brought before Pharaoh, is evident from the signification of " saying," when by Jehovah to those who infest, as being a command (see n. 7036, 7107, 7310).

7631. Come unto Pharaoh. That this signifies the presence of truth from the Divine with those who infest, is evident from the signification of "coming" or "entering" to any one, as being presence (see n. 5934, 6063, 6089, 7498); from the representation of Moses, as being truth from the Divine (see n. 6771, 6827); and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being those who in the other life infest those who are of the spiritual church (n. 6651, 6679, 6683, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7220, 7228).

7632. For I have made heavy his heart, and the heart of his servants. That this signifies that they all in general were determined, is evident from the signification of "making heavy," "making hard," and "making firm, the heart," as being to be determined (see n. 7272, 7300, 7305); and from the representation of Pharaoh, whose heart was made heavy, as being those

who infest; and when it is said "he and his servants," all in general are signified, for the servants together with him constitute the household. Its being said that Jehovah "made heavy the heart of Pharaoh," in the internal sense signifies that Pharaoh made heavy his own heart. In ancient times, for the sake of the simple, all evil was attributed to Jehovah; and this because the simple could not know, and most of them could not comprehend, how that which came to pass could come from any other source than Jehovah; nor how it is to be understood that Jehovah permits the diabolical crew to occasion evil, and why He does not prevent it, when yet He has all power. As the simple could not apprehend this, nor scarcely even the intelligent, it was therefore said, as believed by many, that even evil had sprung from Jehovah. This is a common thing in the Word, the sense of the letter of which is in accordance with the faith of the simple. (That the evil which in the Word is attributed to Jehovah, is from man, see n. 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533.)

7633. That I may set these My signs in the midst of them. That this signifies that the evil may know that they are in evil, and that the good may be enlightened as to the state of those within the church who live evilly, is evident from the signification of "signs," as being confirmations of truths, and thus knowledges (see n. 6870), and also enlightenments (n. 7012); hence "to set signs in the midst of them" denotes that the evil may know that they are in evil. That it also denotes that the good may be enlightened as to the state of those within the church who live evilly, is plain from what presently follows, where it is said, "and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and My signs which I have set in them," whereby is signified that they who are in truth and good may know what befalls those of the church who infest the upright. (That they who in the other life infest the upright are those who have been of the church and have known the precepts of faith, and yet have lived contrary to them, see n. 7317, 7502, 7545, 7554.)

7634. And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt. That

this signifies that they who are in truth and good may know what befalls those who are of the church and infest the upright, is evident from the signification of "telling in the ears," as being that they may know and take notice; and from the signification of "son," and "son's son," as being those who are in truth and good. (That "son" denotes truth, see n. 489-491, 1147, 2623, 3373; also that the "sons of sons" denote the things derived, n. 6583.) Here "sons" denote those who are in truth and also in good, because by them are signified those who are of the church; and therefore "thy son's son" is said to Moses, by whom is represented the law Divine, which is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine good; thus it is the Divine truth to which is united the Divine good (n. 7623, 7624), from which is the church: and from the signification of "what things I have wrought in Egypt," as being that which befalls those who in the other life infest the upright. That by "signs" is signified that which befalls, and by "Pharaoh and the Egyptians" those who in the other life infest, is evident from what has been said before. (That they who infest have been of the church may be seen above, n. 7633.)

7635. And My signs which I have set in them. That this signifies that they may be enlightened with respect to the state of those who are of the church and live evilly, is evident from what was said above (n. 7633), where are like words.

7636. That ye may know that I am Jehovah. That this signifies that thus it may be known to them that the Lord is the only God, is evident from the signification of "that ye may know," as being that it may be known to them. That by "I am Jehovah" is signified that the Lord is the only God, is because the name "Jehovah" signifies Is, thus Him from whom is the being and coming-forth of all things, who cannot but be the sole and only one. (That "Jehovah" denotes the Lord, see n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6905, 6945, 6956; and that by these words is meant that He is the only God, n. 7401, 7444, 7544, 7598.)

7637. And Moses and Aaron came unto Pharaoh. That this signifies the presence of truth Divine, is evident from the signification of "coming" or "entering," as being presence (as above, n. 7631); and from the representation of Moses and

Aaron, as being truth Divine-Moses the internal, Aaron the external (n. 7089, 7382).

7638. And said unto him. That this signifies discernment, is evident from the signification of "saying," as being to notice (see n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509, 5743, 5877); that by "they said" is here meant to discern, is because by Moses and Aaron is represented truth Divine, and by "to come," the presence thereof; and discernment is from the presence of truth Divine.

7639. Thus said Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. That this signifies a command from the Lord, who is the God of the church, is evident from the signification of "saying," when by Jehovah to those who infest, as being a command (as above, n. 7630); and from the signification of "the Hebrews," as being those who are of the church (n. 5136, 6675, 6684, 6738). (That "Jehovah God" denotes the Lord, see above, n. 7636.)

7640. How long dost thou refuse to be humbled before Me? That this signifies no obedience, is evident from the signification of "refusing to be humbled," as being not to obey. This is signified because it is said to those who are in evil, who cannot be humbled before the Divine; for there are two things in humiliation, namely, the acknowledgment of self, that it is nothing but evil, and that relatively to the Divine it is as nothing; and the acknowledgment of the Divine, that it is nothing but good, and is infinite. These two things are not possible with the evil, because they are in the love of self. If they humble themselves it is either from fear, or that they may be honored or enriched; thus they humble themselves only as to the body, and not as to the mind, which sometimes then jeers. Such is the humiliation of fear, and also that for the sake of gain and honor. Such it is before the Divine, although they do not know this; for the internal with those who are in evil from the love of self is solely to regard and magnify themselves, and to turn away from all who do not favor. As humiliation is not possible with the evil, therefore in the internal sense by "to be humbled" is signified obedience, and thus by "refusing to be humbled" is signified no obedience.

7641. Let My people go, that they may serve Me. That this signifies that they should leave those who are of the spir