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Arcana Coelestia #10264

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10264. 'A compounded ointment' means present within every single part of His Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'ointment' - when it refers to 'an anointing oil', by which a representative sign of the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love is meant - as what is Divine within every single part of His Human. 'A compounded ointment' has this meaning because all the sweet-smelling substances which were mentioned above, namely the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, and cassia, should be understood by a compounded ointment. Furthermore in the original language a sweet smell in general is meant by the word that is used; but translators render it 'ointment', from 'anointing'.

[2] 'A compounded perfume' 1 means present within every single part of the Lord's Human, because truths on every level of that Human, and the accompanying perceptions and affections, are meant. That is to say, truth on its lowest level, which is that of the senses, and the perception that accompanies it, is meant by 'myrrh', 10252; the interior truth of the natural or external man, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by 'sweet-smelling cinnamon', 10254; truth even more interior, belonging to the internal man, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by 'sweet-smelling calamus', 10256; and inmost truth, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by 'cassia', 10258. Thus the Human at every level is meant by these spices, for everything without exception that resides within the human being has some connection with truths and with perceptions of and affections for them; for these compose his actual life.

[3] It may be known that a human being without any perception of or affection for truth and good is not a human being; for everything without exception that a human being thinks about has some connection with truths and perceptions of them, and with forms of good and affections for them. Human thoughts and affections are nothing else; for the human being possesses the power of understanding and the power of will, the understanding being composed of the perception of truth, and the will of the affection for good. The whole human being from head to toe, inwardly and outwardly, consists of nothing other than truth or falsity that is his, and of good or evil that is his, the body being their outward form. But this is an arcanum unknown in the world as yet.

[4] From all this it now becomes clear that 'a compounded perfume' or 'a compounded ointment' - by which all degrees of truth from last and lowest to inmost, thus truths in their complete entirety, should be understood - means everything without exception within the human being or of which the human being consists. Consequently when that sweet-smelling ointment is spoken of in reference to the Lord, every single part of His Human is meant.

[5] It says, 'You shall make it an anointing oil, a compounded perfume, the work of a perfumer', because 'an anointing oil' means the actual Divine Good of Divine Love, which was within the Lord from conception, 9954, 10011, 10019; 'a compounded perfume' means its presence within every single part of His Human; and 'the work of a perfumer (or ointment-maker)' means as a result of the influx and operation of Divinity itself. For the Lord alone as to His Divine Human was Jehovah's Anointed, see 9954.

Footnotes:

1. An alternative rendering of the Hebrew words translated a compounded ointment

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #2540

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2540. That 'in the morning Abimelech rose up early' means a clear perception and confirmatory light flowing from celestial good is clear from the meaning of 'rising in the morning', also of 'Abimelech', as well as of 'early'. What 'the morning' means has been shown in 2333, 2405. From these meanings - and also from the whole train of thought, which is that at first the Lord's perception was obscure, 2513, 2514, and after that less obscure, 2528 - it is evident that here a clear perception is meant. As for 'Abimelech' - that he means the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational things - see above 2509, 2510. And what 'in the early morning' means is evident from the meaning of 'the morning'. Here, since it is said that 'he rose up in the morning - in the early morning', not only a clear perception is meant but also confirmatory light flowing from celestial good; for celestial good is the source from which the confirmatory light of truth is derived. These considerations now show that such things are meant.

[2] The reason why the perception which the Lord had when He was in the Human, and why His thought concerning that which was rational with the doctrine of faith, are dealt with so extensively in the internal sense is that stated above. A further reason is that it is angel-like to think in a distinct manner about the various aspects of the Lord's life in the world, and about how He cast off the human rational and by His own power made it Divine, and at the same time to think about the nature of the doctrine of charity and faith when the rational mixes with it, besides many more things dependent on these, which are interior features of the Church and of man. To anyone whose heart and mind are set on worldly and bodily interests, such matters seem of little importance, and perhaps of no advantage to him; whereas to angels whose hearts and minds are set on celestial and spiritual interests, those same matters are precious. Their ideas and perceptions regarding them are beyond description. From this it is evident that very many matters which to man are of little importance because they are above and beyond his grasp of things are to angels of the highest worth since those matters come within the light of their wisdom; and conversely, the matters of highest worth to man, because they are worldly and so come within his grasp of things, are to angels of little importance since those matters go on away from the light of angels' wisdom. This difference between angels and men with regard to the internal sense of the Word occurs in many places.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.