223. (vii) THE POWER OF THE WORD AT ITS OUTERMOST LEVEL WAS REPRESENTED BY THE NAZIRITES.

We read in the Book of Judges that Samson was a Nazirite from his mother's womb, and that his strength lay in his hair. A Nazirite and the fact of being one also means having hair. He himself showed that his strength lay in his hair when he said:

A razor has not gone over my head, because I have been a Nazirite from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will depart from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man, Judges 16:17.

No one can know why the institution of Naziriteship, standing for hair, took place, or why Samson's strength came from his hair, unless he knows the meaning of the head in the Word. The head stands for the intelligence angels and men have from the Lord by means of Divine truth. Thus the hair stands for intelligence derived from Divine truth at the outermost or remotest level. It was this meaning of the hair that caused the rule to be made for Nazirites that they should not shave the hair of their heads, for this is the Naziriteship of God upon their heads (Numbers 6:1-21). There was also a rule that the highest priest and his sons should not shave their head, lest they die and the whole house of Israel incur anger ¹ (Leviticus 10:6).

[2] It was because the hair was sacred on account of its meaning, which is due to its correspondence, that the Son of Man, who is the Lord in respect of the Word, is also described as having hair like wool, white as snow (Revelation 1:14), and likewise the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9). Since the hair means truth at the outermost level, or the literal sense of the Word, those who despise the Word become bald in the spiritual world, while on the other hand those who made much of the Word and held it sacred have a good head of hair. It was because of this correspondence that the forty-two children were torn apart by two she-bears, for calling Elisha bald (2 Kings 2:23-24); for Elisha represented the church as regards its teaching from the Word, and she-bears stand for the power of truth at the outermost level. The power of Divine truth, or the Word, lies in its literal sense, because the Word is there in all its fulness, and this is the sense possessed alike by the angels of each of the Lord's kingdoms and by men.

Footnotes:

401. (v) THE INTERNAL MAN AND THE EXTERNAL MAN.

1. Man has been created so that he should be simultaneously in the spiritual and natural worlds. The spiritual world is the abode of angels, the natural world that of men. Since man has been so created, he has been endowed with an internal and an external, the internal to allow him to be in the spiritual world, the external to allow him to be in the natural one. His internal is what is called the internal man, the external what is called the external man.

[2] 2. Every person has an internal and an external, but there is a difference here between the good and the wicked, The good have their internal in heaven and its light, the external in the world and its light. For the good the light of the world is enhanced by the light of heaven, so that for them the internal and external act as one, like cause and effect, or prior and posterior. But the wicked have their internal in hell and its light, and this light is thick darkness compared to the light of heaven, though their external may enjoy light similar to that enjoyed by the good. So the situation is reversed, and this enables the wicked to talk and teach about faith, charity and God without being motivated by faith, charity and God, as the good are.

[3] 3. It is the internal man who is called spiritual, because he is in the light of heaven, which is spiritual light; it is the external man who is called natural, because he is in the world's light, which is natural light. If a person has his internal in the light of heaven and his external in the world's light, he is spiritual in both respects, since spiritual light coming from within enhances the natural light and makes it like its own. The reverse, however, happens in the case of the wicked.

[4] 4. The internal spiritual man regarded in essence is an angel of heaven; and while he lives in the body, he is also in company with angels, although unaware of it, and after the dissolution of the body goes to join them. In the case of the wicked, however, the internal man is a Satan, and while he lives in the body is also in company with satans, and after the dissolution of the body goes to join them.

[5] 5. The interiors of the mind in the case of spiritual people are really lifted towards heaven, for heaven is their primary aim; in the case of the purely natural, the interiors of the mind are turned away from heaven and towards the world, for this is their primary aim.

[6] 6. Those who cherish only a general notion about the internal and external man believe that it is the internal man who thinks and wills, and the external who speaks and acts, since thinking and willing are internal, but speaking and acting are external. But it needs to be known that when what a person thinks or wills concerning the Lord and what is His is good, and when what he thinks and wills concerning the neighbour and what is his is good, then this thinking and willing proceed from a spiritual internal, because they are the result of faith in truth and of love for good. But when his thinking and willing about them is evil, then they proceed from a hellish internal, because they are the result of faith in falsity and of love for evil. In short, in so far as a person feels love for the Lord and love towards the neighbour, to that extent is he in the spiritual internal, and this is the source of his willing and thinking, and also of his speaking and acting. But in so far as a person feels self-love and love for the world, to that extent his thinking and willing come from hell, despite the fact that he speaks and acts differently.

[7] 7. The Lord has provided and ordained that in so far as a person allows heaven to guide his thinking and willing, to that extent his spiritual man is opened up and developed. A path is opened to heaven reaching to the Lord, and his development is to conform with what is heavenly. On the other hand, however, in so far as a person allows not heaven but the world to guide his thinking and willing, to that extent his internal spiritual man is shut off, and the external is opened up and developed. The path is opened to the world, and his development is to conform with what is hellish.

[8] 8. Those who have their internal spiritual man opened up to heaven and to the Lord enjoy the light of heaven and enlightenment from the Lord, so that they possess intelligence and wisdom. They see truth by truth's light and experience good by their love for good. Those, however, who have their internal spiritual man shut off do not know what the internal man is, nor do they believe in the Word or life after death, or anything to do with heaven and the church. Since they enjoy only natural light, they believe nature is self-created instead of created by God, and they see falsity as truth and experience evil as good.

[9] 9. The internal and external I have been speaking of are the internal and external of a person's spirit; his body is merely an extra external, within which the others come into existence, for the body does nothing of itself, but as the result of the spirit in it. It needs to be known that after its release from the body a person's spirit thinks and wills, and speaks and acts, just as before. Thinking and willing is then his internal, speaking and doing his external.