Week 6    Day 2

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Cities of Refuge West of the Jordan

“Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali”

AE 447:5. “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and Galilee of the nations” [as referenced in Matt. 4:13-17; Isa. 9:1, 2] signify the establishment of the church with gentiles who are in the good of life and who receive truths and are thus in the conjunction of good and truth, and in combat against evils and falsities.

“Shechem in the mountain of Ephraim”

AC 1440. Abram passed through the land, even to the place Shechem. That this signifies the Lord’s second state, when the celestial things of love became apparent to Him, is evident from what precedes and from the order of all these events—from what precedes, in that He advanced to the celestial things of love and attained to them, which is signified by “they went forth to go into the land of Canaan,” and by “they came into the land of Canaan;” and from the order of the events, in that after He had advanced to celestial things and had attained to them, they then became apparent to Him. In celestial things there is the very light of the soul, because the Divine Itself, that is, Jehovah Himself, is in them. And as the Lord was to conjoin the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, when He attained to celestial things, it could not be otherwise than that Jehovah appeared to Him.

AC 1441. That these things are signified by “Shechem,” is also evident from the fact that Shechem is as it were the first station in the land of Canaan in journeying from Syria or from Haran; and as the celestial things of love are signified by “the land of Canaan,” it is evident that their first appearing is signified by Shechem. When Jacob returned from Haran into the land of Canaan, he in like manner came to Shechem, as is evident from the following passage:

Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore he called the name of the place Succoth. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and encamped before the city. And he erected there an altar (Gen. 33:17-20).

Here also by “Shechem” is signified the first of light.

In David:

God has spoken in His holiness: I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and will mete out the valley of Succoth; Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine, and Ephraim is the strength of My head. Judah is My lawgiver; Moab is My wash-pot; on Edom I will cast My shoe; over Philistia I will sound in triumph (Ps. 60:6-8; 108:7-9).

Here the signification of “Shechem” is similar.

That names signify nothing else than actual things [res], and that so also does “Shechem,” may be plainly seen from these prophetic sayings of David; for otherwise they would be little but an accumulation of names. That Shechem was made a city of refuge (Josh. 20:7), and also a city of the priests (Josh. 21:21), and that a covenant was made there (Josh. 24:1, 25), involve also what is similar.

“Kiriath-arba, it is Hebron”

AC 2981. It was there said, “Kiriath-arba, the same is Hebron,” for the reason that by “Kiriath-arba” is signified the church as to truth, and by “Hebron,” the church as to good; but here Kiriath-arba is no longer mentioned, but Hebron, because the regenerated man is treated of, who no longer acts from truth, but from good....

AC 4614. This is Hebron. That this signifies the state when [the rational and the natural] were conjoined, is evident from the signification of “Hebron,” as being the good of the church... here the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine natural; for those things which, in the internal sense, signify something of the church, in the supreme sense, signify something of the Lord’s Divine, for the reason that all that which makes the church is from the Lord. That “Hebron” signifies the state when they were conjoined (namely, the rational and the natural), is because Isaac was there, by whom is represented the Lord’s Divine rational; and Jacob came there, by whom is represented His Divine natural, and by his coming there is signified conjunction... It is said, “Mamre, Kiriath-arba, this is Hebron,” because the Divine natural is conjoined with the good of the rational by means of good, for Isaac represents the Lord’s Divine rational as to good... whereas Rebekah represents it as to truth... and Rebekah is not mentioned here.

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