It’s interesting to think about how we express ideas and how we express emotions.
Ideas are shared primarily through words, numbers, symbols, things that exist separately from us and are expressed through us, but not things we think of as uniquely our own. And even the ideas themselves, while they may be original, are a matter of recognizing patterns and relationships that exist independently of us; we are discovering them, not creating them.
Emotions, however, seem much more “our own” — they are things welling up within us, not something we discover outside ourselves. And while we can express them in words, they are much more fully expressed through our bodies: our voices, our gestures, our facial expressions and ultimately through touch, actual bodily contact. And there’s a strong sense that while our ideas are what we think, our emotions are who we are.
It makes sense then, that Swedenborg says “flesh” in the Bible represents our sense of ourselves and what is “our own,” and especially the desires we have for good or for evil. That can be as exalted as the perfect good will of the Lord, as when Jesus offered the disciples bread and called it his flesh. And it can be as destructive as the quail desired by the people of Israel in Numbers 11, when they were struck with a plague as the flesh was still between their teeth.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8409
8409. As regards ‘flesh’ and its meaning the proprium in both the genuine and contrary senses, in the highest sense it is the Lord’s Divine proprium, which is His Divine Human, and so is the good of His love towards the entire human race. From this in the sense that relates to man ‘flesh’ means a proprium made alive by the Lord’s Proprium; that is, it is the Lord’s Proprium present with the person, and so is the good of love to Him. Regarding the meaning of ‘flesh’ in this sense, see 3813, 7850. But in the contrary sense ‘flesh’ is the proprium that is man’s own, thus the evil of self-love, and consequently the desires of that love, which are cravings, 999, 3813. The proprium that is man’s own is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812 (end), 5660, 5786. The fact that ‘flesh’ means the proprium that is man’s own, thus evil of every kind, is in addition clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
I will feed your oppressors with their flesh, and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isa. 49:26.
‘Feeding with flesh’ stands for filling with their own evil.
[2] In Jeremiah,
Cursed is the man (vir) who trusts in man (homo), and makes flesh his arm, but his heart departs from Jehovah. Jer. 17:5.
‘Making flesh his arm’ stands for trusting in power that is one’s own; therefore eating the flesh of one’s arm stands for trusting in self, Isa. 9:20. In Isaiah,
Egypt is man (homo) and not God, and his horses are flesh and not spirit. Isa. 31:3.
‘Horses of Egypt’ stands for factual knowledge belonging to a perverted understanding, 6125; ‘flesh’ stands for what is dead, and ‘spirit’ for what is living. This is why the Egyptians* are called great in flesh, Ezek. 16:26. The expression ‘what is dead’ is applied to evil, since evil leads to spiritual death, and ‘what is living’ is applied to good, since good leads to spiritual life.
[3] This explains why ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’ are set in contrast to each other in the Word, as in John,
That which has been born of flesh is flesh, and that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:6.
In the same gospel,
It is the Spirit who bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.
In the Book of Genesis,
Jehovah said, My spirit will not reprove man forever, in that he is flesh. Gen. 6:3.
‘Flesh’ here stands for the proprium that is man’s own. Similarly in Matthew,
Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt. 16:17.
And in John,
As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood,** nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:12, 13.
‘The will of the flesh’ stands for the proprium, the will part, ‘the will of man’ for the proprium, the understanding part; and ‘sons of God’ stands for those who have been regenerated. And those undergoing regeneration all receive life from the Lord’s Proprium, which is the Lord’s Flesh and body and is Divine Goodness itself.
[4] Since ‘flesh’ in the contrary sense means the proprium that is man’s own, and so means evil, it also means craving, for the life of the flesh, which belongs properly to the body, consists of nothing else than the desires of the senses, the delights of the bodily appetites, and cravings. The fact that ‘flesh’ means craving is clear from the following verses in Moses,
The rabble who were in the midst of the people had a strong craving, and so the children of Israel wept repeatedly and said, Who will feed us with flesh? But now our soul is dry; there is nothing at all except the man[na] for our eyes [to look] at. And Jehovah said to Moses, You shall say to the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, in order that you may eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who will feed us with flesh, for it was better for us in Egypt? Jehovah will give you flesh to eat – for a whole month,*** until it comes out of your nose and is loathsome to you. The flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed when Jehovah’s anger flared up against the people, and Jehovah struck the people with an extremely great plague. So he called the name of that place The Craves of Craving, because there they buried the people having the craving. Num. 11:4, 6, 16, 18, 20, 33, 34.
From all this one may now see what ‘sitting by a pot of flesh in the land of Egypt’ means, namely a life according to their own pleasure and such as they craved for, which is the life of the proprium.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 832
832. 19:18 “That you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” This symbolizes an assimilation of goods from the Lord through the truths in the Word and in doctrine drawn from it, of every level of meaning, degree or kind.
The subject of no. 831 above was conjunction with the Lord through the Word, and now here it is the assimilation of goods from Him through the Word’s truths.
To eat symbolically means to assimilate (no. 89). The flesh the people were to eat symbolizes goods in the Word and so in the church. And kings, commanders, mighty men, horses and those who sit on them, and people, free and slave, both small and great symbolize truths of every level of meaning, degree or kind. Kings symbolize people governed by the church’s truths from the Word, and abstractly the church’s truths from the Word themselves (nos. 20, 483). Commanders symbolize people who possess concepts of goodness and truth, and abstractly those concepts themselves (no. 337). Mighty men symbolize people who are learned in doctrine from the Word, and abstractly the learning gained from there itself (nos. 337). Horses symbolize an understanding of the Word, and those who sit on them symbolize people who are wise owing to their understanding of the Word, and abstractly the wisdom gained from there itself (nos. 298, 820). People free and slave symbolize people who acquire knowledge on their own and people who gain it from others (nos. 337, 604). People small and great symbolize people who do so to a lesser or greater degree (nos. 527, 810).
It is apparent from this that the people’s being called to eat the flesh of those listed symbolizes an assimilation of goods from the Lord through the truths in the Word and in doctrine drawn from it, of every level of meaning, degree or kind.
[2] It should be known that no one has any spiritual good from the Lord except through truths from the Word. For the Word’s truths exist in the light of heaven, and goods in the warmth of that light. Consequently unless one’s intellect is in the light of heaven through the Word, his will cannot enter into the warmth of heaven. Love and charity cannot take form except through truths from the Word. A person cannot be reformed except through truths from the Word. The church itself takes form in a person in consequence of those truths�-�not in consequence of those truths in the intellect alone, but by living in accordance with them. Only then do truths enter into the will and become goods. The appearance of truth is thus turned into the appearance of good. For what pertains to the will and so to the love is called good, and everything pertaining to the will or love is also part of a person’s life.
It can be seen from this that what is meant here by eating the flesh of those listed is an assimilation of goodness through truths of every level of meaning, degree or kind, through the Word, from the Lord.
Who cannot see that flesh here does not mean flesh? Who can be so irrational as to believe that the Lord calls and summons all people to a great supper in order to have them eat the flesh of kings, commanders, mighty men, horses, those who sit on them, and all people, free and slave, both small and great? Who cannot see that there is in this a spiritual meaning, and that apart from that meaning no one knows what is meant here? Who can continue to deny that the Word at its heart is spiritual? Would it not be no more than something material if people were to understand it according to its literal sense and not according to the spiritual sense?
[3] Similar to the passage here is the following one in Ezekiel:
…thus says the Lord Jehovih, “Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Gather yourselves and come; gather together from all sides to My…great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth…. You shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till you are drunk, at My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you. You shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots and…with all the men of war…. (Thus) will I set My glory among the nations.” (Ezekiel 39:17-21)
Flesh here likewise symbolizes the church’s goodness from the Lord through the Word, and blood the church’s truth.
Who does not see that people would not be given blood to drink to the point of drunkenness, and would not eat horses, chariots, mighty men, and men of war till they were full, at the table of the Lord Jehovih?
Accordingly, when flesh symbolizes the church’s goodness and blood the church’s truth, it is clearly apparent that the Lord’s flesh and blood in holy supper symbolize Divine goodness and Divine truth from the Lord, the same as bread and wine, regarding which see John 6:51-58.*
Flesh symbolizes goodness in many other places in the Word as well, as in the following:
I will…remove the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh…. (Ezekiel 11:19, cf. 36:26)
My flesh longs for You in a dry…land…. (Psalm 63:1)
My heart and my flesh shout aloud for the living God. (Psalm 84:2)
My flesh…will dwell secure. (Psalm 16:9)
When you see the naked and cover him, and do not hide yourself from your own flesh… (Isaiah 58:7)
* “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven�-�not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1082
1082. And shall eat her flesh. That this signifies rejection of the evils thereof, which are adulterated goods, and then manifestation that they were destitute of all good, is evident from the signification of flesh, as denoting the good of the Word and of the church, and, in the opposite sense, the evil thereof. In the present case flesh denotes evils, which are adulterated goods. And from the signification of eating, as denoting to consume, but, in this case, to reject altogether, because the Reformed are treated of, who have rejected the works or goods of Babylon, which chiefly consist in gifts to the idols of their saints, to their sepulchres, also to monasteries, and to the monks themselves, for various expiations.
[2] That by the same words is also meant manifestation that they were destitute of all good follows; for when spurious and meritorious goods are rejected, signified by the flesh which they should eat, then it is made evident that they are destitute of all good. Flesh, in the Word, signifies various things. It signifies man’s proprium, thus, either his good or evil, and thence it signifies the whole man. But in the highest sense, it signifies the Lord’s Divine Human, specifically the Divine Good of Divine Love proceeding from Him.
That flesh signifies the Divine Human as to the good of love is evident in John:
“Jesus said, I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if any one eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. The bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews, therefore, strove amongst themselves, saying, How can this man give his flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day; for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed; he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him. This is the bread, which came down from heaven” (vi. 51-58).
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3813
3813. As regards ‘flesh’, this means in the highest sense the Proprium of the Lord’s Divine Human, which is Divine Good, and in the relative sense means the will side of the human proprium when made alive by the Proprium of the Lord’s Divine Human, that is, by His Divine Good. This proprium is the one called the heavenly proprium which, in itself the Lord’s alone, is appropriated to those who are governed by good and consequently by truth. Such a proprium exists with angels in heaven, and also with men whose interiors, that is, their spirits, are in the Lord’s kingdom. But in the contrary sense ‘flesh’ means the will side of the human proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, and not having been made alive by the Lord is called dead; and the individual himself is for that reason called dead.
[2] That ‘flesh’ in the highest sense means the Proprium of the Lord’s Divine Human, and so His Divine Good, is clear from the Lord’s words in John,
Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever. The bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews disputed with one another, saying, How can this man give his flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day; for My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven. John 6:51-58.
Here it is quite evident that ‘flesh’ means the Proprium of the Lord’s Divine Human, and so the Divine Good – His flesh in the Holy Supper being called ‘the body’. His body or flesh in the Holy Supper is the Divine Good, and His blood the Divine Truth, see 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735. And since bread and wine have the same meaning as flesh and blood – that is to say, ‘bread’ is the Lord’s Divine Good, and ‘wine’ His Divine Truth – bread and wine were commanded in place of flesh and blood. This is why the Lord says, ‘I am the living bread; the bread which I will give is My flesh; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him; this is the bread which came down from heaven’. ‘Eating’ means being communicated, being joined to, and being made one’s own, see 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596.
[3] The same was represented in the Jewish Church by the law that the flesh of sacrifices was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons, by those persons who brought the sacrifice, and by others who were clean; and that this flesh was holy, see Exod. 12:7-9; 29:30-34; Lev. 7:15-21; 8:31; Deut. 12:27; 16:4. That being so, if any unclean person ate some of that flesh he was to be cut off from his people, Lev. 7:21. The fact that these sacrifices were called ‘bread’, see 2165, and that that sacrificial flesh was called ‘holy flesh’, Jer. 11:15; Hagg. 2:12. And in Ezek. 40:43 where the new Temple is the subject, it is called ‘the flesh of the offering which is on the tables in the Lord’s kingdom’, by which clearly worship of the Lord in His kingdom is meant.
[4] That ‘flesh’ in the relative sense means the will side of man’s proprium when made alive by the Lord is Divine Good is clear also from the following places: In Ezekiel,
I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in your midst; and I will remove the heart of stone out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh. Ezek. 11:19; 36:26.
‘The heart of stone out of their flesh’ stands for a will and proprium when not made alive, ‘a heart of flesh’ for a will and proprium when made alive; for ‘the heart’ is a representative of good in the will, see 2930, 3313, 3635. In David,
O God, You are my God; in the morning I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh in a dry land longs for You, and I am weary without water. Ps. 63:1.
In the same author,
My soul longs for the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh shout for joy to the living God. Ps. 84:2.
[5] In Job,
I have come to know my Redeemer; He is alive; and at the last He will rise above the dust; and afterwards these things will be encompassed by my skin, and out of my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself; and my eyes will behold, and no other. Job 19:25-27.
‘Being encompassed by skin’ stands for the natural, such as a person possesses after death, dealt with in 3539. ‘Out of his flesh seeing God’ stands for the proprium when made alive, which is why Job says, ‘Whom I shall see for myself; and my eyes will behold, and no other’. Since it was well known in the ancient Churches that ‘flesh’ meant the proprium, and since the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church, 3540 (end), he accordingly followed the custom of the day and drew on meaningful signs to speak of these, as of many other matters. Those therefore who conclude from what Job said that their dead body is going to be reassembled from the four winds and is going to rise again do not know the internal sense of the Word. Those who are conversant with that sense know that they will enter the next life in a body, but in a purer one. In that life people have purer bodies, for they behold one another, talk to one another, and are endowed with each of the senses, which though like those in the physical body are now keener. The body which a person carries around on earth is designed for activities on earth and therefore consists of flesh and bones, whereas the body that a spirit carries around in the next life is designed for activities in that life and does not consist of flesh and bones but of such things as correspond to these, see 3726.
[6] That ‘flesh’ in the contrary sense means the will side of the human proprium which in itself is nothing but evil is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
Every man will eat the flesh of his own arm. Isa. 9:20.
In the same prophet,
I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isa. 49:26.
In Jeremiah,
I will feed them with the flesh of their sons and with the flesh of their
daughters, and every man will eat the flesh of his companion. Jer. 19:9.
In Zechariah,
Those that are left will eat, every one the flesh of another. Zech. 11:9.
In Moses,
I will chastise you seven times for your sins, and you will eat the flesh of your sons: and the flesh of your daughters will you eat. Lev. 26:28, 29.
The will side of the human proprium, or man’s own natural inclinations, is described in this way because it is nothing but evil and consequent falsity, and so hatred against every form of truth or good, that are meant by ‘eating the flesh of their own arm’, ‘the flesh of sons and daughters’, and ‘the flesh of another’.
[7] In John,
I saw an angel standing in the sun, who called out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, Come and gather yourselves to the supper of the great God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all free men and slaves, both small and great. Rev. 19:17, 18; Ezek. 39:17-20.
Anyone may see that the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and those seated on them, free men and slaves, is not meant by such expressions. ‘Flesh’ accordingly has another meaning which has not been known up to now. The fact that evils resulting from falsities, and evils producing falsities, are meant – which evils originate on the will side of the human proprium – is evident from each expression used here.
[8] Since falsity which springs from the understanding side of man’s proprium is meant by ‘blood’ in the internal sense, and evil which springs from the will side of his proprium by ‘flesh’, the Lord speaks of the person who is to be regenerated as follows,
As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12, 13.
For this reason ‘flesh’ is used to mean in general all mankind, see 574, 1050 (end). For whether you speak of man or of man’s proprium it amounts to the same.
[9] That ‘flesh’ in the highest sense means the Lord’s Divine Human is evident from the verses quoted above, as well as from the following in John,
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:14.
It is by virtue of this flesh that all other flesh is made alive, that is, by virtue of the Lord’s Divine Human, every human being is made alive, through making His love his own, which is meant by ‘eating the flesh of the Son of Man’, John 6:51- 58, and by eating the bread in the Holy Supper – for the bread is His body or flesh, Matt. 26:26, 27.
That by flesh is here meant the proprium of the Lord’s Divine Human, which is the Divine Good of Divine Love, is manifestly evident; and it is that which in the Holy Supper is called His body. That the body there or the flesh is the Divine good, and the blood is Divine truth, may be seen above (n. 329). And because bread and wine signify the same as flesh and blood – bread, Divine Good, and wine, Divine truth – therefore these were commanded in their place.
[3] Divine Good from the Lord was also signified by the flesh of the sacrifices, which Aaron, his sons, and those who sacrificed might eat, and others who were clean.
And that it was holy may be seen in Exodus (xii. 7, 8, 9; xxix. 31-34; Lev. vii. 15-21; viii. 31; Deut. xii. 27; xvi. 4).
Wherefore if an unclean person ate of that flesh, he was to be cut off from his people (Lev. vii. 21).
That these things were called bread (Lev. xxii. 6, 7).
That that flesh was called “the flesh of holiness” (Jer. xi. 15; Hag. ii. 12);
And “the flesh of the offering,” which was to be upon the table in the Lord’s kingdom (Ezek. xl. 43).
[4] The Lord’s Divine Human is also called flesh in John:
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us; and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (i. 14).
That flesh also signified good with man, is evident from the following passages:
In Ezekiel:
“I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in the midst of you, and I will remove the heart of stone out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (xi. 19; xxxvi. 26).
The heart of flesh is the will and love of God. In David:
“O God, Thou art my God, in the morning I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh desireth thee, in a land of drought, and I am weary without waters” (Ps. lxiii. 1).
Again:
“My soul longeth towards the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh crieth out towards the living God” (Ps. lxxxiv. 2).
By the flesh which longeth for Jehovah, and which crieth out towards the living God is signified man as to the good of the will. For the flesh of man corresponds to the good or evil of his will, and the blood to the truth or the falsity of his understanding; in the present case flesh denotes the good of the will, because it longeth for Jehovah, and crieth out unto God.
[5] In Job:
“I have known my Redeemer, he liveth, and at the last shall rise upon the dust, and afterwards these things shall be encompassed with my skin, and from my flesh I shall see God” (xix. 25-27).
To see God from his flesh signifies from his voluntary proprium made new by the Lord, thus from good.
In Ezekiel:
“I will put upon the bones, which were seen in the midst of the valley, nerves, and I will cause flesh to come up, upon them, and I will cover them with skin, and I will put spirit into them, that they may live” (xxxvii. 6, 8).
Where also by flesh is signified the proprium of the will made new from the Lord, consequently good. What is there signified by bones and the rest may be seen above (n. 418, 419, 665).
In the Apocalypse:
“Come, and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of the mighty, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit upon them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, small and great” (Apoc. xix. 17, 18; Ezek. xxxix. 17, 18, 19).
That flesh here does not mean flesh, but goods of every kind is quite clear.
[6] But, on the other hand, that by flesh is signified man’s voluntary proprium, which, strictly considered, is evil, is evident from the following passages. Thus in Isaiah:
“A man shall eat the flesh of his own arm” (ix. 19).
In the same:
“I will feed thine oppressors with their own flesh” (xlix. 26).
In Jeremiah:
“I will feed you with the flesh of their sons, and with the flesh of their daughters; and they shall devour every man the flesh of his companion” (xix. 9).
In Zechariah:
“The rest shall eat every one the flesh of another” (xi. 9).
In Moses:
“I will chastise you seven times for your sins, and ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters” (Lev. xxvi. 28, 29).
[7] In Jeremiah:
“Cursed is the man who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm” (xvii. 5).
Here by flesh is signified a man’s proprium, which in itself is evil, the appropriation of which is signified by eating and feeding upon it.
Similarly man’s proprium is signified by flesh in Matthew:
“Jesus said, Blessed art thou, Simon, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee” (xvi. 17).
In John:
“As many as received, to them gave he power to be the sons of God, who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God” (i. 12, 13).
In Ezekiel:
“Jerusalem hath committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt her neighbours, great in flesh” (xvi. 26).
In Isaiah:
“Egypt is man and not God, and his horses are flesh and not Spirit” (xxxi. 3).
In John:
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” (vi. 63).
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit” (iii. 6).
In David:
“God remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and returneth not again” (Ps. lxxviii. 39).
The evil of man’s will, which is his proprium from birth is signified in these passages by flesh; also by:
“The flesh, which the sons of Israel lusted after in the wilderness, and on account of which they were smitten with a great plague, and from which the place was called the grave of lust” (Numb. xi. 4-33).
Moreover, in the Word throughout, mention is made of “all flesh,” by which is meant every man.
As in Genesis (vi. 12, 13, 17, 19 Isa. xl. 5, 6; xlix. 26; lxvi. 16, 23, 24; Jer. xxv. 31; xxxii. 27; xlv. 5; Ezek. xxi. 4; xxi. 9, 10), and elsewhere.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10283
10283. ‘It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’ means no imparting [of what is the Lord’s] to a person’s proprium or self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the flesh of a person’ as his proprium, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘pouring onto’ as imparting to. For ‘pouring’ has a similar meaning to ‘touching’; but ‘pouring’ is used in connection with liquids, namely oil, wine, and water, and ‘pouring out’ in connection with Divine, heavenly, and spiritual realities, whereas ‘touching’ is used in connection with dry substances and with bodily things. For the meaning of ‘touching’ as imparting, see 10130. From this it follows that ‘the anointing oil shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’ means that there is no imparting of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love to a person’s proprium or self, because a person’s proprium is nothing but evil and the Lord’s Divine Good cannot be imparted to what is evil.
A person’s proprium or self is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1024, 1047, 5660, 5786, 8480.
[2] One part of the human proprium belongs to the will and the other part to the understanding; the will part consists of evil, and the understanding part of falsity arising from this. The former – the will part of the proprium – is meant by human flesh, and the understanding part by the blood of that flesh. The truth of this is clear from the following places: In Matthew,
Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt. 16:17.
It is plainly evident that ‘flesh’ here, and also ‘blood’, means the human proprium or self.
[3] In John,
As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, who were born, not of blood*, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. John 1:12, 13.
‘Blood’ here means falsities that come out of the understanding part of the human proprium, and ‘the will of the flesh’ evils that spring from the will part of it. For the meaning of ‘blood’ as falsity arising from evil, thus what is in the understanding part of the proprium as a result of what is in the will part, see 4735, 9127.
[4] In Isaiah,
I will feed your oppressors with their flesh and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isa. 49:26.
‘Feeding them with their flesh’ and ‘making them drunk with their blood’ stands for filling them up with evil and the falsity of evil, thus with what is of the proprium or what is one’s own; for both the evil and the falsity come out of the proprium.
[5] In Jeremiah,
Cursed is the man (homo) who trusts in man (homo) and makes flesh his arm. Jer. 17:5.
‘Trusting in man and making flesh his arm’ means trusting in oneself and one’s proprium. [6] In Isaiah,
The people have become as fuel for the fire. If any of them cuts down on the right he will be hungry, and if any eats on the left they will not be satisfied. Each will eat the flesh of his own arm**; Manasseh [will eat] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh. Isa. 9:19-21.
‘Fuel for the fire’ means making the evils or desires of self-love and love of the world one’s own, ‘being hungry’ and ‘not being satisfied’ mean not accepting the good or the truth of faith, and ‘the flesh of his arm’ means both parts of the human proprium, ‘Manasseh’ meaning evil in the will, ‘Ephraim’ falsity in the understanding, and ‘eating’ making one’s own.
‘Fire’ means the evils or desires of self-love and love of the world, see 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141.
The reason why ‘being hungry’ and ‘not being satisfied’ mean not accepting the good or the truth of faith is that ‘hunger’ or famine and ‘thirst’ mean desolation with regard to goodness and truth, 5360, 5376, 6110, 7102, 8568(end).
‘The right’ means good from which truth emanates, and ‘the left’ truth through which good comes, 10061; consequently ‘being hungry if any of them cuts down on the right, and not being satisfied if any eats on the left’ means that no matter how much instruction they may receive about goodness and truth they will not accept them.
[7] ‘Manasseh’ means good in the will, 5351, 5353, 5354(end), 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, and ‘Ephraim’ truth in the understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, so that in the contrary sense ‘Manasseh’ means evil in the will and ‘Ephraim’ falsity in the understanding, since almost everything in the Word also has a contrary meaning.
‘Eating’ means making one’s own, 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 4745, from which it is evident what ‘eating the flesh of his own arm’ means, namely making evil and falsity originating in the proprium one’s own.
The expression ‘flesh of the arm’ is used because ‘the arm’, like ‘the hand’, means the powers present in a person, in which he puts his trust, see in the places referred to in 10019.
[8] In Zechariah,
I said, I will not feed you. Let the one that is dying die; [the sheep] that are left will eat, every one the flesh of another. Zech. 11:9.
‘Not feeding’ stands for not teaching and reforming, ‘dying’ for loss of spiritual life, and ‘eating the flesh of another’ for making evils originating in the proprium of another one’s own.
[9] In Ezekiel,
Jerusalem committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, her neighbours, the great in flesh. Ezek. 16:26.
‘Jerusalem’ stands for the perverted Church, ‘committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, the great in flesh’ for falsifying the Church’s truths by means of factual knowledge which begins in the natural man alone, thus by means of factual knowledge based on sensory evidence.
‘Jerusalem’ means the Church, see 402, 2117, 3654, in this instance the Church when it has been perverted.
‘Committing whoredom’ means falsifying truths, 2466, 2729, 8904.
‘Sons’ means truths, or else falsities, 1147, 3373, 4257, 9807.
‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge, in either [a good or a bad] sense, see in the places referred to in 9340, and also the natural, in the places referred to in 9391.
Consequently the words ‘the great in flesh’ describe people who, relying on sensory evidence, reason and draw conclusions about the Church’s truths. Those who do this lay hold of falsities as truths, for to rely on sensory evidence to reason and draw conclusions about anything is to rely on the illusions of the bodily senses. People therefore who are ruled by their senses are meant by ‘the great in flesh’; for their own bodily perceptions govern their thinking.
[10] In Isaiah,
Egypt is man (homo) and not God, and his horses are flesh, but not spirit. Isa. 31:3.
Here also ‘Egypt’ stands for factual knowledge, ‘his horses’ for a power of understanding consisting of this. That power is called ‘flesh, not spirit’ when people use what is their own and not God’s to draw conclusions.
By ‘horses’ is meant the power of understanding, see 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6534, and by ‘the horses of Egypt’ factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding, 6125, 8146, 8148.
[11] The fact that ‘flesh’ means a person’s proprium or selfhood, or what amounts to the same thing, his own evil will, is clear in Moses, where the subject is the Israelite people’s desire for flesh to eat, described as follows,
The rabble who were in the midst of the people had a strong craving and said, Who will feed us with flesh? Jehovah said, Tomorrow you will eat flesh. Not for one day will you eat it, nor for two days, nor for five days, nor for ten days, nor for twenty days, [but] for a whole month. And a wind set out from Jehovah, and it cut off the quails from the sea and sent them down*** over the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the land. The people rose up that whole day, and the whole night, and the whole of the next day, and gathered them and spread them out all around the camp. The flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed, and Jehovah’s anger flared up against the people, and He struck the people with an extremely great plague. So he called the name of the place The Graves of Craving. Num. 11:4, 18-20, 31-34.
[12] The fact that ‘flesh’ meant that nation’s proprium becomes clear from every detail in these verses; for unless this had been meant what evil could there have been in their desire for flesh, especially as flesh had been promised them on a previous occasion, Exod. 16:12? But since it meant the proprium, thus an evil will, which that nation possessed in greater measure than other nations, it says – when they desired flesh – that they ‘had a strong craving’, on account of which they were struck with a great plague, and on account of which the place where they were buried was called The Graves of Craving. Whether you speak of an evil will or of craving, it amounts to the same thing, for an evil will consists in craving. The human proprium has no desire for anything apart from what belongs to itself; it has no desire for anything that concerns the neighbour or anything that concerns God, unless this is beneficial to itself. Since that nation was like this it says that they would eat flesh not for one day, not for two, not for five, nor for ten, nor for twenty, but for a whole month, meaning that this nation would be like that forever (for ‘a whole month’ means forever); and for the same reason it says that while the flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed, they were struck with a great plague. For by ‘teeth’ the bodily level of the proprium, the lowest of a person’s mind, is meant, 4424(end), 5565-5568, 9062. The fact that this nation was like this may be seen in the places referred to in 9380, and in the Song of Moses, at Deut. 32:20, 22-26, 28, 32-34.
[13] In the Word spirit is set in contrast to flesh, for ‘spirit’ means life from the Lord and ‘flesh’ life from man, as in John,
It is the Spirit which bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.
From this it is clear that ‘spirit’ means life from the Lord, which is the life of love to Him and faith in Him, received from Him, and that ‘flesh’ means life from man, thus his selfhood. This is why it says ‘the flesh does not profit anything’. Something similar is meant elsewhere in John,
That which has been born from the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:6.
In David,
God remembered that they were flesh; a spirit which would pass away would not come back. Ps. 78:39.
[14] Since ‘flesh’ in reference to man means his proprium, which consists of the evil of self-love and love of the world, it is evident what ‘flesh’ means when used in reference to the Lord, namely His Proprium, which consists of the Divine Good of Divine Love. This is what ‘the Lord’s flesh’ means in John,
The bread which I will give you is My flesh. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life; for My flesh is truly food and My blood is truly drink. John 6:51, 53-55.
‘The flesh’ of the Lord means the Divine Good of His Divine Love, and ‘the blood’ the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good, so that they are similar in meaning to the bread and wine in the Holy Supper; and those Divine Realities are His own, present within His Divine Human, see 1001, 3813, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10152. Also, the sacrifices represented forms of good that originate in the Lord, and therefore the flesh of those sacrifices meant forms of good, 10040, 10079. Furthermore, various places in the Word use the expression ‘all flesh’, by which every human being should be understood, as in Gen. 6:12, 13, 17, 19; Isa. 40:5, 6; 49:26; 66:16, 23, 24; Jer. 25:31; 32:27; 45:5; Ezek. 20:48; 21:4, 5; and elsewhere.