Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7600

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7600. Verses 31-end And the flax and the barley were struck; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax a stem.a And the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they were hidden.b And Moses went out from Pharaoh, from the city, and spread out his palms towards Jehovah; and the voices' and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the voicesc had ceased; and he continued to sin, and made his heart stubborn, he and his servants. And Pharaoh's heart was made unyielding, and he did not send the children of Israel away, as Jehovah had spoken through the hand of Moses.

'And the flax' means the truth of the exterior natural. 'And the barley' means its good. 'Were struck' means that they were destroyed. 'For the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax a stem' means that that good and truth were conspicuous and looked downwards. 'And the wheat and the spelt' means the good of the interior natural and its truth. 'Were not struck' means that they were not destroyed. 'For they were hidden' means because they were not conspicuous and because they turned in an inward direction. 'And Moses went out from Pharaoh, from the city' means a separation from them. 'And spread out his palms towards Jehovah' means intercession. 'And the voices and the hail ceased' means the end of that state. 'And the rain was not poured on the earth' means that those falsities no longer made their appearance. 'And Pharaoh saw' means a discernment. 'That the rain and the hail and the voices had ceased' means that it was the end of that state. 'And he continued to sin' means a departure still further away. 'And made his heart stubborn, he and his servants' means obstinacy. 'And Pharaoh's heart was made unyielding' means that evil was the cause of their obstinate behaviour. 'And he did not send the children of Israel away' means so that they did not leave. 'As Jehovah had spoken' means as accorded with what had been foretold. 'Through the hand of Moses' means by means of the law from God.

Notes

a i.e. the pods were formed on the culms or stems
b i.e. had not yet begun to mature
c i.e. claps of thunder


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