Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 10011

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10011. And shalt pour it upon his head, and anoint him. That this signifies a representative of the Divine good in the Lord as to the whole Human, is evident from the signification of "pouring oil upon Aaron's head," as being the Divine good upon the whole Human of the Lord; for by "oil" is signified the Divine good (see n. 4582, 9474), by "Aaron" the Lord as to Divine good (n. 9806), and by the "head" the whole Human; and from the signification of "to anoint," as being a representative of this thing (n. 9474, 9954). That the "head" denotes the whole Human, or the whole man, is because everything of man descends from the head, for the body is a derivation thence, and therefore that which man thinks and wills, which is done in the head, is presented in effect in the body. The head is like the supreme or inmost in the heavens, which descends and flows into the heavens that are beneath, and produces and derives them. Therefore also the head with man corresponds to the inmost heaven, the body as far as the loins to the middle heaven, and the feet to the ultimate heaven. In a word, that which is inmost is the only thing in the derivatives that essentially lives. From this it is evident that as the Divine is the inmost of all things, or what is the same, the supreme of all things, it is the one only thing from which is the life of all things, and therefore insofar as a man receives of the Divine, so far he lives. [2] Moreover, the oil with which the priest was anointed flowed down from the crown of the head into the body, as can be seen in these passages:

Like the good oil upon the head, coming down into Aaron's beard, that cometh down upon the mouth of his garments (Ps. 133:2). A woman poured an alabaster box of balm upon the head of Jesus as He lay, and Jesus said, She hath poured this balm upon My body for the burying (Matt. 26:7, 12). There came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious, and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it upon the head of Jesus; and Jesus said, She hath come beforehand to anoint My body for the burying (Mark 14:3, 8). From all this also it is evident that "to anoint the head" denotes to anoint the whole body. [3] That by the "head" is meant the whole man, is also evident from many passages in the Word, as the following:

The redeemed of Jehovah shall return, and shall come unto Zion with singing; and everlasting joy upon their heads (Isa. 35:10). The precious things of the products of the sun, the chief things of the mountains of the east, and the precious things of the earth, for the head of Joseph, and for the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren (Deut. 33:14-16). The storm of Jehovah shall rush upon the head of the wicked (Jer. 30:23). I will put their way on their head (Ezek. 11:21; 16:43; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7; Obad. 15). Woe to those who made kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls (Ezek. 13:18). God shall bruise the head, the hairy crown (Ps. 68:21). From all this it is now evident that by the "head" is signified the whole man, and thus that by "pouring oil upon Aaron's head" is signified the Divine good in the Lord upon the whole Human. (That when the Lord was in the world He made Himself Divine truth, and when He departed out of the world He made Himself Divine good, see the places cited in n. 9315 end, 9199 end.)


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