5943. And ye shall eat the fat of the land. That this signifies the appropriation of good there, is evident from the signification of "eating," as being to be communicated, conjoined, and appropriated (see n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 3832, 4745); and from the signification of the "fat," or "fatness," "of the land," namely, of Egypt, as being good in the natural. That "fat" denotes the celestial, or good, is evident from many passages in the Word; not only the fat that is in the animal, but also the fat that is from elsewhere, such as butter and oil. And whatever at all partakes of fattiness, does in the same proportion signify what is of good, such as milk, sweets (mella), gums. [2] That fatness was a representative of celestial good, thus of the love which is from the Lord, is evident from the burnt-offerings and sacrifices, in which all the fat was burnt upon the altar, the odor from it being an "odor of rest to Jehovah;" also that on this account the sons of Israel were forbidden to eat the fat; from which, as from everything else, it may be seen that the things instituted among the Israelites were representative of heavenly and spiritual things, and thus that they involved holy things. Otherwise there would not have been anything of a Divine reason for all the fat of the animal being sacrificed, and its being an odor of rest to Jehovah; and also for the eating of it being forbidden, like the eating of the blood. Surely it would be a very gross way of thinking about the Divine, if it were believed that the fat was delightful, and that Jehovah made an ordinance that had nothing stored up within it; and even man would be too earthly and corporeal if he cared naught for a knowledge of what was signified by such things; a sign that he had no affection of knowing the things of the Word and of eternal life. [3] Concerning "fat" we read in Moses:
Thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul upon the liver, and the fat upon the kidneys, and shalt burn it upon the altar (Exod. 29:13, 22; also Lev. 3:4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15; 4:8, 9, 19, 26, 31, 35; 7:3, 4). The fat of the breast was also to be sacrificed (Lev. 7:30, 31). That it was an "odor of rest to Jehovah," thus:
This is the bread of the fire-offering to Jehovah for an odor of rest (Lev. 3:16). The priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of Jehovah, and shall offer the fat for an odor of rest to Jehovah (Lev. 17:6). And elsewhere:
The fat of the firstling of an ox, and of a sheep, shall be burnt upon the altar, for an odor of rest to Jehovah (Num. 18:17);
an "odor of rest" signifies what is grateful from the good of love. [4] That the fat was not to be eaten by the sons of Israel:
Let all the fat be Jehovah's. Therefore it is a statute of eternity for your generations in all your dwellings; ye shall not eat any fat or any blood (Lev. 3:16, 17). And elsewhere:
Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Ye shall not eat any fat, whether of ox, or of sheep, or of goat; everyone who eateth the fat of the beast of which is an offering made by fire to Jehovah, the soul that eateth shall be cut off from his peoples; nor shall ye eat any blood (Lev. 7:23, 25, 26). [5] Burnt-offerings and sacrifices constituted the chief part of Divine worship with that people (n. 923, 2180), and therefore by burnt-offerings and sacrifices in general is signified worship, and by the things sacrificed, and also by the whole process of sacrificing, is signified the quality of the worship, and by the fat and the burning thereof is signified the veriest Divine celestial, which is the good of love from the Lord, as appears also from these passages. In Isaiah:
O Jacob, thou hast not bought Me sweet cane with silver, and with the fat of thy sacrifices thou hast not filled Me; only thou hast made Me serve through thy sins (Isa. 43:24);
"thou hast not bought sweet cane with silver" denotes thou hast not procured for thyself the truths of faith; "and with the fat of thy sacrifices thou hast not filled Me" denotes that the good of love has not been procured. [6] In David:
I will offer unto Thee burnt-offerings of fatlings, with the incense of rams (Ps. 66:15);
"burnt-offerings of fatlings" denote worship from love. In Moses:
When it shall be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted; that did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? (Deut. 32:37, 38); this might be said by the Gentiles, who supposed that gods are fed, especially with such things; being quite unaware that the fat of sacrifices was the celestial, or the good of love, in worship; and that the wine of the drink-offering was the truth of faith thence derived, which things affected the angels when the sacrifice was made, and which were on this account commanded, in order that heaven might be near man by means of representatives and correspondences. [7] In David:
Jehovah will remember all thine offerings, and make fat thy burnt-offering (Ps. 20:3);
"to make fat the burnt-offering" denotes to render the worship good. In Isaiah:
In this mountain shall Jehovah Zebaoth make to all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of lees,* of fat things full of marrow, of lees well refined; He will swallow up death eternally; and the Lord Jehovih will wipe away the tear from upon all faces (Isa. 25:6, 8);
a "feast" denotes heaven and conjunction there with the angels through love and charity (n. 3596, 3832, 5161); "fat things" are the goods of love and of charity. In the same:
Wherefore do ye spend silver for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? attend ye in attending unto Me, and eat ye what is good, and let your soul be deliciated in fatness (Isa. 55:2). [8] And in Jeremiah:
I will turn their mourning into joy; and will comfort them, and make them glad from their sorrow; and I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be sated with My good (Jer. 31:13, 14);
"fatness" manifestly denotes good, for it is said that "their soul shall be sated;" and it is called "Jehovah's good," which is nothing else than the celestial that is from Him. In David:
My soul shall be sated as with fatness and fat, and my mouth shall praise with lips of songs (Ps. 63:5);
where the meaning is similar. Again:
Thou hast crowned the year of Thy goodness, and Thy paths drop with fatness (Ps. 65:11). Again:
The sons of man confide in the shadow of Thy wings; they are filled with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou makest them drink of the stream of delights (Ps. 36:7, 8). In Isaiah:
Then shall Jehovah give the rain of thy seed, wherewith thou shalt sow the land; and bread of the increase of the land, and it shall be fat and rich (Isa. 30:23). [9] In John:
All things fat and splendid have gone away, and thou shalt find them no more (Rev. 18:14);
speaking of Babylon; "all things fat and splendid have gone away" denotes that all the goods of love and truths of faith have done so. In Moses:
He made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and of rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drinkest pure wine (Deut. 32:13, 14);
speaking of the Ancient spiritual Church, whose various goods are recounted and signified by "honey," "oil," "butter," "milk," and "fat." [10] As "fat" denoted good, it is also adjoined to such things as are not fat in themselves, yet still signify goods. Thus "fat" and "good" were as it were the same thing, as in the passage quoted, "the fat of wheat." In like manner in David:
I would feed them with the fat of wheat (Ps. 81:16). And elsewhere:
Who setteth thy border peace, and sateth thee with the fat of wheat (Ps. 147:14). Also in Moses:
All the fat of the pure oil, and all the fat of the new wine, and of the grain, which are the firstfruits, because they were Jehovah's were given unto Aaron (Num. 18:12). * "A feast of lees (convivium fecum)." So also Schmidius. In Apocalypse Explained n. 252:7 Swedenborg says, commenting on this expression, "a feast of less, that is, of the best wine." But in Arcana Coelestia n. 2341, Swedenborg translates the expression "a feast of sweet wines," instead of "a feast of lees." Delitzch in his Commentary on the Prophesies of Isaiah says on this passage, "Shemarim mezukkakim are wines which have been left to stand upon their less after the first fermentation is over, which have thus thoroughly fermented, and have been kept a long time, and which are then filtered before drinking; hence wine both strong and clear."
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