6745. And suckle him for me. That this signifies that it should insinuate into it good suited to the religiosity, is evident from the signification of "suckling," as being to insinuate good (of which in what follows); and from the representation of Pharaoh's daughter, as being a religiosity (see n. 6729); and as she said, "Suckle him for me," it signifies that it should insinuate good suited to the religiosity. [2] That "to suckle" denotes to insinuate good is plain from the signification of a "nurse," or of one that gives suck, as being the instilling of good (n. 6740); and also from the passages there quoted from the Word, and likewise from the following:
They shall call the peoples into the mountains; there shall they sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the affluence of the sea; and the hidden things of the secrets of the sand (Deut. 33:19);
a prophetic utterance of Moses about Zebulun and Issachar; "to call the peoples into the mountain, there to sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness" signifies worship from love; "to suck the affluence of the sea" signifies that they will then learn true memory-knowledge in abundance, or that it will be instilled. [3] "To suck," in this passage, is the same expression as "to suckle," as also in the following passages:
I will set thee for a magnificence of eternity, a joy of generation and generation; and thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, yea, thou shalt suck the breasts of kings (Isa. 60:15-16);
speaking of "Zion and Jerusalem," which denote the celestial church, "Zion" its internal, and "Jerusalem" its external; "to suck the milk of nations" denotes the instilling of celestial good; "to suck the breasts of kings" denotes the instilling of celestial truth. Everyone can see that in these words there lies hid a sense which does not appear in the letter, and that what lies hid in that sense is holy, because the Word is Divine; otherwise what could it mean to suck the milk of the nations, and to suck the breasts of kings? The sense which lies hid and which is holy, is not at all manifest unless it is known what is signified by "sucking," what by "milk," by "nations," by "breast," and by "kings." (That "milk" denotes the spiritual of the celestial, or the truth of good, may be seen above, n. 2184; also that "nations" denote goods in worship, n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; that "breasts" denote the affections of good and truth, n. 6432; that "kings" denote truths, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; and that "to suck" denotes the instilling of good.) [4] From all this it can now be known what is the meaning of the above words when applied to the celestial church, which is "Zion and Jerusalem." When "Zion and Jerusalem" are mentioned together, the celestial church is signified by them, by "Zion" its internal, and by "Jerusalem" its external, as before said; but when "Jerusalem" is mentioned without "Zion," then for the most part the spiritual church is signified. [5] In the same:
Ye shall suck and be satisfied with the breast of the consolations of Jerusalem; ye shall press out and be delighted with the splendor of her glory. Behold I will expand peace over her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; that ye may suck, be taken up to the side, and be dandled upon the knees (Isa. 66:11-12);
here also "to suck" denotes the instilling of good. [6] In Jeremiah:
Even the whales offer the teat, they give suck to their young; the daughter of my people is cruel, the tongue of the sucking child hath cleaved to the roof of his mouth with thirst (Lam. 4:3-4);
"the daughter of my people" denotes the spiritual church, here this church vastated; that she is said not to suckle her young, when yet the whales suckle theirs, denotes that there is then no instilling of truth; that "the tongue of the sucking child hath cleaved to the roof of his mouth with thirst" denotes such a lack of truth that all innocence perishes. The "sucking child" denotes innocence, and "thirst" the lack of truth.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church