apprentice - one who is bound by agreement to work for another for a specific amount of time (usually seven years) in return for instruction in a trade, art or business. Since their hours were so long, apprentices usually lived in makeshift lodgings provided by their employers. The master was paid a fee. When one finished, they were a journeyman and able to hire themselves out to others for wages. Pip was apprenticed to Joe Gargary in Great Expectations.
And cast him into one of the pits. That this signifies among falsities, is evident from the signification of "pits," as being falsities. That "pits" are falsities, is because men who have been in principles of falsity are after death kept awhile under the lower earth, until falsities have been removed from them, and as it were rejected to the sides. These places are called "pits," and those who go into them are such as must be in vastation (n. 1106-1113, 2699, 2701, 2704). It is for this reason that by "pits" in the abstract sense, are signified falsities. The lower earth is next under the feet and the region round about for a short distance. Here are most persons after death, before they are taken up into heaven. This earth is also frequently mentioned in the Word. Beneath it are the places of vastation, which are called "pits," and below them and round about for a considerable extent, are hells. [2] From this it is in some measure plain what is meant by "hell," what by the "lower earth," and what by a "pit," when mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah: Thou hast been brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Thou hast been cast forth out of thy grave like an abominable shoot, the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit (Isa. 14:15, 19); speaking of the king of Babylon, by whom is represented the profanation of truth; for a "king" is truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581), and "Babylon" profanation (n. 1182, 1326). "Hell" is where the damned are, and their damnation is compared to an abominable shoot, and to the raiment of those that are slain and thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit. The "raiment of those that are slain" is truth profaned; "those thrust through with the sword" are they in whom truth has been extinguished; the "pit" is falsity which must be vastated; "stones" are the borders, whence also they are called the "sides," for round about the pits are hells. (That "raiment" is truth, see above, n. 2576; that the "raiment of those that are slain" is truth profaned, for the "blood" by which it is stained is what is profane, n. 1003; and that "those thrust through with a sword" are they in whom truth has been extinguished, n. 4503). From this it is also plain that without the internal sense it could not possibly be known what is here meant. [3] So too in Ezekiel: When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of an age, and shall make thee to dwell in the earth of the lower regions, in desolations from an age, that thou dwell not with them that go down into the pit; then will I set adornment in the land of the living (Ezek. 26:20); "they that descend into the pit" denote those who are sent into vastation; "not to dwell with them that go down into the pit" means to be delivered from falsities. [4] Again: That none of all the trees of the waters exalt themselves for their stature, neither send their branch among the tangled boughs, nor stand over them for their height, all that drink water; they shall all be delivered unto death, to the lower earth in the midst of the sons of men, to them that go down into the pit. I will make the nations to shake at the sound of his ruin, when I make him go down into hell with them that go down into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and chief of Lebanon, all that drink waters, shall be comforted in the lower earth (Ezek. 31:14, 16); this is said of Egypt, by which is signified the knowledge that of itself enters into the mysteries of faith, that is, those who so enter (n. 1164, 1165, 1186). From what has been said above it is clear what is signified by "hell," by the "pit," and by the "lower earth," which are here mentioned by the prophet; nor does it appear except from the internal sense what is signified by the "trees of the waters," the "trees of Eden," the "branch sent among the tangled boughs," the "choice and chief of Lebanon," and "all that drink waters." [5] Again: Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cause her to go down, even her, and the daughters of the august nations, unto the earth of the lower regions, with them that go down into the pit. Asshur is there, whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, all slain by the sword (Ezek. 32:18, 22-23); the signification of which may be seen from what has been explained above. In David: O Jehovah, Thou hast brought up my soul from hell; Thou hast kept me alive, from among them that go down into the pit (Ps. 30:3). Again: I am accounted with them that go down into the pit; I am accounted as a man that hath no strength. Thou hast set me in a pit of the lower regions, in darkness, in the depths (Ps. 88:4, 6). In Jonah: I went down to the cuttings off of the mountains; the bars of the earth were upon me forever; yet hast Thou brought up my life from the pit (Jonah 2:6); where the subject treated of is the Lord's temptations, and deliverance from them. The "cuttings off of the mountains" are where the most damned are, the dark clouds which appear about them being the "mountains." [6] That a "pit" is the vastation of falsity, and in the abstract sense falsity, is still more evident in Isaiah: They shall be gathered with a gathering as the bound to the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; yet after a multitude of days shall they be visited (Isa. 24:22). Again: Where is the anger of him that causeth straitness? He that leadeth forth shall hasten to open; and he shall not die at the pit, neither shall bread fail (Isa. 51:13-14). In Ezekiel: Behold I bring strangers upon thee, the violent of the nations, who shall draw their swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall profane thy brightness. They shall bring thee down into the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are pierced in the heart of the seas (Ezek. 28:7-8); speaking of the prince of Tyre, by whom are signified those who are in principles of falsity. [7] In Zechariah: Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion; sound, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, wretched, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of she-asses. By the blood of thy covenant I will send forth thy bound out of the pit wherein is no water (Zech. 9:9, 11); where the "pit wherein is no water" denotes falsity in which there is nothing true; as also in what follows it is said that they cast Joseph into the pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it (Gen. 37:24). In David: Unto thee O Jehovah will I cry, my Rock be not Thou silent unto me, lest if Thou be silent unto me I seem like them that go down into the pit (Ps. 28:1). Again: Jehovah brought me up also out of a pit of vastation, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock (Ps. 40:2). Let not the billow of waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me (Ps. 69:15). [8] Again: He sent His word, and healed them, and rescued them from their pits (Ps. 107:20); "from their pits" denoting from falsities. Again: Make haste, answer me, O Jehovah; my spirit is consumed, hide not Thy faces from me, lest I become like them that go down into the pit (Ps. 143:7). As a "pit" signifies falsity, and the "blind" signify those who are in falsities (n. 2383), the Lord therefore says, Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind, for if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a pit (Matt. 15:14; Luke 6:39). Something similar to what was represented by Joseph was also represented by Jeremiah the prophet, concerning which he says: They took Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit that was in the court of the guard; and they let down Jeremiah with cords, into the pit where was no water (Jer. 38:6); that is, they rejected Divine truths among falsities in which was nothing of truth.
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Shed no blood. That this signifies that they should not do violence to what is holy is evident from the signification of "blood" as being what is holy-of which in what follows; hence "to shed blood" is to do violence to what is holy. All the holy in heaven proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and therefore all the holy in the church; wherefore that violence might not be done to it, the Holy Supper was instituted by the Lord, in which it is expressly said that the bread is His flesh, and the wine His blood, thus that it is his Divine Human from which the holy then comes. With the ancients, flesh and blood signified the human own, because the human consists of flesh and blood; thus the Lord said to Simon, "Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father who is in the heavens" (Matt. 16:17). The flesh and the blood, therefore, signified by the bread and the wine in the Holy Supper, denote the Lord's Human Own. The Lord's Own Itself, which He acquired to Himself by His own power, is Divine. His Own from conception was what He had from Jehovah His Father, and was Jehovah Himself. Hence the Own which He acquired to Himself in the Human was Divine. This Divine Own in the Human is what is called His flesh and blood; "flesh" is His Divine good (n. 3813), and "blood" is the Divine truth of Divine good. [2] The Lord's Human, after it was glorified or made Divine, cannot be thought of as human, but as the Divine love in human form; and this so much the more than the angels, who, when they appear (as seen by me), appear as forms of love and charity under the human shape, and this from the Lord; for the Lord from Divine love made His Human Divine; just as man through heavenly love becomes an angel after death, so that he appears, as just said, as a form of love and charity under the human shape. It is plain from this that by the Lord's Divine Human, in the celestial sense is signified the Divine love itself, which is love toward the whole human race, in that it wills to save them and to make them blessed and happy to eternity, and to make its Divine their own so far as they can receive it. This love and the reciprocal love of man to the Lord, and also love toward the neighbor, are what are signified and represented in the Holy Supper-the Divine celestial love by the flesh or bread, and the Divine spiritual love by the blood or wine. [3] From these things it is now evident what is meant in John by eating the Lord's flesh and drinking His blood: I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso 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 abideth in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven (John 6:51-58). As "flesh and blood" signify as before said the Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual which are from the Lord's Divine Human, or what is the same, the Divine good and the Divine truth of his love, by "eating and drinking" is signified making them one's own; and this is effected by a life of love and charity, which is also a life of faith. (That "eating" is making good one's own, and "drinking" making truth one's own, may be seen above, n. 2187, 3069, 3168, 3513, 3596, 3734, 3832, 4017, 4018.) [4] As "blood" in the celestial sense signifies the Divine spiritual or the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, it therefore signifies the holy proceeding; for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human is the holy itself. [5] Holiness is nothing else, nor from any other source. That "blood" signifies this holy is evident from many passages in the Word, of which we may adduce the following: Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Say to every bird of the heaven, to every wild beast of the field, Assemble yourselves and come; gather yourselves from every side upon My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, [of bullocks,] all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. And ye shall be sated at My table with horse and chariot, with the strong, and with every man of war. And I will set My glory among the nations (Ezek. 39:17-21). The subject here treated of is the calling together of all to the Lord's kingdom, and specifically the setting up again of the church among the Gentiles; and by their "eating flesh and drinking blood" is signified making Divine good and Divine truth their own, thus the holy which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human. Who cannot see that by "flesh" is not meant flesh, nor by "blood" blood, where it is said that they should eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and that they should be sated with horse and chariot, with the strong, and with every man of war? [6] So likewise in Revelation: I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and gather yourselves 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 strong, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great (Rev. 19:17-18); who would ever understand these words unless he knew what is signified in the internal sense by "flesh," and what by "kings," "captains," "the strong" "horses," "those that sit thereon," and "free and bond?" [7] Further in Zechariah: He shall speak peace to the nations; and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, through the blood of Thy covenant I will send forth thy bound out of the pit (Zech. 9:10, 11); where the Lord is spoken of; the "blood of Thy covenant" is the Divine truth proceeding from his Divine Human, and is the holy itself which, after He was glorified, went forth from Him. This holy is also what is called the Holy Spirit, as is evident in John: Jesus said, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. Whosoever believeth in Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive for the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39). That the holy proceeding from the Lord is the "spirit," may be seen in John 6:63. [8] Moreover, that "blood" is the holy proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, in David: Bring back their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in His eyes (Ps. 72:14); "precious blood" denotes the holy which they would receive. In Revelation: These are they who come out of great affliction, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). And again: They overcame the dragon by the blood of the lamb, and by the Word of their testimony; and they loved not their soul even unto death (Rev. 12:11). [9] The church at this day does not know otherwise than that the "blood of the lamb" here signifies the Lord's passion, because it is believed that they are saved solely by the Lord having suffered, and that it was for this that He was sent into the world; but let this view of it be for the simple, who cannot comprehend interior arcana. The Lord's passion was the last of His temptation, by which He fully glorified His Human (Luke 24:26; John 12:23, 27, 28; 13:31, 32; 17:1, 4, 5); but the "blood of the lamb" is the same as the Divine truth, or the holy proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human; thus the same as the "blood of the covenant" spoken of just above, and of which it is also written in Moses: [10] Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and hear. Then Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you upon all these words (Exod. 24:7-8); the "book of the covenant" was the Divine truth which they then had, which was confirmed by the blood testifying that it was from His Divine Human. [11] In the rituals of the Jewish Church blood had no other signification than the holy proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, wherefore when they were sanctified, it was done by blood-as when Aaron and his sons were sanctified, blood was sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, the remainder at the bottom of the altar, also upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, and upon his garments (Exod. 29:12, 16, 20; Lev. 8:15, 19, 23, 30). And when Aaron entered within the veil to the mercy-seat, blood was also to be sprinkled with the finger upon the mercy-seat eastward seven times (Lev. 16:12-15). So also in the rest of the sanctifications, and also in the expiations and cleansings (in regard to which see the following passages, Exod. 12:7, 13, 22; 30:10; Lev. 1:5, 11, 15; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:6, 7, 17, 18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9; 6:27, 28; 14:14-19, 25-30; 16:12-15, 18, 19; Deut. 12:27). [12] As by "blood" in the genuine sense is signified the holy, so in the opposite sense by "blood" and "bloods" are signified those things which offer violence to it, because by shedding innocent blood is signified doing violence to what is holy. For this reason wicked things of life and profane things of worship were called "blood." That "blood" and "bloods" have such a signification, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah: When the Lord shall have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion, and shall have washed away the bloods of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of expurgation (Isa. 4:4). The waters of Dimon are full of blood (Isa. 15:9). Again: Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity (Isa. 59:3, 7). In Jeremiah: Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor (Jer. 2:34). [13] Again: It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of Jerusalem. They have wandered blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood; those which they cannot [pollute] they touch with their garments (Lam. 4:13-14). In Ezekiel: I have passed by thee, and saw thee trodden down in thy bloods, and I said unto thee, Live in thy bloods, and I said unto thee, Live in thy bloods. I washed thee with waters, and washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezek. 16:6, 9). Again: Thou son of man, Wilt thou debate with a city of bloods? Make known to her all her abominations. Thou art become guilty through thy blood that thou hast shed, and art defiled through thine idols which thou hast made. Behold the princes of Israel, everyone according to his arm, have been in thee and have shed blood; men of slander have been in thee to shed blood; and in thee they have eaten at the mountains (Ezek. 22:2-4, 6, 9). In Moses: If anyone shall sacrifice elsewhere than upon the altar at the tent, it shall be blood; and as if he had shed blood (Lev. 17:1-9). [14] Falsified and profaned truth is signified by the following passages concerning blood. In Joel: I will set wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day come (Joel 2:30-31). In Revelation: The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood (Rev. 6:12). Again The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood (Rev. 8:8). Again: The second angel poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial into the rivers, and into the fountains of waters, and there became blood (Rev. 16:3-4). [15] Similar is what is said in Exodus (7:15-22), about the rivers, ponds, and pools of water in Egypt being turned into blood; for by "Egypt" is signified the memory-knowledge which from itself enters into heavenly mysteries, and hence perverts, denies, and profanes Divine truths (n. 1164, 1165, 1186). All the miracles in Egypt, being Divine, involved such things. The "rivers which were turned into blood" are the truths of intelligence and wisdom (n. 108, 109, 3051); "waters" have a similar signification (n. 680, 2702, 3058), and also "fountains" (n. 2702, 3096, 3424); "seas" are truths in the complex which are a matter of memory-knowledge (n. 28); the "moon" of which it is also said that it should be "turned into blood," is Divine truth (n. 1529-1531, 2495, 4060). It is evident from this, that by the moon, the sea, fountains, waters, and rivers, being turned into blood, is signified truth falsified and profaned. 2ff7e9595c
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