Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 37425156. And shall hang thee upon wood. That this signifies rejectionand damnation is evident from the signification of “being hangedupon wood” as being rejection and damnation; for hanging uponwood was a curse, and a curse is a rejection from the Divine,consequently damnation. That hanging upon wood was a curse isevident in Moses:When there shall be in a man a crime of judgment of death, and hebe put to death, so that thou hangest him upon wood, his carcass shallnot remain all night upon the wood, but burying thou shalt bury himthe same day, for he that is hanged is the curse of God; that thou defilenot the land which Jehovah thy God will give thee for an inheritance(Deut. 21:22–23);that he “should not remain all night upon the wood” signifiedperpetual rejection; for in the evening the day began anew, andtherefore unless they who had been hanged were cast away beforeevening, it would have represented that evil was not rejected, andconsequently that the land was not freed from it, but was defiled;and therefore it is added, “that thou defile not the land whichJehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” That the hangedremained until evening and no longer may be seen in Joshua 8:29;10:26. Among the Jewish nation there were two mainpenalties—stoning and hanging. Stoning was on account of falsity,and hanging upon wood was on account of evil; and this because“stone” is truth (see n. 643, 1298, 3720), and in the opposite sensefalsity; and “wood” is good (n. 2784, 2812, 3720), and in theopposite sense evil; and therefore in the prophetic Word mention isoccasionally made of “committing adultery with stone and wood”whereby is signified the perversion of truth, which is falsity, and theadulteration of good, which is evil.5157. And the birds shall eat thy flesh from upon thee. That thissignifies that the falsity of evil will consume what is of thesesensuous things is evident from the signification of “eating” asbeing to consume (of which above, n. 5149); and from thesignification of “birds” as being falsity (of which also above, n.5149); and from the signification of “flesh” as being good (see n.3812, 3813), and hence in the opposite sense evil; for most of the