1664、就内义而言，此处提到的战争只表示属灵的战争或试探，如本章开头所述（1651，1659节）。圣言、尤其先知书提到的战争，没有其它含义。世人发动的战争在圣言的内在部分毫无一席之地，或说根本不重要，因为像战争这样的事不是属灵和属天的，而圣言只包含属灵和属天之物。圣言提到的战争表示与魔鬼，或也可说与地狱的争战。这一点从以下经文和其它许多经文清楚看出来。启示录：
他们本是鬼魔的灵，施行奇事，出去到大地和全世界的众王那里，叫他们在神全能者的大日聚集争战。（启示录16:14）
谁都能看出，此处“在神全能者的大日”，所指的不是其它类型的战争。
又：
那从深渊里上来的兽必与他们交战。（启示录11:7）
此处“深渊（或无底坑）”是指地狱。又：
龙向妇人发怒，去与她其余的种争战，就是那守神诫命，为耶稣基督作见证的。（启示录12:17）
又：
又允许他与圣徒争战。（启示录13:7）
所有这些“争战”都是诸如构成试探的那类争战。南方王与北方王的交战，但以理书（10和11章）提到的其它战争，以及论到米迦勒的话（但以理书10:13，21；12:1；启示录12:7）所表相同。
“战争或争战”并非表示别的，这一点从其它先知书也明显看出来。如以西结书：
你们没有上去堵住破口，也没有为以色列家建起墙垣，好在耶和华的日子在战争中站得住。（以西结书13:5）
这话论及先知。以赛亚书：
他们要把剑打成犁头，把枪打成镰刀；民族不举剑攻击民族，他们也不再学习战争。（以赛亚书2:4）
此处很明显，所指的不是其它类型的战争；因此，在圣言中，战争的武器，如剑、枪、盾等等，只表示这种战争的器具，或说属于这类战争的东西。
同一先知书：
你们拿水来给口渴的人；提玛地的居民哪，拿饼来迎接逃亡的人；因为他们逃避剑和出了鞘的剑，并弯弓与战争的重灾。（以赛亚书21:14-15）
耶利米书：
牧人和他们的羊群必到锡安的女儿那里，在她周围支搭帐棚，各在自己的地方放牧。为攻击她的战争祝圣。起来，我们趁正午上去。（耶利米书6:3-5）
此处所指的不是其它战争，因为它针对的是“锡安的女儿”，也就是教会。
同一先知书：
我所喜乐的城，可称赞的城，怎么被撇弃了呢？她的少年人必仆倒在街上；当那日，所有的战士都必被剪除。（耶利米书49:25-26）
“所喜乐可称赞的城”表示属于教会的事物；“战士”表示那些争战的人。
何西阿书：
当那日，我必为他们与田野的野兽和空中的飞鸟，并土地上的爬行物立约；又必从这地折断弓剑和战争，使他们安然躺卧。（何西阿书2:18）
此处“战争”同样表示争战，各种战争武器表示那些属于属灵争战的事物；当一个人随着恶欲和虚假止息而进入和平的宁静时，这些就被“折断”。
诗篇：
你们来看耶和华的作为，祂在地上制造荒凉，祂使战争止息，直到地极；祂折弓、断枪，把战车用火焚烧。（诗篇46:8-9）
此处意思也一样。又：
神的住处在撒冷，祂的居所在锡安。祂在那里折断弓上的火箭，并盾牌、剑和战争。（诗篇76:2-3）
由于祭司代表主，而唯独主为人争战，所以祭司的服事或职分被称为“兵役（译注：经上译为办事的）”（民数记4:23，35，39，43，47）。
当一个人卷入试探的争战时，唯独耶和华，也就是主争战，并战胜与他同在的魔鬼，尽管在此人看来，事情似乎并非如此，这是一个永恒不变的真理。因为未经允许，恶灵无法向人动一根手指头；若不靠着主的能力，天使则无法避开最小的威胁。因此，唯独主承受一切争战并取得胜利；这一点在各个地方也由以色列人向各民族发动的战争来代表。摩西五经也指出，唯独主这样做：
在你们前面行的耶和华你们的神必为你们争战。（申命记1:30）
又：
耶和华你们的神与你们同行，要为你们与仇敌争战，拯救你们。（申命记20:4；约书亚记23:3，5）
因为那时对迦南地崇拜偶像的居民发动的所有战争都代表主与地狱的争战，因而代表祂的教会和属祂教会之人的争战。这种观念也符合以赛亚书中的这些话：
狮子和少壮狮子为猎物而咆哮，许多牧人跑来攻击他，他总不因他们的声音惊惶，也不因他们的喧哗忧烦。如此万军之耶和华，也必降临在锡安山和它的冈陵上争战。（以赛亚书31:4）
因此，耶和华或主也被称为“战士”。如摩西五经：
耶和华是战士，耶和华是祂的名。（出埃及记15:3）
以赛亚书：
耶和华必像勇士出去，必像战士激起热情。祂要喊叫，大声呐喊，战胜仇敌。（以赛亚书42:13）
这也是为何许多战争活动被归于主，如此处的“喊叫”和“大声呐喊”。
当灵人和天使代表主时，他们也作为战士出现。如约书亚记：
约书亚举目观看，不料，有一个人站在他对面，手里拿着拔出来的剑。他对约书亚说，我是耶和华军队的首领。约书亚就脸伏于地下拜。（约书亚记5:13-14）
这一幕之所以如此显现，是因为它具有代表性；这也是为何雅各的后代称他们的战争为耶和华的战争。
古代的教会也是这样做的，因为他们有同样被称为《耶和华战记》的书，这一点清楚可见于摩西五经：
耶和华的战记上说。（民数记21:14-15）
写这些战争的方式与本章描述战争的方式没什么不同，只是所表示的是教会的战争。这种写作方式在那些时代是很常见的，因为他们是内层人，他们的思想更高尚。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]1664. The wars here symbolize nothing else on an inner level than spiritual battles or trials, as stated above in the preliminaries [搂搂1651, 1659]. So do other battles mentioned in the Word, especially in the prophets. Human wars have no importance on the inner planes of the Word, since they are not spiritual or heavenly and the Word contains only what is spiritual and heavenly.
The following passages (and many others as well) point to the symbolism of wars in the Word as fights with the Devil or, to put it another way, with hell. In John:
They are spirits of demons, working signs [of their intent] to go out to the monarchs of the earth and of the whole inhabited world, to gather them for the war on that great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:14)
Anyone can see that no other type of war on the great day of God Almighty is meant in this verse.
[2] In the same author:
The beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war. (Revelation 11:7)
The abyss here is hell. In the same author:
The dragon was enraged against the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her seed 钬?those who were keeping God's commands and who possess Jesus Christ's testimony. (Revelation 12:17)
It was granted to [the beast] to make war with the godly. (Revelation 13:7)
All these wars are the kinds of fights we face in times of trial. The wars of the southern and northern monarchs and so on in Daniel 10 and 11 have no other meaning. Neither do the things said of Michael in Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Revelation 12:7.
[3] The other prophets also provide evidence that wars symbolize nothing else. In Ezekiel, for example:
You have not gone up into the breaches or built a wall for the house of Israel, to stand fast in war on the day of Jehovah. (Ezekiel 13:5)
This is addressed to the prophets. In Isaiah:
They will beat swords into hoes and their spears into scythes; nation will not lift sword against nation, and they will not learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4)
It is obvious here that no other kind of war is meant, and as a result that the weapons mentioned in the Word 钬?swords, spears, shields, and so on 钬?truly do mean the implements of such war.
[4] In the same author:
Bring water to meet the thirsty, you who live in the land of Tema; approach the wanderers with bread for them; for they will wander in the face of swords, in the face of an outstretched sword and of a strung bow and of the weight of war. (Isaiah 21:14-15)
In Jeremiah:
Shepherds and their flocks will come to the daughter of Zion. They will fix their tents near her all around. They will each graze their space. Consecrate war against her. Rise and let us go up at noon. (Jeremiah 6:3, 4, 5)
No other war is meant here, because it is a war against the daughter of Zion, that is, against the church.
[5] In the same author:
In what way have they not abandoned the city of praise, the city of my joy! Therefore its youths will fall in its streets and all the men of war will be cut off on that day. (Jeremiah 49:25-26)
The city of praise and joy stands for attributes of the church. The men of war stand for people who put up a fight.
[6] In Hosea:
I will strike a pact with them on that day 钬?with the wild animal of the field, and with the bird in the heavens and the creeping animal of the ground. And bow and sword and war I will break off from the earth, and I will make them lie down securely. (Hosea 2:18)
Again, just as war stands for personal struggles, the different weapons here stand for the implements of that spiritual struggle, which are broken when our obsessions and distorted thinking die down and we come into a time of peace and quiet.
[7] In David:
Observe the works of Jehovah, who makes wastelands on the earth, stopping wars all the way to the end of the earth. The bow he breaks, and he lops off the spear; chariots he burns with fire. (Psalms 46:8-9)
Likewise. In the same author:
In Salem is God's dwelling place, and his abode is in Zion. There he broke the bow's flaming arrows, the shield, and the sword 钬?and war. (Psalms 76:2-3)
Because priests represented the Lord, who does all the fighting for us, their function is described as military service{*1} in Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47.
[8] We do not see that Jehovah alone 钬?the Lord 钬?fights and overcomes the Devil in us during our spiritual struggles, and yet it is the unchanging truth. Evil spirits cannot lift a finger against us without permission, and angels cannot ward off the least threat except by the Lord's power. So the Lord alone is the one who carries the weight of every battle and wins. This was represented in various places by the wars the children of Israel waged against the surrounding nations.{*2} The statement that the Lord is the only one to do this also appears in Moses:
Jehovah your God, walking in front of you, he will fight for you. (Deuteronomy 1:30)
In the same author:
Jehovah your God is walking with you, to fight for you with your enemies to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Joshua contains such statements as well, as in 23:3, 5.
[9] All the wars there against the idolatrous residents of the land of Canaan represented battles carried on with hell by the Lord and therefore by his church and people in his church. This idea accords with the following words in Isaiah, too:
As the lion roars 钬?and the young lion 钬?over its prey, when an abundance of shepherds race up against it,{*3} by whose voice [the lion] is not dismayed and by whose commotion it is not distressed; so Jehovah Sabaoth will come down to do battle on Zion's mountain and on its hill. (Isaiah 31:4)
[10] So Jehovah (the Lord) is also called a man of war, as in Moses:
Jehovah is a man of war; Jehovah is his name. (Exodus 15:3)
In Isaiah:
Jehovah will go forth as a hero; as a man of wars he will rouse his zeal. He will shout, even bellow; over his enemies he will prevail. (Isaiah 42:13)
That is why many activities of war are also attributed to the Lord, like the shouting and bellowing here.
[11] Spirits and angels appear as men of war too, when they are representing [the Lord]. In Joshua, for instance:
Joshua raised his eyes and looked, and here, now, a man standing opposite him, and his sword was unsheathed in his hand. He said to Joshua, "I am the leader of Jehovah's army." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth. (Joshua 5:13-14)
The scene appeared this way because it was representative. So Jacob's descendants called their wars Jehovah's wars.{*4} [12] The ancient churches did the same, since they had books likewise named Jehovah's Wars, as is evident in Moses:
It is said in the book Jehovah's Wars ... (Numbers 21:14-15)
These wars were written about in the same way as the wars mentioned in the current chapter, but they were purely symbolic of the church's battles. This method of writing was well known in ancient times because the people of that day were deeper and their thinking loftier.{*5}
Footnotes:
{*1} The Latin word here translated "military service" is militia. In Swedenborg's favorite Bible, Schmidt 1696, this Latin word appears in most of the verses cited 钬?Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43. (Verse 47 contains a more general word for service.) The Hebrew term translated as militia in these passages is 爪指讘指讗 (峁Ｄ佱竾腻), a word whose root meaning is indeed military, but which English translators of the Bible have generally rendered with terms that are not overtly military, such as "serving" or "ministering." [JSR]
{*2} See, for example, the Israelites' wars against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16), the Amorites (Numbers 21:21-31), and the Midianites (Numbers 31:1-12), and the initial campaign to secure the Holy Land as described in Joshua 1-12. Many other wars and battles that the Israelites waged against various domestic and foreign enemies are recounted in the books of Judges, 1, 2 Samuel, and 1, 2 Kings. [LSW]
{*3} "Race up" (accurrit, in the Latin) is likely an error for "come up (against)" (occurrit), the form that appears in Schmidt 1696. The Hebrew word is 讬执拽指旨指专值讗 (yiqq腻r脓), which Schmidt and Swedenborg apparently take to mean "encounter" (see Brown, Driver, and Briggs 1996, page 896 right column, under 拽指指专指讗 [q腻r腻], Strong's 7122, and in particular the passive [niph钬榓l] form defined in the left column of page 897 as "meet unexpectedly"). Most interpreters take it to mean "be summoned" (see Brown, Driver, and Briggs 1996, page 896 left column, under 拽指专指讗 [q腻r腻], Strong's 7121, niph钬榓l definition 2c). [LHC]
{*4} The specific phrase "Jehovah's wars" does not appear in the Bible, except as the title of a book, as mentioned in the text immediately following. For instances in which the Lord is invoked in connection with warfare, see Exodus 17:16; Numbers 31:3, 7; 32:20-22; Deuteronomy 1:41; 21:10; 1 Kings 22:15. [LHC]
{*5} In later passages Swedenborg mentions that the books here referred to as Jehovah's Wars were part of the Word (搂搂2686:1, 2897); in still later passages he calls them the "ancient Word" (Latin Verbum vetustum or Verbum antiquum). See also Swedenborg [1771] 2006, page 745 note 503 [NCBSP: This is a reference to a work in the bibliography from the Swedenborg Foundation]. [JSR]
Potts(1905-1910) 1664
1664. That the wars here mentioned signify nothing else, in the internal sense, than spiritual wars, or temptations, was said above, at the beginning of this chapter. By the wars mentioned in the Word, especially in the Prophets, nothing else is signified. The wars of men can have no place in the internals of the Word; for such things are not spiritual and celestial, such as alone belong to the Word. That combats with the devil, or what is the same, with hell, are signified by the wars mentioned in the Word, may be seen from the passages that now follow, besides many others. In John:
They are spirits of demons, doing signs, to go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of that great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14);
where everyone can see that no other war is signified, on the "great day of God Almighty." [2] Again:
The beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war (Rev. 11:7);
where "the abyss" is hell. Again:
The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17). Again:
It was given unto him to make war with the saints (Rev. 13:7). All of these "wars" are combats such as are those of temptations. The wars of the kings of the south and of the north, and the other wars mentioned in Daniel (chapters 10 and 11), also the things said of Michael (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Rev. 12:7), mean the same. [3] That "wars" signify nothing else is evident also from the other Prophets. As in Ezekiel:
Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither have ye built up the fence for the house of Israel, to stand in the war in the day of Jehovah (Ezek. 13:5);
where this is said concerning the Prophets. In Isaiah:
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa. 2:4);
where it is plain that no other wars are meant; and consequently that by the weapons of war, as by swords, spears, shields, and others, nothing else is meant in the Word than the things that pertain to such wars. [4] Again in Isaiah:
Bring ye water to him that is thirsty; ye inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet with his bread him that is wandering; for they shall wander before the swords, before the drawn sword, and before the bent bow, and before the grievousness of war (Isa. 21:14-15). In Jeremiah:
Shepherds and their flocks shall come unto the daughter of Zion; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed down everyone his space; sanctify a war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon (Jer. 6:3-5);
where no other war is meant, for it is against the daughter of Zion, that is, the church. [5] Again:
How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy; therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day (Jer. 49:25-26);
"the city of praise and of joy" denotes the things which are of the church; "the men of war," those who combat. [6] In Hosea:
In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground; and I will break the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land, and will make them to lie down in confidence (Hos. 2:18);
where in like manner "war" denotes combats, and the various arms of war those things which pertain to spiritual combat; these are "broken" when, yearnings and falsities ceasing, the man comes into the tranquillity of peace. [7] In David:
Behold the works of Jehovah, who hath made solitudes in the earth, making wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire (Ps. 46:8-9);
where the meaning is similar. Again:
In Salem is the habitation of God, and his dwelling place in Zion. There He brake the fiery shafts of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the war (Ps. 76:2-3). As the priests represented the Lord, who alone combats for man, their service is called "warfare" (Num. 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47). [8] That Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord, combats and overcomes the devil that is with man when he is in the combats of temptations, although it does not so appear to the man, is a constant truth; for not even the smallest thing can be brought upon a man by evil spirits that is not by permission; and nothing, however small, can be averted by angels, except from the Lord; so that it is the Lord alone who sustains all the combat, and who overcomes; which also is everywhere represented by the wars waged by the sons of Israel against the nations. That it is the Lord alone, is also declared in Moses:
Jehovah your God who walketh before you, He shall fight for you (Deut. 1:30). Again:
Jehovah your God is He that walketh with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you (Deut. 20:4; so too in Joshua, as chapter 23:3, 5). [9] For the wars there that were carried on against the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Canaan, all represented the Lord's combats with hell; and consequently those of His church, and those of the men of His church. This also accords with the following words in Isaiah:
As the lion roareth, and the young lion, over his prey, when a multitude of shepherds come running against him, he will not be dismayed at their voice, nor afflicted by their tumult; so Jehovah Zebaoth shall come down to fight upon Mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof (Isa. 31:1). [10] For this reason, also, Jehovah or the Lord is also called a "Man of War." As in Moses:
Jehovah is a Man of War, Jehovah is His name (Exod. 15:9). And in Isaiah:
Jehovah shall go forth as a Hero, He shall stir up zeal like a Man of wars; He shall cry, yea, He shall shout aloud, He shall prevail against His enemies (Isa. 42:13). This also is why many things that pertain to war are attributed to the Lord; as here to "cry" and "shout aloud." [11] Spirits and angels also appear as men of war when a representation is made. As in Joshua:
Joshua lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold there stood a man over against him, and his sword drawn in his hand. And he said unto Joshua, I am the prince of Jehovah's army. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth (Josh. 5:13-14). These things were so seen because they were representative; and for the same reason the posterity of Jacob called their wars the Wars of Jehovah. [12] The same also was the case in the Ancient Churches; and among them were books which also were called The Wars of Jehovah; as is evident in Moses:
It is said in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah (Num. 21:14-15). This was written in a manner not unlike that in which wars are treated of in this chapter; but the wars of the church were signified. Such a mode of writing was familiar in those times; for then there were interior men, and they thought of exalted things.
Elliott(1983-1999) 1664
1664. That the wars in this chapter mean in the internal sense nothing other than spiritual conflicts, which are temptations, has been stated already in the preliminary section.a Nor do the wars in the rest of the Word, especially in the Prophets, have any other meaning. Wars waged by men can have no place whatever in the internal parts of the Word, for such things as wars are not the spiritual and celestial things which alone constitute the Word. That 'wars' in the Word means conflicts with the devil, or what amounts to the same, with hell, becomes clear from the following places besides many others: In John,
They are spirits of demons, performing signs, to go out to the kings of the land and of the whole earth, to assemble them for the war of that great day of God Almighty. Rev 16:14.
Here anyone may see that no other kind of war on the great day of God Almighty is meant.
[2] In the same book,
The beast that comes up from the Abyss will make war. Rev 11:7.
Here 'the Abyss' is hell. In the same book,
The dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus Christ. Rev 12:17.
Itb was allowed to make war on the saints. Rev 13:7.
All these wars are conflicts such as constitute temptations. Nor are the wars of the kings of the south and of the north, and the other wars of Dan. 8 and 11, and also those involving Michael, Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; Rev 12:7, anything different.
[3] That wars have no other meaning is clear from the rest of the Prophets as well, as in Ezekiel,
You have not gone up into the breaches and made a hedge for the house of Israel, to stand in war on the day of Jehovah. Ezek 13:5.
This refers to the prophets. In Isaiah,
They will beat their swords into hoes, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more. Isa 2:4.
Clearly no other wars [than spiritual wars] are meant here, and therefore instruments of war, such as swords, spears, shields, and many others, mean nothing else in the Word than things that belong to such wars.
[4] In the same prophet,
To the thirsty bring water; O inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet with his bread the fugitive,c for they will fleed before the swords, before the drawn sword, and before the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. Isa 21:14, 15.
In Jeremiah,
Shepherds and their flocks will come against the daughter of Zion, they will pitch their tents against her round about; they will graze, each off his own space. Declare a sacred war against her; arise and let us go up at noon. Jer 6:3-5.
Here, since it is waged against 'the daughter of Zion', that is, the Church, no other kind of war is meant.
[5] In the same prophet,
How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of My joy? Therefore her young men will tall in her streets, and all the men of war will be cut down on that day. Jer 49:25, 26.
'The city of praise and of joy' stands for the things that belong to the Church, 'the men of war' for those who fight.
[6] In Hosea,
I will make for them a covenant on that day, with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air,e and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolishf the bow, and the sword, and war from the land, and I will make them lie down in safety. Hosea 2:18.
Here similarly 'war' stands for conflicts, and the various instruments of war stand for the things belonging to spiritual conflict which are 'broken' when a person comes into the calmness of peace as evil desires and falsities come to an end.
[7] In David,
Behold the works of Jehovah who makes solitary places in the earth, making wars cease even to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and snaps the spear, He burns the chariots with fire. Ps 46:8, 9.
Here too the meaning is similar. In the same author,
In Salem is the dwelling-place of God, and His habitation in Zion. There He broke the bow's fiery arrows, the shield and the sword, and war. Ps 76:2, 3.
Because the priests represented the Lord who alone fights on man's behalf, their duties are called military service, Num 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47.
[8] It is a constant truth that Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord, fights and overcomes the devil present with a person when he is involved in the conflicts brought by temptations, even though to that person this does not appear to be so. For evil spirits have no power at all to exert the slightest influence on man unless they are permitted to do so, and angels cannot act to avert anything at all unless enabled to do so by the Lord. Thus it is the Lord alone who endures every conflict and overcomes, something that was also represented at various times by the wars that the children of Israel waged against the nations. That He alone does so is also stated in Moses,
Jehovah your God is goingg before you, He Himself will fight for you. Deut 1:30.
In the same book,
Jehovah your God is goingg with you to fight for you with your enemies, to save you. Deut 20:4.
[9] So too in Joshua, such as 23:3, 5. For all the wars that were being waged at that time against the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Canaan represented the Lord's conflicts with hell, and consequently the conflicts of His Church, and of members of the Church. This also accords with the following statements in Isaiah,
As the lion roars, and the young lion, over its prey (when a multitude of shepherds run towards him he is not dismayed by their voice nor daunted by the tumult they make) so Jehovah Zebaoth will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. Isa 31:4.
[10] For the same reasons also Jehovah, or the Lord, is called 'a Man of War', as in Moses,
Jehovah is a Man of War, Jehovah is His name. Exod 15:3.
In Isaiah,
Jehovah will go forth as a Mighty Man, as a Man of Wars He will stir up zeal; He will cry out, yes, He will shout aloud, He will prevail over His enemies. Isa 42:13.
This also is why many things that war entails are attributed to the Lord, such as 'crying out', and 'shouting aloud' here.
[11] Spirits and angels also appear as men of war, when a representation is being made, as in Joshua,
Joshua lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a man was standing before him, with his sword drawn in his hand. He said to Joshua, I am the Prince of the army of Jehovah; and Joshua fell on his faceh to the earth. Josh 5:13, 14.
These things were seen taking the form they did because they were representative, and this also is why descendants of Jacob called their wars the Wars of ]Jehovah.
It was similar in the Ancient Churches among whom there were books which also were called The Wars of Jehovah, as is clear in Moses.
It is said in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah. Num 21:14, 15.
These were written about in a way not unlike the wars described in this chapter; but wars involving the Church were meant. Such a manner of writing was common in those times, for they were interior men and their thoughts were of more exalted things.
Latin(1748-1756) 1664
1664. Quod 'bella' hic nihil aliud significent in sensu interno quam pugnas spirituales seu tentationes, prius in praemissis dictum; per bella in Verbo, imprimis apud Prophetas nec aliud significatur; bella humana non possunt esse quicquam in Verbi internis, nam talia non sunt spiritualia et caelestia quae unice sunt Verbi: quod per 'bella' in Verbo significentur pugnae cum diabolo, seu quod idem, cum inferno, constare potest ab his locis, praeter a multis alis; apud Johannem, Sunt spiritus daemonum, facientes signa ad exeundum ad reges terrae et orbis terrarum totius, ad congregandum illos in bellum diei illius magni Dei Omnipotentis, Apoc. xvi 14;ubi quisque videre potest quod non bellum aliud die magno Dei Omnipotentis significetur: [2] apud eundem, Bestia, quae ascendit ex abysso, faciet bellum, Apoc. xi 7;
ubi 'abyssus' est infernum: apud eundem, Iratus draco contra mulierem, et abivit ut faceret bellum cum reliquis seminis ejus, qui tenebant mandata Dei, et habent testimonium Jesu Christi, Apoc. xii 17;
Datum ei est facere bellum cum sanctis, Apoc. xiii 7;
quae 'bella' omnia sunt pugnae quales tentationum. 'Bella regum meridiei et septentrionis,' et cetera apud Dan. viii et xi, tum quae de Michaele, Dan. x 13, 21; xii 1; Apoc. xii 7, nec alia sunt: [3] quod bella non aliud significent, ex ceteris Prophetis quoque constat, ut apud Ezechielem, Non ascendistis in rupturas, et sepivistis sepem pro domo Israelis, ad standum in bello in die Jehovae, xiii 5;
ubi de prophetis: apud Esaiam, Contundent gladios in ligones, et hastas suas in falces, non tollet gens contra gentem gladium, et non discent amplius bellum, ii 4;
ubi manifeste quod alia bella non significentur, consequenter quod per instrumenta belli, ut per 'gladios, hastas, clypeos' et plura, nihil aliud in Verbo quam quae sunt talium bellorum: [4] apud eundem, Obviam sitienti afferte aquas, habitatores terrae Tema, cum pane ejus praevenite vagantem, nam coram gladiis vagabuntur, coram gladio extenso, et coram arcu extento, et coram gravitate belli, xxi 14, 15:
apud Jeremiam, Ad filiam Zionis venient pastores, et greges eorum, figent ad illam tentoria circumcirca, depascent quisque spatium suum; sacrate contra illam bellum, surgite et ascendamus in meridie, vi 3-5;
ubi non aliud bellum, quia contra 'filiam Zionis,' hoc est, Ecclesiam: [5] apud eundem, Quomodo non relicta est urbs laudis, urbs gaudii mei, ideo cadent juvenes ejus in plateis ejus, et omnes viri belli exscindentur in die illo, xlix 25, 26;
'urbs laudis et gaudii' pro illis quae Ecclesiae: 'viri belli' pro illis qui pugnant: [6] apud Hosheam, Feriam illis foedus in die illo cum fera agri, et cum ave caelorum, et reptili humi, et arcum, et gladium, et bellum frangam de terra, et cubare faciam illos confidenter, ii 18;
ubi similiter sicut 'bellum' pro pugnis, 'arma belli varia' pro illis quae sunt pugnae spiritualis, quae 'franguntur'cum homo cupiditatibus et falsitatibus cessantibus in tranquillitatem pacis venit: [7] apud Davidem, Videte opera Jehovae, Qui ponit solitudines in terra, cessare faciens bella usque ad extremitatem terrae, arcum frangit, et amputat hastam, currus comburit igne, Ps. xliv 9, 10 [A.V. 8, 9];
similiter: apud eundem, Est in Shalem habitaculum Dei, et habitatio Ipsius in Zione; ibi fregit jacula ignita arcus, scutum, et gladium, et bellum, Ps. lxxvi 3, 4 [A.V. 2, 3]. Quia 'sacerdotes' repraesentabant Dominum, Qui solus pugnat pro homine, 'munus illorum appellatur militia,' Num. iv 23, 35, 39, 43, 47. [8] Quod solus Jehovah, hoc est, Dominus pugnet et vincat diabolum apud hominem cum in pugnis tentationum est, tametsi non ita apparet homini, veritas constans est; nam ne quidem minimum a malis spiritibus inferri potest homini quod non ex permissione, et ne hilum averti per angelos nisi ex Domino; sic ut Dominus solus sit Qui sustinet omnem pugnam et vincit, quod etiam passim repraesentatum est per bella quae filii Israelis gesserunt contra gentes; quod solus, dictum quoque, apud Mosen, Jehovah Deus vester ambulans ante vos, Ipse pugnabit vobis, Deut. i 30:
apud eundem, Jehovah Deus vester, ambulans vobiscum, ad pugnandum vobis cum hostibus vestris ad salvandum vos, Deut. xx 4;
tum apud Josuam, ut xxiii 3, 5. [9] Bella enim ibi quae fiebant contra incolas idololatras terrae Canaanis, omnia repraesentabant pugnas Domini cum inferno, tum inde Ecclesiae Ipsius, et hominum Ecclesiae; secundum haec quoque apud Esaiam, Quemadmodum rugit leo, et juvenis leo, super rapina sua, cum accurrit contra illum plenitudo pastorum, a voce quorum non consternatur, et a tumultu eorum non affligitur; ita descendet Jehovah Zebaoth ad militandum super monte Zionis, et super colle ejus, xxxi 4;
[10] quare etiam Jehovah seu Dominus 'Vir belli' dictus, ut apud Mosen, Jehovah Vir belli, Jehovah nomen Ipsius, Exod. xv 3:
apud Esaiam, Jehovah sicut Heros exibit, sicut Vir bellorum suscitabit zelum, vociferabitur, etiam clamabit, super hostes Suos praevalebit, xlii 13;
inde quoque est, quod multa quae sunt belli, tribuantur Domino, ut hic 'vociferari et clamare': [11] etiam spiritus et angeli ut viri belli apparent cum fit repraesentatio, ut apud Josuam, Josua sustulit oculos suos, et vidit, et ecce vir stans e regione illius, et gladius illius evaginatus in manu illius,... dixit ad Josuam, Ego Princeps exercitus Jehovae, et cecidit Josua super facies suas ad terram, v 13, 14;
haec ita visa quia repraesentativa; quare etiam in Jacobi posteri bella sua vocabant Bella Jehovae: [12] similiter in Antiquis Ecclesiis, apud quos Libri, qui quoque appellati Bella Jehovae, ut constat apud Mosen, Dicitur in Libro Bellorum Jehovae, Num. xxi 14, 15;
quae nec dissimiliter scripta ac sunt bella de quibus in hoc capite, sed significata bella Ecclesiae: talis mos scribendi fuit illis temporibus familiaris, nam tunc interiores homines fuerunt, et sublimiora cogitabant.