7293.“它就会变作水蛇”表纯粹的幻觉和衍生的虚假由此会在他们当中掌权。这从“蛇”的含义清楚可知，“蛇”是指心智的感官和肉体层（参看6949节），因此是指幻觉，因为心智的感官和肉体层当脱离理性层，也就是不从属于理性层时，就会充满幻觉，以致它几乎全由幻觉构成（参看6948，6949节）。此处所表示的是“水蛇”，因为在原文，此处的“蛇”是以一个与“大鱼或海怪”，也就是海中最大的鱼一样的词来表达的，而“大鱼或海怪”表示总体上的记忆知识。因此，当“埃及人”表示由幻觉所产生的虚假时，原文中的这个词表示一条蛇，即一条水蛇，因为它也表示生活在水中的大鱼或海怪，“埃及的水”表示虚假。
法老或埃及被称为“大鱼或海怪”，这一点明显可见于以西结书：
要告诉说，主耶和华如此说，看哪，埃及王法老啊，我与你这卧在自己河中的大鱼为敌。（以西结书29:3）
同一先知书：
人子啊，你要为埃及王法老作哀歌，对他说，从前你在列族中如同少壮狮子，现在你却像海中的大鱼。你冲出江河，搅动河水。（以西结书32:2）
在这些经文中，“大鱼”表示总体上的记忆知识，由于这些知识来自感官人或说人的感官告诉他的产物，所以“大鱼”表示被败坏的信之事物。“大鱼”之所以表示总体上的记忆知识，是因为一条“鱼”表示具体的记忆知识（参看40，991节）。“大鱼”因表示败坏信之真理的记忆知识，故也表示基于幻觉的推理，这些推理产生虚假。
在诗篇，“大鱼”就表示这些事物：
你曾用能力将海分开，将水中大鱼的头打破。（诗篇74:13）
以赛亚书中的“利维坦”也表示这些事物：
到那日，耶和华必用祂刚硬有力的大剑刑罚利维坦，就是那条长蛇；刑罚利维坦，就是那曲行的蛇，并杀海中的大鱼。（以赛亚书27:1）
诗篇：
你曾砸碎利维坦的头，把他给人民，就是禽兽为食物。（诗篇74:14）
“利维坦”在正面意义上表示基于真理的推理（约伯记41:1-34）；基于真理的推理是基于虚假的推理的对立面。
由于“大鱼”表示基于幻觉的推理，在原文用这个词来表达的“水蛇”表示由带来推理并导致败坏真理的幻觉所产生的虚假本身。在以下经文中，这些“蛇”就表示虚假：
豺狼必在她宫中答复，蛇必在快乐殿内回应。（以赛亚书13:22）
同一先知书：
她的宫殿要长荆棘，保障要长蒺藜和刺草；要作蛇的住处、猫头鹰女儿的宫廷。（以赛亚书34:13）
又：
在蛇的住处，她的榻上，必有青草、芦苇和蒲草。（以赛亚书35:7）
耶利米书：
我必使耶路撒冷变为乱堆，为蛇的住处。（耶利米书9:11）
玛拉基书：
我使以扫的山荒凉，把他的地业交给旷野的蛇。（玛拉基书1:3）
在这些经文中，“蛇”表示推理所基于的虚假。
“龙”也表示这些事物；但“龙”是指源于爱自己爱世界，因而源于恶欲的推理，这些推理不仅败坏真理，还败坏良善。这些推理出自那些心里否认信之真理和良善，但由于获得权力和利益的强烈欲望而在口头上肯定它们的人。因此，这些推理也出自那些亵渎真理和良善的人。“那古蛇，名叫魔鬼和撒旦，迷惑全世界的大龙”（启示录12:9），以及逼迫那生了一个被提到神和祂宝座那里去的儿子的妇人（启示录12:5），从他口中吐出水来像河一样，要吞没妇人（启示录12:15）的大龙也表示这两种人。
那妇人所生的“儿子”就是如今所揭示的神性真理；“妇人”是指教会；“大龙，就是蛇”是指那些将要进行迫害它的人；大龙所要吐出的“像河一样的水”是指邪恶所生的虚假和由此产生的推理，他们将利用这些虚假和推理来努力毁灭妇人，也就是教会；而“地却帮助妇人，那地开口吞了那龙从口吐出来的河”（启示录12:16）则描述了这一事实：他们根本做不到这一点。
Potts(1905-1910) 7293
7293. It shall become a water-serpent. That this signifies that thereby mere fallacies and the derivative falsities will reign among them, is evident from the signification of a "serpent," as being the sensuous and bodily (see n. 6949), thence fallacies, for the sensuous and bodily, separated from the rational, that is, not subordinate to it, is full of fallacies, so that it is scarcely anything but fallacies (see n. 6948, 6949). It is a water-serpent that is here signified, for in the original, "serpent" is here expressed by the same term as "whale," which is the largest fish of the sea, and a "whale" signifies memory-knowledges in general. As therefore by the "Egyptians" are signified falsities from fallacies, this word signifies a serpent, that is, a water- serpent, because it stands for the whale that is in the waters, and because the waters of Egypt are falsities. [2] That Pharaoh or Egypt is called a "whale" is evident in Ezekiel:
Speak and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great whale that lieth in the midst of his rivers (Ezek. 29:3). Son of man, take up a lamentation upon Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art become like a young lion of the nations; and thou art as whales in the seas; and thou hast come forth with thy streams, thou hast troubled thy streams (Ezek. 32:2). In these passages by a "whale" are signified memory-knowledges in general, by which, because they are from the sensuous man, the things that belong to faith are perverted. That a "whale" denotes memory-knowledge in general, is because a "fish" denotes memory-knowledge in particular (see n. 40, 991). And as "whales" signify memory-knowledges perverting the truths of faith, by them are also signified reasonings from fallacies, whence come falsities. [3] Such things are signified by "whales" in David:
Thou didst break through the sea by thy strength; Thou hast broken the heads of the whales upon the waters (Ps. 74:13). Like things are signified also by "leviathan" in Isaiah:
In that day Jehovah with His hard and great and strong sword will visit upon leviathan the long serpent, and upon leviathan the crooked serpent, and will slay the whales that are in the sea (Isa. 27:1). And in David:
Thou hast broken in pieces the heads of leviathan, Thou gavest him to be meat to the people Ziim (Ps. 74:14). "Leviathan" in a good sense denotes reason from truths, in Job 41; reason from truths is opposite to reasonings from falsities. [4] And as by "whales" are signified reasonings from fallacies perverting truths, by "water-serpents," which are expressed by the same word in the original, are signified the falsities themselves from the fallacies from which come reasonings, and by means of which come perversions. Falsities are signified by these serpents in the following passages:
Iim shall answer in her palaces, and serpents in the palaces of delights (Isa. 13:22). Thorns shall come up in her palaces, the thistle and the brier in the fortresses thereof; that it may be a habitation of serpents, a court for the daughters of the owl (Isa. 34:13). In the inhabitation of serpents, her couch, shall be grass for reed and rush (Isa. 35:7). I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of serpents (Jer. 9:11). I made the mountains of Esau a waste, and his heritage for the serpents of the wilderness (Mal. 1:3). [5] In these passages "serpents" denote falsities from which are reasonings. The same are also signified by "dragons;" but "dragons" denote reasonings from the loves of self and of the world, thus from the cupidities of evil, which pervert not only truths, but also goods. These reasonings come forth from those who in heart deny the truths and goods of faith, but in mouth confess them for the sake of the lust of exercising command and of making profit, thus also from those who profane truths and goods. Both are meant by "the dragon, the old serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, which seduceth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9); and also by the same dragon, which persecuted the woman who brought forth a son that was caught up unto God and unto His throne (Rev. 12:5); and which cast out of his mouth water as a river, that he might swallow up the woman (verse 15). [6] The "son" that the woman brought forth is the Divine truth at this day unfolded; the "woman" is the church; "the dragon, the serpent," denotes those who will persecute; "the water as a river which the dragon would cast out," denotes the falsities from evil and the reasonings thence, by which they will attempt to destroy the woman, that is, the church; but that they will effect nothing, is described by, "the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out" (verse 16).
Elliott(1983-1999) 7293
7293. 'It will then be a water-serpent' means by the prospect that sheer illusions and resulting falsities will reign among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'a serpent' as the sensory and bodily level of mind, dealt with in 6949, and therefore illusions since that level of mind when separated from the rational level, that is, when not subordinate to it, is filled with illusions, to such an extent that it consists of scarcely anything else than illusions, see 6948, 6949. 'A water-serpent' is what is meant here; for in the original language the same word is used for this kind of serpent as that which is used to refer to a monster that is a very large fish of the sea; and 'a (sea-)monster' means factual knowledge in general.
When therefore falsities resulting from illusions are meant by 'the Egyptians', that word used in the original language denotes a serpent - a water-serpent since it can also be used to refer to the monster living in water and 'the water of Egypt' means falsities.
[2] The fact that Pharaoh or Egypt is called 'a monster' is clear in Ezekiel,
Speak and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers. Ezek 29:3.
In the same prophet,
Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, You have become like a young lion of the nations, you are like monsters in the seas, and you have come forth with your rivers; you have stirred up your rivers Ezek 32:2.
Here 'monster' means known facts in general which, being the product of what a person's senses tell him, are used to pervert matters of faith. The reason why 'monster' means factual knowledge in general is that 'a fish' means that knowledge in particular, 40, 991. And since known facts perverting the truths of faith are meant by 'monsters', reasonings based on illusions, which give rise to falsities, are also meant by the same word.
[3] The same things are meant by 'monsters' in David,
You broke up the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the monsters upon the waters. Ps 74:13.
Much the same is also meant by 'leviathan' in Isaiah,
On that day Jehovah will make a visitation with His hard and great and strong sword upon Leviathan the full-length serpent,a and upon Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the monsters that are in the sea. Isa 27:1.
And in David,
You broke in pieces the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food to the people, the Ziim. Ps 74:14.
In the good sense 'Leviathan' stands for reason based on truths, in Job 41:1-34; reason based on truths is the opposite of reasonings based on falsities.
[4] Since 'monsters' means reasonings that are based on illusions and pervert truths, 'water-serpents' - the word for which in the original language is the same as that used for 'monsters' - means the actual falsities resulting from illusions which give rise to reasonings and lead to perversions of the truth. Falsities are meant by such 'serpents' in the following places: In Isaiah,
The iim will reply in its palaces, and serpents in the delightful palaces. Isa 13:22.
In the same prophet,
Thorns will come up into its palaces, thistle and brier in its fortifications, so that it may be a dwelling-place of serpents, a courtyard for daughters of the owl. Isa 34: 13.
In the same prophet,
In the dwelling-place of serpents will his bed be, grass instead of reed and rush. Isa 35:7.
In Jeremiah,
I will make Jerusalem heaps of rubble, the dwelling-place of serpents. Jer 9:11.
In Malachi,
I have turned the mountains of Esau into a waste, and his inheritance into [a place] for the serpents of the wilderness. Mal 1:3.
In all these places 'serpents' stands for falsities on which reasonings are based.
[5] The same things are also meant by 'dragons', but 'dragons' are reasonings that spring from self-love and love of the world, thus from desires for what is evil, which pervert not only truths but forms of good as well. These reasonings are produced by people who in their hearts repudiate the truths and forms of the good of faith, but affirm them with their lips because of their intense desire to obtain dominance and gain. Thus such reasonings are also produced by those who render truths and forms of good profane. Both of these kinds of people are meant by 'the dragon, the serpent of old, who is called the devil and satan, who leads the whole world astray', Rev 12:9, and also by this same dragon which persecuted the woman who had given birth to a son who was caught up to God and to His throne, Rev 11:5, and which emitted water from its mouth like a river, to swallow up the woman, Rev 12:13, 15.
[6] The son to whom the woman had given birth is Divine Truth now revealed at the present day, 'the woman' being the Church. 'The dragon, the serpent' is those who are going to persecute it, and 'the water like a river which the dragon emitted' is falsities arising out of evil and the resulting reasonings which they are going to use in their endeavour to destroy the woman, that is, the Church. But the fact that they will not at all accomplish this is described by the statement that 'the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon emitted', Rev 12:16.
Latin(1748-1756) 7293
7293. `Erit in serpentem aqueum': quod significet per id quod merae fallaciae et inde falsa regnabunt apud illos, constat ex significatione `serpentis' quod sit sensuale et corporeum, de qua n. 6949, inde fallaciae, nam sensuale et corporeum separatum a rationali, hoc est, non ei subordinatum, plenum est fallaciis, in tantum ut vix aliud sint quam fallaciae, videatur n. 6948, 6949. Est `serpens aqueus' qui hic significatur, nam in lingua originali hic serpens {1}per eandem vocem exprimitur {2}per quam balaena, quae est piscis maximus maris, et balaena {3} significat {4}scientificum in communi {5}; cum {6}itaque per Aegyptios significantur falsa ex fallaciis, {7} vox illa significat serpentem, {8} nempe aqueum, quia est pro balaena quae in aquis et quia aquae Aegypti sunt falsa. 2 Quod Pharao seu Aegyptus dicatur `balaena,' constat apud Ezechielem, Loquere et dic, Sic dixit Dominus Jehovih, Ecce Ego contra te Pharao, rex Aegypti, balaena magna, {9}quae cubat in medio fluviorum suorum, xxix 3:apud eundem, (x)Fili hominis, tolle lamentationem super Pharaonem regem Aegypti, et dic ad illum, Leoni gentium juveni similis factus es; tuque sicut balaenae in maribus, et prodiisti cum fluminibus tuis, conturbasti flumina tua, xxxii 2;
ibi per `balaenam' significantur scientifica in communi per quae, quia ex sensuali homine, illa quae fidei sunt pervertuntur; quod `balaena' {10}sit scientificum in communi, est quia piscis est scientificum in particulari, n. 40, 991; et quia `balaenae' significant scientifica pervertentia {11}vera fidei, etiam per illas significantur ratiocinia ex 3 fallaciis, unde falsa; ea significantur per `balaenas' apud Davidem, Tu (x)perrupisti robore Tuo mare, fregisti capita balaenarum super aquis, Ps. lxxiv 13:
similia etiam per `Leviathanem' apud Esaiam, In die illo visitabit Jehovah gladio Suo duro, et magno, et forti, super Leviathanem serpentem oblongum, et super Leviathanem serpentem tortuosum, et occidet balaenas quae in mari, xxvii 1:
et apud Davidem, Confregisti capita Leviathanis, dedisti illum cibum populo Ziim, Ps. lxxiv 14;
(m)`Leviathan' in bono sensu pro ratione ex veris, apud Hiobum, xl 25-32 [A.V. xli 1-8] et xli 1-26 [A.V. xli 9-34]; ratio ex veris est in opposito ratiociniis ex falsis.(n) 4 Et quia per `balaenas' significantur ratiocinia ex fallaciis pervertentia {12}vera, per `serpentes aqueos,' qui eadem voce in lingua originali exprimuntur, significantur ipsa falsa ex fallaciis, ex quibus ratiocinia, et per quae perversiones; {13}falsa per illos serpentes in sequentibus locis significantur: apud Esaiam, Respondebunt {14}jim in palatiis ejus, et serpentes in palatiis deliciarum, xiii 22:
apud eundem, Ascendent in palatia ejus spinae, carduus et sentis in munitiones ejus, ut sit habitaculum serpentum, atrium filiabus noctuae, xxxiv 13:
apud eundem, In habitaculo serpentum cubile ejus, gramen pro calamo et junco, xxxv 7:
apud Jeremiam, Dabo Hierosolymam in acervos, habitaculum serpentum, ix 10 [A.V. 11]:
apud Malachiam, Posui montes Esavi vastitatem, et hereditatem ejus serpentibus deserti, i 3;
in his locis `serpentes' pro falsis ex quibus ratiocinia; eadem quoque 5 per `dracones' significantur, sed `dracones' sunt ratiocinia ex amoribus sui et mundi, ita ex cupiditatibus mali, quae non solum pervertunt {15} vera sed etiam bona; quae ratiocinia prodeunt ex illis qui corde negant vera et bona fidei, sed ore propter libidinem imperandi et lucrandi illa confitentur, ita quoque ex illis {16}qui vera et bona profanant {17}; hi et illi per `draconem, serpentem antiquum, qui vocatur diabolus et satanas, qui seducit totum terrarum orbem,' Apoc. xii 9, intelliguntur; et quoque per eundem, nempe `draconem' qui persecutus est mulierem quae peperit filium raptum ad Deum et ad thronum Ipsius,' ibid. vers. 5, et qui `ejecit ex ore suo aquam sicut fluvium, ut mulierem absorberet,' ibid. vers. 13, 15; `filius quem 6 mulier peperit' est Divinum Verum hodie detectum, `mulier' est Ecclesia, `draco serpens' sunt qui persecuturi, `aqua sicut fluvius quam draco ejiceret' sunt falsa ex malo et inde ratiocinia per quae conaturi mulierem, hoc est, Ecclesiam, destruere; sed quod nihil effecturi sint, describitur per `quod adjuverit terra mulierem, et aperuerit terra os suum et deglutiverit fluvium quem ejecit draco' ibid. vers. 16. @1 After exprimitur$ @2 quae etiam significat balaenam$ @3 i cum de Aegyptiis agitur,$ @4 scientifica$ @5 i n. 42$ @6 autem$ @7 i tunc$ @8 i hic$ @9 qui$ @10 sint scientifica$ @11 verum$ @12 verum fidei$ @13 ratiocinia ex falsis$ @14 See Vol. I, p. 546, footnote 1.$ @15 i et destruunt$ @16 quae$ @17 i et per Babelem significantur$