8408.“那时我们坐在肉锅旁”表一种随心所欲的生活。这从“锅”和“肉”的含义清楚可知：“锅”是指一个盛良善的容器，在反面意义上是指一个盛邪恶的容器，如下文所述；“肉”是指天堂的自我，在反面意义上是指人自己的自我，因而是指邪恶，也如下文所述。由于“肉”表示人的自我，所以“坐在肉锅旁”表示一种随心所欲的生活；事实上，这种生活是自我的生活。“锅”之所以表示一个盛良善的容器，在反面意义上表示一个盛邪恶的容器，是因为锅中所煮的肉表示良善，在反面意义上表示邪恶。“锅”因具有这种含义，故也表示人心智的肉体层或属世层，因为这些是盛良善或邪恶的容器。因此，就普遍意义而言，“锅”表示一个人，就不怎么普遍的意义而言，表示一个人民或一座城；当“锅”表示这些时，“肉”就表示它们里面的良善或邪恶；如以西结书：
图谋罪孽，在这城中设恶谋的人说，时候尚未临近，这城是锅，我们是肉。所以主耶和华如此说：你们杀死的人，就是你们放在城中间的，他们是肉，这城就是锅。（以西结书11:2，3，7）
此处“锅”表示城或城中的人民；“肉”表示邪恶；因被称为“肉”的“被杀者”是指那些良善和真理在其中已经被消灭的人（参看4503节）。
同一先知书：
要向这悖逆之家设比喻对他们说，主耶和华如此说：将锅放在火上，放好了，就倒水在其中，将一切肥美的肉块，腿和肩都聚在其中；拿美好的骨头把锅装满；主耶和华如此说：祸哉！这流人血的城，就是长锈的锅。其中的锈未曾除掉。（以西结书24:3，4，6）
此处“锅”表示一座城，或那里的人民，对良善的亵渎所产生的邪恶就存在于他们中间；锅中的美物或肉是“腿和肩”，邪恶是由此而来的“锈”；对良善的亵渎是剩下的“锈”（即未除掉的锈）；也正因如此，这城被称为“流人血的城”。
耶利米书：
耶和华对耶利米说，你看见什么？我说，我看见一个烧开的锅，面朝北；然后耶和华说，必有灾祸从北方发出，临到这地的一切居民。（耶利米书1:13-14）
此处“烧开的锅”表示被虚假占据的一个人民；“北”表示人心智的感官和肉体层，邪恶由此涌出。此处论述的主题是教会的终结，那时，外在的东西，因而感官和肉体层，连同这些虚假和邪恶一同掌权；因为主的教会按照一系列的阶段从内在转向外在，然后气绝而亡。
撒迦利亚书：
当那日，马的铃铛上必有“归耶和华为圣”的这句话。耶和华殿内的锅必如祭坛前的碗一样。凡耶路撒冷和犹大的锅，都必归万军之耶和华为圣。凡献祭的都必来取这锅，煮肉在其中。（撒迦利亚书14:20，21）
此处论述的主题是忠信之人的拯救；忠信之人就是“锅”，他们因从主接受良善而被如此称号；与正因他们接受这良善，所以经上说这锅“归耶和华为圣”；上有为圣的“马的铃铛”表示对应于良善的真理。由于“锅”表示良善的接受者和容器，所以它们和祭坛上的其它器皿一样，也是铜制的（出埃及记38:3）；因为“铜”表示属世层的良善（参看425，1551节）。
另外，“锅”表示教会，因为教义包含教会的良善和真理在里面。我们在列王纪所读到的以利沙给先知门徒煮汤所用的“锅”就表示教义：
以利沙又来到吉甲。那地正有饥荒，先知门徒坐在他面前，他吩咐仆人说，你将大锅放在火上，给先知门徒熬汤。其中一个人去到田野掐菜，遇见一棵野瓜藤，就从上面摘了野瓜，切了搁在熬汤的锅中。吃的时候，都喊叫说，神人啊，锅中有致死之物！以利沙说，拿点面来。就把面撒在锅中说，倒出来，给众人吃吧！锅中就没有毒了。（列王记下4:38-41）
要知道，一切神迹都涉及与主的国度和教会有关的那类事物（7337，8364节），“以利沙”代表主的圣言（2762节），“先知”代表源于圣言的教义（2534，7269节）。由此可见，这个奇迹代表的与教会有关的事物是什么，即：被歪曲的教会良善可通过来自圣言的真理再次变成良善；“饥荒”是指缺乏对真理和善的认知或知识；“锅”是指教义；“汤”是指犹太教会的外在仪式的良善；“野瓜藤上的野瓜”是指歪曲；“面”是指来自圣言的真理（2177节），用来使“锅中的致死之物”所表示的被歪曲的东西再次变成良善。“锅”之所以表示盛良善的容器，是因为锅是用来准备食物的有用器皿之一，而“食物”及其一切种类都表示诸如滋养灵魂的那类事物，因而表示对良善和真理的情感（681，1480，3114，4792，5147，5293，5340，5342，5576，5915节）。
Potts(1905-1910) 8408
8408. When we sat by the flesh-pot. That this signifies a life according to what they like, and as they had desired, is evident from the signification of a "pot," as being a containant of good, and in the opposite sense a containant of evil (of which below); and from the signification of "flesh," as being the heavenly own, thus good, and in the opposite sense man's own, thus evil (of which also below); and as by "flesh" is signified one's own, so by "sitting by the flesh-pot" is signified a life according to what they like, and as they desire, for this life is the life of one's own. A "pot" denotes a containant of good, and in the opposite sense a containant of evil, for the reason that by the flesh which is boiled in it is signified good, and in the opposite sense evil. As a "pot" has this signification, therefore by it is also signified the corporeal or natural of man, because these are the containants of good or of evil. Therefore in the universal sense by a "pot" is signified a man, and in a still more universal sense a people or a city, and then "flesh" signifies the good or the evil therein; as in Ezekiel:
The men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city, saying, It is not near, itself is the pot, We are the flesh; therefore thus said the Lord Jehovih, Your slain whom ye have put in the midst of it, these are the flesh, but itself is the pot (11:2, 3, 7);
here "the pot" denotes the city, or the people there; and "the flesh" denotes evil; for "the slain," who are called "the flesh," denote those with whom good and truth have been extinguished (see n. 4503). [2] Again:
Utter a parable against the house of rebellion, and say unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah, Set on the pot, set it on, and also pour the pieces into it, every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice of the bones; said the Lord Jehovih, Woe to the city of bloods, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it (Ezek. 24:3, 4, 6);
here "the pot' denotes a city, or the people there, in whom is the evil of the profanation of good; the good which is "the flesh" there, is "the thigh and the shoulder," the evil is "the scum" therefrom; the profanation of good is the remaining "scum;" therefore also it is called "the city of bloods." [3] In Jeremiah:
Jehovah said unto Jeremiah, What seest thou? I said, I see a pot that is boiling, whose face is toward the north; then Jehovah said, From the north evil shall be opened upon all the inhabitants of the land (1:13-14);
here a "boiling pot" denotes a people whom falsities have taken possession of; "the north" denotes the sensuous and corporeal of man from which evil springs. The end of the church is here treated of, when the external, consequently the sensuous and corporeal, and with these falsity and evil, rule; for the Lord's church goes successively from internal to external, and then expires. [4] In Zechariah:
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness to Jehovah; and the pots in the house of Jehovah shall be like the bowls before the altar; and every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth, and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them and shall boil in them (14:20, 21);
the salvation of the faithful is here treated of; the faithful are "the pots," so called from the reception of good from the Lord, and from this the pot is called "Holiness to Jehovah;" "the bells of the horses upon which is Holiness" denote truths corresponding to good. As "pots" denote recipients and containants of good, therefore also these together with the rest of the vessels of the altar were made of brass (Exod. 38:3); for "brass" signifies the good of the natural (see n. 425, 1551). [5] Moreover by "a pot" is signified doctrine, because of its containing the good and truth of the church. Doctrine is signified by "the pot" in which by command of Elisha pottage was boiled for the sons of the prophets of which we read in the second book of Kings:
Elisha returned to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land, when the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: he said to his lad, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets: one went out into the field to gather vegetables, and found a vine of the field, and gathered from it wild gourds of the field, and shred them into the pot of pottage: while they were eating of the pottage they cried, death in the pot, O man of God! but he said that they should take meal, which he threw into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, and let them eat; then there was no evil thing in the pot (4:38-41);
be it known that all Divine miracles involve such things as are of the Lord's kingdom and church (n. 7337, 8364), and that Elisha represents the Word of the Lord (n. 2762), and the prophets the doctrines therefrom (n. 2534, 7269); whence it is evident what of the church was represented by this miracle, namely, that the good of the church which has been falsified becomes good by means of truth from the Word; "famine" denotes a lack of the knowledges of truth and of good; "the pot," doctrine; "pottage," the good of the external rituals of the Jewish church; "wild gourds from the vine of the field," falsification; "meal," truth from the Word (n. 2177), whereby that which has been falsified, and which is "death in the pot," becomes good. That "pots" signify containants of good, is because they were among the useful vessels in which food was prepared, and by food and all kinds of it are signified such things as nourish the soul, thus affections of good and of truth (n. 681, 1480, 3114, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5915).
Elliott(1983-1999) 8408
8408. 'When we sat by a pot of flesh' means a life according to their own pleasure, and such as they craved for. This is clear from the meaning of 'a pot' as a container of good, and in the contrary sense a container of evil, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'flesh' as the heavenly proprium, thus good, and in the contrary sense as the proprium that is man's own, thus evil, also dealt with below.a And since 'flesh' means the proprium, 'sitting by a pot of flesh' means a life according to one's own pleasure, and such as one craves for; for that is the life of the proprium. The reason why 'a pot' means a container of good, and in the contrary sense a container of evil, is that 'the flesh' cooked in it means good and in the contrary sense evil. And having these meanings 'a pot' also means the bodily level or the natural level of the human mind, since these are containers of good or of evil. This being so, it is used in a general sense to mean a person, and in an even more general sense to mean a people or a city; and when 'a pot' is used to mean these, 'flesh' means the good or the evil that is in them, as in Ezekiel,
... the men who think iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, saying, [The time] is not near; [the city] itself is the pot, we are the flesh. Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovih, Your slain whom you have placed in the midst of it,b they are the flesh, but it is the pot. Ezek 11:2, 3, 7.
Here 'the pot' stands for the city or the people there, and 'the flesh' for evil, since 'the slain', who are called 'the flesh', are those among whom goodness and truth have been wiped out, 4503.
[2] In the same prophet,
Tell a parable against the house of rebellion, and say to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour [water into it gather] the pieces into it - every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice of the bones. The Lord Jehovih said, Woe to the city of blood,c to the pot whose scum is in it, and whose scum has not gone out of it! Ezek 24:30.
Here 'the pot' stands for the city or the people there, among whom there exists the evil that results when good is profaned. The good or flesh there is 'the thigh and the shoulder'; the evil is 'the scum' coming from it, and good when profaned is the scum remaining, which also accounts for the city's being called 'the city of blood'.
[3] In Jeremiah,
Jehovah said to Jeremiah, What do you see? I said, A puffed out pot do I see, its face towards the north. Then Jehovah said, From the north evil will be opened over all the inhabitants of the land. Jer 1:11-14.
'A puffed-out pot' stands for a people whom falsities have taken possession of, and 'the north' for the sensory and bodily levels of the human mind, from which evil pours out. The subject here is the end of the Church, when what belongs to the external and therefore to sensory and bodily levels, together with falsity and evil, has dominion; for the Lord's Church moves in a series of stages from what is internal to what is external, at which point it breathes its last.
[4] In Zechariah,
On that day there will be on the horses' bells, Holiness to Jehovah. And the pots in the house of Jehovah will be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth; and all offering sacrifice will come, and take from them, and cook in them. Zech 14:20, 21.
The subject here is the salvation of faithful believers, faithful believers being 'the pots', which they are called because they receive good from the Lord; and because they receive that good every 'pot' is said to be 'holiness to Jehovah'. 'The bells of the horses, with Holiness on them' are truths in agreement with good. Since 'pots' are recipients and containers of good, they like all the other vessels for the altar were made of bronze, Exod 38:3; for 'bronze' means the good of the natural, 425, 1551.
[5] In addition to this 'the pot' may mean religious teachings because these hold the Church's good and truth within them. Such teachings are meant by 'the pot' in which at Elisha's command a soup was boiled for the sons of the prophets, described as follows in the second Book of Kings,
Elisha came again to Gilgal, when there was a famine in the land. When the sons of the prophets were sitting before him he said to his servant, Put on a great pot, and boil a soup for the sons of the prophets. One of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds, and cut them up into the pot of soup. While they were eating of the soup they cried out, There is death in the pot, O man of God! But he said that they should bring pour, which he threw into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people and let them eat Then there was not anything bad in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.
It should be recognized that all Divine miracles have to do with things connected with the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 7337, 8364, and that 'Elisha' represents the Word of the Lord, 2762, and 'prophets' teachings derived from it, 2534. 7269. From this one may see what thing connected with the Church was represented by this miracle, which was that if the Church's good has been falsified it is made good again by means of truth from the Word. 'A famine' is a lack of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good; 'the pot' is religious teachings; 'soup' is the good of the Jewish Church's outward religious observances; 'gourds from a wild vine' is falsification; and 'flour' is truth from the Word, 2177, used to make good again that which has been falsified, meant by 'death in the pot'. The reason why 'pots' means containers of good is that they were included among the utensils in which food was prepared, and 'food', every kind of it, means such things as nourish the soul, that is, affections for good and truth, 681, 1480, 3114, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5410, 5915.
Latin(1748-1756) 8408
8408. `In sedendo nos ad ollam carnis': quod significet vitam secundum libitum, et sicut concupiverunt, constat ex significatione `ollae' quod sit continens boni, et in opposito sensu continens mali de qua sequitur; et ex significatione `carnis' quod sit proprium caeleste, ita bonum, et in opposito sensu proprium hominis, ita malum, de qua etiam sequitur; et quia per `carnem' significatur proprium, ita {1}per `sedere ad ollam carnis' significatur vita secundum libitum, et sicut concupiscitur, nam haec vita est vita proprii. Quod `olla' sit continens boni, et in opposito sensu continens mali, est quia per `carnem' quae in illa coquitur, significatur bonum, et in opposito sensu malum; quia olla (t)id est, ideo per illam etiam significatur corporeum vel naturale hominis, quia haec sunt continentia boni vel mali, inde in universali sensu per illam significatur {2} homo, et in adhuc universaliore populus aut urbs, et tunc `caro' significat bonum {3}vel malum in illis, ut apud Ezechielem, Viri qui cogitant iniquitatem, et consulunt consilium malitiae in urbe hac, dicentes, Non prope est; ipsa olla est, nos caro; quare sic dixit Dominus Jehovih, Confossi vestri quos posuistis in medio illius, hi caro, ipsa vero olla, xi [2,] 3, 7;hic `olla' pro urbe seu populo ibi, et `caro' pro malo, nam `confossi,' qui dicuntur `caro,' sunt apud quos {4}bonum et Verum exstinctum est, n. 4503: apud eundem, 2 (x)Paraboliza contra domum rebellionis parabolam, et dic ad illos, Sic dixit Dominus Jehovih, Appone ollam, appone etiamque affunde frusta in illam, omne frustum bonum, femur et umerum, electione ossium imple; dixit Dominus Jehovih, Vae urbi sanguinum, ollae cujus spuma in illa, et cujus spuma non exiit ex illa! xxiv 3-6;
hic `olla' pro urbe seu populo ibi, in quo malum profanationis boni, bonum quod caro ibi est `femur et umerus,' malum est `spuma' inde, profanatio boni est `spuma' remanens, {5}ideo quoque `urbs sanguinum' vocatur: apud Jeremiam, 3 Dixit Jehovah ad Jeremiam, Quid tu vides? dixi, Ollam exsufflatam ego video, cujus facies versus septentrionem; tunc dixit Jehovah, A septentrione aperietur malum super omnes habitatores terrae, i 11-14;
`olla exsufflata' pro populo quem falsa occuparunt, `septentrio' pro sensuali et (x)corporeo hominis, e quo malum scaturit; agitur hic de Ecclesiae fine, quando externum, proinde {6}sensuale et corporeum, et cum illis falsum et malum, {7}dominantur, nam Ecclesia Domini ab interno vadit successive ad externum, et tunc exspirat: apud Sachariam, 4 In die illo erit super tintinnabulis equorum, Sanctitas Jehovae; et erunt ollae in domo Jehovae sicut crateres coram altari; et erit omnis olla in Hierosolyma et Jehudah, sanctitas Jehovae Zebaoth, et venient omnes sacrificantes, et sument de illis, et coquent in illis, xiv 20, 21;
agitur hic de salvatione fidelium; fideles sunt `ollae,' ita dicti (c)a receptione boni a Domino, inde vocatur olla `sanctitas Jehovae'; `tintinnabula equorum, super quibus Sanctitas,' sunt vera correspondentia bono. Quia `ollae' sunt recipientia et continentia boni, ideo etiam illae cum reliquis vasis altaris confectae erant ex aere, Exod. xxxviii 3, nam `aes' significat bonum naturalis, n. 425, 1551. 5 Etiam per `ollam' {8}significatur doctrina ex eo quod {9}contineat bonum et verum Ecclesiae; {10}doctrina significatur per `ollam,' in qua {11}ex jussu Elisaei pulmentum coquebatur filiis prophetarum, de qua ita in Libro 2 Regum, (x)Elischah rediit ad Gilgalem cum fames in terra, cum filii prophetarum sederent coram illo; dixit puero suo, Appone ollam magnam, et coque pulmentum filiis prophetarum; exivit unus in agrum ad colligendum olera, et invenit vitem agri, et collegit de illa colocynthidas agri, et concidit in ollam pulmenti; cum comederent de pulmento, clamarunt, Mors in olla, vir Dei! sed dixit ut acciperent farinam, quam jecit in ollam, et dixit, Effunde populo et comedant; tunc non fuit res mala in olla, iv 38-42;
sciendum quod miracula Divina omnia involvant talia quae sunt regni Domini (c)et Ecclesiae, n. 7337, 8364, et quod {12}`Elisaeus' repraesentet Verbum Domini, {13} n. 2762, {14}et `prophetae' {15} doctrinas inde, n. 2534, 7269; inde patet quid Ecclesiae repraesentatum est per hoc miraculum, (t)nempe quod bonum {16}Ecclesiae falsificatum fiat bonum per verum e Verbo; `fames' est defectus cognitionum veri et boni, `olla' est doctrina, `pulmentum' bonum {17} ritualium externorum Ecclesiae Judaicae, `colocynthides ex vite agri' {18}est falsificatio, `farina' est verum e Verbo, n. 2177, ex quo illud falsificatum, quod est `mors in olla,' fit bonum. Quod `ollae' significent continentia boni, est quia inter vasa utensilia {19}erant in quibus {20}praeparabatur cibus, et per `cibum' (c)ac omnia ejus genera significantur talia quae nutriunt animam, ita affectiones boni et veri, n. 681, 1480, 3114, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5410, 5915. @1 quoque per illam$ @2 i ipse$ @3 aut$ @4 verum et bonum$ @5 inde$ @6 corporeum et sensuale$ @7 dominatur$ @8 significantur doctrinae$ @9 contineant$ @10 doctrinae significantur$ @11 Elischah pulmentum coxit$ @12 Elischah$ @13 i videatur$ @14 d et i quodque$ @15 i repraesentent$ @16 doctrinae$ @17 i ejus imprimis$ @18 sunt falsa ibi injecta$ @19 sunt$ @20 praeparatur$