4303. Therefore the sons of Israel eat not the nerve of that which was displaced, which is upon the hollow of the thigh. That this signifies that those truths were not appropriated in which were falsities, is evident from the signification of "eating," as being to be conjoined and appropriated (see n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 3596, 3832); and from the signification of a "nerve" as being truth; for truths in good are circumstanced as are nerves in the flesh, and moreover in the spiritual sense truths are nerves, and good is flesh (n. 3813). Similar things are also signified by sinews* and flesh in Ezekiel:
Thus said the Lord Jehovih unto these bones, I will put sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and I will put breath in you; and I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up (Ezek. 37:5-6, 8).
Here the subject treated of is the new creation of man, that is, his regeneration. But when truths have been distorted, they then no longer become truths, but in proportion as they are distorted to what is opposite, they accede to falsities; and hence it is that by the "nerve of that which was displaced" is signified falsity. (That the hollow of the thigh is where there is the conjunction of conjugial love with natural good, consequently where there is influx of spiritual truth into natural good, may be seen above, n. 4277, 4280.) Hence it is evident that by "therefore the sons of Israel eat not the nerve of that which was displaced which is upon the hollow of the thigh," is signified that those truths were not appropriated in which were falsities. That these things are said of the sons of Israel because by "Israel" is signified the Divine celestial spiritual, may be seen above (n. 4286), and by "sons" truths (n. 489, 491, 2623); and thus the meaning is that the truths of the Divine celestial spiritual did not appropriate to themselves any falsities.
* The Latin word nervus means both a nerve and a sinew. That in Gen. 32 the great nervus ischiadicus or sciatic nerve is meant, see n. 5051. [Reviser]
