8809. Come not near unto a woman. That this signifies the purification of the good of faith, is evident from the fact that the marriages with the Israelitish nation were impure, because their interiors were filthy; for conjugial love descends from the marriage of good and truth; and therefore those who as to the interiors are not in good and truth cannot be in pure marriage; and they who as to the interiors are in evil and falsity, as was that nation, are in impure marriage. Hence it is that "not to come near unto a woman" denotes to abstain from what is impure. (That conjugial love descends from the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth, see n. 2727-2759, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835; and that with the people descended from Jacob there was not anything conjugial, and therefore it was permitted them to have more than one wife, n. 3246.) But as regards those who are of the spiritual church and are here represented by the sons of Israel, neither are they in anything conjugial until with them truth has been implanted in good. Before this is the case, there is indeed marriage, but not pure marriage, for in the interiors there is not before this a marriage of good and truth. Hence it is that by "not to come near unto a woman" is signified in the internal sense to be purified as to the good of faith; for in this chapter the good in which truth has not yet been implanted is treated of, and in the following chapters the implanting.