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Deuteronomy 16

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1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

2 And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

4 And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee;

6 but at the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.

8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah thy God; thou shalt do no work [therein].

9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: from the time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the standing grain shalt thou begin to number Seven weeks.

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto Jehovah thy God with a tribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as Jehovah thy God blesseth thee:

11 and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress:

14 and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.

15 Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah shall choose; because Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful.

16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before Jehovah empty:

17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee.

18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.

19 Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar; which Jehovah thy God hateth.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 414

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414. 'Dwelling in a tent' means the holiness of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'tents' in the Word, as in David,

O Jehovah, who will sojourn in Your tent? Who will dwell on Your holy mountain! He who walks blameless and performs righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. Psalms 15:1-2.

Here the holy things of love, which are 'walking blameless and performing righteousness' are described by 'dwelling in a tent' or 'on the holy mountain'. In the same author,

Their line has gone out into all the earth, and their speech to the end of the world. In them He has set a tent for the sun. Psalms 19:4.

Here 'sun' stands for love. In the same author,

I will dwell in Your tent for ever, I will put my trust in the shelter of Your wings. Psalms 61:4

Here 'tent' stands for what is celestial, and 'shelter of Your wings' for what is spiritual deriving from it. In Isaiah,

In compassion a throne was established, and on it there sat in truthfulness in the tent of David, one who judges and who seeks judgement, and hastens in righteousness. Isaiah 16:5

Here again 'tent' stands for the holiness of love, which the phrases judging judgement' and 'hastening in righteousness' are used to describe. In the same prophet,

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feast. May your eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent which is not moved. Isaiah 33:10.

This refers to the heavenly Jerusalem.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I will bring back the captivity of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be built upon its mound. Jeremiah 30:18.

'The captivity of the tents' stands for the vastation of celestial things, that is, of holy things of love. In Amos,

On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen down, and I will close up their breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. Amos 9:11.

Here similarly 'a tabernacle' stands for celestial things and the holy things that go with them. In Jeremiah,

The whole land has been laid waste. Swiftly My tents have been laid waste, suddenly My curtains. Jeremiah 4:20.

And elsewhere in Jeremiah,

My tent has been laid waste, and all My cords torn away. My sons have gone away from Me, and they are not. There is no one stretching out My tent any more, and setting up My curtains. Jeremiah 10:20.

Here 'tent' stands for celestial things, 'curtains' and 'cords' for spiritual things deriving from them. In the same prophet,

They will seize their tents and flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and take away the camels for themselves. Jeremiah 49:29

This refers to Arabia and the sons of the east, who represent people who are in possession of celestial things, that is, things that are holy. In the same prophet,

The Lord has poured out His fierce anger like fire on the tent of the daughter of Zion. Lamentations 2:4.

This stands for the vastation of the celestial or holy things of faith.

[3] The reason 'a tent' stands in the Word for the celestial or holy things of love is that in ancient times people carried out holy worship, each within his own tent. When however they started to render their tents unholy by profane acts of worship the Tabernacle was built, and later on the Temple. Consequently that which 'the Tabernacle' meant, and later on 'the Temple', was also what 'tents' meant. And someone who was holy was therefore called a tent, also a tabernacle, and the Lord's temple as well. That 'tent', 'tabernacle', and 'temple' all have the same meaning is clear in David,

One thing have I sought from Jehovah, that will I ask for, that I may remain in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold Jehovah in His beauty, and visit Him every morning in His temple. For He will shelter me in His tabernacle on the day of evil. He will hide me in the hiding-place of His tent, He will lift me up upon a rock and now my head will be lifted up against my enemies round about me, and I will sacrifice in His tent the sacrifices of shouts of joy. Psalms 27:4-6.

[4] In the highest sense it is the Lord as regards His Human Essence who is the Tent, the Tabernacle, and the Temple. And every one who is celestial is consequently referred to in the same way, as well as every thing which is celestial and holy. Now because the Most Ancient Church was the Lord's beloved more than the Churches that followed, and because in those times people used to live independently, that is, each within his own family, celebrating holy worship each in his own tent, tents were consequently considered to be more holy than the temple which had been profaned. To remind people of this point the Feast of Tabernacles was therefore instituted when they had to gather in the produce of the earth. During this feast they were required to live in tabernacles as the most ancient people had done, Leviticus 23:39-44; Deuteronomy 16:13; Hosea 12:9.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.