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Leviticus 23

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1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

3 Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work: it is a sabbath unto Jehovah in all your dwellings.

4 These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season.

5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, is Jehovah's passover.

6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Jehovah: seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread.

7 In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work.

8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.

9 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest:

11 and he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

12 And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

13 And the meal-offering thereof shall be two tenth parts [of an ephah] of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah for a sweet savor; and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.

14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven sabbaths shall there be complete:

16 even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal-offering unto Jehovah.

17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts [of an ephah]: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baken with leaven, for first-fruits unto Jehovah.

18 And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be a burnt-offering unto Jehovah, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.

19 And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace-offerings.

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before Jehovah, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to Jehovah for the priest.

21 And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day; there shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no servile work: it is a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.

23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

25 Ye shall do no servile work; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.

26 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

27 Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.

28 And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Jehovah your God.

29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day; he shall be cut off from his people.

30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people.

31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye keep your sabbath.

33 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto Jehovah.

35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work.

36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: it is a solemn assembly; ye shall do no servile work.

37 These are the set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a sacrifice, and drink-offerings, each on its own day;

38 besides the sabbaths of Jehovah, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill-offerings, which ye give unto Jehovah.

39 Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.

40 And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days.

41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto Jehovah seven days in the year: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month.

42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths;

43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the set feasts of Jehovah.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9294

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9294. 'And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of [your] labours, which you have sown in the field' means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of the implanting of truth in that good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the feast' as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving, dealt with above in 9286, 9287; from the meaning of 'the harvest' as truth when it becomes fruitful, thus its implantation in good; from the meaning of 'the firstfruits (or the beginnings) of labours' as the things which come at the end of instruction and at the start of life, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'sowing' as giving instruction, dealt with in 9272; and from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church in respect of good, and so the Church's good, dealt with in 2971, 3500, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9141. From these meanings it is evident that 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours, which you have sown in the field' means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving because truth has been planted in good.

[2] The fact that these things are meant by this second feast is clear from what has been stated above in 9286, namely that three feasts were established on account of people's deliverance from damnation, thus on account of their regeneration since it is through regeneration that a person is delivered from hell and brought to heaven. On this account the first feast, which was called the feast of unleavened bread, means purification from falsities; this second feast therefore means the planting of truth in good; and the third feast the implantation of good. For when a person is being regenerated he is first purified from falsities that arise from the evil of self-love and love of the world. That purification is accomplished by his being taught about evil, hell, and damnation, also about good, heaven, and eternal happiness, as a result of which he allows himself to be held back from evil deeds, intentions, and thoughts. When the ground has been prepared in that way, the truths of faith are sown in it, for they are not received before that. But the truths that are sown must be planted in good, for they have no ground anywhere else nor can they take root anywhere else. They are planted in good when a person wills truth, loves it, and does it. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by this feast, which is called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours', for 'the harvest' means truths when productive of good.

[3] When truths have been planted in good a person is no longer led by the Lord by means of truths but by means of good. This comes about when he wills good and does good from love and affection, that is, from charity. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by the third feast, which is called the feast of ingathering.

[4] These three feasts were also called the feast of Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles; regarding these, see Exodus 34:18-22; Leviticus 23:1-end; Deuteronomy 16:1-end. By these three feasts the same things were represented as by the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt, by their being brought into the land of Canaan, and by their dwelling in it. By the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt the same thing was represented as by the first feast, called the Passover. This may be seen to be so from what has been shown regarding the Passover in 7093(end), 7867, 7995. For the bringing out of the children of Israel, on account of which that feast was established, meant the deliverance of those belonging to the spiritual Church from falsities by which they were molested, 7240, 7317, 9197.

[5] By the children of Israel being brought into the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the planting of truth in good, was represented as by this second feast, which was called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours' and also 'the feast of weeks'. For 'the land of Canaan' is the Church in respect of good, and so the Church's good, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447, 4517, 5136, 6516, and 'the children of Israel' - in the abstract, without envisaging actual persons - are spiritual truths, 5414, 5879, 5951.

[6] By the dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the implantation of good and so life in heaven, was represented as by the third feast, which was called 'the feast of ingathering' of the fruits of the earth, and of ingathering from the threshing-floor and the press, also 'the feast of tabernacles'.

From all this it is now evident why three feasts were established, namely for the reason that the human race, which wishes to receive new life from the Lord, is brought out of hell and into heaven, which is accomplished by the Lord through His Coming into the world.

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