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Exodus 12

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1 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

2 Let this month be to you the first of months, the first month of the year.

3 Say to all the children of Israel when they are come together, In the tenth day of this month every man is to take a lamb, by the number of their fathers' families, a lamb for every family:

4 And if the lamb is more than enough for the family, let that family and its nearest neighbour have a lamb between them, taking into account the number of persons and how much food is needed for every man.

5 Let your lamb be without a mark, a male in its first year: you may take it from among the sheep or the goats:

6 Keep it till the fourteenth day of the same month, when everyone who is of the children of Israel is to put it to death between sundown and dark.

7 Then take some of the blood and put it on the two sides of the door and over the door of the house where the meal is to be taken.

8 And let your food that night be the flesh of the lamb, cooked with fire in the oven, together with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants.

9 Do not take it uncooked or cooked with boiling water, but let it be cooked in the oven; its head with its legs and its inside parts.

10 Do not keep any of it till the morning; anything which is not used is to be burned with fire.

11 And take your meal dressed as if for a journey, with your shoes on your feet and your sticks in your hands: take it quickly: it is the Lord's Passover.

12 For on that night I will go through the land of Egypt, sending death on every first male child, of man and of beast, and judging all the gods of Egypt: I am the Lord.

13 And the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are: when I see the blood I will go over you, and no evil will come on you for your destruction, when my hand is on the land of Egypt.

14 And this day is to be kept in your memories: you are to keep it as a feast to the Lord through all your generations, as an order for ever.

15 For seven days let your food be unleavened bread; from the first day no leaven is to be seen in your houses: whoever takes bread with leaven in it, from the first till the seventh day, will be cut off from Israel.

16 And on the first day there is to be a holy meeting and on the seventh day a holy meeting; no sort of work may be done on those days but only to make ready what is necessary for everyone's food.

17 So keep the feast of unleavened bread; for on this very day I have taken your armies out of the land of Egypt: this day, then, is to be kept through all your generations by an order for ever.

18 In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day, let your food be unleavened bread till the evening of the twenty-first day of the month.

19 For seven days no leaven is to be seen in your houses: for whoever takes bread which is leavened will be cut off from the people of Israel, if he is from another country or if he is an Israelite by birth.

20 Take nothing which has leaven in it; wherever you are living let your food be unleavened cakes.

21 Then Moses sent for the chiefs of Israel, and said to them, See that lambs are marked out for yourselves and your families, and let the Passover lamb be put to death.

22 And take some hyssop and put it in the blood in the basin, touching the two sides and the top of the doorway with the blood from the basin; and let not one of you go out of his house till the morning.

23 For the Lord will go through the land, sending death on the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the two sides and the top of the door, the Lord will go over your door and will not let death come in for your destruction.

24 And you are to keep this as an order to you and to your sons for ever.

25 And when you come into the land which the Lord will make yours, as he gave his word, you are to keep this act of worship.

26 And when your children say to you, What is the reason of this act of worship?

27 Then you will say, This is the offering of the Lord's Passover; for he went over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he sent death on the Egyptians, and kept our families safe. And the people gave worship with bent heads.

28 And the children of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had given orders to Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 And in the middle of the night the Lord sent death on every first male child in the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power to the child of the prisoner in the prison; and the first births of all the cattle.

30 Then Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and a great cry went up from Egypt; for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

31 And he sent for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Get up and go out from among my people, you and the children of Israel; go and give worship to the Lord as you have said.

32 And take your flocks and your herds as you have said, and be gone; and give me your blessing.

33 And the Egyptians were forcing the people on, to get them out of the land quickly; for they said, We are all dead men.

34 And the people took their bread-paste before it was leavened, putting their basins in their clothing on their backs.

35 And the children of Israel had done as Moses had said; and they got from the Egyptians ornaments of silver and of gold, and clothing:

36 And the Lord had given the people grace in the eyes of the Egyptians so that they gave them whatever was requested. So they took away all their goods from the Egyptians.

37 And the children of Israel made the journey from Rameses to Succoth; there were about six hundred thousand men on foot, as well as children.

38 And a mixed band of people went with them; and flocks and herds in great numbers.

39 And they made unleavened cakes from the paste which they had taken out of Egypt; it was not leavened, for they had been sent out of Egypt so quickly, that they had no time to make any food ready.

40 Now the children of Israel had been living in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the armies of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt.

42 It is a watch-night before the Lord who took them out of the land of Egypt: this same night is a watch-night to the Lord for all the children of Israel, through all their generations.

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the law of the Passover: no man who is not an Israelite is to take of it:

44 But every man's servant, whom he has got for money, may take of it, when he has had circumcision.

45 A man from a strange country living among you, and a servant working for payment, may not take part in it.

46 It is to be taken in one house; not a bit of the flesh is to be taken out of the house, and no bone of it may be broken.

47 All Israel is to keep the feast.

48 And if a man from another country is living with you, and has a desire to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all the males of his family undergo circumcision, and then let him come near and keep it; for he will then be as one of your people; but no one without circumcision may keep it.

49 The law is the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from a strange country who is living with you.

50 So the children of Israel did as the Lord gave orders to Moses and Aaron.

51 And on that very day the Lord took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 3448

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3448. 'And Ahuzzath his companion, and Phicol the commander of his army' means the first and foremost features of their doctrine of faith. This is clear from the representation of 'Abimelech' as the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational concepts. Consequently 'his companion and the commander of his army' means those first and foremost things, indeed the first and foremost things of their doctrine; for 'a commander' like a prince means things that are first and foremost, 1482, 2089, and 'an army' means matters of doctrine themselves. The reason why 'an army' means matters of doctrine which are expressions of truth, that is, which are lower truths, is that by 'warfare' in the Word and by 'war' are meant those things that have to do with spiritual war and warfare, 1664, 1788, 2686. The same are also meant by weapons - by spears, shields, bows, arrows, swords, and so on, as has been shown in various places. And since they are truths or matters of doctrine through which spiritual conflicts are fought, armies therefore mean those truths or matters of doctrine, and also in the contrary sense falsities or heretical ideas.

[2] It may be seen from many places that by 'armies' or 'hosts' in the Word are meant truths or falsities, as in Daniel,

The one [little] horn of the he-goat 1 grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. It drew itself up even towards the pence of the host. His host was set over the continual [burnt offering] on account of the transgression, and it cast down truth to the earth. I heard a holy one speaking. He said, For how long is this vision, the continual burnt offering, and the desolating transgression, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden down? Daniel 8:9-13.

'The horn that grew towards the south, the east, and the glorious [land]' is the power of falsity that springs from evil, 2832, 'the host of heaven' truths, 'the prince of the host' the Lord as regards Divine Truth. And since in the good sense 'an army' or 'a host' is truth it is said that the horn cast down to earth some of the host, and then that it cast down truth to the earth.

[3] In the same prophet,

The king of the north will raise a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the period of years he wit surely come with a great army and with many riches. Then he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south will engage in war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he will not stand. For even those who eat his food will break him, and his army will overflow, and many will fall down slain. Daniel 11:13, 25-26.

The whole of that chapter refers to war between the king of the north and the king of the south. 'The king of the north' is used to mean falsities as also is 'his army', while 'the king of the south and his army' is used to mean truths. It is prophecy concerning the vastation of the Church.

[4] In John,

I saw heaven standing open, and behold, a white horse! and He who sat on it was called faithful and true. He was clothed in a garment dyed in blood, and His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses and were clothed in linen, white and clean. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse and with His army. Revelation 19:11, 13-14, 19.

'He who sat on the white horse' stands for the Word of the Lord, or the Lord as regards the Word, 2760-2762. 'His armies which in heaven were following Him' stands for truths from the Word and so for those in heaven who possess truths. 'The beast' stands for the evils that belong to self-love, 'the kings of the earth and their armies' for falsities. Conflicts between falsity and truth are what are described here.

[5] In David,

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and their host by the spirit of His mouth. Psalms 33:6.

'Their host' or the host of heaven stands for truths. Since 'an army' means truths, the children of the kingdom, and angels, by virtue of the truths which they possess, are called the host of heaven, as in Luke,

Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. Luke 2:13.

In David,

Bless Jehovah, all His hosts, His ministers doing His will. Psalms 103:21.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts. Psalms 148:2.

In Isaiah,

Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these? He who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name. From the multitude of the powerful and of the mighty not a man will be missing. Isaiah 40:26.

In the same prophet,

It was I that made the earth and created man on it. It was I - My hands - that stretched out the heavens; and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:12.

Here 'the host of the heavens' stands for truths, and so for angels since angels, as has been stated, are in possession of truths.

[6] In the first Book of Kings,

I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and the entire host of heaven standing beside Him, on His right hand and on His left. 1 Kings 22:19

In Joel,

Jehovah gave voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; for that which executes His word is uncountable. Joel 2:11.

In Zechariah,

I will pitch by My house a camp composed of an army passing through and resuming, so that the oppressor passes over them no more. Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you. Zechariah 9:8-9.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'His army' stands for Divine truths For this reason, and also because the Lord alone fights on man's behalf against hells that are constantly endeavouring to attack, the Lord is called many times in the Word Jehovah Zebaoth, God Zebaoth, the Lord Zebaoth - that is, Jehovah, God, or Lord of Hosts - as in Isaiah,

The noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah Zebaoth is leading an army of war. Isaiah 13:4.

'The kingdoms of the nations' stands for falsities that spring from evils, 'leading an army of war' for fighting on man's behalf.

[7] Because the twelve tribes of Israel represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, and 'tribes' as well as 'twelve' meant all things of faith in their entirety, that is, all the truths of the kingdom, 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, they were also called Jehovah's hosts, as in Exodus 7:4; 12:17, 41, 51. And commands were given to bring them out of Egypt according to their hosts, Exodus 6:26, to encamp according to their hosts, Numbers 1:52, and to divide them into hosts, Numbers 2:1- end.

[8] That truths are meant by 'armies' is also clear in Ezekiel,

Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, as your men of war; they hung the shield and helmet in you, they gave you your reputation. The sons of Arvad, and your army, were on your walls round about, and the Gammadim were in your towers. Ezekiel 27:10-11.

This refers to Tyre which means interior cognitions of good and truth, and so those who possess them, 1201, 'army' standing for truths themselves 'Lud' and 'Put' too mean those who possess cognitions, see 1163, 1164, 1166, 1195, 1231. 'The shield and helmet' describes such things as belong to spiritual conflict.

[9] As regards 'an army' or 'a host' in the contrary sense meaning falsities, this is evident in Isaiah,

It will be on that day, that Jehovah will visit the host of the height on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. Isaiah 24:21.

Here 'the host of the height' stands for falsities that result from self-love. In Ezekiel,

I will bring you back and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed perfectly, a great company with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords. You will come from your place, from the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great company, a great army. Ezekiel 38:4, 15.

This refers to Gog, who means external worship separated from internal and so made idolatrous, 1151. 'His army' stands for falsities.

[10] In Jeremiah,

I will send against Babel the archer, him who arches his bow and draws himself up in his breastplate. Do not spare the young men; utterly destroy all its host. Jeremiah 51:2-3.

'Babel' stands for worship whose external features appear holy but whose interiors are profane, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326. 'Its host' means the falsities that go with such as these, and the army of Babel in other places has the same meaning as in Jeremiah 34:1, 21; 32:2; 39:1.

In Ezekiel,

Pharaoh will see them and will comfort himself over all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword; for I will put My terror in the land of the living. Ezekiel 32:31-32.

This refers to Egypt, which means those who by means of reasonings based on facts pervert truths, 1164, 1165. 'His army', that is, Pharaoh's, stands for derivative falsities, as also does 'Pharaoh's army' in other places, as in Jeremiah 37:5, 7, 11; 46:2; Ezekiel 17:17.

In Luke,

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its devastation is near. Luke 21:20.

This refers to the close of the age or final period of the Church when faith does not exist any longer. 'Jerusalem' - which means the Church, see 2117 - is 'surrounded by armies' when beset by falsities.

[11] From these quotations it is clear that 'the hosts of heaven', which Jews and Israelite idolaters worshipped, in the internal sense meant falsities. The second Book of Kings says of them,

They forsook all the commandments of their God and made for themselves a molten image of two calves, and made a grove, and bowed down to all the host of heaven. 2 Kings 17:16.

This refers to the Israelites. And elsewhere it is said of Manasseh that he built altars for all the host of heaven, 2 Kings 21:5, and that King Josiah brought out of the temple all the vessels made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven, 2 Kings 23:4. And in Jeremiah it is said that they were to spread the bones of the princes, of the priests, and of the prophets before the sun, the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they had loved and had served and had gone after, Jeremiah 8:1-2. And elsewhere,

The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the king of Judah will be defiled, like the place of Topheth - all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven and have poured out drink offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 19:13.

And in Zephaniah,

I will stretch out My hand against those worshipping on their roofs the host of heaven. Zephaniah 1:5.

It is the stars to which the expression 'the host of heaven' refers primarily, and by 'the stars' is meant truths, and also in the contrary sense falsities; see 1128, 1808.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, The one horn of the he-goat of the she-goats i.e. the little horn that grew up out of one of four horns

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