Bible

 

Exodus 25

Studie

   

1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 Say to the children of Israel that they are to make me an offering; from every man who has the impulse in his heart take an offering for me.

3 And this is the offering you are to take from them: gold and silver and brass;

4 And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;

5 And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood;

6 Oil for the light, spices for the sweet-smelling Oil, sweet perfumes for burning;

7 Beryls and stones of value to be put on the ephod and on the priest's bag.

8 And let them make me a holy place, so that I may be ever present among them.

9 Make the House and everything in it from the designs which I will give you.

10 And they are to make an ark of hard wood; two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide and high.

11 It is to be plated inside and out with the best gold, with an edge of gold all round it

12 And make four rings of gold for it, to be fixed on its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two on the other.

13 And make rods of the same wood, plating them with gold.

14 And put the rods through the rings at the sides of the ark, for lifting it.

15 The rods are to be kept in the rings, and never taken out.

16 Inside the ark you are to put the record which I will give you.

17 And you are to make a cover of the best gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.

18 And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold,

19 One at One end and One at the other; the winged ones are to be part of the cover.

20 And their wings are to be outstretched over the cover, and the winged ones are to be opposite one another, facing the cover.

21 And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you.

22 And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel.

23 And you are to make a table of the same wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high,

24 Plated with the best gold, with a gold edge all round it;

25 And make a frame all round it, as wide as a man's hand, with a gold edge to the frame.

26 And make four gold rings and put them at the four angles, on the four feet of the table;

27 The rings are to be fixed under the frame to take the rods with which the table is to be lifted.

28 Make rods of the same wood, plated with gold, for lifting the table.

29 And make the table-vessels, the spoons and the cups and the basins for liquids, all of the best gold.

30 And on the table at all times you are to keep my holy bread.

31 And you are to make a support for lights, of the best gold; its base and its pillar are to be of hammered gold; its cups, its buds, and its flowers are to be made of the same metal.

32 It is to have six branches coming out from its sides; three branches from one side and three from the other.

33 Every branch having three cups made like almond flowers, every cup with a bud and a flower, on all the branches.

34 And on the pillar, four cups like almond flowers, every one with its bud and its flower:

35 And under every two branches a bud, made with the branch, for all the six branches of it.

36 The buds and the branches are to be made of the same metal; all together one complete work of hammered gold.

37 Then you are to make its seven vessels for the lights, putting them in their place so that they give light in front of it.

38 And the instruments and trays for use with it are all to be of the best gold.

39 A talent of gold will be needed for it, with all these vessels.

40 And see that you make them from the design which you saw on the mountain.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9548

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

9548. 'And you shall make a lampstand' means the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lampstand' as the Divine Spiritual from the Lord in heaven and in the Church. The reason why 'a lampstand' means the Divine Spiritual is that 'the table' on which the loaves of the Presence were laid means the Divine Celestial, as has been shown in what has gone before. The Divine Celestial is the good of love, and the Divine Spiritual the truth of faith derived from that good; and both of these emanate from the Lord, 9227. The lampstand is the Divine Spiritual on account of the light it sheds; for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good is what shines in heaven. There is no other source from which angels receive light. This is why in the Word the Lord is called the Light, and why 'light' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

[2] 'A lampstand' means the spiritual heaven by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord, and therefore also means the Church; and 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone. This is clear from places in the Word where 'lampstand' and 'lamp' are mentioned, as in John,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. The seven lampstands are the seven Churches. Revelation 1:12-13, 20.

And in the same book,

I will remove your lampstand from its place if you do not repent. Revelation 2:5.

A Church is called 'a lampstand' in these places by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord. The fact that 'a lampstand' means a Church is self-evident, for it says, 'The seven lampstands are the seven Churches'. The fact that a Church is called such on account of Divine Truth is evident from the statement, 'I will remove your lampstand if you do not repent'. And the fact that this Truth comes from the Lord [is also self-evident], for it says, 'In the midst of the lampstands one like the Son of Man'; and the Lord is called the Son of Man by virtue of His Divine Truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704.

[3] In the same book,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:3-10.

'The two witnesses' are the Word in both Testaments, in that they bear witness to the Lord. It is called 'an olive tree' by virtue of the Divine Good and 'a lampstand' by virtue of the Divine Truth which come from the Lord.

[4] In Zechariah, when the angel who was speaking said to the prophet,

What do you see? I said to him, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold; its bowl is on top of it, 1 and its seven lamps are on it with seven pipes to the lamps. Two olive trees are beside it, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. Zechariah 4:2-3.

This refers to Zerubbabel, who was about to lay a foundation for God's house and bring it to completion. He represents the Lord, in that He was about to come and to re-establish the spiritual heaven and the Church, these being what is meant by 'a lampstand', and the holy truths there what is meant by 'seven lamps'.

[5] The fact that 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, is clear in John,

The holy Jerusalem has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it. The glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations that are saved will walk in His light. Revelation 21:23-24.

And further on,

There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Revelation 22:5.

'Lamp' in the first quotation stands for Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, and 'light' for faith, and so also for intelligence and wisdom. In the same book,

The light of a lamp will not shine in you any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in you any more. Revelation 18:23.

[6] And in Jeremiah,

I will take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp, that the whole land may be a desolation and devastation. Jeremiah 25:10-11.

This refers to the elimination of faith and consequently of intelligence in spiritual matters meant here by the lamp which will no longer be there and by 'the light of the lamp' which will be taken away.

[7] The like occurs in Job,

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out and [how often] does destruction come upon them? Job 21:17.

In David,

You light my lamp; Jehovah my God makes my darkness bright. Psalms 18:28; 2 Samuel 22:29.

In the same author,

By Your commands I have been made intelligent. Your Word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my path. Psalms 119:104-105.

In Job,

When God causes a lamp to shine over my head I would walk in darkness towards His light. Job 29:3.

In Matthew,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 8:16; 11:33-36.

'The eye' is used here to mean faith and consequent intelligence - the fact that these are meant in the internal sense by 'the eye', see 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051. And from this the meaning of the words, 'If your eye is good your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness' is self-evident. Since faith and consequent intelligence and wisdom is meant by 'a lamp' the kings of Judah are called lamps to David, 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; and David himself is called the lamp of Israel, 2 Samuel 21:16-17. Not that the kings of Judah were lamps; nor was David. Rather they were called such because 'a king' means Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, 6148, and 'David' the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, the source of faith, intelligence, and wisdom, 1888.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, over its head

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9227

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

9227. 'On the eighth day you shall give it to Me' means that in the initial phase of the following state when they lead a life of good they dwell with the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the eighth day' as the initial phase of the following state, dealt with in 2044, 8400 (end); and from the meaning of 'giving to Jehovah' as giving to the Lord since 'Jehovah' is used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. The reason why when they lead a life of good they dwell with the Lord is meant is that the internal sense deals with both states experienced by a person who is being regenerated. The first state is when the person is led by means of the truths of faith towards the good of charity, and the second state is when he has come into that good. Since the person then dwells with the Lord, these things are therefore meant by 'you shall give it to Me'.

A person has two states while being regenerated, the first when he is led by means of the truths of faith towards the good of charity, and the second when he has come into the good of charity, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.

A person is in heaven and so dwells with the Lord when he has come into the good of charity, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139.

[2] Something more must be stated briefly concerning the nature of these two states with a person who is being regenerated. It has been shown already in 9224 that truths which are called matters of faith enter by the external route with a person, and that good which is the good of charity and love enters by the internal route. The external route lies through hearing into the memory, and from the memory into the person's understanding, the understanding being a person's inward sight. The truths which are to become matters of faith enter by the external route to the end that they may be introduced into the will and so be made the person's own. The good which flows in from the Lord by the internal route flows into the will, for the will is the person's inward self. The good coming from the Lord meets, in the outer reaches of the will, the truths that have entered by the external route, and by joining itself to them causes the truths to be converted into good. And to the extent that this takes place order is turned around, that is, the person is not led by truths but by good, consequently is led by the Lord.

[3] From all this one may see the way in which a person is raised from the world to heaven when being regenerated. For everything that enters through hearing enters in from the world; and the things that have been deposited in the memory, then come from the memory and present themselves to the understanding, are seen in the light of the world, which is called natural illumination. But the things which enter the will or come to belong to the will are in the light of heaven, the light of heaven being the truth of good from the Lord. When these things go out of the will into actions they go back into the light of the world; but they now take on in this light a completely different appearance. For initially the world was present within each one of those things, but afterwards heaven is present within each one. These considerations also show why a person is not in heaven until he does truths because he wills them, and so because he has charity and affection for them.

  
/ 10837  
  

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