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Exodus 39

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1 And from the needlework of blue and purple and red they made the robes used for the work of the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

2 The ephod he made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen;

3 Hammering the gold into thin plates and cutting it into wires to be worked into the blue and the purple and the red and the linen by the designer.

4 And they made two bands for joining its edges together at the top of the arms.

5 And the beautifully worked band which went on it was of the same design and the same material, worked in gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

6 Then they made the beryl stones, fixed in twisted frames of gold and cut like the cutting of a stamp, with the names of the children of Israel.

7 These he put on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel, as the Lord had said to Moses.

8 The priest's bag was designed like the ephod, of the best linen worked with gold and blue and purple and red.

9 It was square and folded in two, as long and as wide as the stretch of a man's hand;

10 And on it they put four lines of stones: in the first line was a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;

11 In the second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx;

12 In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

13 In the fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they were fixed in twisted frames of gold.

14 There were twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; on every one the name of one of the tribes of Israel was cut, like the cutting of a stamp.

15 And on the bag they put gold chains, twisted like cords.

16 And they made two gold frames and two gold rings, the rings being fixed to the ends of the priest's bag;

17 And they put the two twisted chains on the two rings at the ends of the priest's bag;

18 And the other two ends of the chains were joined to the two frames and fixed to the front of the ephod over the arm-holes.

19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the bag, on the inner side nearest to the ephod.

20 And two other gold rings were put on the front of the ephod, over the arm-holes, at the join, and over the worked band.

21 And the rings on the bag were fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord, keeping it in place over the band, so that the bag might not get loose, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

22 The robe which went with the ephod was made all of blue;

23 With a hole at the top in the middle, like the hole in the coat of a fighting-man, edged with a band to make it strong.

24 The skirts of the robe were worked all round with fruits in blue and purple and red made of twisted linen.

25 And between the fruits all round the skirt they put gold bells, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

26 All round the skirt of the robe were bells and fruits in turn.

27 The coats for Aaron and his sons they made of the best linen;

28 And the twisted head-dress for Aaron, and beautiful head-dresses of linen, and linen trousers,

29 And a linen band worked with a design of blue and purple and red, as the Lord had said to Moses.

30 The plate for the holy crown was made of the best gold, and on it were cut these words, holy TO THE LORD.

31 It was fixed to the head-dress by a blue cord, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

32 So all the work on the House of the Tent of meeting was done; as the Lord had given orders to Moses, so the children of Israel did it.

33 Then they took the House to Moses, the tent with all the things for it; its hooks, its boards, its rods, its pillars, and its bases;

34 The outer cover of sheepskins coloured red, and the cover of leather, and the veil for the doorway;

35 The ark of the law, with its rods and its cover;

36 The table, with all its vessels and the holy bread;

37 The support for the lights, with the vessels for the lights to be put in their places on it, and all its vessels, and the oil for the lights;

38 And the gold altar, and the holy oil, and the sweet perfume for burning, and the curtain for the doorway of the tent;

39 And the brass altar, with its network of brass, and its rods and all its vessels, and the washing-vessel and its base;

40 The hangings for the open space, with the pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the doorway, and the cords and nails, and all the instruments necessary for the work of the House of the Tent of meeting;

41 The robes for use in the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron and his sons when acting as priests.

42 The children of Israel did everything as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

43 Then Moses, when he saw all their work and saw that they had done everything as the Lord had said, gave them his blessing.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9959

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9959. 'And make for them linen undergarments' means an external level of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of 'undergarments' as an external level of conjugial love, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'linen' as external truth or natural truth, also dealt with below. The reason why an external level of conjugial love is meant by 'undergarments' is that garments or coverings derive their meaning from the part of the body they cover, 9827, and the loins and genital organs, which the undergarments clothe or cover, mean conjugial love. For 'the loins' and their meaning this love, see 3021, 4280, 4575; and for 'the genital organs' and their meaning it, 4462, 5050-5062. What truly conjugial love is will be stated below in 9960.

[2] The undergarments were made from linen because 'linen' or 'flax' means external truth or natural truth, 7601, and what constitutes the actual external is truth. The reason why truth constitutes the external is that internal things terminate in external ones and rest on them as their underlying supports, and the underlying supports of good are truths. These are like the foundations on which a house is built or on which a house rests, which is why the truths of faith springing from good are meant by the foundations of a house, 9643. Truths furthermore are what protect forms of good from and withstand evils and falsities, all the power that good possesses being exerted by means of truths, 9643. So it is also that the last and lowest part of heaven is inhabited by those who are guided by truths of faith springing from good. So it is also therefore that what is last or most external with a person, namely his external skin, corresponds to those in heaven who are guided by the truths of faith, 5552-5559, 8980, yet not to those who uphold faith separated from good, since they are not in heaven. From all this it may now be recognized why the undergarments were made from linen or flax. Aaron's undergarment however, when he was clothed with the garments which were 'for glorious adornment', and which have been the subject in the present chapter, was made of fine linen together with interwoven fine linen, as is evident from a later chapter where it says,

They made tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, and a turban of fine linen, and attractive headdresses 1 from fine linen, and linen undergarments with fine twined linen. Exodus 39:27-28.

But when he was clothed with the 'holy garments' Aaron's undergarment was made of linen alone, as is clear from the following in Moses,

When Aaron comes into the sanctuary within the veil he shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarment shall be over his flesh, and he shall gird himself with the linen belt, and place the linen turban on himself. These are holy garments. He shall also wash his flesh with water when he puts them on. He shall then first offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, by means of which he will expiate the holy place from uncleannesses. Leviticus 16:1-end.

[3] The reason why Aaron was to go at that time clothed in the linen garments, which were also called 'the holy garments', was that at that time he was performing the duty of expiating the tent, and also the people and himself from uncleannesses. And every expiation, which was accomplished by means of washings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices, represented purification of the heart from evils and falsities, and so represented regeneration; and purification from evils and falsities, or regeneration, is accomplished by means of the truths of faith. This was why Aaron wore the linen garments then, for the truths of faith are meant by 'linen garments', as stated above.

All purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, see 2799, 5954 (end), 7044, 7918, 9089. So therefore is regeneration, 1555, 2046, 2063, 2979, 3332, 3665, 3690, 3786, 3876, 3877, 4096, 4097, 5893, 6247, 8635, 8638-8640, 8772, 9088, 9089, 9103.

[4] It was for the same reason also that the priest was to put on the linen robe and the linen undergarment when he carried the ash away from the altar, Leviticus 6:9-11, and also that 'the priests, the Levites, from the sons of Zadok' were to put it on, when they entered the sanctuary, regarding whom the following is stated in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall draw near My table to minister to Me. When they enter the gates of the inner court they shall put on the linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them. When they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within, the linen turbans shall be on their heads, and the linen undergarments shall be over their loins. They shall not gird themselves with sweat. 2 Ezekiel 44:15-18.

The subject in this passage is the new temple, by which a new Church is meant. By 'the priests, the Levites' those guided by truths springing from good are meant, and by 'the linen garments' the truths of faith by means of which purification and regeneration are accomplished. 'Not girding themselves with sweat' means that the holy things of worship should not be mingled with the human self; for 'sweat' means the human self or proprium, and the human proprium is nothing but evil and falsity, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 3812 (end), 8480, 8941.

[5] The reason why the undergarment Aaron wore when he was clothed with the garments 'for glorious adornment' was made of linen together with fine twined linen, as is evident from Exodus 39:27-28, quoted above, was that Aaron in those garments represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good in the heavens, Aaron himself representing the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial there, his garments the Lord in respect of the Divine Spiritual there emanating from the Divine Celestial, 9814, and fine linen the Divine Spiritual emanating from the Divine Celestial, 5319, 9469.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, adornments of headdresses

2. i.e. They must not wear garments that will make them sweat

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