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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 # 4545

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4545. And purify yourselves, and change your garments. That this signifies that holiness was to be put on, is evident from the signification of “to be purified” or “cleansed,” as being to be sanctified (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “changing the garments,” as being to put on, here to put on holy truths; for in the internal sense of the Word by “garments” are signified truths. It is very evident that to change the garments was a representative received in the church, but what it represented no one can know unless he knows what garments signify in the internal sense (see n. 2576). As the subject here treated of is the rejection of falsities and the disposition of truths by good in the natural, mention is made of the fact that they were commanded by Jacob to change their garments.

[2] That to change the garments was a representative that holy truths were to be put on, may be seen also from other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:

Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, put on thy strength, O Zion, put on the garments of thy adornment, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall not continue to come into thee any more the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isaiah 52:1);

as “Zion” is the celestial church, and “Jerusalem” the spiritual church, and as the celestial church is that which is in good from love to the Lord, and the spiritual church is that which is in truth from faith and charity, therefore “strength” is predicated of Zion, and “garments” of Jerusalem; and it is signified that thereby they were clean.

[3] In Zechariah:

Joshua was clothed with defiled garments, and stood thus before the angel; and [the angel] answered and said unto those that stood before him, saying, Remove the defiled garments from upon him; and unto him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from upon thee by putting on thee change of garments (Zech. 3:3-4);

from this passage also it is evident that to remove the garments and to put on a change of garments, represented purification from falsities, for it is said, “I have made thine iniquity to pass from upon thee.” It was also for this reason that men had changes of garments, and they were so called (whereof occasional mention is made in the Word) because representations were thereby exhibited.

[4] As such things were represented by changes of garments, therefore where the new temple is treated of in Ezekiel, by which in the internal sense is signified a new church, it is said:

When the priests enter in, they shall not go out of the holy place to the outer court, but there they shall lay aside their garments wherein they ministered, for they are holiness, and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which pertain to the people (Ezekiel 42:14).

And again:

When they go forth into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and shall lay them aside in the chambers of holiness, and they shall put on other garments, and shall sanctify the people with other garments (Ezekiel 44:19).

[5] Everyone can see that by the new temple and by the holy city and land, here described by the prophet and in the chapters which precede and follow, is not meant any new temple, nor a new city and a new land, for mention is made of sacrifices and rituals as to be instituted anew which nevertheless were to be abrogated; and mention is also made by name of the tribes of Israel dividing the land into inheritances among themselves, which nevertheless have been dispersed and have never returned. Hence it is evident that by the rituals there mentioned are signified spiritual and celestial things of the church, similar to what are signified by the changes of garments when Aaron ministered, in Moses:

When he maketh a burnt offering he shall put on his clothing, and his linen breeches, the ashes he shall put beside the altar. Afterward he shall put off his garments, and shall put on other garments, and shall bring forth the ashes into a clean place outside the camp, and thus shall he make the burnt-offering (Leviticus 6:9-11).

[6] That to be cleansed denotes to be sanctified, may be seen from the cleansings which were commanded, as that they should wash their flesh and their garments, and that they should be sprinkled with the waters of separation. That no one is sanctified by such things, everyone may know who has any knowledge about the spiritual man; for what has iniquity and sin in common with the garments with which a man is clothed? And yet it is sometimes said that after they had cleansed themselves, they should be holy. From this it is also manifest that the rituals enjoined upon the Israelites were holy simply because they represented holy things; consequently that those who were representative did not thereby become holy as to their persons; but that the holiness abstractedly represented by them affected the spirits who were with them, and thereby the angels in heaven (n. 4307).

[7] For of necessity there must be communication of heaven with man, in order that the human race may subsist, and this by means of the church, for otherwise they would become like beasts, devoid of internal and external bonds; and thus each would rush without restraint to accomplish the destruction of others, and they would annihilate each other. And as at that time this communication was not possible by means of any church, it was therefore provided by the Lord that it should be miraculously effected by means of representatives. That sanctification was represented by the ritual of washing and cleansing, is manifest from many passages in the Word, as when Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, He said to Moses:

Sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready against the third day (Exodus 19:10-11).

In Ezekiel:

I will sprinkle upon you clean waters, and ye shall be cleansed from all your uncleannesses, and I will cleanse you from all your idols, and I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in the midst of you (Ezekiel 36:25-26); where it is manifest that “sprinkling clean waters” represented the purification of the heart; thus that “to be cleansed” is to be sanctified.

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