10136. 'And a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin' means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tenth of an ephah' as a sufficient amount, and the amount needed for the purposes which have to be served, dealt with in 8468, 8540, 9757; from the meaning of 'fine flour' as truth derived from good, dealt with 9995, at this point truth derived from celestial good, which truth is called spiritual good; from the meaning of 'oil' as celestial good, dealt with in 886, 3728, 4582, 4638, 9474, 9780; and from the meaning of 'a quarter of a hin' as the amount needed for a joining together. For 'four' means a joining together, 9601, 9674, so that 'a quarter' or a fourth part means an amount sufficient to accomplish that joining together. The ephah and the hin were measures, and by measures the amount of the thing that is being referred to is meant. By 'an ephah', which was a measure of fine flour, wheat, or barley, the amount of good is meant, and by 'a hin', which was a measure of wine or oil, the amount of truth is meant. The fact that a tenth of an ephah is what should be understood by 'a tenth' is clear from Leviticus 6:20, and elsewhere. From all this it is evident that 'a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin' means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. What spiritual good is and what celestial good is, see the places referred to in 9277.

9757. 'Their pillars, and the bases of these, ten' means the quantity also of supporting forms of good, and of truths springing from these, needed for the purposes they have to serve. This is clear from the meaning of 'pillars' as forms of good which provide support, as above in 9747; from the meaning of 'bases' as truths springing from good which also provide support, dealt with above in 9748; and from the meaning of 'ten' as a sufficient amount or the amount needed for the purposes they have to serve. The situation with the forms of good and the truths that provide support is similar to that with the actual truths that are being supported, 9756; therefore 'ten' here implies much the same as 'fifty' or 'five', that is to say, the amount needed for the purposes they have to serve. Ten is also a product of five when multiplied, being the double of it, and multiple numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones which are their factors, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.