3105. “两个镯子” 表神圣真理. 这从 “镯子” 的含义清楚可知. “镯子” 是指真理, 在此指神圣真理, 因为就内义而言, 所论述的主题是主. 经上说镯子有 “两个” 是为了表示完全. 镯子被戴在新娘的手上, 是因为新娘表教会, 她的手表源于真理的能力, “手” 论及真理 (参看3091节). “镯子” 表这类事物, 这一点可见于以西结书 (16:11; 23:42; 参看3103节). 镯子不只是给新娘的, 也是给国王的. 只是国王将它们戴在了手臂上, 这一事实清楚可见于撒母耳记下 (1:10). 原因在于, 王权代表并表示主的神圣真理 (1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009节), “手臂” 表示能力 (878节).

To “dwell” somewhere, then, is significant – it’s much more than just visiting – but is less permanent than living there. And indeed, to dwell somewhere in the Bible represents entering that spiritual state and engaging it, but not necessary permanently. A “dwelling,” meanwhile, represents the various loves that inspire the person who inhabits it, from the most evil – “those dwelling in the shadow of death” in Isaiah 9, for example – to the exalted state of the tabernacle itself, which was built as a dwelling-place for the Lord and represents heaven in all its details. Many people were nomadic in Biblical times, especially the times of the Old Testament, and lived in tents that could be struck, moved and raised quickly. Others, of course, lived in houses, generally made of stone and wood and quite permanent. In between the two were larger, more elaborate tent-style structures called tabernacles or dwellings; the tabernacle Moses built for the Ark of the Covenant is on this model.