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Exodus 22

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1 If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep.

2 If the thief be encountered breaking in, and be smitten so that he die, there shall be no blood-guiltiness for him.

3 If the sun be risen on him, there shall be blood-guiltiness for him; he should have made full restitution: if he had nothing, he would have been sold for his theft.

4 If the stolen thing be actually found alive in his hand, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall restore double.

5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and put in his cattle, and pasture in another man's field, of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard shall he make [it] good.

6 -- If fire break out, and seize the thorns, and the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field be consumed, he that kindled the fire shall fully make it good.

7 -- If a man deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him restore double;

8 if the thief be not found, the master of the house shall be brought before the judges, [to see] if he has not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.

9 As to all manner of fraud, -- as to ox, as to ass, as to sheep, as to clothing, as to everything lost, of which [a man] saith, It is this -- the cause of both parties shall come before the judges: he whom the judges shall condemn shall restore double to his neighbour.

10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any cattle, to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, and no man see [it],

11 an oath of Jehovah shall be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept it, and he shall not make [it] good.

12 But if it have been stolen from him, he shall make [it] good unto its owner.

13 If it have been torn in pieces, let him bring it [as] witness: he shall not make good what was torn.

14 -- And if a man borrow anything of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, its owner not being with it, he shall fully make it good;

15 if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make [it] good; if it be a hired [thing], it came for its hire.

16 And if a man seduce a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall certainly endow her, to be his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall weigh money according to the dowry of virgins.

18 -- Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

19 -- Every one that lieth with a beast shall certainly be put to death.

20 -- He that sacrificeth to [any] god, save to Jehovah only, shall be devoted to destruction.

21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him; for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.

22 Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.

23 If thou afflict him in any way, if he cry at all unto me, I will certainly hear his cry;

24 and my anger shall burn, and I will slay you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 -- If thou lend money to my people, the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer: ye shall charge him no interest.

26 -- If thou at all take thy neighbour's garment in pledge, thou shalt return it to him before the sun goes down;

27 for that is his only covering, his garment for his skin: on what shall he lie down? And it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

28 Thou shalt not revile the judges, nor curse a prince amongst thy people.

29 -- Thou shalt not delay the fulness of thy [threshing-floor] and the outflow of thy [winepress]. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

30 Likewise shalt thou do with thy calf, with thy sheep: seven days shall it be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

31 -- And ye shall be holy men unto me; and ye shall not eat flesh torn in the field: ye shall cast it to the dog.

   

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Money

  

'Money' relates to truth.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 1551)

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Arcana Coelestia # 9688

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9688. 'The work of an embroiderer' means things that belong to factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'the work of an embroiderer', or embroidery, as factual knowledge. A large number of places in the Word speak of that which has been embroidered and of embroidery, and in every case factual knowledge is meant by it. The reason for this goes back to representatives in the next life; there garments embroidered in various ways are seen, and by these garments truths on the level of factual knowledge are meant.

[2] Truths on the level of factual knowledge differ from those on the level of the understanding in the same way as outward things differ from inward ones, or as the natural level with a person differs from the spiritual. Facts serve the understanding as objects from which it may deduce truths; for the power of understanding is the internal or spiritual man's power of sight, and known facts are its objects in the external or natural man. These facts are meant by 'the work of an embroiderer' whereas that power of understanding is meant by 'the work of a designer', 9598, for designing is a function of the understanding, and embroidering a function of the knowledge and skill employed by the understanding. This explains why the objects within the dwelling-place, which were signs meaning inner realities, were the work of a designer, such as the curtains that formed it, verse 1, and the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies, verse 31. But the objects which were signs meaning outer realities were the work of an embroiderer, such as the screen in place of a tent door, and the screen in place of a gate of the court, Exodus 38:18, and also the girdle, Exodus 39:29, 'the girdle' being what is external linking everything internal, 'the court' being the lowest part of heaven, and 'the tent door' the place where there is an exit from the middle heaven into the lowest.

[3] The fact that 'embroidery' and that which has been 'embroidered' mean factual knowledge belonging to the external or natural man is clear from the following places in the Word: In Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidery from Egypt was your sail; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks; [they exchanged for your wares] chrysoprase and purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen. The merchants of Sheba [came] with balls of violet and with embroidered work. Ezekiel 27:7, 16, 24.

This refers to Tyre, by which those in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are meant, and in the abstract sense those cognitions themselves, 1201. 'Fine linen with embroidery' means truth on the level of factual knowledge, for 'fine linen' means truth from a celestial origin, 5319, 9469, and 'embroidery' is factual knowledge. This also is the reason why it says that it came from Egypt - for 'Egypt' means factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 9391 - and also from Syria and from Sheba, since cognitions of truth and good are meant by 'Syria', 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112, and in like manner by 'Sheba', 1171, 3240. Cognitions of truth and good constitute the Church's factual knowledge. Anybody endowed with the ability to think intelligently and weigh things up can see that in these verses from Ezekiel one should not understand embroidery, fine linen, violet, or purple, but that these commodities mean things such as are worthy of mention in the Word, namely spiritual realities that belong to heaven and the Church.

[4] In the same prophet,

All the princes of the sea will step down from upon their thrones, and will cast away their robes and will strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with tremblings. Ezekiel 26:16.

This too refers to Tyre. 'The princes of the sea' are the first and foremost known facts, which are called dogmas, 'princes' meaning things which are first and foremost, see 1482, 2089, 5044, and 'the sea' factual knowledge in general 28, 2850. 'Robes' are external truths, 'embroidered' are truths on the level of factual knowledge, which too are external ones. For the meaning of 'garments' as truths, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 6918, 9093, 9158, 9212, 9216.

[5] In the same prophet,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shod you with badger; I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver; and your garments were fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. But you took your embroidered garments and covered the images, with which you committed whoredom. 1 Ezekiel 16:10, 13, 18.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant. 'Embroidered garments' stands for truths on the level of factual knowledge. 'Covering the images, with which she committed whoredom' stands for giving strength to falsities, for 'committing whoredom' means perverting truths by bringing them into contact with falsities or with evils. Is there anyone who cannot see that since these verses describe Jerusalem 'fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth' are not used to mean fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth? Yet what they really mean the Christian world does not seek to know, because it supposes that heavenly and spiritual matters in the Word reside in its literal sense; the more internal contents of the Word it calls mystical, but has no interest in them.

[6] In the same prophet,

A great eagle with great wings, with long pinions, full of feathers, 2 which had embroidery ... Ezekiel 17:3.

This refers to the house of Israel, which means the spiritual Church; and this Church is called 'an eagle' by virtue of its perception of truth, 3901, 8764, 'which had embroidery' standing for its possession of factual knowledge. In David,

All glorious is the king's daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in an embroidered [robe] she will be led to the king. Psalms 45:13-14.

'The king's daughter' stands for an affection for truth, 'an embroidered [robe]' for factual knowledge of truth. In the Book of Judges,

Will they not divide the spoil, ... the spoil of colours for Sisera, the spoil of colours of embroidered work, embroiderers' colour - on the necks of the spoil? 3 Judges 5:30.

In this verse, which is part of the Song of Deborah and Barak, 'embroidered [work]' stands for factual knowledge belonging to the natural man.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. Here verse 18 of Ezekiel 16 has become confused with the preceding verse 17.

2. literally, A great eagle, great with wings, long with pinions, and full with feathers,

3. The meaning in the Hebrew of this verse is very obscure. The Latin rendering by Sebastian Schmidt, which Swedenborg relies on here, is literal and equally difficult to make sense of.

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