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Exodus 39

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1 And of the blue and purple and scarlet they made garments of service, for service in the sanctuary, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.

3 And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it [into] wires, to work it artistically into the blue, and into the purple, and into the scarlet, and into the byssus.

4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joining it: at its two ends was it joined together.

5 And the girdle of his ephod, which was on it, was of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

6 And they wrought the onyx stones mounted in enclosures of gold, engraved with the engravings of a seal, according to the names of the sons of Israel.

7 And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

8 And he made the breastplate of artistic work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.

9 It was square; double did they make the breastplate, a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, doubled.

10 And they set in it four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald -- the first row;

11 and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond;

12 and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;

13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; mounted in enclosures of gold in their settings.

14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.

15 And they made on the breastplate chains of laced work of wreathen work, of pure gold.

16 And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

17 And they put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;

18 and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] they fastened to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof.

19 And they made two rings of gold, and put [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards.

20 And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof, just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod.

21 And they bound the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with lace of blue, that it might be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

22 And he made the cloak of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;

23 and the opening of the cloak in its middle, as the opening of a coat of mail; a binding was round about the opening, that it should not rend.

24 And they made on the skirts of the cloak pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet, twined.

25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates, in the skirts of the cloak, round about, between the pomegranates:

26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about, for service; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

27 And they made the vests of byssus of woven work, for Aaron, and for his sons;

28 and the turban of byssus; and the ornamental caps, of byssus; and the linen trousers, of twined byssus;

29 and the girdle, of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of embroidery; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

30 And they made the thin plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold, and wrote on it with the writing of the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah!

31 And they fastened to it a lace of blue, to fasten [it] on the turban above; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

32 And all the labour of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was ended; and the children of Israel had done [it] according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses -- so had they done [it].

33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses -- the tent, and all its utensils, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its bases;

34 and the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the veil of separation;

35 the ark of the testimony, and its staves, and the mercy-seat;

36 the table, all its utensils, and the shewbread;

37 the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps set in order, and all its utensils, and the oil for the light;

38 and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the incense of fragrant drugs; and the curtain for the entrance of the tent;

39 the copper altar, and the copper grating that was for it, its staves and all its utensils; the laver and its stand;

40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases; and the curtain for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the vessel's of service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;

41 the garments of service, for service in the sanctuary; the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to serve as priests.

42 According to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses, so had the children of Israel done all the labour.

43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded -- so had they done [it]; and Moses blessed them.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 5319

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5319. 'And clothed him in robes of fine linen' means an outward sign denoting the celestial of the spiritual, 'robes of fine linen' being truths going forth from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'robes' as truths, dealt with in 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248. The reason 'robes of fine linen' means truths going forth from the Divine is that a robe made of fine linen was absolutely white and at the same time shining, and truth going forth from the Divine is represented by robes which have that kind of brightness and splendour. And the reason for this is that heaven derives its brightness and splendour from the light that flows from the Lord; and the light that flows from the Lord is Divine Truth itself, 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 1776, 3195, 3222, 3339, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3862, 4415, 4419, 4526, 5219. This explains why, when the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His clothing appeared as the light, Matthew 17:2; glistening, intensely white like snow, as no fuller on earth could bleach them, Mark 9:3; and dazzling, Luke 9:29. It was Divine Truth itself going forth from the Lord's Divine Human that was represented in this manner. But they are exterior truths that are represented in heaven by the brightness of robes, whereas interior truths are represented by the brightness and splendour of the face. This is why 'being clothed in robes of fine linen' at this point means an outward sign denoting truth going forth from the celestial of the spiritual, for this was what the Lord's Divine consisted in at this time.

[2] There are other places too in the Word where truth going forth from the Divine is meant by 'fine linen' and 'robes of fine linen', as in Ezekiel,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shed you with badger, and swathed you in fine linen, and covered you in silk. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your robes were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. Ezekiel 16:10, 13.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used in these verses to mean the Ancient Church. The truths of this Church are described by robes made of embroidered cloth, fine linen, and silk, and by being adorned with gold and silver. 'Embroidered cloth' means truths existing as facts, 'fine linen' natural truths, and 'silk' spiritual truths.

[3] In the same prophet,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, which too is used to mean the Ancient Church, but so far as cognitions of good and truth are concerned. 'Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, which was its sail' means truth obtained from factual knowledge, which was the outward sign of that Church.

[4] In John,

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over Babylon, since no one buys their wares any more, wares of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and bronze, and iron, and marble. Revelation 18:11-12.

All the specific commodities mentioned here mean the kinds of things that have to do with the Church and so truth and goodness. Here however they are used in the contrary sense because they are spoken of in reference to Babylon. Anyone may see that such commodities would never have been listed in the Word which has come down from heaven unless each one held something heavenly within it. What other reason can there be for a list of worldly wares when Babylon, meaning an unholy Church, is the subject? Similarly in the same book,

Woe, woe, the great city, you that were clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, covered 1 with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. Revelation 18:16.

[5] The fact that each commodity means something Divine and heavenly is quite evident in the same book where it states what fine linen is, namely the righteous acts of the saints,

The time of the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. At that time she was given fine linen, clean and shining, to wear; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8.

'Fine linen' is 'the righteous acts of the saints' for the reason that all those with whom truth received from the Divine exists are clothed with the Lord's righteousness. For their robes which are bright and shining are products of the light which flows from the Lord. Therefore in heaven truth itself is represented by 'brightness', 3301, 3997, 4007; and people who are being raised to heaven from a state of vastation are seen to be clothed with brightness because they are at this point casting off the robe of their own righteousness and putting on that of the Lord's righteousness.

[6] So that truth from the Divine might be represented in the Jewish Church, they were commanded to use cotton or fine linen in Aaron's vestments, and also in the curtains around the Ark, referred to in Moses as follows,

You shall make in chequered pattern for Aaron a tunic of cotton, and you shall make a turban of cotton. Exodus 28:39.

They made tunics of cotton, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons. Exodus 39:27.

You shall make the Dwelling-place, ten curtains - fine-twined cotton, violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet. Exodus 26:1; 36:8.

You shall make the court of the Dwelling-place. The hangings for the court shall be of fine-twined cotton. Exodus 27:9, 18; 38:9.

The screen for the gate of the court, the work of an embroiderer, violet and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined cotton. Exodus 38:18.

Cotton is fine linen, which they were commanded to use because each object in the Ark and around the Ark, also every detail of Aaron's vestments, were representative of spiritual and celestial realities. From this one may see that a person has only a meagre understanding of the Word if he does not know what such things represent, and scarcely any understanding at all if he thinks that the Word possesses no holiness other than that which presents itself in the letter.

[7] When angels with whom truth from the Divine is present are seen by anyone they are clothed so to speak in fine linen, that is, in shining brightness, as is evident in John where 'a white horse' is referred to,

The One seated on a white horse was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word. His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses; they were clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:11, 13-14.

These words show quite plainly that 'fine linen' is an outward sign denoting truth from the Divine, for 'the One seated on a white horse' is the Lord as to the Word; indeed those words state quite explicitly that He is the Word. The Word is truth itself received from the Divine, and 'a white horse' is the internal sense of the Word, see 2760-2762. Consequently truths received from the Divine are meant by 'white horses', for such truths constitute the whole of the internal sense of the Word. This was why His armies were seen 'on white horses' and why 'they were clothed in fine linen, white and clean'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, gilded

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