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Exodus 28

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1 Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest's office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

2 And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

3 And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's vestments, in which he being consecrated may minister to me.

4 And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunick and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

5 And they shall take gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.

6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours.

7 It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together.

8 The very workmanship also and all the variety of the work shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10 Six names on one stone, and the other Six on the other, according to the order of their birth.

11 With the work of an engraver and the graving of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:

12 And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.

13 Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.

14 And two little chains of the purest gold linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.

15 And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

16 It shall be foursquare and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth.

17 And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones: in the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald:

18 In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire and a jasper.

19 In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:

20 In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

21 And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes.

22 And thou shalt make on the rational chains linked one to another of the purest gold:

23 And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational.

24 And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof:

25 And the ends of the chains themselves thou shalt join together with two hooks on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational.

26 Thou shalt make also two rings of gold which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.

27 Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod,

28 And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be loosed one from the other.

29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the rational of judgement upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.

30 And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment doctrine and truth, which shall be on Aaron's breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.

31 And thou shalt make the tunick of the ephod all of violet,

32 In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.

33 And beneath at the feet of the same tunick round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:

34 So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

35 And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die.

36 Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein thou shalt grave with engraver's work, Holy to the Lord.

37 And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre,

38 Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

39 And thou shalt gird the tunick with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.

40 Moreover for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunicks, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:

41 And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

42 Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of their nakedness from the reins to the thighs:

43 And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go in to the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9917

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9917. And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make. That this signifies in the extremes where is what is natural, is evident from the signification of “the skirts of the robe,” as being the extremes where is what is natural. For by “the robe” is specifically signified Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom in its internal form, and in general the spiritual kingdom (see n. 9825); and by “the skirts” which are round about below, are signified the extremes of this kingdom; and the extremes of the spiritual kingdom are natural. For the goods and truths in the heavens follow on in this order: in the highest or inmost heavens are celestial goods and truths; in the middle heavens are spiritual goods and truths; and in the ultimate heavens are natural goods and truths (concerning which succession in the heavens and with man, see what was said above, n. 9915). And because the memory-knowledges of truth and good are in the external or natural man, therefore also pomegranates were placed in the skirts, for by “pomegranates” are signified the memory-knowledges of good; and also among the pomegranates were bells of gold, because by “bells” are signified such things as are from memory-knowledges.

[2] That “the skirts of the robe” denote the extremes where is what is natural, is evident from the passages of the Word where “skirts” are mentioned, as in Isaiah:

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His skirts filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1).

By “the throne upon which the Lord was sitting” is signified heaven, and specifically the spiritual heaven (n. 5313, 8625); by “skirts” here are signified Divine truths in the ultimates or extremes, such as are the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter; which are said to “fill the temple” when they fill the church. The like is signified by “the skirts filling the temple” as by “the smoke and cloud filling the tabernacle,” and also the temple, as repeatedly mentioned in the Word. (That by “smoke” is there signified Divine truth in ultimates, such as is the sense of the letter of the Word, see n. 8916, 8918; as also by a “cloud,” n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343)

[3] That a woman laboring with an issue of blood was made whole when she touched the skirt of the Lord’s garment (Matthew 9:20, 22), and in general that as many as touched the skirt of His garment were made whole (Matthew 14:36; Mark 6:56), signified that health went forth from the Divine extremes or ultimates; for that there are strength and power in the ultimates of good and truth which are from the Divine may be seen above (n. 9836); and also that answers are given there (n. 9905).

In Matthew:

Jesus said of the Scribes and Pharisees that they do all their works to be seen of men, that they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the skirts of their robes (Matthew 23:5).

It is here very evident that “the skirts of the robe” denote the external things which stand forth to view, and that “enlarging” them denotes to do works outwardly, so that they may appear, or be seen.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin, her uncleanness was in her skirts (Lam. 1:8-9).

“Uncleanness in the skirts” denotes in the deeds and words, thus in the extremes; for the extremes or outermost things derive their essence from the interior ones; and therefore when the interiors are unclean, the extremes also are unclean, although the uncleannesses may not appear before men; for the reason that men look at the outward form, and therefore do not see the interiors. Nevertheless these uncleannesses that are in the interiors appear before the angels, and in the other life are also uncovered with everyone, because external things are there taken away; consequently it becomes manifest what has been the quality of the works in their essence.

[5] In Nahum:

I will uncover thy skirts upon thy faces, and I will show the nations thy nakedness (Nah. 3:5).

“To uncover the skirts upon the faces” denotes to remove external things so that internal ones may appear; for in various ways the external things of the natural man hide the internal things, which are hypocrisies, deceits, lies, hatreds, revenges, adulteries, and other like things; and therefore when the external things are taken away, the internal ones appear in their uncleanness and filthiness.

[6] In Jeremiah:

If thou say in thine heart, Wherefore have these things covered me up? For the multitude of thine iniquity have thy skirts been unveiled, thy heels have suffered violence. I will lay bare thy skirts upon thy faces, that thy disgraces may be seen, even thine adulteries (Jeremiah 13:22, 26-27);

speaking of the abominations of Jerusalem; “to unveil the skirts, and lay them bare” denotes to take away the external things which cover, so that the interiors may be seen; for a man learns to counterfeit what is good, honorable, and sincere, for the sake of reputation, honor, and gain, when yet he has evils and falsities of various kinds hidden within. As by “skirts” are signified external things, therefore mention is also made of “heels,” because “the heels” denote the lowest things of the natural (n. 259, 4938, 4940-4951). From all this it can now be seen that by “the skirts of the robe” are signified goods and truths in the ultimates or extremes, which are in the natural world.

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