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Exodus 29

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1 And thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish,

2 And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened anointed with oil: thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour.

3 And thou shalt put them in a basket and offer them: and the calf and the two rams.

4 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with water,

5 Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with the linen garment and the tunick, and the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle.

6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre,

7 And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head: and by this rite shall he be consecrated.

8 Thou shalt bring his sons also and shalt put on them the linen tunicks, and gird them with a girdle:

9 To wit, Aaron and his children, and thou shalt put mitres upon them: and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands,

10 Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head,

11 And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

12 And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof.

13 Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt offer a burnt offering upon the altar:

14 But the flesh of the calf and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.

15 Thou shalt take also one ram upon the head whereof Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

16 And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and pour round about the altar:

17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and having washed his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is cut in pieces, and upon his head.

18 And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savour of the victim of the Lord.

19 Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

20 And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and foot, and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about.

21 And when thou hast taken of the blood, that is upon the altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and their vestments are consecrated,

22 Thou shalt take the fat of the ram, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration.

23 And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with oil, a wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight of the Lord.

24 And thou shalt put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt sanctify them elevating before the Lord.

25 And thou shalt take all from their hands, and shalt burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.

26 Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, wherewith Aaron was consecrated, and elevating it thou shalt sanctify it before the Lord, and it shall fall to thy share.

27 And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram,

28 Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons, and they shall fall to Aaron's share and his sons' by a perpetual right from the children of Israel: because they are the choicest and the beginnings of their peace victims which they offer to the Lord.

29 And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands consecrated to it.

30 He of his sons that shall be appointed high priest in his stead, and that shall enter into the tabernacle of the testimony to minister in the sanctuary, shall wear it seven days.

31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and shalt boil the flesh thereof in the holy place:

32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also, that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

33 That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the hands of the offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy.

34 And if there remain of the consecrated flash, or of the bread till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: they shall not be eaten, because they are sanctified.

35 All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron and his sons. Seven days shalt thou consecrate their hands:

36 And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify it.

37 Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be most holy. Every one that shall touch it shall be holy.

38 This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continually.

39 One lamb in the morning and another in the evening.

40 With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the same measure.

41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, according to the rite of the morning oblation, and according to what we have said, for a savour of sweetness:

42 It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee.

43 And there will I command the children of Israel, and the altar shall be sanctified by my glory.

44 I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the testimony with the altar, and Aaron with his sons, to do the office of priesthood unto me.

45 And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God:

46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9714

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9714. And thou shalt make the altar. That this signifies a representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him, is evident from the signification of “the altar which was for burnt-offerings and sacrifices,” as being a representative of the Lord; and as by “the burnt-offerings and sacrifices” were signified all things of the worship of the Lord, therefore also the altar was a representative of the worship of Him. The Lord, however, is not worshiped by means of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, but by means of those things which were represented thereby, which are celestial things of love and spiritual things of faith (see n. 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6905, 8680, 8936).

[2] There were two things by which was represented the Lord as to the Divine Human: the temple and the altar. That this was represented by the temple, He Himself teaches in John:

Jesus said, Take apart this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. He spoke of the temple of His body (John 2:19, 21).

That the same was represented by the altar can also be seen from His own words when He speaks of the temple and at the same time of the altar, in Matthew:

Ye fools and blind, because ye say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is guilty. Which is the greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? Likewise, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind; for which is the greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? He that shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by everything that is upon it. And he that shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by Him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 23:16-22).

From this it is evident that, as the temple, so also the altar was a representative of the Lord’s Divine Human; for the same is said of the altar as of the temple, namely, that it is that which sanctifieth the gift that is upon it; thus that the altar was the subject from which came the sanctification; consequently that it also was a representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, from which all that is holy proceeds. But the altar was a representative of the Lord in respect to His Divine good; whereas the temple was a representative of Him in respect to His Divine truth, thus in respect to heaven; for the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord makes heaven. For this reason it is said of the temple that “he that shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it and by Him that dwelleth therein”; and it is added that “he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon.” “The throne of God” denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, thus heaven, and “He that sitteth thereon” denotes the the Lord, (n. 5313). The same that was represented by the temple, was represented also by the Habitation; the Lord in respect to Divine truth being there denoted by “the Testimony” which was in the ark (n. 9503).

[3] As the altar represented the Lord in respect to Divine good, it was the very holy of holies, and sanctified everything that touched it; as can be seen from what follows in this book, where it is said, “Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; that the altar may be a holy of holies, and everything that shall touch it shall be made holy” (Exodus 29:37); and therefore the fire upon the altar was perpetually burning, and was never put out (Leviticus 6:13); and from that fire was taken the fire for the incense, and from no other source (Leviticus 10:1-6); for by “the fire of the altar” was signified the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love (n. 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849).

[4] That the altar was a representative of the Lord, is evident from the following passages in David:

Let Thy light and Thy truth bring me unto the mountain of Thy holiness, and unto Thy habitations, that I may go in unto the altar of God, unto God (Psalms 43:3-4).

I wash mine hands in innocency; and I compass Thine altar, O Jehovah (Psalms 26:6).

[5] But that the altar was a representative of the worship of the Lord, is evident from Isaiah:

All the flocks of Arabia shall be gathered together to thee; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to thee; they shall come up with acceptance on Mine altar (Isaiah 60:7).

The Lord hath forsaken His altar, He hath abhorred His sanctuary (Lam. 2:7); where “to forsake the altar” denotes to abolish the representative of the worship of the Lord from the good of love; “to abhor the sanctuary” denotes to abolish the representative of the worship of the Lord from the truths of faith.

[6] In Ezekiel:

Your altars shall be destroyed; I will scatter your bones round about your altars; and your altars shall be laid waste, and made desolate; and your idols shall be broken, and shall cease (Ezekiel 6:5, 6);

“to destroy, lay waste, and desolate the altars” denotes that so it shall be with representative worship.

In Isaiah:

The iniquity of Jacob shall not be expiated, when he shall put all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are scattered (Isaiah 27:9); where “the stones of the altar that are scattered” denote all the truths of worship.

[7] Again:

In that day shall a man look unto his Maker, and his eyes unto the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look unto the altars, the work of his hands, and to that which his fingers have made (Isaiah 17:7-8); where “the altars which are the work of his hands and that which his fingers have made” denote worship from one’s own intelligence.

[8] In Hosea:

Ephraim hath multiplied altars for sinning (Hos. 8:11); where “multiplying altars for sinning” denotes to invent worthless things of worship. In the same:

The thistle and the thorn shall come up on their altars (Hos. 10:8);

denoting that evils and falsities shall enter in and make the worship.

[9] In Isaiah:

In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of Egypt (Isaiah 19:19); where “an altar to Jehovah” denotes the worship of the Lord.

[10] As the altar described in this chapter was portable, it was made of shittim wood, and was overlaid with brass; but the altar which was to remain in its place was made either of earth or of unhewn stones. The altar made of earth was the principal representative of the worship of the Lord from the good of love; and the altar made of unhewn stones was a representative of worship from the goods and truths of faith (n. 8935, 8940); while the portable altar here described was a representative of the worship of the Lord from the good of love. For this reason it was of shittim wood and was overlaid with brass.

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