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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 # 9824

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9824. And an ephod. That this signifies Divine truth in this kingdom in the external form in which interior things cease, is evident from the signification of “the ephod,” as being Divine truth in an external form. The reason why this is signified by “the ephod” is that by Aaron’s garments of holiness were represented Divine truths in the spiritual kingdom in their order (see above, n. 9522); and the ephod was the outermost of three garments; Aaron’s garments for the priest’s office being the ephod, the robe, and the checkered tunic. That which is outermost not only contains the interior things, but the interior things also cease in it. This is the case in the human body, and consequently also in the heavens, to which the things of the human body correspond. The case is similar with truths and goods, for these make the heavens.

[2] As the ephod represented the outermost of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, it was more holy than the rest of the garments, and on it was the breastplate, in which were the Urim and Thummim, through which answers were given by the Divine. That what is most external is more holy than the internal things, is because the external holds all the interior things in their order, and in their form and connection, insomuch that if the external were removed, the internal things would be dispersed; for internal things not only cease in the external, but they are also together in it. That this is so can be known to those who know how it is with things successive and things simultaneous; namely, that successive things, which proceed and follow one another in their order, are nevertheless presented together in the ultimate things. Take for example, end, cause, and effect; the end is the first in order, the cause is the second, and the effect is the ultimate. So also do they advance in succession. Nevertheless the cause is presented simultaneously in the effect, which is the ultimate; and the end is so presented in the cause. Consequently the effect is the completion, in which the interior or prior things are collected together and are lodged.

[3] The case is similar in man, with will, thought, and action. To will comes first, to think second, and to do is the ultimate, and this is also the effect in which the prior or interior things come forth in simultaneous order. For insofar as the act contains within itself that which the man is thinking, and that which he is willing, so far the interior things are held together in their form and in their connection. It is from this that it is said in the Word, that man will be judged according to his deeds, or according to his works, which means that he will be judged according to his thought and will, for these are in his deeds as the soul is in his body. As then the interior things are presented simultaneously in the ultimate, it follows that, as already said, if the order is perfect, the ultimate is accounted more holy than the interior things, for therein is complete the holiness of the interior things.

[4] As the interior things are together in the ultimate ones (as for instance, as just said, man’s thought and will are together in his deeds or works; or in regard to spiritual things, his faith and love are so), therefore John was beloved by the Lord more than the rest of the disciples, and lay on His breast (John 13:23; 21:20, 22), for the reason that this disciple represented the works of charity. (See the prefaces to Genesis 18 and 2 2760 so n. 3934.) From this it is also evident why the external or ultimate which is in perfect order, is more holy than the internal things regarded singly; for when the Lord is in the ultimate, He is simultaneously in all things, and when He is in this, the interior things are held together in their order, connection, and form; and under super-vision and guidance at His good pleasure. This is the secret which is meant in n. 9360, which see.

[5] This then is the reason why the ephod, being a representative of the ultimate in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, was accounted more holy than the rest of the garments of the priesthood. Wherefore the ephod was the chief priestly vestment, and was made of threads of gold in the midst of blue, of crimson, of scarlet double-dyed, and of fine twined linen (Exodus 39:3); but the rest of the priests had ephods of linen (1 Samuel 2:18; 22:18). On this account also the ephod stood for all the vestments of a priest, and he was said “to wear the ephod,” whereby was signified that he was a priest (1 Samuel 2:28; 14:3). On this account also the breastplate was fastened to the ephod, and answers were given by means of the Urim and Thummim thereon, for the reason that this vestment was a representative of the ultimate in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom; and Divine answers are presented in ultimates, for they pass through all the interior things in succession, and are there dictated, because there they cease. That answers were given when the priests were clothed with the ephod, is evident from 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 30:7-8; and also in Hosea:

The sons of Israel tarried many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod, and teraphim (Hos. 3:4); where “teraphim” signify Divine answers, for answers were formerly given by means of these (Zech. 10:2). Moreover, in the original tongue the word “ephod” comes from “to enclose all the interior things,” as is evident from the meaning of the word in Exodus 29:5; Leviticus 8:7.

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