9856. Verses 15-30 And you shall make a breastplate of judgement, with the work of a designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it. It shall be square when doubled, ¹ a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it. And you shall adorn it with settings of stones. ² There shall be four rows of stones, the order being, A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle - one row; and the second row, A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row, A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, A tarshish, ³ and a shoham, ⁴ and a jasper. Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with the engravings of a signet, each according to its name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border ⁵ with the work of slender rope, ⁶ from pure gold. And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets, and put them onto the shoulders of the ephod before the face of it. And you shall make two rings of gold, and place them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards. And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below before the face of it, against the join above the girdle of the ephod. And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod. And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually. And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be over Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually.

'And you shall make a breastplate of judgement' means that which has regard to Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. 'With the work of a designer' means a product of the understanding. 'Like the work of the ephod you shall make it' means a continuation from the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom. 'From gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it' means the good of charity and faith. 'It shall be square when doubled' means that which is righteous and perfect. 'A span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it' means equally in respect of good and in respect of truth. 'And you shall adorn it with settings of stones' means the actual truths in their proper order, all springing from the one same good. 'There shall be four rows of stones, the order being' means all of them joined together. 'A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle' means the celestial love of good. 'One row' means a group of three there existing as one. 'And the second row' means this group of three also existing as one. 'A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond' means the celestial love of truth, from which the things that follow spring. 'And the third row' means a group of three here also existing as one. 'A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst' means the spiritual love of good. 'And the fourth row' means a last group of three existing as one. 'A tarshish, and a shoham, and a jasper' means the spiritual love of truth, in which higher things terminate. 'Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings' means that all of them in general and each in particular must emanate from the good belonging to the love that is received from the Lord and shown to the Lord. 'And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel' means forms of good and truths arranged distinctly and separately in accord with their entire essential nature. 'Twelve according to their names' means each one without exception. 'With the engravings of a signet' means in accord with the heavenly pattern. 'Each according to its name' means for each one in particular. 'They shall be for the twelve tribes' means for all in general. 'And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border' means all heaven joined together in the most external parts. 'With the work of slender rope' means an indissoluble joining together. 'From pure gold' means through celestial good. 'And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good, a sphere through which there is a joining to the higher part of heaven. 'And put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings' means the mode of the indissoluble joining together. 'At the ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets' means the mode by which it is joined to the supports in the most external parts. 'And put them onto the shoulders of the ephod' means the support given thereby to heaven, and the preservation of the good and truth there by all exertion and power. 'Before the face of it' means to eternity. 'And you shall make two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good. 'And place them on the two ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'On the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards' means the joining to and preservation of the middle part. 'And you shall make two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good. 'And put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below' means the preservation of good and truth in the lowest part of heaven. 'Before the face of it' means to eternity. 'Against the join above the girdle of the ephod' means where the joining together of all things is accomplished, immediately within the outward bond holding everything in connection and form. 'And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod' means the joining to and preservation of everything in heaven by means of the sphere of Divine Good in the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. 'With a cord of violet' means through the celestial love of truth. 'So that it is above the girdle of the ephod' means in order that it may be preserved for evermore in its connection and form. 'And the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod' means that all things in heaven are inseparable from the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. 'And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel' means the preservation of good and truth, of their entire essential nature imparted to them by the Lord. 'In the breastplate of judgement' means that which is representative of heaven in respect of the Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord's Divine Good. 'Over his heart' means out of Divine Love to eternity. 'When he goes into the holy place' means in all worship. 'For a remembrance before Jehovah continually' means out of mercy to eternity. 'And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim' means the radiance of Divine Truth from the Lord in last and lowest things. 'And they shall be over Aaron's heart' means out of the Divine Good of His Divine Love. 'When he goes in before Jehovah' means in all worship. 'And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel' means Divine Truth in heaven and the Church. 'Over his heart before Jehovah continually' means for evermore shining forth from good.

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8625. 'And he said, Because [Amalek's] hand is against the throne of Jah' means because they wish to do violence to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'hand against someone' as doing violence; and from the meaning of 'the throne of Jah' as the Lord's spiritual kingdom. The reason why 'the throne of Jah' means the Lord's spiritual kingdom is that 'the throne' has reference to the Lord's kingship, and the Lord's spiritual kingdom corresponds to His kingship. There are two offices attributed to the Lord, which are those of priest and king. The celestial kingdom corresponds to His priesthood, and the spiritual kingdom to His kingship; for the Lord is called priest by virtue of His Divine Goodness, and He is called king by virtue of His Divine Truth. The name Christ holds the latter - Divine Truth - within it, and the name Jesus holds Divine Good, see 1728, 2015, 3004, 3009, 6148. 'The throne' has reference to the Lord's kingship, and therefore to His spiritual kingdom; and the same applies to 'Jah'. For what 'the throne' is, see 5313; and for what 'Jah' is, 8267.

As regards the specific thing meant here, that those represented by 'Amalek' - namely hellish genii steeped in falsity arising from interior evil - wish to do violence to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, this has been explained above in 8593, 8622. Those who were steeped in the falsity of this evil could not be kept away from those belonging to the spiritual Church, before the Lord came into the world and made Divine the Human within Him. When He did so they were shut up in hell, from where they cannot ever rise up; and also contact with that Church, effected through influx, was completely taken away. For in respect of the truth of faith a member of the spiritual Church is in obscurity; and he accepts it as the truth because the Church has said it is, not because he perceives it to be the truth. This truth as it resides with them becomes good and consequently composes their conscience. If wicked genii were to flow into that obscurity they would in a thousand ways destroy such conscience; for they go to work not on the truths of faith there but on the actual affections. Wherever they detect any degree of affection for good they instantly pervert it; they do this so secretively that it cannot at all be noticed. They attack the person's fundamental ends in view. In short, their wickedness defies description, though it may be compared to a deadly and imperceptible poison that penetrates right into the marrow of the bones. In the Lord's Divine mercy more will be said from experience about these genii at the ends of chapters. ¹

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