10136. 'And a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin' means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tenth of an ephah' as a sufficient amount, and the amount needed for the purposes which have to be served, dealt with in 8468, 8540, 9757; from the meaning of 'fine flour' as truth derived from good, dealt with 9995, at this point truth derived from celestial good, which truth is called spiritual good; from the meaning of 'oil' as celestial good, dealt with in 886, 3728, 4582, 4638, 9474, 9780; and from the meaning of 'a quarter of a hin' as the amount needed for a joining together. For 'four' means a joining together, 9601, 9674, so that 'a quarter' or a fourth part means an amount sufficient to accomplish that joining together. The ephah and the hin were measures, and by measures the amount of the thing that is being referred to is meant. By 'an ephah', which was a measure of fine flour, wheat, or barley, the amount of good is meant, and by 'a hin', which was a measure of wine or oil, the amount of truth is meant. The fact that a tenth of an ephah is what should be understood by 'a tenth' is clear from Leviticus 6:20, and elsewhere. From all this it is evident that 'a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin' means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. What spiritual good is and what celestial good is, see the places referred to in 9277.

5913. 'And your flocks, and your herds' means natural good, interior and exterior. This is clear from the meaning of 'flock' as interior good, dealt with in 2566, in this case interior natural good since the flocks belonged to Israel, who represents spiritual good from the natural, 5906; and from the meaning of 'herd' as exterior natural good. The reason why 'herd' means exterior good and 'flocks' interior good is that the animals which constituted a herd, such as oxen and young bulls, were signs, when used in sacrifices, of external forms of the good of charity and also of the forms of good present in the external man. But the animals constituting flocks, such as lambs, sheep, she-goats, were signs of internal forms of the good of charity and also of the forms of good present in the internal man. Consequently people in whom these forms of good are present are referred to in the Word by the single term 'flock', and the one who leads them by the term 'pastor' or 'shepherd'.