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1 L’Eterno parlò a Mosè dicendo: "Di’ ai figliuoli d’Israele che mi facciano un’offerta;

2 accetterete l’offerta da ogni uomo che sarà disposto a farmela di cuore.

3 E questa è l’offerta che accetterete da loro: oro, argento e rame;

4 stoffe di color violaceo, porporino, scarlatto;

5 lino fino e pel di capra; pelli di montone tinte in rosso, pelli di delfino e legno d’acacia;

6 olio per il candelabro, aromi per l’olio della unzione e per il profumo odoroso;

7 pietre di onice e pietre da incastonare per l’efod e il pettorale.

8 E mi facciano un santuario perch’io abiti in mezzo a loro.

9 Me lo farete in tutto e per tutto secondo il modello del tabernacolo e secondo il modello di tutti i suoi arredi, che io sto per mostrarti.

10 Faranno dunque un’arca di legno d’acacia; la sua lunghezza sarà di due cubiti e mezzo, la sua larghezza di un cubito e mezzo, e la sua altezza di un cubito e mezzo.

11 La rivestirai d’oro puro; la rivestirai così di dentro e di fuori; e le farai al di sopra una ghirlanda d’oro, che giri intorno.

12 Fonderai per essa quattro anelli d’oro, che metterai ai suoi quattro piedi: due anelli da un lato e due anelli dall’altro lato,

13 Farai anche delle stanghe di legno d’acacia, e le rivestirai d’oro.

14 E farai passare le stanghe per gli anelli ai lati dell’arca, perché servano a portarla.

15 Le stanghe rimarranno negli anelli dell’arca; non ne saranno tratte fuori.

16 E metterai nell’arca la testimonianza che ti darò.

17 Farai anche un propiziatorio d’oro puro; la sua lunghezza sarà di due cubiti e mezzo, e la sua larghezza di un cubito e mezzo.

18 E farai due cherubini d’oro; li farai lavorati al martello, alle due estremità del propiziatorio;

19 fa’ un cherubino a una delle estremità, e un cherubino all’altra; farete che questi cherubini escano dal propiziatorio alle due estremità.

20 E i cherubini avranno le ali spiegate in alto, in modo da coprire il propiziatorio con le loro ali; avranno la faccia vòlta l’uno verso l’altro; le facce dei cherubini saranno volte verso il propiziatorio.

21 E metterai il propiziatorio in alto, sopra l’arca; e nell’arca metterai la testimonianza che ti darò.

22 Quivi io m’incontrerò teco; e di sul propiziatorio, di fra i due cherubini che sono sull’arca della testimonianza, ti comunicherò tutti gli ordini che avrò da darti per i figliuoli d’Israele.

23 Farai anche una tavola di legno d’acacia; la sua lunghezza sarà di due cubiti; la sua larghezza di un cubito, e la sua altezza di un cubito e mezzo.

24 La rivestirai d’oro puro, e le farai una ghirlanda d’oro che le giri attorno.

25 Le farai all’intorno una cornice alta quattro dita; e a questa cornice farai tutt’intorno una ghirlanda d’oro.

26 Le farai pure quattro anelli d’oro, e metterai gli anelli ai quattro canti, ai quattro piedi della tavola.

27 Gli anelli saranno vicinissimi alla cornice per farvi passare le stanghe destinate a portar la tavola.

28 E le stanghe le farai di legno d’acacia, le rivestirai d’oro, e serviranno a portare la tavola.

29 Farai pure i suoi piatti, le sue coppe, i suoi calici e le sue tazze da servire per le libazioni; li farai d’oro puro.

30 E metterai sulla tavola il pane della presentazione, che starà del continuo nel mio cospetto.

31 Farai anche un candelabro d’oro puro; il candelabro, il suo piede e il suo tronco saranno lavorati al martello; i suoi calici, i suoi pomi e i suoi fiori saranno tutti d’un pezzo col candelabro.

32 Gli usciranno sei bracci dai lati: tre bracci del candelabro da un lato e tre bracci del candelabro dall’altro;

33 su l’uno de’ bracci saranno tre calici in forma di mandorla, con un pomo e un fiore; e sull’altro braccio, tre calici in forma di mandorla, con un pomo e un fiore. Lo stesso per i sei bracci uscenti dal candelabro.

34 Nel tronco del candelabro ci saranno poi quattro calici in forma di mandorla, coi loro pomi e i loro fiori.

35 Ci sarà un pomo sotto i due primi bracci che partono dal candelabro; un pomo sotto i due seguenti bracci, e un pomo sotto i due ultimi bracci che partono dal candelabro: così per i sei bracci uscenti dal candelabro.

36 Questi pomi e questi bracci saranno tutti d’un pezzo col candelabro; il tutto sarà d’oro fino lavorato al martello.

37 Farai pure le sue lampade, in numero di sette; e le sue lampade si accenderanno in modo che la luce rischiari il davanti del candelabro.

38 E i suoi smoccolatoi e i suoi porta smoccolature saranno d’oro puro.

39 Per fare il candelabro con tutti questi suoi utensili s’impiegherà un talento d’oro puro.

40 E vedi di fare ogni cosa secondo il modello che t’è stato mostrato sul monte.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9486

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9486. Of shittim wood. That this signifies righteousness, is evident from the signification of “shittim wood,” as being the good of merit that belongs to the Lord alone (of which above, n. 9472), thus also righteousness, which is the good of merit. For by His own power the Lord reduced the universal heaven into order, and subjugated the hells, and at the same time made the Human in Himself Divine, whereby He has merit and righteousness; and therefore the only good that reigns in heaven and makes heaven, is the good of merit and the righteousness of the Lord; thus His Divine Human, for this was made merit and righteousness.

[2] That these things were done by the Lord of His own power, is evident in Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom? I that speak in righteousness, Great to save. I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with Me. I looked around, but there was none to help; and I was amazed, but there was none to uphold; therefore Mine own arm brought salvation to Me (Isaiah 63:1-5).

He saw that there was no man, and was amazed that there was none to intercede; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him; and His righteousness, it upheld Him. He put on righteousness as a coat of mail (Isaiah 59:16-17).

This is His name whereby they shall call Him, Jehovah our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:15-16).

I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from Me; I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (John 10:17-18).

From these passages it is plain that in respect to the Divine Human the Lord has merit and righteousness from Himself. As by “the ark” is signified heaven where the Lord is, there was employed in its construction shittim wood, by which this good is signified; for by “wood” in general is signified good (n. 643, 3720, 8354); and therefore they who place merit in works appear in the other life to cut wood, beneath which there is something of the the Lord, (n. 1110, 4943, 8740). Consequently by cutting the wood of the burnt-offering is signified the good of merit, or the good of works (n. 2784, 2812).

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 643

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643. But as regards the signification itself of the words: that “gopher wood” signifies concupiscences, and the “mansions” the two parts of man, is evident from the Word. Gopher wood is a wood abounding in sulphur, 1 like the fir, and others of its kind. On account of its sulphur it is said that it signifies concupiscences, because it easily takes fire. The most ancient people compared things in man (and regarded them as having a likeness) to gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, and wood-his inmost celestial to gold, his lower celestial to brass, and what was lowest, or the corporeal therefrom, to wood. But his inmost spiritual they compared (and regarded as having a likeness) to silver, his lower spiritual to iron, and his lowest to stone. And such in the internal sense is the signification of these things when they are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah:

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thine officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness (Isaiah 60:17).

Here the Lord’s kingdom is treated of, in which there are not such metals, but spiritual and celestial things; and that these are signified is very evident from the mention of “peace” and “righteousness.” “Gold” “brass” and “wood” here correspond to each other, and signify things celestial or of the will, as before said; and “silver” “iron” and “stone” correspond to each other, and signify things spiritual or of the understanding.

[2] In Ezekiel:

They shall make a spoil of thy riches and make a prey of thy merchandise; thy stones, and thy wood (Ezekiel 26:12).

It is very manifest that by “riches” and “merchandise” are not meant worldly riches and merchandise, but celestial and spiritual; and the same by the “stones” and “wood”—the “stones” being those things which are of the understanding, and the “wood” those which are of the will.

In Habakkuk:

The stone crieth out of the wall, and the beam out of the wood answereth (Habakkuk 2:11).

The “stone” denotes the lowest degree of the understanding; and the “wood” the lowest of the will, which “answers” when anything is drawn from sensuous knowledge [scientifico sensuali]. Again:

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; and to the dumb stone, Arise, this shall teach. Behold it is fastened with gold and silver, and there is no breath in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in the temple of His holiness (Habakkuk 2:19-20).

Here also “wood” denotes cupidity; “stone” denotes the lowest of the understanding, and therefore to be “dumb” and to “teach” are predicated of it; “there is no breath in the midst of it” signifies that it represents nothing celestial and spiritual, just as a temple wherein are stone and wood, and these bound together with gold and silver, is to those who think nothing of what they represent.

[3] In Jeremiah:

We drink our waters for silver; our wood cometh for price (Lamentations 5:4).

Here “waters” and “silver” signify the things of the understanding; and “wood” those of the will. Again:

Saying to wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast brought us forth (Jeremiah 2:27).

Here “wood” denotes cupidity, which is of the will, whence is the conception; and “stone” the sensuous knowledge [scientifico sensuali], from which is the “bringing forth.” Hence, in different places in the Prophets, “serving wood and stone” is put for worshiping graven images of wood and stone, by which is signified that they served cupidities and phantasies; and also “committing adultery with wood and stone” as in Jeremiah 3:9.

In Hosea:

My people inquire of their wood, and the staff thereof declareth unto them; because the spirit of whoredoms hath led them away (Hosea 4:12), meaning that they make inquiry of graven images of wood, or of cupidities.

[4] In Isaiah:

Topheth is prepared from yesterday, the pile thereof is fire and mulch wood, the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning sulphur (Isaiah 30:33).

Here “fire” “sulphur” and “wood” stand for foul cupidities. In general, “wood” signifies the things of the will which are lowest; the precious woods, such as cedar and the like, those which are good, as for example the cedar wood in the temple, and the cedar wood employed in the cleansing of leprosy (Leviticus 14:4, 6-7); also the wood cast into the bitter waters at Marah, whereby the waters became sweet (Exodus 15:25), concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy in those places. But woods that were not precious, and those which were made into graven images, as well as those used for funeral piles and the like, signify cupidities; as in this place does the gopher wood, on account of its sulphur. So in Isaiah:

The day of vengeance of Jehovah; the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into sulphur, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch (Isaiah 34:9).

“Pitch” stands for dreadful phantasies; “sulphur” for abominable cupidities.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The word “sulphur” was formerly used not exclusively as the name of brimstone, but also as a general term for inflammable substance. The classification of gopher here with the fir (abies), which is a turpentine tree, would seem to imply that the inflammable constituent of the gopher also was turpentine, and that this is what is meant here by “sulphur.” See Lord Bacon’s “History of Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt.” [Note in the Rotch edition.]

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