Bible

 

Esodo 38

Studie

   

1 Poi fece l’altare degli olocausti, di legno d’acacia; la sua lunghezza era di cinque cubiti; e la sua larghezza di cinque cubiti; era quadro, e avea un’altezza di tre cubiti.

2 E ai quattro angoli gli fece dei corni, che spuntavano da esso, e lo rivesti di rame.

3 Fece pure tutti gli utensili dell’altare: i vasi per le ceneri, le palette, i bacini, i forchettoni, i bracieri; tutti i suoi utensili fece di rame.

4 E fece per l’altare una gratella di rame in forma di rete, sotto la cornice, nella parte inferiore; in modo che la rete raggiungeva la metà dell’altezza dell’altare.

5 E fuse quattro anelli per i quattro angoli della gratella di rame, per farvi passare le stanghe.

6 Poi fece le stanghe di legno d’acacia, e le rivestì di rame.

7 E fece passare le stanghe per gli anelli, ai lati dell’altare le quali dovean servire a portarlo; e lo fece di tavole, vuoto.

8 Poi fece la conca di rame e la sua base di rame, servendosi degli specchi delle donne che venivano a gruppi a fare il servizio all’ingresso della tenda di convegno.

9 Poi fece il cortile; dal lato meridionale, c’erano, per formare il cortile, cento cubiti di cortine di lino fino ritorto,

10 con le loro venti colonne e le loro venti basi di rame; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne erano d’argento.

11 Dal lato di settentrione, c’erano cento cubiti di cortine con le loro venti colonne e le loro venti basi di rame; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne erano d’argento.

12 Dal lato d’occidente, c’erano cinquanta cubiti di cortine con le loro dieci colonne e le loro dieci basi; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne erano d’argento.

13 E sul davanti, dal lato orientale, c’erano cinquanta cubiti:

14 da uno dei lati dell’ingresso c’erano quindici cubiti di cortine, con tre colonne e le loro tre basi;

15 e dall’altro lato (tanto di qua quanto di là dall’ingresso del cortile) c’erano quindici cubiti di cortine, con le loro tre colonne e le loro tre basi.

16 Tutte le cortine formanti il recinto del cortile erano di lino fino ritorto;

17 e le basi per le colonne eran di rame; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne erano d’argento, e i capitelli delle colonne eran rivestiti d’argento, e tutte le colonne del cortile eran congiunte con delle aste d’argento.

18 La portiera per l’ingresso del cortile era in lavoro di ricamo, di filo violaceo, porporino, scarlatto, e di lino fino ritorto; aveva una lunghezza di venti cubiti, un’altezza di cinque cubiti, corrispondente alla larghezza delle cortine del cortile.

19 Le colonne erano quattro, e quattro le loro basi, di rame; i loro chiodi eran d’argento, e i loro capitelli e le loro aste eran rivestiti d’argento.

20 Tutti i piuoli del tabernacolo e dei recinto del cortile erano di rame.

21 Questi sono i conti del tabernacolo, del tabernacolo della testimonianza, che furon fatti per ordine di Mosè, per cura dei Leviti, sotto la direzione d’Ithamar, figliuolo del sacerdote Aaronne.

22 Betsaleel, figliuolo d’Uri, figliuolo di Hur, della tribù di Giuda, fece tutto quello che l’Eterno aveva ordinato a Mosè,

23 avendo con sé Oholiab, figliuolo di Ahisamac, della tribù di Dan, scultore, disegnatore, e ricamatore di stoffe violacee, porporine, scarlatte e di lino fino.

24 Tutto l’oro che fu impiegato nell’opera per tutti i lavori del santuario, oro delle offerte, fu ventinove talenti e settecentotrenta sicli, secondo il siclo del santuario.

25 E l’argento di quelli della raunanza de’ quali si fece il censimento, fu cento talenti e mille settecento settantacinque sicli, secondo il siclo del santuario:

26 un beka a testa, vale a dire un mezzo siclo, secondo il siclo del santuario, per ogni uomo compreso nel censimento, dall’età di venti anni in su: cioè, per seicento tremila cinquecento cinquanta uomini.

27 I cento talenti d’argento servirono a fondere le basi del santuario e le basi del velo: cento basi per i cento talenti, un talento per base.

28 E coi mille settecento settantacinque sicli si fecero dei chiodi per le colonne, si rivestirono i capitelli, e si fecero le aste delle colonne.

29 Il rame delle offerte ammontava a settanta talenti e a duemila quattrocento sicli.

30 E con questi si fecero le basi dell’ingresso della tenda di convegno, l’altare di rame con la sua gratella di rame, e tutti gli utensili dell’altare,

31 le basi del cortile tutt’all’intorno, le basi dell’ingresso del cortile, tutti i piuoli del tabernacolo e tutti i piuoli del recinto del cortile.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9475

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

9475. 'And for the incense of spices' means for delightful perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'incense' as the things of worship that are perceived with delight, such as acts of thanksgiving, adoration, prayer, and the like; and from the meaning of 'spices' as truths of faith which are delightful because they originate in good. For sweet odours, such as spicy ones, mean that which is delightful; and whatever is delightful is such by virtue of the good made known through truths. So it is that 'the incense of spices' means the delightful perception that belongs to truth originating in good. The spices which went into the making of that incense are listed, and the preparation of it is described in the following words,

Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum - [these] spices, and pure frankincense. You shall make them an incense, salted, pure, holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting. Most holy 1 shall it be to you. The incense shall be to you holy for Jehovah. Exodus 30:34-38.

The altar of incense, along with the incense itself, is described as follows,

You shall make an altar for burning incense. You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony before the mercy-seat, that Aaron may burn on it spicy incense every morning; when he trims the lamps he shall burn it, and between the evenings. Exodus 30:1-10; 37:25-end; 40:26-27.

And elsewhere,

When Aaron comes into the Holy Place he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire 2 from upon the altar, with his hands full of spicy incense beaten fine. 3 Then he shall bring it inside the veil, in order that he may put the incense onto the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of incense may cover the mercy-seat which is over the Testimony. Leviticus 16:12-13.

[2] Since 'incense' meant acts of worship such as had their origin in good made known through truths, as do all expressions of faith that have their origin in the good of love, the fire was taken from the altar; for the fire on the altar meant the good of God's love, 934, 4906, 5071 (end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852. On this account when fire had been taken from any other source they were struck down by a plague and died, Leviticus 10:1-2ff; Numbers 16:45-48; for fire from any other source, or 'foreign fire', meant love that was not God's.

[3] The fact that expressions of faith having their origin in the good of love and charity, for example thanksgivings, acts of adoration, and prayers, are meant by 'incense' is clear in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Psalms 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer ... And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4.

[4] The reason why such expressions of faith are meant by 'incense' is that they are matters of thought and consequently of the lips. But matters of affection and consequently of the heart are meant by 'the minchah' in Malachi 1:11, where it says that from the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah's name will be great among the nations, and 'in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah'; and the same things are meant by 'the burnt offering' in Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

'Incense' in these places stands for such things as are matters of thought and the lips and have regard to the truths of faith; 'minchah' and 'burnt offering' stand for such things as are matters of affection and the heart and have regard to forms of the good of love. All this being so, in the contrary sense worship arising from falsities of faith is meant by burning incense to other gods, Jeremiah 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezekiel 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, The holy thing of holy things

2. literally, the fullness of a censer, burning coals of fire

3. literally, the fullness of his fists, spicy incense [beaten] fine

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 6849

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

6849. 'For he was afraid to look at God' means for fear that they should suffer harm from the presence of the Divine itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid' as for fear that they, interior things, should suffer harm (for this was the reason for his fear); and from the meaning of 'looking at God' as the presence of the Divine itself. For the only way in which the Lord can make Himself present before a person is through the persons inner seeing, through seeing Him with the eye of faith that belongs to charity. If the Lord does manifest Himself in an outward visible form to someone, it is still the inner levels of mind that are affected, for the Divine reaches into the deepest parts of him. With regard to the meaning here, that interior things should not suffer harm from the presence of the Divine itself, and that therefore they were to be protected, the situation is this: The Divine itself is pure love, and pure love is like a fire hotter than the fire of the sun in this world. Consequently if Divine Love in its purity were to flow into any angel, spirit, or man, he would be completely destroyed, which is why so many times in the Word Jehovah or the Lord is called a consuming fire. To ensure therefore that the angels in heaven suffer no harm from the flow of heat from the Lord as the sun, each of them is veiled with a kind of thin cloud suited to the individual, which moderates the heat flowing in from that sun.

[2] The truth that without this form of preservation everyone would be destroyed by the presence of the Divine had been well known to the ancients, which was why they were afraid of seeing God, as is clear in the Book of Judges,

Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah, therefore Gideon said, O Lord Jehovah! Inasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said to him, Peace be to you; do not fear, for you will not die. Judges 6:12, 23.

In the same book,

Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, for we have seen God. Judges 13:22.

And in the Book of Exodus,

Jehovah said to Moses, You cannot see My face, for no man will see My face and live. Exodus 33:20.

[3] When therefore Moses was allowed to see God, he was placed in a cleft of the rock, Exodus 33:22, which represented the dimness of his faith, and the clouds that hid and protected him. How dangerous it can be for angels to be beheld by the Divine without being covered by a cloud is made very clear by the fact that when angels look at any spirit who is governed by evil he seems to change into something resembling a lifeless object, as I have often been allowed to see. The reason why this happens is that when the angels look at someone there is cast in his direction the light and heat of heaven, and the truth of faith and the good of love with them, which - when these penetrate - virtually deprive the evil of life.

[4] If this is what happens when angels look at them, what would happen if the Lord did so? This explains why the hells are utterly remote from heaven, and why those who are there wish to be remote, for if they are not they suffer dreadful torment. This makes plain the meaning of the following words, They will say to the mountains and rocks, Rush down on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne. Revelation 6:16; Luke 23:30; Hosea 10:8.

[5] Thus the presence of the Divine itself is such that no angel can bear it unless he is protected by a cloud which tempers and moderates the rays of light and the heat from that sun. From this one may recognize plainly that the Lord's Human is Divine, for if it were not Divine it could never have become so united to the Divine itself, called the Father, that they are one, according to the Lord's words in John 14:10 and following verses, and elsewhere. For that which is to receive the Divine in this way must be wholly Divine; what was not Divine from such a union would be plainly reduced to nothing. Let me use a comparison. Can anything be thrown into the fire of the sun and not be destroyed, unless it is similar in nature to the sun? So, can anyone enter the intense heat of infinite love unless he has in him the heat of the same kind of love, consequently unless he is none other than the Lord? The truth that the Father is within Him and that the Father does not show Himself except within His Divine Human is clear from the Lord's words in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

  
/ 10837  
  

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