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Leviticus 16

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came·​·near before Jehovah, and died;

2 and Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he not come at all times into the holy place inside the veil to the face of the place of atonement, which is on the ark, that he die not; for I will appear in the cloud on the place of atonement.

3 By this shall Aaron come into the holy place; with a son of the herd, a bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt·​·offering.

4 He shall clothe· himself ·with the holy linen tunic, and there shall be linen breeches upon his flesh, and he shall be girded with a linen belt, and with the linen miter shall he be mitered; these are holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in the water, and so be·​·clothed·​·with them.

5 And he shall take of the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt·​·offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make·​·atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two male goats, and stand them before Jehovah at the entrance of the Tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And Aaron shall put lots on the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and one lot for Azazel*.

9 And Aaron shall offer the goat upon which Jehovah’s lot came·​·up, and make him a sin offering.

10 But the male goat, on which the lot came·​·up for Azazel, shall be stood living before Jehovah, to make·​·atonement upon it, and to send it to be Azazel toward the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall offer the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make·​·atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall slaughter the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself;

12 and he shall take a full censer of coals of fire from on the altar, from before Jehovah, and his fists shall be full of fragrant incense beaten thin, and bring it inside the veil;

13 and he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the incense shall cover the place of atonement that is upon the testimony, and he will not die;

14 and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and spatter it with his finger before the place of the atonement on the east; and before the place of the atonement shall he spatter of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 And he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood inside the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and spatter it upon the place of atonement, and before the place of atonement;

16 and he shall make·​·atonement on the holy place, from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and from their transgressions for all their sins; and so shall he do for the Tabernacle of the congregation, the Habitation with them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 And there shall be not any man in the Tabernacle of the congregation when he goes·​·in to make·​·atonement in the holy place, until he come·​·out, and have made·​·atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 And he shall go·​·out to the altar that is before Jehovah, and make·​·atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar all around.

19 And he shall spatter of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.

20 And when he has completed making·​·atonement·​·for the holy place, and ·for the Tabernacle of the congregation, and ·for the altar, then he shall offer the live goat;

21 and Aaron shall lay his two hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send· it ·out by the hand of a man of fate to the wilderness;

22 and the goat shall bear on him all their iniquities to a land apart*; and he shall send the goat into the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the Tabernacle of the congregation, and shall strip·​·off the linen garments, with which he clothed himself when he came into the holy place, and shall place them there;

24 and he shall bathe his flesh with water in the holy place, and clothe· himself ·with his garments, and come·​·out, and make his burnt·​·offering, and the burnt·​·offering of the people, and make·​·atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn·​·for·​·incense on the altar.

26 And he that sends the male goat to be Azazel shall wash his garments, and bathe his flesh in the water, and after thus, come to the camp.

27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought to make·​·atonement in the holy place, shall one bring·​·out, to outside the camp and they shall burn·​·up in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burns· them ·up shall wash his garments, and bathe his flesh in the water, and after thus he shall come into the camp.

29 And this shall be for an eternal statute for you; that in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and not do any work*, the native and the sojourner sojourning in your midst.

30 for on this day shall the priest make·​·atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be·​·clean from all your sins before Jehovah.

31 It shall be a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by an eternal statute.

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whose hand he shall·​·fill to be·​·a·​·priest in· his father’s ·stead, shall make· the ·atonement, and shall clothe· himself ·with the linen garments, even the holy garments;

33 and he shall make·​·atonement·​·for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make·​·atonement·​·for the Tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and he shall make·​·atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the assembly.

34 And this shall be an eternal statute to you, to make·​·atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Apocalypse Explained # 279

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279. And the second animal like a calf, signifies the appearance in ultimates of Divine good in respect to protection. This is evident from the signification of a "calf," or "bullock," as being the good of the natural man, and specifically his good of innocence and charity; and because it is the good of the natural man it also is the good of the lowest heaven, for this heaven is spiritual natural (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 29-31); and as this good is there, there is a guard or protection that the higher heavens be not approached except through the good of love and charity; this is why one cherub was like a calf. That this appearance was in ultimates, see just above n. 278. A "calf" or "bullock" signifies the good of the natural man, because animals from the herd signified the affections of good and truth in the external or natural man; and those from the flock signified the affections of good and truth in the internal or spiritual man. Those from the flock were lambs, she-goats, sheep, rams, and he-goats; those from the herd were oxen, bullocks, and calves.

[2] That "bullocks" and "calves" signify the good of the natural man is evident from the passages of the Word where they are mentioned. First from the description of the feet of the cherubim in Ezekiel:

Their foot was straight and the sole of their feet like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of burnished brass (Ezekiel 1:7).

Their foot thus appeared "straight" because the cherubim represented the Divine guard of the Lord, and the feet and the soles of the feet represented the same in ultimates or in the spiritual natural heaven and the natural world; for "feet" in general signify the natural; a "straight foot" the natural in respect to good; "the sole of the foot" the ultimate of the natural; "burnished brass" also signifies good in the natural. From this it is clear that good in the natural is signified by a "calf," and that in this is the ultimate good that guards and protects lest the heavens be approached except through the good of love and charity. (That "feet" signify the natural, see Arcana Coelestia 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328; that that which is to the right signifies good from which is truth, n. 9604, 9736, 10061; therefore a "straight foot" signifies the natural in respect to good. That "palms," "soles," and "hoofs," signify the ultimates in the natural, see n. 4938, 7729; and that "burnished brass" signifies natural good, see above, n. 70)

[3] In Hosea:

Return ye to Jehovah; say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and accept good, and we will pay back the bullocks of our lips (Hosea 14:2).

What it is to "pay back the bullocks of the lips" no one can know unless he knows what "bullocks" and what "lips" signify; they mean evidently confession and thanksgiving from a good heart; but it is thus expressed because "bullocks" signify external good, and "lips" doctrine; therefore "paying back the bullocks of the lips" signifies to confess and give thanks from the goods of doctrine. (That "lips" signify doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1286, 1288.)

[4] In Amos:

Ye cause the habitation of violence to draw near; they lie upon beds of ivory, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall (Amos 6:3, 4).

Here those who have an abundance of the knowledges of good and truth and yet lead an evil life are treated of; "to eat the lambs out of the flock" signifies to imbibe the knowledges of internal good or of the spiritual man; and "to eat the calves out of the midst of the stall" signifies to imbibe the knowledges of external good or of the natural man; and "to cause the habitation of violence to draw near" is to live a life contrary to charity.

[5] In Malachi:

Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise and healing in His wings; that ye may go forth, and grow up as fatted calves (Malachi 4:2).

The "Sun of righteousness that shall arise to them that fear the name of Jehovah" signifies the good of love; and "healing in His wings" signifies the truth of faith; therefore "to go forth, and grow up as fatted calves," signifies the increase of all good, "fatted" and "fat" also signifying good.

[6] In Luke:

The father said of the prodigal son who returned penitent in heart, Bring forth the first robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, that we may eat and be glad (Luke 15:22, 23).

He who is acquainted only with the sense of the letter believes that no deeper meaning is contained in this than appears in that sense, when yet every particular involves heavenly things; as that they should "put on him the first robe," that they should "put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet," that they should "bring forth the fatted calf, that they might eat and be merry." By "the prodigal son" those who are prodigal of spiritual riches, which are the knowledges of truth and good, are meant; "his returning to his father, and his confession that he was not worthy to be called his son," signifies penitence of heart and humiliation; "the first robe with which he was clothed," signifies general and primary truths; "the ring on the hand" signifies the conjunction of truth and good in the internal or spiritual man; "the shoes on the feet" signify the same in the external or natural man, and both signify regeneration; "the fatted calf" signifies the good of love and charity; and "to eat and be glad" signifies consociation and heavenly joy.

[7] In Jeremiah:

I will give the men that have transgressed My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant which they made before Me, that of the calf, which they cut in twain that they might pass between the parts thereof, the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf, I will even give them into the hands of their enemies, that their carcass may be for food to the bird of the heavens (Jeremiah 34:18-20).

What is meant by "the covenant of the calf," and by "passing between its parts," no one can know without knowing what a "covenant" signifies, and a "calf," and its being "cut in twain;" then what is meant by "the princes of Judah and Jerusalem," by "the royal ministers," "the priests," and "the people of the land." Some heavenly arcanum is evidently meant; and it can be understood when it is known that a "covenant" means conjunction; a "calf" good, a "calf cut in twain" good proceeding from the Lord on the one hand, and good received by man on the other, whence is conjunction; and that "the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the royal ministers, the priests, and the people of the land," mean the goods and truths of the church; and that "to pass between the parts" means to conjoin. When these things are known, the internal sense of these words can be seen, namely, that there was no conjunction by the goods and truths of the church with that nation, but disjunction.

[8] Like things are involved in the "covenant of the calf" with Abram, of which in Genesis:

Jehovah said to Abram, Take to thee an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each part over against the other; but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses; and Abram drove them away. And the sun was at its going down, and a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a terror of great darkness fell upon him. And in that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram (Genesis 15:9-12, 18).

The "terror of great darkness" that fell upon Abram signified the state of the Jewish nation, which was in the greatest darkness in respect to the truths and goods of the church. This state of that nation is what is described in the prophet by "the covenant of the calf which they cut into two parts, between which they passed." Since a "calf" signifies the good of the natural man and its truth, which is knowledge [scientificum]; and since the natural man and its knowledge [scientificum] is signified by "Egypt," therefore in the Word Egypt is called a "she-calf," and a "he-calf;" moreover, when they applied the knowledges [scientifica] of the church to magical and idolatrous purposes they turned the calf into an idol; this was why the sons of Israel made to themselves a he-calf in the wilderness, and worshiped it, and also why they had a calf in Samaria.

[9] That Egypt was called a he-calf and a she-calf can be seen in Jeremiah:

A very fair she-calf is Egypt; destruction cometh out of the north, her hirelings in the midst of her are like he-calves of the stall (Jeremiah 46:20-21).

Respecting the calf that the sons of Israel made to themselves in the wilderness, see Exodus 32; and respecting the "calf of Samaria" (1 Kings 12:28-32), about which is the following in Hosea:

They have made a king, but not by Me; they have made princes, and I knew it not; of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. Thy calf, O Samaria, hath forsaken thee. For it was from Israel; the workman made it, and it is not God; the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces (Hosea 8:4-6).

This treats of the corrupt explanation of the Word, when the sense of its letter is turned to favor self-love, and the principles of religion derived therefrom. "They have made a king, but not by Me, and they have made princes, and I knew it not," signifies doctrines from self-intelligence, which in themselves are falsities, but which they make to appear as truths; for "king" signifies truth, and in a contrary sense, falsity; "princes" signify primary truths, or falsities, which are called principles of religion. "To make idols of their silver and their gold" signifies to pervert the truths and goods of the church, and still to worship them as holy, although as they are from self-intelligence they are destitute of life; "silver" is the truth, and "gold" the good, which are from the Lord; "idols" signify worship from doctrine that is from self-intelligence; "the workman made it, and it is not God," signifies that is from the selfhood [ex proprio], and not from the Divine; "to be broken in pieces" signifies to be dispersed; which makes clear what is signified by the "calf of Samaria." Because "calves" signified the good of the natural man, calves were also sacrificed (See Exodus 29:11, 12 seq.; Leviticus 4:3, 13; 8:15 seq.; 9:2; 16:3; 23:18; Numbers 8:8 seq.; 15:24; 28:19, 20; Judges 6:25-29; 1 Samuel 1:25; 16:2; 1 Kings 18:23-26, 33); for all the animals that were sacrificed signified the goods of the church of various kinds.

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