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.

Poznámky pod čarou:

6960. 'Put your hand into your bosom' means making truth their own. This is clear from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with above in 6947; and from the meaning of 'bosom' as love, for the parts of the chest correspond to love since the chest holds within it the heart, which corresponds to celestial love, and the lungs, which correspond to spiritual love, 3635, 3883-3896, 4112, 4113, 4133. And as 'the bosom' therefore corresponds to love it also means that which is one's own, because what constitutes a person's love is that which is his own. For this reason 'putting a hand into one's bosom' here means making something one's own. The fact that making truth one's own is what is meant is evident from the things that follow in the narrative and also from the consideration that truth is what spiritual power consists in, 6948.

[2] The fact that 'the bosom' means that which is a person's true self, and so that which is his own, and from this means making something one's own and joining to oneself through love, is clear from the following places: In Micah,

Do not trust in a companion, put no confidence in a leader; from her who is lying in your bosom guard the doors of your mouth. Micah 7:5.

'Her lying in the bosom' stands for one who has been joined to another through love. So it is also that a wife is called the wife of her husband's bosom, Deuteronomy 28:54; 2 Samuel 12:8, and a husband is called the husband of his wife's bosom, Deuteronomy 28:56; and this is because one belongs to the other. In David,

My prayer falls back onto my bosom. Psalms 35:13.

This stands for its return to himself. In the same author,

Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants - [how] I bear in my bosom all the great peoples. Psalms 89:50.

This stands for what is present with himself, as that which is his own. In Isaiah,

He pastures His flock like a shepherd, He gathers the lambs into His arm, and He carries them in His bosom. Isaiah 40:11.

Here the meaning is similar.

[3] In Luke,

Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be given into your bosom. Luke 6:38.

'Being given into the bosom' stands for imparting them as their own. In the same gospel,

After that it happened that Lazarus died and was taken away by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Luke 16:22.

'Being taken away into Abraham's bosom' stands for being taken to the Lord - whom 'Abraham' is used to mean - by virtue of being joined to Him through love.

[4] In John,

There was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of the disciples, whom Jesus loved. Falling towards Jesus' breast he said to Him, Lord, who is it? John 13:23, 25.

'Reclining on the bosom' plainly stands for being loved and being joined through love. In the same gospel,

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.

'In the bosom of the Father' stands for being one.

[5] 'The bosom' stands for that which is a person's true self, and for making something one's own but not through love, in the following places: In Isaiah,

I will repay, I will repay into their bosom your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together. I will measure the value of their work first into their bosom. Isaiah 65:6-7.

In Jeremiah,

Jehovah shows mercy to thousands and He repays the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them. Jeremiah 31:18.

In David,

Repay our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom, their reproach to which they have subjected You, O Lord. Psalms 79:12.

'Repaying into their bosom' stands for imparting to their true selves.