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Numbers 31

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Avenging, avenge the sons of Israel of the Midianites; after this shalt thou be gathered to thy people.

3 And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm from among yourselves the men for an army, and let them be against Midian, and put the vengeance of Jehovah on Midian.

4 A thousand for a tribe, a thousand for a tribe, for all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the army.

5 And there were committed from the thousands of Israel, a thousand for every tribe, twelve thousand armed for the army.

6 And Moses sent them, a thousand for every tribe, for an army, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, for an army, and the holy vessels, and the trumpets to blast in his hand.

7 And they were·​·an·​·army against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they killed all the males.

8 And they killed the kings of Midian, over their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, five kings of Midian; and Balaam, the son of Beor, they killed with the sword.

9 And the sons of Israel took·​·captive the women of Midian, and their infants, and plundered all their beasts, and all their livestock, and all their belongings.

10 And all their cities, with their dwellingplaces, and all their castles, they burnt·​·up with fire.

11 And they took all the spoil, and all the booty, among man and among beast.

12 And they brought the captives, and the booty, and the spoil, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, into the camp toward the desert of Moab, which was by Jordan near Jericho.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the chiefs of the congregation, went·​·forth to meet them to outside the camp.

14 And Moses was·​·enraged on·​·account·​·of the overseers of the forces, the princes of the thousands, and princes of the hundreds, who came from the army of war.

15 And Moses said to them, Have you kept·​·alive all the females?

16 Behold, these women were the cause for the sons of Israel, by the word* of Balaam, to commit the trespass against Jehovah on·​·account·​·of the matter of Peor; and there was a striking among the congregation of Jehovah.

17 And now kill every male among the infants, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with a male.

18 But every infant among the women, who have· not ·known a male by lying with him, keep·​·alive for yourselves.

19 And encamp you outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed a soul, and whoever has touched any slain, purge yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

20 And purge every garment, and every vessel of skins, and all works of the hair of goats, and all vessels of wood.

21 And Eleazar the priest said to the men of the army who came to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah commanded Moses:

22 surely the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

23 every thing that may come into the fire, you shall make it pass·​·through the fire, and it shall be·​·clean; surely it shall be purged with the water of isolation; and all that comes not into the fire you shall make pass·​·through the water.

24 And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and you shall be·​·clean, and afterwards you shall come to the camp.

25 And Jehovah said to Moses, saying,

26 Bear·​·up the sum of the booty of the captivity, among man and among beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the congregation;

27 and halve the booty, between those who were occupied in the battle, going·​·out with the army, and all the congregation;

28 and lift·​·up a share to Jehovah from the men of the battle going·​·out with the army: one soul from five hundred, from man, and from the herd, and from the donkeys, and from the flock;

29 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for an uplifting of Jehovah.

30 And from the half of the sons of Israel, thou shalt take one possession of fifty, of man, of the herd, of the donkeys, and of the flock, of every beast, and give them to the Levites, keeping the charge of the Habitation of Jehovah.

31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

32 And the booty, the remainder of the plunder which the people of the army plundered, was a flock of six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand,

33 and two and seventy thousand cattle,

34 and one and sixty thousand donkeys,

35 and the soul of man, of the women who knew not a male by lying with him, all the souls, two and thirty thousand.

36 And the half, the part for those who went·​·out into the army, from the number of the flock was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred;

37 and the share for Jehovah from the flock was six hundred five and seventy.

38 And the cattle were six and thirty thousand; and the share for Jehovah was two and seventy.

39 And the donkeys were thirty thousand and five hundred; and the share for Jehovah was one and sixty.

40 And the souls of man were sixteen thousand; and the share of Jehovah was two and thirty souls.

41 And Moses gave the share, the uplifting of Jehovah, to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

42 And from the half of the sons of Israel, which Moses halved from the men of the army,

43 and the half which was for the congregation from the flock was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred,

44 and six and thirty thousand cattle,

45 and thirty thousand and five hundred donkeys,

46 and the soul of man sixteen thousand;

47 and Moses took from the half of the sons of Israel one possession of fifty, from man and from beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the Habitation of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

48 And the overseers who were over thousands of the army, the princes of thousands, and princes of hundreds, came·​·near to Moses,

49 and they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken·​·up the sum of the men of war which are in our hand, and not one man of us is·​·missing.

50 And we have offered an offering to Jehovah, each·​·man what he found, of vessels of gold, an armband, and a bracelet, a ring, an earring, and a band, to make·​·atonement for our souls before Jehovah.

51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all the vessels made.

52 And all the gold of the uplifting, that they lifted·​·up to Jehovah, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the princes of the thousands, and from the princes of the hundreds.

53 For the men of the army had plundered, each man for himself.

54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the princes of the thousands and of the hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.

   


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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 901

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901. 'The twenty-seventh day' means that which is holy. This is clear from what has been said above, for it is the composite number that is obtained when three is cubed - that is, three multiplied by three making nine, and nine multiplied by three again making twenty-seven. The predominant factor in this number therefore is three. This was how the most ancient people calculated numbers and by means of them meant nothing else than real things. That 'three' has the same meaning as seven becomes clear from what has been stated already just above. A hidden reason why it does so is that the Lord rose on the third day. The Lord's resurrection itself comprehends all that is holy, and the resurrection of all men. This was why in the Jewish Church this number became representative, and why in the Word it is a holy number. It is similar in heaven where no numbers are envisaged. Instead of three and seven they have a general holy idea of the resurrection and of the Coming of the Lord.

[2] That 'three' and 'seven' mean what is holy is clear from the following places in the Word: In Moses,

Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days. He shall purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean. And if he does not purify himself on the third day then he will not be clean on the seventh day. He who touches one pierced by the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre will be unclean for seven days. The one who is clean shall sprinkle [with hyssop] over the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he [the unclean] shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and will be clean in the evening. Numbers 19:11, 11, 16, 19.

Quite clearly these requirements are representative, that is, things of an external nature meaning those that are internal. Take for example the fact that anyone was unclean who had touched one who had died, or one pierced [by the sword], or a human bone, or a sepulchre. Each of these objects means in the internal sense things that are a person's own, which are dead and unholy. So too with the requirement that he had to bathe himself in water and would be clean in the evening. And the third day and the seventh day were in like manner representative. They mean that which is holy because these were the days when he was to be purified and so be cleansed.

[3] The same usage occurs in the reference to the men coming back from the battle with the Midianites, who were told,

Camp outside the camp for seven days. Every one of you who has killed someone 1 and every one who has touched one slain 2 shall purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 31:19.

If this were just a ceremonial observance and the third and the seventh days were not representative and symbolical of that which is holy, that is, of purification, it would be something dead. It would be something without a cause and a cause without an end in view. That is, it would be like that which has been severed from its cause and its cause from its end in view; and so there would be nothing Divine about it at all. That the third day was representative of, and so symbolized, that which is holy, is quite clear from the Lord's coming down on Mount Sinai, concerning which event the following command was given, Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and make them holy today and tomorrow, in order that they may wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16.

[4] The same usage occurs in Joshua's crossing the Jordan on the third day,

Joshua commanded, Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people saying, Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing this Jordan to go and take possession of the land. 'The crossing of the Jordan' represented the introduction of the children of Israel, that is, of the regenerate, into the Lord's kingdom, 'Joshua', who led them in, representing the Lord Himself. And this took place 'on the third day'. Because the third day, like the seventh, was holy it was stipulated that the third year should be a year of taking tithes 3 and in that year people should be holy in their conduct by performing charitable works, Deuteronomy 26:12 and following verses. 'Tithes' 3 represented remnants, which are holy because they are the Lord's alone. Jonah's presence in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, clearly represented the Lord's burial and His resurrection on the third day, Matthew 12:40.

[5] That 'three' means that which is holy is also clear in the Prophets, as in Hosea,

Jehovah will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:2.

Here too 'the third day' clearly stands for the Lord's Coming, and for His resurrection. In Zechariah,

It will happen in all the land that two parts in it will be cut off and breathe their last, and a third will be left in it. And I will lead the third part through fire, and I will refine them as one refines silver, and test them as one tests gold. Zechariah 13:8-9.

Here 'a third part' or three stands for that which is holy. A third embodies the same as three, and so does the third of a third, as in the present verse, for three is the cube root of twenty-seven.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, a soul

2. literally, pierced

3. or tenths

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