9562. 'And on [the shaft of] the lampstand' means the middle [of it], by means of which everything is brought together, and from which powers are derived. This is clear from the meaning of 'the lampstand' as the spiritual heaven, dealt with in 9548. But at this point, since the term is used to refer to the middle part, out of which there went 'six branches', by which powers are meant, 9558, it means the middle, by means of which everything is brought together and from which powers are derived.

9557. 'There shall be three almond-shaped cups' means completeness so far as factual knowledge derived from good is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of 'three' as what is complete, dealt with immediately above in 9556; from the meaning of 'cups' as true factual knowledge derived from the good of charity, dealt with in 5120; and from the meaning of 'almond-shaped' as forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of interior natural good, dealt with in 5622. From these meanings it is evident that 'three almond-shaped cups' means completeness so far as true factual knowledge derived from good is concerned.