9777. '[And] all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze' means everything that joins together and strengthens the two heavens, the middle and the lowest, through good. This is clear from the meaning of 'pins' as things that serve to join and strengthen, dealt with below; from the meaning of the dwelling-place, to which 'its' relates here, as heaven, in particular the middle heaven, dealt with in 9594, 9596, 9632; from the meaning of 'the court' as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741; and from the meaning of 'bronze' as external good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

[2] The reason why things that serve to join and strengthen are meant by 'pins' or pegs is that these articles do so. They have a similar meaning wherever else they are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places; do not stop [them]. Lengthen your ropes, and make your pegs firm. Isaiah 54:2.

This refers to the New Church founded by the Lord. 'Enlarging the place of the tent, and stretching out the curtains of the dwelling-places' stands for the enhancement of teachings that present what is good and true, and worship that springs from them, 9596. 'Long ropes' and 'the pegs' stand for a far-reaching connection among truths and full corroboration of them. As for the court, that this too had ropes, see Exodus 35:18; Numbers 3:37; 4:32.

[3] In Isaiah,

Look upon Zion. May your eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet dwelling-place, a tabernacle which is not overthrown. Its pegs will never be removed, and none of its ropes will be pulled away. Isaiah 33:20.

'Pegs' and 'ropes' here stand in like manner for what serves to corroborate or strengthen and join together. 'Peg' again stands for strengthening and joining together in Isaiah 41:7 and Jeremiah 10:4; but these verses refer to idols, by which teachings of what is false are meant, because they are the product of self-intelligence, 8941, 9424. A peg however on which something is hung means affixing and joining [one thing to another], in Isaiah 22:23-24, and in Ezekiel 15:3.

6425. 'By the hands of the powerful Jacob' means received from the almighty power of the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hands' as power, dealt with immediately above in 6424, and in the highest sense, in which the Lord is the subject, as almighty power, 878, 3387, 4592, 4933 (end); and from the meaning of 'the powerful Jacob' as the Lord's Divine Natural, thus His Divine Human, 1893, 3305, 3576, 3599, 4286, 4538, 6098, 6185, 6276. That the Lord is the One who is meant by 'the powerful Jacob' is also evident in David,

He who swore to Jehovah made a vow to the powerful Jacob, If I enter the tent of my house . . . until I find a place for Jehovah, the dwelling-places of the powerful Jacob. Psalms 132:2-3, 5.

And in Isaiah,

That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the powerful Jacob. Isaiah 49:26.

In the same prophet,

Hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. I will pour out My spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon your sons. This one will say, I am Jehovah's, and that one will call himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write with his hand, Jehovah's, and surname himself by the name of Israel. Isaiah 44:1-3, 5.

In the highest sense 'Israel' too means the Lord, in Hosea,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Hosea 11:1.

The fact that it is the Lord who is meant here by 'Israel' is clear in Matthew,

Joseph went with the boy into Egypt, so that what had been said by the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt have I called My son. Matthew 2:14-15.