9823. 'A breastplate' means Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a breastplate' as Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good, in this instance within the last and lowest things in progression from inmost ones in the heavens. For the ephod which that breastplate rested on represented the lowest things of the spiritual kingdom, and therefore the lowest things of heaven. The reason why 'the breastplate' has this meaning is that it was tied on over the breast, where the heart lies, and was filled with precious stones, and the heart corresponds to celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord received from the Lord, while the twelve precious stones correspond to Divine Truths springing from that good. This is the reason why in the highest sense 'the breastplate' means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord's Divine Good. For the correspondence of the heart to celestial good, or the good of love to the Lord received from the Lord, see 170, 172, 176, 3635, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9494; and for the correspondence of the twelve precious stones to Divine Truths which spring from Divine Good, see further on in the present chapter where the full description of this breastplate occurs. There it is called 'the breastplate of judgement', also the Urim and Thummim, because of the twelve precious stones with which it was filled. The fact that it was tied on over the breast, where the heart lies, is evident from the description of it below, where that fact is stated explicitly in these words,

Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart. Verse 29.

And after this,

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. Verse 30.

'Judgement' too means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, as will be seen in what follows.

1068. That 'Noah began to be a man of the ground' means in general a person who has been instructed from matters of doctrine concerning faith is clear from the meaning of 'the ground', dealt with already in 268, 566, as the member of the Church, or what amounts to the same, the Church. For if the Church is to exist at all the individual must be the Church. The Church is called 'the ground' from the fact that it receives the seeds of faith, which are the truths and goods of faith. 'The ground' is distinguished from 'the earth' or 'the land' - which, as has been shown, also means the Church - as faith is from charity. As charity includes faith within itself so does earth or land include the ground. Consequently when the Church is dealt with in general it is called 'the earth' or 'the land', and when dealt with specifically it is called 'the ground', as here. For that which is general is a complex whole consisting of the things deriving from it. The matters of doctrine which the members of the Ancient Church possessed had come down, as stated already, from revelations and perceptions of the Most Ancient Church which had been preserved, and in which they had faith, such as those we have today in the Word. Those matters of doctrine were their Word. 'Noah began to be a man of the ground' therefore means a person who has been instructed from matters of doctrine concerning faith.