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Éxodo 37

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1 HIZO también Bezaleel el arca de madera de Sittim: su longitud era de dos codos y medio, y de codo y medio su anchura, y su altura de otro codo y medio:

2 Y cubrióla de oro puro por de dentro y por de fuera, é hízole una cornisa de oro en derredor.

3 Hízole además de fundición cuatro anillos de oro á sus cuatro esquinas; en el un lado dos anillos y en el otro lado dos anillos.

4 Hizo también las varas de madera de Sittim, y cubriólas de oro.

5 Y metió las varas por los anillos á los lados del arca, para llevar el arca.

6 Hizo asimismo la cubierta de oro puro: su longitud de dos codos y medio, y su anchura de codo y medio.

7 Hizo también los dos querubines de oro, hízolos labrados á martillo, á los dos cabos de la cubierta:

8 El un querubín de esta parte al un cabo, y el otro querubín de la otra parte al otro cabo de la cubierta: hizo los querubines á sus dos cabos.

9 Y los querubines extendían sus alas por encima, cubriendo con sus alas la cubierta: y sus rostros el uno enfrente del otro, hacia la cubierta los rostros de los querubines.

10 Hizo también la mesa de madera de Sittim; su longitud de dos codos, y su anchura de un codo, y de codo y medio su altura;

11 Y cubrióla de oro puro, é hízole una cornisa de oro en derredor.

12 Hízole también una moldura alrededor, del ancho de una mano, á la cual moldura hizo la cornisa de oro en circunferencia.

13 Hízole asimismo de fundición cuatro anillos de oro, y púsolos á las cuatro esquinas que correspondían á los cuatro pies de ella.

14 Delante de la moldura estaban los anillos, por los cuales se metiesen las varas para llevar la mesa.

15 E hizo las varas de madera de Sittim para llevar la mesa, y cubriólas de oro.

16 También hizo los vasos que habían de estar sobre la mesa, sus platos, y sus cucharas, y sus cubiertos y sus tazones con que se había de libar, de oro fino.

17 Hizo asimismo el candelero de oro puro, é hízolo labrado á martillo: su pie y su caña, sus copas, sus manzanas y sus flores eran de lo mismo.

18 De sus lados salían seis brazos; tres brazos del un lado del candelero, y otros tres brazos del otro lado del candelero:

19 En el un brazo, tres copas figura de almendras, una manzana y una flor; y en el otro brazo tres copas figura de almendras, una manzana y una flor: y así en los seis brazos que salían del candelero.

20 Y en el candelero había cuatro copas figura de almendras, sus manzanas y sus flores:

21 Y una manzana debajo de los dos brazos de lo mismo, y otra manzana debajo de los otros dos brazos de lo mismo, y otra manzana debajo de los otros dos brazos de lo mismo, conforme á los seis brazos que salían de él.

22 Sus manzanas y sus brazos eran de lo mismo; todo era una pieza labrada á martillo, de oro puro.

23 Hizo asimismo sus siete candilejas, y sus despabiladeras, y sus platillos, de oro puro;

24 De un talento de oro puro lo hizo, con todos sus vasos.

25 Hizo también el altar del perfume de madera de Sittim: un codo su longitud, y otro codo su anchura, era cuadrado; y su altura de dos codos; y sus cuernos de la misma pieza.

26 Y cubriólo de oro puro, su mesa y sus paredes alrededor, y sus cuernos: é hízole una corona de oro alrededor.

27 Hízole también dos anillos de oro debajo de la corona en las dos esquinas á los dos lados, para pasar por ellos las varas con que había de ser conducido.

28 E hizo las varas de madera de Sittim, y cubriólas de oro.

29 Hizo asimismo el aceite santo de la unción, y el fino perfume aromático, de obra de perfumador.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 716

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716. 'Sevens of each' means that they are holy. This is clear from what has been stated already in 84-87 about the seventh day or sabbath. That is to say, the Lord is the Seventh Day and from Him derives every celestial Church or man, and indeed, the celestial itself which, because it is the Lord's alone, is most holy. Consequently seven in the Word means holy; indeed in the internal sense, as here, absolutely nothing is obtained from the number itself. For people who possess the internal sense, as angels and angelic spirits do, have no concept at all of what a number is, and so do not know what seven is. Therefore the idea that they were to take seven pairs of all the clean beasts, or that the ratio of the good to the evil was to be seven to two, is not at all the meaning here. Rather it is this: Things of the will with which this member of the Church was supplied were the goods which are holy, through which, as stated already, he was capable of being regenerated.

[2] That 'seven' means that which is holy, or things that are holy, becomes clear from the rituals in the representative Church, where the number seven occurs time and again, for example, being sprinkled seven times with blood and oil, as in Leviticus,

Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything that was in it and made them holy. And he sprinkled some of it over the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels to make them holy. Leviticus 8:10-11.

Here 'seven times' would be utterly devoid of meaning if that which is holy was not being represented in this way. 'Oil' there means the holiness of love. And elsewhere in Leviticus, when Aaron entered the Holy Place,

He shall take some of the blood of the young bull, and shall sprinkle it with his finger over the face 1 of the mercy-seat towards the east, and he shall sprinkle the face 1 of the mercy-seat seven times with some of the blood with his finger.

Similarly with the altar,

He shall sprinkle over it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and shall cleanse it, and make it holy. Leviticus 16:14, 19.

Here every single detail means the Lord Himself, and therefore the holiness of love - that is to say, 'the blood' and also 'the mercy-seat', 'the altar' too, 'the east in which direction the blood was to be sprinkled', and so 'seven' as well, all mean the Lord.

[3] In sacrifices it is similar, about which the following is said in Leviticus,

If a soul has sinned inadvertently, and if the anointed priest has sinned, thus making the people guilty, he shall slaughter the young bull in Jehovah's presence. And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in Jehovah's presence towards the veil of the Holy Place. Leviticus 4:2-4, 6.

Here similarly 'seven' means that which is holy, for the subject is atonement, and therefore the Lord, since atonement is the Lord's alone. Similar instructions were also given concerning the cleansing of leprosy, about which the following is said in Leviticus,

[Taking some] of the bird's blood, the cedar-wood, the double-dyed scarlet, and the hyssop, the priest shall sprinkle over the one who is to be cleansed from leprosy seven times, and shall cleanse him. In a similar way some of the oil which is in his left palm, seven times in Jehovah's presence. In a similar way in a house where there is leprosy, [he shall take some] of the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, and the double-dyed scarlet, and shall sprinkle some of the bird's blood seven times. Leviticus 14:6-7, 27, 51.

Anyone may see that here cedar-wood, double-dyed scarlet, hyssop, oil, and blood of a bird, and so the number seven, would be utterly meaningless if things that are holy were not being represented by them. If you take away from them holy things, what is left is something dead, or something unholy and idolatrous. When however they do mean holy things the worship they contain in that case is a Divine worship which is internal and simply represented by things that are external. The Jews however were incapable of knowing what these meant; and neither does anyone today know what cedar-wood, hyssop, double-dyed scarlet, and the bird all mean. Yet if only they had been willing to think that these did embody holy things which they did not actually know, and so had worshipped the Lord - who was the Messiah to come who would heal them from their leprosy, that is, from profaning what is holy - they could have been saved. For people who do think and believe in this manner straightaway receive instruction in the next life, if they desire it, as to what every single detail represented.

[4] Similarly where 'the red heifer' is the subject it is said that the priest was to take some of its blood on his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood towards the face 1 of the tent of meeting seven times, Numbers 19:4. Because 'the seventh day' or sabbath meant the Lord, and from Him meant the celestial man and the celestial itself, the seventh day in the Jewish Church was the holiest of all its religious observances. For this reason there was a sabbath year 2 every seventh year, Leviticus 25:4. Also a jubilee was to be proclaimed after seven sabbaths of years, that is, after seven times seven years, Leviticus 25:8-9. In the highest sense the number seven means the Lord, and from this the holiness of love. This becomes clear also from the golden lampstand with its seven lamps, mentioned in Exodus 25:31-33, 37; 37:17-19, 23; Numbers 8:2-3; Zechariah 4:2. And in John it is spoken of as follows,

Seven golden lampstands; in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. Revelation 1:12-13.

Here it is absolutely clear that 'a lampstand with seven lamps' means the Lord, and that 'the lamps' are the holy things of love, which comprise celestial things, which also is why there were seven of them.

[5] In the same author,

From the throne there were coming forth seven fiery torches burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5.

Here 'the seven torches which came forth from the Lord's throne' are seven lamps. The same applies to the number seven when it occurs in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt of His people. Isaiah 30:26.

Here 'sevenfold light as the light of seven days' does not at all mean sevenfold but the holiness of love meant by the sun. See also what has been stated and shown already at Genesis 4:15 concerning the number seven. From these quotations it is also quite clear that all numbers used in the Word never have a numerical value [in the internal sense], as has also been shown already at Genesis 6:3.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, the faces

2. literally, sabbath of a sabbath

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