10221. 'Half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness' means all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'half' as all; and from the meaning of 'a shekel' as truth springing from good. The reason why 'half' means all is that half a shekel consisted of ten gerahs or obols, and 'ten' means all, 4638, and also remnants, 576, 1906, 1988, 2284, which are the truths and forms of good present with a person, stored away by the Lord in the more internal parts of him, 5135, 5342, 5897, 5898, 7560, 7564. The reason why 'a shekel' means truth springing from good is that it was a weight of silver and also of gold, and 'silver' means truth and 'gold' good. But the amount of truth springing from good and of good coming through truth is determined by the number of gerahs or obols to a shekel. The shekel, being essentially a weight, means the amount; and when it is called 'the shekel of holiness' the amount of truth and good is meant, the reason for this being that truth and good are what are called holy because they come from the Lord who alone is Holy. For more about the shekel and the meaning of it, see 2959.

7564. 'And he that did not take the word of Jehovah to heart' means the things which were not from the Lord. This is clear from the explanation above in 7562, where 'he that feared the word of Jehovah' means the things that were the Lord's, and therefore conversely 'he that did not take the word of Jehovah to heart' means the things which were not from the Lord. Forms of good and truths are either the Lord's or not the Lord's. The Lord's are those which a person puts into practice for the sake of his neighbour, his country, the Church, and the Lord's kingdom, thus for the sake of truth and goodness themselves, and above all for the Lord's sake. These forms of good and truths are the ones that are the Lord's. But those that are not the Lord's are the ones which a person puts into practice for the sake of himself as his end in view, and for the sake of the world as his end in view. These latter forms of good and truths sometimes seem in outward appearance to be like the former; but inwardly they are totally different, for the latter lead to self, the former away from self. The truths and forms of good which are not the Lord's are also for the most part what a person puts into practice in a state of misfortune, sickness, grief, or fear, and not in a state of freedom; for these are also done for the sake of self. Every form of truth or good does indeed flow in from the Lord, but when a person turns the Lord's goodness or truth directly towards himself it becomes man's; it becomes the possession of him who turns it directly towards himself. For it becomes the good of self-love and love of the world. This is the kind of good that all evil people do to one another. From all this one may see which forms of good and truths are meant by forms of good and truths that are the Lord's and by forms of good and truths that are not the Lord's.