9415. Come up to Me into the mountain, and be thou there. That this signifies the Lord’s presence with them through an intermediate, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being elevation toward higher, that is, more interior, things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), and consequently conjunction with them (n. 8760, 9373). That it denotes the presence of the Lord, is because it is said, “Come up to Me into the mountain, and be thou there;” for by Jehovah, to whom he was to go up, is meant the Lord (see above, n. 9414); and by “Mount Sinai” is signified the Word which is from the Lord, thus in which is the the Lord, (n. 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805), consequently also heaven; for the Word is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord; and heaven is the receptacle of truth Divine, thus of the Lord Himself, as has been frequently shown above. From this it is plain that by “coming up to Jehovah into the mountain” is signified the presence of the Lord. That “with the people through an intermediate” is signified, is because Moses now represents the people as their head, thus as what mediates, as was said just above (n. 9414).

[2] It is said “the presence of the Lord with them through an intermediate,” because the Lord makes Himself present with man, but not man with the Lord. For all the good of love and truth of faith come from the Lord; and nothing whatever of good and of truth comes from man. Wherefore the presence of the Lord is with those who admit Him; that is, with those who in faith and love receive the truth Divine which is from Him. That the Lord comes to these, and not they to Him, the Lord Himself teaches in John:

He that loveth Me keepeth My word, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him (John 14:23).

He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27).

8540. And an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. That this signifies the amount of the good then, is evident from the signification of “an omer is the tenth part of an ephah,” as being as much as is sufficient, for by “ten” is signified what is full (see n. 3107), and therefore by “a tenth part” is signified as much as is sufficient (n. 8468) and from the signification of “an ephah,” as being good. That “an ephah” denotes good is because by it and by an omer were measured dry things that served for food, such as wheat, barley, fine flour; and by things that are used for food are signified goods: and by “a bath” and by “a hin” were measured liquids, which served for drink; consequently by these measures were signified truths. The containant receives this signification from the contents.

[2] That the ephah was a measure is plain from the following passages:

An ephah of justice, and a hin of justice, shall ye have (Leviticus 19:36).

The ephah and the bath shall be one measure, because the ephah is the tenth of a homer (Ezekiel 45:11).

Ye shall have balances of justice, and an ephah of justice, and a bath of justice (verse 10).

It is in like manner a measure in Amos 8:5.

[3] That “an ephah” denotes good is plain from the passages where the “meat-offering” is treated of, for which meal or fine flour was measured by an ephah (Leviticus 5:11; Numbers 5:15; 28:5; Ezekiel 45:24; 46:7, 11). The “meat-offering” signifies good. And also from this passage in Zechariah:

The angel speaking in me said unto me, Lift up I pray thine eyes, What is this that goeth forth? and I said, What is it? He said, This is the ephah that goeth forth; he said moreover, This is their eye in all the earth. And behold there was lifted up a talent of lead, and at the same time this woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. Then he said, She is evil, and he cast her into the midst of the ephah, and he cast a stone of lead upon the mouth thereof. And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, when behold there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; they had two wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven; and I said unto the angel that spake in me, Whither do these carry off the ephah? who said unto me, To build her a house in the land of Shinar; and it shall be prepared, and she shall abide there upon her seat (5:5-11).

[4] What these things signify it is impossible for anyone to know except from the internal sense, and unless he thereby knows what is meant by “the ephah,” what by “the woman in the midst of it,” what by “the stone of lead upon the mouth of the ephah,” also what is meant by “Shinar.” When each detail is unfolded, it is clear that the profanation which was at that time in the church is signified; for by “the ephah” is signified good; by “the woman,” evil, as is there openly stated; by “the stone of lead,” falsity of evil shutting up, for “a stone” denotes external truth, and consequently in the opposite sense falsity (n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426), and “lead” denotes evil (n. 8298). Thus by “the woman in the midst of the ephah, upon the mouth of which was a stone of lead,” is signified evil shut up in good by falsity, which is the same thing as profanation, for profanation is evil conjoined with good (n. 6348). “The two women lifting up the ephah between the earth and the heaven” denotes the churches (n. 252, 253) by which what was profane was rejected; “Shinar, whither the woman in the ephah was carried off” denotes external worship, within which is what is profane (n. 1183, 1292).