Arcana Coelestia # 9474
9474. 'Spices for the anointing oil' means internal truths belonging to the good that consecrates. This is clear from the meaning of 'spices' as interior truths, which are the truths of internal good, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'oil' as the good of love, as above in 9473; and from the meaning of 'anointing' as consecrating to serve as a representative sign. For objects which were to represent realities that were holy were anointed with oil smelling sweetly of spices and thereby consecrated, as is clear from these words later on in Exodus,
Take for yourself the chief spices - best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-scented cane, cassia, olive oil. Afterwards you shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfect ointment; 1 a holy anointing oil it shall be. With it you shall anoint the tent, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its vessels, the lampstand and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base. Thus shall you sanctify them, that they may be most holy. 2 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons. Exodus 30:23-31.
The reason why objects were holy when they had been anointed was that they then represented realities that were holy; and from this it is evident that the anointing of something was the consecration of it to serve as a representative sign.
[2] The reason why oil was used for anointing was that oil was the sign of celestial good, and celestial good is the good of love received from the Lord, and consequently is the good of love to the Lord. This good is the indispensable element within every single aspect of heaven and eternal life. Sweet-smelling spices were used to make that oil sweet-scented, to the end that what was delightful might be represented; for 'odour' means perception, and 'a pleasant and sweet odour' means a delightful perception, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748. And since every perception of good comes through truth, spices were used, by which interior truths are meant, 4748, 5621.
[3] Something more must be stated briefly about why the anointing oil and also the incense were to be made sweet-smelling. As stated above, 'oil' means the good of love, and 'spice' internal truth. But the good of love cannot come to be perceived except through truths; for truth bears witness to good, indeed is the revealer of it, and may be called the outward form of good. This is like the situation with human will and understanding, in that the will cannot make itself known except through the understanding. For the understanding takes to itself and reveals the good of the will; also the understanding is the outward form of the will, in addition to which truth belongs to the understanding and good to the will. From all this it becomes clear why the anointing oil was made to smell sweetly of spices, as also was the incense. But the difference between them is that the spicy smell of the anointing oil means the delightfulness of internal perception, whereas the spicy smell of incense means the delightfulness of external perception. For the spicy smell of the anointing oil was given off without any smoke, and so presented a sweet odour without any external appearance, whereas the spicy smell of incense was given off with the smoke.
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Exodus 25
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering.
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This is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, brass,
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blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats' hair,
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rams' skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,
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oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,
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onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.
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Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
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According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it.
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"They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height.
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You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall overlay it inside and outside, and you shall make a gold molding around it.
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You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four feet. Two rings shall be on the one side of it, and Two rings on the other side of it.
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You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
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You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
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The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it.
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You shall put the testimony which I shall give you into the ark.
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You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
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You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
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Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat.
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The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
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You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you.
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There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
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"You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and one and a half cubits its height.
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You shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.
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You shall make a rim of a handbreadth around it. You shall make a golden molding on its rim around it.
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You shall make four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet.
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the rings shall be close to the rim, for places for the poles to carry the table.
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You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them.
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You shall make its dishes, its spoons, its ladles, and its bowls to pour out offerings with. You shall make them of pure gold.
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You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.
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"You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. Of hammered work shall the lampstand be made, even its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.
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There shall be six branches going out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of its one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side;
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three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a bud and a flower; and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower, so for the six branches going out of the lampstand;
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and in the lampstand four cups made like almond blossoms, its buds and its flowers;
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and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
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Their buds and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all of it one beaten work of pure gold.
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You shall make its lamps seven, and they shall light its lamps to give light to the space in front of it.
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Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold.
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It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these accessories.
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See that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain.
