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Exodus 39

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1 And of the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, they made coloured garments, to minister in the sanctuary; and they make the holy garments which [are] for Aaron, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

2 And he maketh the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen,

3 and they expand the plates of gold, and have cut off wires to work in the midst of the blue, and in the midst of the purple, and in the midst of the scarlet, and in the midst of the linen -- work of a designer;

4 shoulder-pieces they have made for it, joining; at its two ends it is joined.

5 And the girdle of his ephod which [is] on it is of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

6 And they prepare the shoham stones, set, embroidered [with] gold, opened with openings of a signet, by the names of the sons of Israel;

7 and he setteth them on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

8 And he maketh the breastplate, work of a designer, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen;

9 it hath been square; double they have made the breastplate, a span its length, and a span its breadth, doubled.

10 And they fill in it four rows of stones; a row of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle [is] the one row;

11 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;

12 and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;

13 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper -- set, embroidered [with] gold, in their settings.

14 And the stones, according to the names of the sons of Israel, are twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each according to his name, for the twelve tribes.

15 And they make on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold;

16 and they make two embroidered things of gold, and two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate,

17 and they put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;

18 and the two ends of the two thick bands they have put on the two embroidered things, and they put them on the shoulders of the ephod, over-against its front.

19 And they make two rings of gold, and set [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which [is] on the side of the ephod within;

20 and they make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod below, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod;

21 and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod, with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from off the ephod, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

22 And he maketh the upper robe of the ephod, work of a weaver, completely of blue;

23 and the opening of the upper robe [is] in its midst, as the opening of a habergeon, a border [is] to its opening round about, it is not rent;

24 and they make on the hems of the upper robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, twined.

25 And they make bells of pure gold, and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates, on the hems of the upper robe, round about, in the midst of the pomegranates;

26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, [are] on the hems of the upper robe, round about, to minister in, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

27 And they make the coats of linen, work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons,

28 and the mitre of linen, and the beautiful bonnets of linen, and the linen trousers, of twined linen,

29 and the girdle of twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, work of an embroiderer, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

30 And they make the flower of the holy crown of pure gold, and write on it a writing, openings of a signet, `holy to Jehovah;'

31 and they put on it a ribbon of blue, to put [it] on the mitre above, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

32 And all the service of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting is completed; and the sons of Israel do according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses; so they have done.

33 And they bring in the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all its vessels, its hooks, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets;

34 and the covering of rams' skins, which are made red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering;

35 the ark of the testimony and its staves, and the mercy-seat;

36 the table, all its vessels, and the bread of the presence;

37 the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps of arrangement, and all its vessels, and the oil for the light.

38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice-perfume, and the covering of the opening of the tent;

39 the brazen altar and the brazen grate which it hath, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base.

40 The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pins; and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;

41 the coloured clothes to minister in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to act as priest in.

42 According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service;

43 and Moses seeth all the work, and lo, they have done it as Jehovah hath commanded; so they have done. And Moses doth bless them.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 4677

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4677. 'And he made him a tunic of various colours' means the resulting appearances of truth by which the spiritual of the natural is recognized and distinguished. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tunic' as the truth of the natural, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'various colours' as appearances of truth by which the spiritual of the natural is recognized and distinguished. No one can know that these things are meant by 'various colours' unless he knows that colours may be seen in the next life no less than in the world - colours which are far more beautiful and various - and unless he knows the origins of those colours. Colours seen in the next life are produced by the variegation of light there and are so to speak modifications of intelligence and wisdom, for the light which is seen there is a manifestation of Divine Truth received from the Lord, that is, it is the Divine Spiritual from Him, or what amounts to the same, is Divine Intelligence and Wisdom. These two are seen as light before the eyes of angels and spirits. From this one may see what is meant by the colours being products of that light, namely different kinds and so appearances of truth that are due to varying affections for good and truth. Regarding colours in the next life, see 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530.

[2] It has been stated already in 3301 that 'a tunic' means the truth of the natural, but as this meaning was not substantiated there from other places in the Word, let these be mentioned here. Because kings in the Jewish Church represented the Lord as regards the Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, their daughters therefore wore tunics of various colours, for 'daughters' meant affections for good and truth, and so meant Churches, 2362, 3963. The following is said of them in the second Book of Samuel,

On Tamar, David's daughter, there was a tunic of various colours, for virgin daughters of the king wore such clothes. 2 Samuel 13:18.

[3] And because high priests represented the Lord as regards the Divine

Celestial or Divine Good, Aaron therefore wore vestments which represented Divine Truth that was derived from the Lord's Divine Good; for Divine Good exists within the Lord, whereas Divine Truth proceeds from Him. This was what those vestments represented. Something similar was represented when the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, in that Divine Good was seen as the sun, and Divine Truth was manifested by means of His garments which had the appearance of light, Matthew 17:2.

[4] Regarding the vestments worn by Aaron and his sons, the following is said in Moses,

You shall make for Aaron a tunic of fine linen, and a turban of fine linen; and you shall make a girdle, the work of an embroiderer. And you shall make tunics for Aaron's sons, and you shall make girdles for them, and you shall make head-coverings for them, for glory and adornment. Exodus 28:39-40.

Each article of clothing here meant something connected with Divine Truth derived from the Lord's Divine Good, 'a tunic of fine linen' meaning specifically the Divine Spiritual. The same applies elsewhere in the same author,

You shall take the vestments, and put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and you shall clothe him with the girdle of the ephod. Then you shall cause his sons to come near, and you shall put them in tunics. Exodus 29:5, 8; 40:14.

What each article of clothing means here will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated when those verses come up for consideration. 'Garments' in general are truths, see 297, 1073, 2576, 4545.

[5] Prophets too wore tunics, though theirs were made of hair. This was because prophets represented the Lord as regards truths of doctrine, and since truths belong to the natural or external man, their tunics were made of hair - 'hair' meaning the natural, see 3301.

[6] The fact that 'a tunic' means Divine Truth received from the Lord is evident further still from those places where a tunic is mentioned in the New Testament, as in John,

The soldiers took His garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and His tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Therefore they said to one another, Let us not divide it - so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying They divided My garments for themselves, and for My tunic they cast lots. John 19:23-24.

Anyone reading this description supposes that it does not hold anything deeper within it than the facts that the garments were divided among the soldiers and that lots were cast for the tunic. But each detail described here represented and meant spiritually something Divine - that is to say, those two details about the garments being divided into four and about the tunic not being divided but having lots cast for it, and above all the detail about the tunic being without seam and woven from the top throughout. 'The tunic' meant the Lord's Divine Truth, which being singular - derived from Good - was represented by the tunic's being without seam and woven from the top throughout.

[7] Much the same was meant by Aaron's tunic which, as is evident in Moses, was woven or the work of a weaver,

They made tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons Exodus 39:27.

Also represented by the tunic without seam was the fact that the Lord did not allow Divine Truth to be torn apart, as was done by the Jews to the lower truths of the Church.

[8] Because Divine Truth is singular - that is to say, it is derived solely from Divine Good - the twelve disciples were commanded, when they were being sent out to preach the gospel of the kingdom, not to have two tunics. This is recorded in Luke as follows,

Jesus sent the twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God. And He said to them, Take nothing for the way, neither staves, nor bag, nor bread, nor silver, nor have two tunics each. Luke 9:2-3.

In Mark,

He charged them to take nothing for the way except a staff; not a bag, nor bread, nor bronze in the belt, but to wear sandals; and do not put on two tunics. Mark 6:8-9.

And in Matthew,

Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor bronze in your belts, nor bag for the way, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staves. Matthew 10:9-10.

[9] All the individual instructions given in these places are representative of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom which the disciples were sent to preach. The reason they were not to take gold, silver, bronze, bag, or bread with them was that those things meant different kinds of good and truth received from the Lord alone. 'Gold' means good, 113, 1551, 1552, while 'silver' means truth derived from that good, 1551, 2954; 'bronze' means natural good, 425, 1551, and 'bread' the good of love, which is heavenly good, 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 4211, 4217. 'Tunic' however and 'sandal' meant the truths with which they were to be endued, and 'staff the power of truth derived from good. For 'staff' means that power, see 4013, 4015; 'sandal' the lowest natural, 1748, here its truth; and 'tunic' interior natural truth. Now because these things had to be not twofold but singular, they were forbidden to have two staves, two pairs of sandals, or two tunics. These are the arcana contained in what the Lord commanded, but no one can possibly know about them except from the internal sense.

[10] All the detailed instructions spoken by the Lord were representative of Divine things, and consequently of the celestial and spiritual things of His kingdom. They were accordingly suited to the mental grasp of men and at the same time to the understanding of spirits and angels. Therefore the things spoken by the Lord pervaded the whole of heaven and continue to do so. From this it is also evident how valuable and important it is to know the internal sense of the Word. Without it anyone can use the Word to support whatever dogma he likes; and because this is seen to be so by those who are subject to evil, they therefore deride the Word and think it is anything but Divine.

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1043

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1043. 'The cloud' means the obscure light in which the spiritual man dwells in comparison with the celestial man. This becomes clear from what has just been stated concerning the bow; for the bow, or the colour of the bow, is never manifested except within the cloud. As has been stated, it is the obscurity itself through which the sun's rays shine that is converted into different colours, and so the actual colour that is produced is determined by the nature of the obscurity which the brightness of those rays encounters. Similarly with the spiritual man. The obscurity with him, which is called 'the cloud' here, is falsity, and is the same as the intellectual side of his proprium. When innocence, charity, and mercy from the Lord are instilled into this part of his proprium, the cloud is no longer seen as falsity but as an appearance of truth together with [real] truth from the Lord. Consequently there is the likeness of a coloured bow. The conversion of something spiritual that defies description is involved here, but how else the matter can be explained intelligibly except through the way a person perceives colours and how they are produced I do not know.

[2] The nature of this cloud with someone who is regenerate is clear from what his state was prior to regeneration. A person is regenerated by means of the things he supposes to be the truths of faith. Everyone supposes that his own accepted belief is the truth, and on this basis acquires a conscience. Consequently once he has acquired a conscience, acting contrary to the things that have been impressed on him as being the truths of faith is to him acting contrary to conscience. This applies to everyone who is regenerate. For many from whatever accepted belief are regenerated by the Lord; and once regenerated, they do not receive any direct revelation, but only those things which are implanted through the Word and preaching of it. But because they receive charity, the Lord operates by way of charity into the cloud that is theirs. From this, light is provided, as when the sun pierces a cloud which thereby becomes more illumined and made varicoloured. So also within the cloud [of falsity] the likeness of a bow is manifested. The thinner the cloud therefore, that is, the more it consists of many truths of faith blending together, the more beautiful is the bow; but the thicker this cloud, that is, the less it consists of truths of faith, the less beautiful the bow. Innocence adds considerably to its beauty, bringing so to speak a living brightness to the colours.

[3] All appearances of truth are 'clouds' which envelop a person when he is confined to the sense of the letter of the Word, for the Word speaks according to appearances. Yet, even though he remains in appearances, since he believes the Word in simplicity and has charity, that cloud is relatively thin - it being within this cloud that the Lord forms conscience in the case of one who is inside the Church. In addition, all forms of ignorance of truth are 'clouds', such as envelop a person who does not know what the truth of faith is, in general when he does not know what the Word is, and still more when he has not heard about the Lord. It is within this cloud that the Lord forms conscience in the case of one who is outside the Church; for in ignorance itself there can be innocence, and so charity. All falsities too are 'clouds', but these clouds are the darkness that exists either with people who have a false conscience, as described already, or with people who have none at all. These are in general the various types of clouds. As regards the number of them, the clouds with an individual are so numerous and so thick that if he knew he would be amazed that rays of light from the Lord could ever pierce them at all and that anyone could be regenerated. The person who imagines he has a very small amount of cloud sometimes has a vast quantity of it, while the one who believes he has a vast quantity of cloud has less.

[4] Such clouds reside with the spiritual man, but with the celestial man not so many do so since with him love to the Lord is present, which has been implanted in the will part of his mind. He does not therefore receive conscience from the Lord as the spiritual man does, but perception of good and from this of truth. When the will part of someone's mind is such that he is able to receive rays from a celestial flame, the understanding part is lit up by it, and he knows and perceives from love all things that are truths of faith. The will part is then like a little sun from which rays pass into the understanding part. Such was the nature of the member of the Most Ancient Church. But when the will part of his mind has become utterly corrupted and hellish, and a new will, which is conscience, is therefore formed in the understanding part, as happened to the member of the Ancient Church and happens now to every regenerate member of the spiritual Church, there is thick cloud; for, having no ability to perceive what good and truth are, he must gain a knowledge of this through learning about them. At the same time falsity, which is the obscurity of the cloud, is constantly flowing in from the black will part of his mind, that is, from hell by way of that will part. For this reason the understanding part with the spiritual man can never be enlightened in the way that it is with the celestial man. This is why 'cloud' here means the obscure light in which the spiritual man dwells in comparison with the celestial man.

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