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Exodus 40

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `On the first day of the month, in the first month, thou dost raise up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,

3 and hast set there the ark of the testimony, and hast covered over the ark with the vail,

4 and hast brought in the table, and set its arrangement in order, and hast brought in the candlestick, and caused its lamps to go up.

5 `And thou hast put the golden altar for perfume before the ark of the testimony, and hast put the covering of the opening to the tabernacle,

6 and hast put the altar of the burnt-offering before the opening of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,

7 and hast put the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and hast put water there.

8 `And thou hast set the court round about, and hast placed the covering of the gate of the court,

9 and hast taken the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle, and all that [is] in it, and hallowed it, and all its vessels, and it hath been holy;

10 and thou hast anointed the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctified the altar, and the altar hath been most holy;

11 and thou hast anointed the laver and its base, and sanctified it.

12 `And thou hast brought near Aaron and his sons unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water;

13 and thou hast clothed Aaron with the holy garments, and anointed him, and sanctified him, and he hath acted as priest to Me.

14 `And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them with coats,

15 and anointed them as thou hast anointed their father, and they have acted as priests to Me, and their anointing hath been to be to them for a priesthood age-during, to their generations.'

16 And Moses doth according to all that Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.

17 And it cometh to pass, in the first month, in the second year, in the first of the month, the tabernacle hath been raised up;

18 and Moses raiseth up the tabernacle, and setteth its sockets, and placeth its boards, and placeth its bars, and raiseth its pillars,

19 and spreadeth the tent over the tabernacle, and putteth the covering of the tent upon it above, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

20 And he taketh and putteth the testimony unto the ark, and setteth the staves on the ark, and putteth the mercy-seat on the ark above;

21 and bringeth in the ark unto the tabernacle, and placeth the vail of the covering, and covereth over the ark of the testimony, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

22 And he putteth the table in the tent of meeting, on the side of the tabernacle northward, at the outside of the vail,

23 and setteth in order upon it the arrangement of bread, before Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

24 And he putteth the candlestick in the tent of meeting, over-against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward,

25 and causeth the lamps to go up before Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

26 And he setteth the golden altar in the tent of meeting, before the vail,

27 and maketh perfume on it -- spice-perfume -- as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

28 And he setteth the covering of the opening to the tabernacle,

29 and the altar of the burnt-offering he hath set at the opening of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and causeth the burnt-offering to go up upon it, and the present, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

30 And he putteth the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and putteth water there for washing,

31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons have washed their hands and their feet at the same;

32 in their going in unto the tent of meeting, and in their drawing near unto the altar, they wash, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

33 And he raiseth up the court round about the tabernacle, and about the altar, and placeth the covering of the gate of the court; and Moses completeth the work.

34 And the cloud covereth the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the tabernacle;

35 and Moses hath not been able to go in unto the tent of meeting, for the cloud hath tabernacled on it, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the tabernacle.

36 And in the going up of the cloud from off the tabernacle the sons of Israel journey in all their journeys;

37 and if the cloud go not up then they journey not, until the day of its going up:

38 for the cloud of Jehovah [is] on the tabernacle by day, and fire is in it by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel in all their journeys.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 8443

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8443. 'And behold, the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud' means the Lord's presence within truth adjusted to their discernment. This is clear from the meaning of 'the glory of Jehovah' as the presence and arrival of the Lord, dealt with above in 8427; and from the meaning of 'the cloud' as the literal sense of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, thus truth adjusted to people's discernment, for the Word in the letter is that kind of truth. But 'the glory that is in the cloud' is Divine Truth, which is not adjusted in that way to people's discernment, because it is above illusions and appearances of the senses; so it is also the internal sense of the Word, Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 8427. The reason why 'the glory' is the internal sense of the Word is that this sense deals with the Church and the Lord's kingdom, and the highest sense with the Lord Himself, which sense also contains Divine Truth in its absolute form.

[2] There are many levels of God's truth, not just one. The first level of God's truth, and also the second, is that truth going forth directly from the Lord; it is above angels' understanding. But the third level of God's truth is that truth as it exists in the inmost or third heaven; its nature is such that man can grasp nothing whatever of it. The fourth level of God's truth is as it exists in the middle or second heaven; this is not intelligible to man either. But the fifth level of God's truth is that truth as it exists in the lowest or first heaven; this may to some small extent be perceived by man, but only if he is enlightened, though even then it is such that human language is incapable of expressing a large part of it. When it passes into ideas it generates the ability to perceive it and also to believe that it is indeed the truth. But the sixth level of God's truth is as it exists with man; it is adjusted to his discernment, thus it is the sense of the letter of the Word. This sense or kind of truth is represented by 'the cloud' and inner truths by 'the glory in the cloud'.

[3] This explains why Jehovah, that is, the Lord, appeared so many times to Moses and the children of Israel in a cloud, as at Exodus 24:15-16; 40:34-35; 1 Kings 8:10-11; Matthew 24:30; and elsewhere. When the Lord is making His appearance He does so through Divine Truth; indeed what is appearing is Divine Truth. The meaning of 'a cloud' as truth adjusted to human discernment has its origin in representatives in the next life. There the speech of angels in the higher heavens manifests itself to those below as light and also as the brilliance of light; but the speech of angels belonging to a lower heaven manifests itself as a bright cloud, the shape of which varies, and the thick or thin texture of which is determined by the character of truths. From all this it becomes clear that 'the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud' means the Lord's presence within truth adjusted to their discernment.

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