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Leviticus 13

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,

2 `When a man hath in the skin of his flesh a rising, or scab, or bright spot, and it hath become in the skin of his flesh a leprous plague, then he hath been brought in unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests;

3 and the priest hath seen the plague in the skin of the flesh, and the hair in the plague hath turned white, and the appearance of the plague [is] deeper than the skin of his flesh -- it [is] a plague of leprosy, and the priest hath seen him, and hath pronounced him unclean.

4 `And if the bright spot is white in the skin of his flesh, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and its hair hath not turned white, then hath the priest shut up [him who hath] the plague seven days.

5 `And the priest hath seen him on the seventh day, and lo, the plague hath stood in his eyes, the plague hath not spread in the skin, and the priest hath shut him up a second seven days.

6 `And the priest hath seen him on the second seventh day, and lo, the plague is become weak, and the plague hath not spread in the skin -- and the priest hath pronounced him clean, it [is] a scab, and he hath washed his garments, and hath been clean.

7 `And if the scab spread greatly in the skin, after his being seen by the priest for his cleansing, then he hath been seen a second time by the priest;

8 and the priest hath seen, and lo, the scab hath spread in the skin, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] leprosy.

9 `When a plague of leprosy is in a man, then he hath been brought in unto the priest,

10 and the priest hath seen, and lo, a white rising in the skin, and it hath turned the hair white, and a quickening of raw flesh [is] in the rising, --

11 an old leprosy it [is] in the skin of his flesh, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; he doth not shut him up, for he [is] unclean.

12 `And if the leprosy break out greatly in the skin, and the leprosy hath covered all the skin of [him who hath] the plague, from his head even unto his feet, to all that appeareth to the eyes of the priest,

13 then hath the priest seen, and lo, the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, and he hath pronounced [him who hath] the plague clean; it hath all turned white; he [is] clean.

14 `And in the day of raw flesh being seen in him he is unclean;

15 and the priest hath seen the raw flesh, and hath pronounced him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it [is] leprosy.

16 Or when the raw flesh turneth back, and hath been turned to white, then he hath come in unto the priest,

17 and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the plague hath been turned to white, and the priest hath pronounced clean [him who hath] the plague; he [is] clean.

18 `And when flesh hath in it, in its skin, an ulcer, and it hath been healed,

19 and there hath been in the place of the ulcer a white rising, or a bright white spot, very red, then it hath been seen by the priest,

20 and the priest hath seen, and lo, its appearance [is] lower than the skin, and its hair hath turned white, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] a plague of leprosy -- in an ulcer it hath broken out.

21 `And if the priest see it, and lo, there is no white hair in it, and it is not lower than the skin, and is become weak, then hath the priest shut him up seven days;

22 and if it spread greatly in the skin, then hath the priest pronounced him unclean, it [is] a plague;

23 and if in its place the bright spot stay -- it hath not spread -- it [is] an inflammation of the ulcer; and the priest hath pronounced him clean.

24 `Or when flesh hath in its skin a fiery burning, and the quickening of the burning, the bright white spot, hath been very red or white,

25 and the priest hath seen it, and lo, the hair hath turned white in the bright spot, and its appearance [is] deeper than the skin; leprosy it [is], in the burning it hath broken out, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] a plague of leprosy.

26 `And if the priest see it, and lo, there is no white hair on the bright spot, and it is not lower than the skin, and it is become weak, then the priest hath shut him up seven days;

27 and the priest hath seen him on the seventh day, if it spread greatly in the skin, then the priest hath pronounced him unclean; a plague of leprosy it [is].

28 `And if the bright spot stay in its place, it hath not spread in the skin, and is become weak; a rising of the burning it [is], and the priest hath pronounced him clean; for it [is] inflammation of the burning.

29 `And when a man (or a woman) hath in him a plague in the head or in the beard,

30 then hath the priest seen the plague, and lo, its appearance is deeper than the skin, and in it a thin shining hair, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] a scall -- it [is] a leprosy of the head or of the beard.

31 `And when the priest seeth the plague of the scall, and lo, its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then hath the priest shut up [him who hath] the plague of the scall seven days.

32 `And the priest hath seen the plague on the seventh day, and lo, the scall hath not spread, and a shining hair hath not been in it, and the appearance of the scall is not deeper than the skin,

33 then he hath shaved himself, but the scall he doth not shave; and the priest hath shut up [him who hath] the scall a second seven days.

34 And the priest hath seen the scall on the seventh day, and lo, the scall hath not spread in the skin, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and the priest hath pronounced him clean, and he hath washed his garments, and hath been clean.

35 `And if the scall spread greatly in the skin after his cleansing,

36 and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the scall hath spread in the skin, the priest seeketh not for the shining hair, he is unclean;

37 and if in his eyes the scall hath stayed, and black hair hath sprung up in it, the scall hath been healed -- he [is] clean -- and the priest hath pronounced him clean.

38 `And when a man or woman hath in the skin of their flesh bright spots, white bright spots,

39 and the priest hath seen, and lo, in the skin of their flesh white weak bright spots, it [is] a freckled spot broken out in the skin; he [is] clean.

40 `And when a man's head [is] polished, he [is] bald, he [is] clean;

41 and if from the corner of his face his head is polished, he [is] bald of the forehead; he [is] clean.

42 `And when there is in the bald back of the head, or in the bald forehead, a very red white plague, it [is] a leprosy breaking out in the bald back of the head, or in the bald forehead;

43 and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the rising of the very red white plague in the bald back of the head, or in the bald forehead, [is] as the appearance of leprosy, in the skin of the flesh,

44 he [is] a leprous man, he [is] unclean; the priest doth pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague [is] in his head.

45 `As to the leper in whom [is] the plague, his garments are rent, and his head is uncovered, and he covereth over the upper lip, and `Unclean! Unclean!' he calleth;

46 all the days that the plague [is] in him he is unclean; he [is] unclean, alone he doth dwell, at the outside of the camp [is] his dwelling.

47 `And when there is in any garment a plague of leprosy, -- in a garment of wool, or in a garment of linen,

48 or in the warp, or in the woof, of linen or of wool, or in a skin, or in any work of skin,

49 and the plague hath been very green or very red in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin, it [is] a plague of leprosy, and it hath been shewn the priest.

50 `And the priest hath seen the plague, and hath shut up [that which hath] the plague, seven days;

51 and he hath seen the plague on the seventh day, and the plague hath spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, of all that is made of skin for work; the plague [is] a fretting leprosy, it [is] unclean.

52 `And he hath burnt the garment, or the warp, or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any vessel of skin in which the plague is; for it [is] a fretting leprosy; with fire it is burnt.

53 `And if the priest see, and lo, the plague hath not spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin,

54 then hath the priest commanded, and they have washed that in which the plague [is], and he hath shut it up a second seven days.

55 And the priest hath seen [that which hath] the plague after it hath been washed, and lo, the plague hath not changed its aspect, and the plague hath not spread, -- it [is] unclean; with fire thou dost burn it; it [is] a fretting in its back-part or in its front-part.

56 `And if the priest hath seen, and lo, the plague [is] become weak after it hath been washed, then he hath rent it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof;

57 and if it still be seen in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin, it [is] a fretting; with fire thou dost burn it -- that in which the plague [is].

58 `And the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or any vessel of skin which thou dost wash when the plague hath turned aside from them, then it hath been washed a second time, and hath been clean.

59 `This [is] the law of a plague of leprosy [in] a garment of wool or of linen, or of the warp or of the woof, or of any vessel of skin, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.'

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 10038

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10038. 'You shall burn with fire outside the camp' means that those things must be banished to hell and be consumed by the evils of self-love. This is clear from the meaning of 'burning with fire' as consuming by means of the evils of self-love, for 'burning' means consuming or devouring and 'fire' the evil of self-love (for these meanings of 'burning' and 'fire', see 1297, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141, 9434); and from the meaning of 'the camp' as heaven and the Church, and in the contrary sense the place where heaven and the Church do not exist, thus where hell exists, dealt with below. The reason why 'being burned with fire' means being consumed by the evils of self-love is that that love consumes every good or truth of faith. Scarcely anyone at the present day knows that self-love does this, nor consequently that this love constitutes hell with a person and that it is what should be understood by hell-fire.

[2] There are two fires of life that exist with a person; one is self-love, the other is love to God. Those in whom self-love predominates cannot be governed by love to God, for those loves are opposites. They are opposites because self-love gives rise to all evils, which are contempt for others in comparison with self, enmity towards those who do not treat oneself favourably, and in the end to hatred, vengeance, brutality, and cruelty; and these evils act in total opposition to Divine influx, consequently annihilate truths and forms of the good of faith and charity, these being the things that flow in from the Lord. Anybody who stops to reflect may know that everyone's love is the fire of his life - for without love there is no life, and the character of the love determines that of the life - and therefore that self-love gives rise to evils of every kind, doing so in the measure that he has only himself in view, that is, self-love reigns in him. The worst kind of self-love is the love of dominion over others for selfish reasons, that is, the love of possessing dominion solely for the sake of position and gain. Those in whom that love predominates may, it is true, make profession of faith and charity, but they do so with their lips, not with their heart; indeed the worst among them look on the things that belong to faith and charity, thus the holy things of the Church, as means to their own ends. But self-love and all the different types of it, also the evils that gush out of it, and the condition of the selfish in the next life, must in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated in detail somewhere else. They have been referred to here to enable people to know what 'being burned with fire outside the camp' means.

[3] The fact that 'the camp' where the children of Israel were encamped represented heaven and the Church, and therefore that 'outside the camp' represented the place where heaven and the Church did not exist, thus where hell was, becomes clear from those places in the Word which mention the camp and the encampment of the children of Israel in the wilderness, such as the following in Moses,

The children of Israel shall camp, [every] man by his own camp, and [every] man by his own standard, according to their armies. And the Levites shall camp around the dwelling-place of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. Numbers 1:52-53; 2:2.

In addition, Numbers 2:1-end says that the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun encamped to the east; the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin to the west; and the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north. But the Levites were in the middle of their camps. The like applied when they set out on their journeys, Numbers 2:17; 10:1-end. The reason why their encampments were arranged in that kind of order was so that they might represent heaven and the Church, 9320 (end). Moreover the tribes according to which the children of Israel set up their camps represented all the forms of good and all the truths in their entirety that belonged to heaven and the Church, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. This explains why it says that Jehovah dwells in the middle of the camps, Numbers 5:3, and that He walks in the middle of them and they will therefore be holy, Deuteronomy 23:14, and why, in the prophecy uttered by Balaam, when he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, he said, How good are your tabernacles, O Jacob, and your dwelling-places, O Israel! Numbers 24:2-3, 5.

[4] Since heaven and the Church was represented by the camp it follows that 'outside the camp' meant the place where neither heaven nor the Church existed, thus where hell was. That is why everyone who was unclean and also anyone who was guilty was sent out there, as may be recognized from the following,

You shall send out of the camp everyone who is leprous, and everyone suffering a discharge, and everyone unclean on account of a soul 1 . Whether they are male or female 2 you shall send them outside the camp, so that they may not defile the camps, in the middle of which Jehovah dwells. Numbers 5:2-3; Leviticus 13:45-46.

A man who is not clean by reason of an accident in the night shall go outside the camp and not come into the middle of the camp. When he has washed himself with water and the sun has set he shall enter the camp. There shall be a space for you outside the camp where you may go out, and you shall cover your excrement by means of a spade 3 , since Jehovah walks in the middle of the camp. Therefore the camp shall be holy. Deuteronomy 23:10-14.

And the stoning of people was done outside the camp, Leviticus 24:14; Numbers 15:35-36.

From all this it is now clear that 'you shall burn with fire the flesh, skin, and dung of the young bull, outside the camp' means that evils, meant by these things, must be banished to hell.

[5] The same thing as was represented by the camp and the area outside it was also represented by the land of Canaan and the lands around it after that land had been divided up as inheritances among the children of Israel. This is why in the Word 'the land of Canaan' or simply 'the land' means heaven and the Church, and 'the children of Israel' those who are in heaven and the Church. For the meaning of 'the land' as heaven and the Church, see the places referred to in 9325; and for that of 'the children of Israel' as those who are there, 9340.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. unclean through contact with a dead body

2. literally, From male even to female

3. literally, peg or nail

  
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Arcana Coelestia # 4060

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4060. Therefore the words quoted above [in 4056] mean the state of the Church at that time as regards good, that is, as regards charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. This is clear from the internal sense of these words, which is as follows:

But immediately after the affliction of those days means the state of the Church as regards the truth of faith, which is dealt with in the verses immediately before this. In the Word desolation of truth is called 'affliction' in various places - 'days' being states, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785. From this it is evident that these words mean that once faith no longer exists neither will any charity exist. For faith leads to charity because it teaches what charity is, and charity acquires its particular character from the truths of faith. The truths of faith however receive their essence and life from charity, as has been shown many times in previous volumes.

[2] The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light means love to the Lord, which is 'the sun', and charity towards the neighbour, which is 'the moon'. 'Being darkened' and 'not giving light' mean that that love and charity will not be in evidence and so will disappear. For 'the sun' means the celestial kind of love and 'the moon' the spiritual kind; that is, 'the sun' means love to the Lord, and 'the moon' charity towards the neighbour which comes through faith, see 1053, 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495. The reason why the sun and the moon have these meanings is that the Lord is seen in the next life as a sun by those in heaven who are governed by love to Him and are called celestial, and as a moon by those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour and are referred to as spiritual, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643.

[3] The sun and the moon in heaven, or the Lord, are never darkened, nor do they lose their light but are shining unceasingly. Thus in heaven there is no darkening or loss of light in the love which celestial angels have for the Lord or in the charity which spiritual angels show towards the neighbour. Nor on earth is there any in people with whom angels are present, that is, in people who are governed by love and charity. But those who are not governed by any love or charity, only by self-love and love of the world, and consequently by feelings of hatred and revenge, bring that kind of obscurity to themselves. It is like the sun of this world which is shining constantly; yet when clouds intervene the sun is not visible, see 2441.

[4] And the stars will fall from heaven means that cognitions of good and truth will perish. When mentioned in the Word 'stars' have no other meaning than those cognitions, 1808, 2849.

And the powers of the heavens will be shaken means the foundations of the Church which are said to be shaken and jolted when those cognitions perish. This is because the Church on earth is heaven's foundation; for the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens culminates ultimately in the goods and truths present with the member of the Church. Consequently when the state of the member of the Church is so perverse that he no longer allows good or truth to flow into him 'the powers of the heavens' are in that case said 'to be shaken'. That being so, the Lord always provides for some vestige of the Church to be left. And when the old Church perishes a new one is established.

[5] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven means the manifestation of Divine truth - 'sign' meaning a manifestation, 'the Son of Man' the Lord as regards Divine truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704. This manifestation, or this 'sign', is what the disciples asked for when they said to the Lord,

Tell us, when will those things take place; what especially will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

For they knew from the Word that when the age drew to a close the Lord would come, and they knew from the Lord that He would be coming again, by which they understood the Lord's coming a second time into the world since they were not yet aware of the fact that the Lord had come as often as the Church had been brought to ruin. Not that any of these comings had been a coming in person, as was the case when, through birth in the world, He took on the Human and made this Divine. Rather, those comings had been made through appearances or manifestations of Himself, such as when He appeared in Mamre to Abraham, in the bush to Moses, on Mount Sinai to the Israelites, and to Joshua when he entered the land of Canaan. There were other comings of a less visible nature, such as those at times when inspiration was received and the Word was given by means of it, and later on through the Word itself. For the Word has the Lord present within it; every detail there comes from Him and has reference to Him, as may be recognized from what has been shown many times up to now. This is the kind of appearance that is meant here by 'the sign of the Son of Man' and is the subject in the present verse under consideration.

[6] And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn means that all in whom the good of love and the truth of faith dwell will experience grief. This is what is meant by 'mourning', see Zechariah 12:10-14; and 'the tribes' means all aspects of good and truth, that is, of love and faith, 3858, 3926, and so consequently those in whom these things dwell. The phrase 'the tribes of the earth' is used because those inside the Church are meant - 'the earth' being the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2928,

[7] And they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means that at that time a revelation of the internal sense of the Word - the sense in which the Lord is present - will take place. 'The Son of Man' means Divine truth within the Word, 2803, 2813, 3704, 'the clouds' the literal sense. 'Power' has reference to the good and 'glory' to the truth present there. For this meaning of 'seeing the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven', see Preface to Genesis 18. This is the kind of coming of the Lord that is meant here, not a literal manifestation of Him in clouds. Next follows a reference to the establishment of a new Church, which takes place once the old has been brought to ruin and cast aside.

[8] He will send out His angels with a trumpet and a loud voice means election - not by visible angels, still less by trumpets and by loud voices, but by an influx of holy good and of holy truth from the Lord through angels, so that the expression 'angels' in the Word means something essentially the Lord's, 1925, 2821, 3039. In this instance it means things which come from the Lord and have reference to the Lord. 'A trumpet and a loud voice' means the proclamation of the Gospel, as in other places in the Word.

[9] And they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other end of them means the establishment of a new Church, 'the elect' being people in whom the good of love and faith dwell, 3755 (end), 3900, 'the four winds' from which they will be gathered being all states of good and truth, 3708, and 'one end of the heavens to the other' the internal and the external features of the Church. These are the considerations that are meant by these words spoken by the Lord.

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