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Leviticus 21

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1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For [any] person [a priest] is not defiled among his people,

2 except for his relation who [is] near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.

3 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.

4 `A master [priest] doth not defile himself among his people -- to pollute himself;

5 they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;

6 they are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been holy.

7 `A woman, a harlot, or polluted, they do not take, and a woman cast out from her husband they do not take, for he [is] holy to his God;

8 and thou hast sanctified him, for the bread of thy God he is bringing near; he is holy to thee; for holy [am] I, Jehovah, sanctifying you.

9 `And a daughter of any priest when she polluteth herself by going a-whoring -- her father she is polluting; with fire she is burnt.

10 `And the high priest of his brethren, on whose head is poured the anointing oil, and hath consecrated his hand to put on the garments, his head doth not uncover, nor rend his garments,

11 nor beside any dead person doth he come; for his father and for his mother he doth not defile himself;

12 nor from the sanctuary doth he go out, nor doth he pollute the sanctuary of his God, for the separation of the anointing oil of his God [is] on him; I [am] Jehovah.

13 `And he taketh a wife in her virginity;

14 widow, or cast out, or polluted one -- a harlot -- these he doth not take, but a virgin of his own people he doth take [for] a wife,

15 and he doth not pollute his seed among his people; for I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying him.'

16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

17 `Speak unto Aaron, saying, No man of thy seed to their generations in whom there is blemish doth draw near to bring near the bread of his God,

18 for no man in whom [is] blemish doth draw near -- a man blind, or lame or dwarfed, or enlarged,

19 or a man in whom there is a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand,

20 or hump-backed, or a dwarf, or with a mixture in his eye, or a scurvy person, or scabbed, or broken-testicled.

21 `No man in whom is blemish (of the seed of Aaron the priest) doth come nigh to bring near the fire-offerings of Jehovah; blemish [is] in him; the bread of his God he doth not come nigh to bring near.

22 `Bread of his God -- of the most holy things, and of the holy things -- he doth eat;

23 only, unto the vail he doth not enter, and unto the altar he doth not draw nigh; for blemish [is] in him; and he doth not pollute My sanctuaries; for I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying them.'

24 And Moses speaketh unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2362

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2362. That 'behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man' means the affections for good and for truth is clear from the meaning of 'daughters' as affections, dealt with in 489-491. 'They have not known a man' means that they have not been defiled by falsity, for 'a man' means rational truth, and also in the contrary sense falsity, 265, 749, 1007. There are two types of affection, namely the affection for good and the affection for truth, see 1997. The first - the affection for good - constitutes the celestial church and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Zion' and also 'the virgin daughter of Zion'.

[2] But the second - the affection for truth - constitutes the spiritual church, and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem'; as in Isaiah,

She has despised you, she has scorned you, the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Isaiah 37:22; 2 Kings 19:21.

In Jeremiah,

What shall I liken you to, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equate you with and comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? Lamentations 2:13.

In Micah,

You, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you will it come and the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Micah 4:8.

In Zephaniah,

Shout with joy, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! Zephaniah 3:14.

In Zechariah,

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king will come to you. Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15.

[3] That the celestial Church, which is the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Zion' from the affection for good, that is, from love to the Lord Himself, see in addition Isaiah 10:32; 16:1; 52:2; 62:11; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:2, 23; Lamentations 1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10; Micah 4:10, 13; Zechariah 2:10; Psalms 9:14. And that the spiritual Church, which is the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem' from the affection for truth and so from charity towards the neighbour, see Lamentations 2:15. Both of those Churches, and the nature of each one, have been dealt with many times in Volume One.

[4] Because the celestial Church exists from love to the Lord which is present within love towards the neighbour it is likened in particular to an unmarried daughter or a virgin. Indeed it is also called 'a virgin', as in John,

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes; for they are spotless before God's throne. Revelation 14:4-5.

And so that the same might be represented in the Jewish Church, the priests were commanded not to marry widows but virgins, Leviticus 21:13-15; Ezekiel 44:22.

[5] From the contents of the present verse it becomes clear how pure the Word is in the internal sense, however else it may appear in the letter. For when these words are read, 'Behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man; let me now bring them out to you and you may do to them as is good in your eyes; only do nothing to those men', nothing else comes to mind than something impure, especially to those leading an evil life. Yet how chaste these words are in the internal sense is evident from the explanation already given, which is that they mean the affections for good and truth and the blessedness perceived from the enjoyment of those affections by people who do no violence to the Lord's Divinity and [proceeding] Holiness.

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