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Leviticus 22

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and they are separated from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and they pollute not My holy name in what they are hallowing to Me; I [am] Jehovah.

3 `Say unto them, To your generations, any man who draweth near, out of all your seed, unto the holy things which the sons of Israel do sanctify to Jehovah, and his uncleanness on him -- even that person hath been cut off from before Me; I [am] Jehovah.

4 `Any man of the seed of Aaron, and is leprous or hath an issue -- of the holy things he doth not eat till that he is clean; and he who is coming against any uncleanness of a person, or a man whose seed of copulation goeth out from him,

5 or a man who cometh against any teeming thing which is unclean to him, or against a man who is unclean to him, even any of his uncleanness --

6 the person who cometh against it -- hath even been unclean till the evening, and doth not eat of the holy things, but hath bathed his flesh with water,

7 and the sun hath gone in, and he hath been clean, and afterwards he doth eat of the holy things, for it [is] his food;

8 a carcase or torn thing he doth not eat, for uncleanness thereby; I [am] Jehovah.

9 `And they have kept My charge, and bear no sin for it, that they have died for it when they pollute it; I [am] Jehovah sanctifying them.

10 `And no stranger doth eat of the holy thing; a settler of a priest and an hireling doth not eat of the holy thing;

11 and when a priest buyeth a person, the purchase of his money, he doth eat of it, also one born in his house; they do eat of his bread.

12 `And a priest's daughter, when she is a strange man's, -- she, of the heave-offering of the holy things doth not eat;

13 and a priest's daughter, when she is a widow, or cast out, and hath no seed, and hath turned back unto the house of her father, as [in] her youth, of her father's bread she doth eat; but no stranger doth eat of it.

14 `And when a man doth eat of a holy thing through ignorance, then he hath added its fifth part to it, and hath given [it] to the priest, with the holy thing;

15 and they do not pollute the holy things of the sons of Israel -- that which they lift up to Jehovah,

16 nor have caused them to bear the iniquity of the guilt-offering in their eating their holy things; for I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying them.'

17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

18 `Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Any man of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners in Israel, who bringeth near his offering, of all his vows, or of all his willing offerings which they bring near to Jehovah for a burnt-offering;

19 at your pleasure a perfect one, a male of the herd, of the sheep or of the goats;

20 nothing in which [is] blemish do ye bring near, for it is not for a pleasing thing for you.

21 `And when a man bringeth near a sacrifice of peace-offerings to Jehovah, to complete a vow, or for a willing-offering, of the herd or of the flock, it is perfect for a pleasing thing: no blemish is in it;

22 blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed -- ye do not bring these near to Jehovah, and a fire-offering ye do not make of them on the altar to Jehovah.

23 `As to an ox or a sheep enlarged or dwarfed -- a willing-offering ye do make it, but for a vow it is not pleasing.

24 As to a bruised, or beaten, or enlarged, or cut thing -- ye do not bring [it] near to Jehovah; even in your land ye do not do it.

25 And from the hand of a son of a stranger ye do not bring near the bread of your God, of any of these, for their corruption [is] in them; blemish [is] in them; they are not pleasing for you.'

26 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

27 `When ox or lamb or goat is born, and it hath been seven days under its dam, then from the eighth day and henceforth, it is pleasing for an offering, a fire-offering to Jehovah;

28 but an ox or sheep -- it and its young one, ye do not slaughter in one day.

29 `And when ye sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Jehovah, at your pleasure ye do sacrifice,

30 on that day it is eaten, ye do not leave of it till morning; I [am] Jehovah;

31 and ye have kept my commands, and have done them; I [am] Jehovah;

32 and ye do not pollute My holy name, and I have been hallowed in the midst of the sons of Israel; I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying you,

33 who am bringing you up out of the land of Egypt, to become your God; I [am] Jehovah.'

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 925

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925. 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest' means that worship stemming from these was pleasing to the Lord, that is to say, worship stemming from charity and from faith deriving from charity, meant by 'a burnt offering', as stated in the previous verse. In various places in the Word it is said that 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest', especially that from burnt offerings, and wherever this occurs that which is pleasing or acceptable is meant. For references to His smelling an odour of rest from burnt offerings, see Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 23:12-13, 18; Numbers 28:6, 8, 13; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36; also from other sacrifices, Leviticus 2:2, 9; 6:15, 21; 8:21, 28; Numbers 15:3, 7, 13. They are also called 'that which has been made by fire as an odour of rest to Jehovah' which means that it stems from love and charity. In the Word when 'fire' or 'made by fire' is used in reference to the Lord and to worship of Him, it means love. And the same applies to 'bread', which also is why representative worship by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices is called 'bread offered by fire to Jehovah as an odour of rest', Leviticus 3:11, 16.

[2] The reason why 'an odour' means that which is pleasing and acceptable, and so why in the Jewish Church an odour was also representative of that which is pleasing and is ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord, is that good stemming from charity, and the truth of faith deriving from charity, correspond to sweet and pleasant odours. What the correspondence itself is and the character of it becomes clear from the spheres in heaven which surround spirits and angels. The spheres there are spheres of love and faith, and are clearly perceived. These spheres are such that when a good spirit or angel, that is, a community of good spirits or angels, approaches, the nature of the spirit or angel - that is, of the community - as regards love and faith is, as often as the Lord pleases, instantly perceived. It is perceived even when they are a long way off, more so still when they are closer at hand. This is unbelievable but nevertheless perfectly true. Such is the communication in the next life, and such the perception. Consequently, when the Lord pleases there is no necessity to make extensive enquiries to discover the character of a soul or spirit, for it is recognizable the moment he approaches. It is to these spheres that spheres belonging to odours in the world correspond. That they do correspond in this way becomes clear from the fact that when the Lord pleases the spheres of love and faith are readily converted in the world of spirits into spheres of sweet and pleasant odours, which are clearly perceived.

[3] From these considerations it is now clear from where and why 'an odour of rest' means that which is pleasing, why in the Jewish Church an odour became a representative, and why 'an odour of rest' is here ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord. 'An odour of rest' is descriptive of peace, that is, of the pleasantness of peace. Peace in one embrace takes in every single feature of the Lord's kingdom; for the state of the Lord's kingdom is a state of peace. It is within the state of peace that all the happy states occur which flow from love and faith in the Lord. All that has now been stated shows not only what representatives were essentially, but also why the Jewish Church had an altar for burning incense in front of the veil and the Mercy-seat, why offerings of frankincense accompanied sacrifices, and also why so many fragrant substances were used in incense, in frankincense, and in the anointing oil too. It shows therefore what 'an odour of rest', 'incense', and 'fragrances' mean in the Word, namely celestial things of love, and spiritual things of faith deriving from these, in general everything pleasing that derives from love and faith.

[4] As in Ezekiel,

On My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, there all the house of Israel, all of it in the land, will serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions, and the first fruits comprising your gifts in all your holy acts. Through the odour of rest I will accept you. Ezekiel 20:40-41.

Here 'an odour of rest' has reference to burnt offerings and gifts, that is, to worship stemming from charity and attendant faith, which worship is meant by burnt offerings and gifts, and is consequently acceptable, which is meant by 'the odour'. In Amos,

I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies 1 [as a pleasant odour], for though you offer Me your burnt offerings and gifts, they will not be accepted. Amos 5:21-22.

This clearly means that which is pleasing or acceptable. The passage which describes Isaac's blessing Jacob instead of Esau reads,

Jacob went near and Isaac kissed him. He smelled the odour of his clothes, and he blessed him and said, See, the odour of my son, like the odour of a field that Jehovah has blessed. Genesis 27:26-27.

'The odour of his clothes' means natural good and truth whose pleasantness stems from their harmony with celestial and spiritual good and truth. Their pleasantness is described by 'the odour of the field'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, cessations i.e. cessations from work

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