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Leviticus 23

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Appointed seasons of Jehovah, which ye proclaim, holy convocations, [are] these: they [are] My appointed seasons:

3 six days is work done, and in the seventh day [is] a sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye do no work; it [is] a sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings.

4 `These [are] appointed seasons of Jehovah, holy convocations, which ye proclaim in their appointed seasons:

5 in the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings, [is] the passover to Jehovah;

6 and on the fifteenth day of this month [is] the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do eat;

7 on the first day ye have a holy convocation, ye do no servile work;

8 and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah seven days; in the seventh day [is] a holy convocation; ye do no servile work.'

9 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

10 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your harvest unto the priest,

11 then he hath waved the sheaf before Jehovah for your acceptance; on the morrow of the sabbath doth the priest wave it.

12 `And ye have prepared in the day of your waving the sheaf a lamb, a perfect one, a son of a year, for a burnt-offering to Jehovah,

13 and its present two tenth deals of flour mixed with oil, a fire-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance, and its drink-offering, wine, a fourth of the hin.

14 `And bread and roasted corn and full ears ye do not eat until this self-same day, until your bringing in the offering of your God -- a statute age-during to your generations, in all your dwellings.

15 `And ye have numbered to you from the morrow of the sabbath, from the day of your bringing in the sheaf of the wave-offering: they are seven perfect sabbaths;

16 unto the morrow of the seventh sabbath ye do number fifty days, and ye have brought near a new present to Jehovah;

17 out of your dwellings ye bring in bread of a wave-offering, two [loaves], of two tenth deals of flour they are, [with] yeast they are baken, first-[fruits] to Jehovah.

18 `And ye have brought near, besides the bread, seven lambs, perfect ones, sons of a year, and one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams; they are a burnt-offering to Jehovah, with their present and their libations, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

19 `And ye have prepared one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and two lambs, sons of a year, for a sacrifice of peace-offerings,

20 and the priest hath waved them, besides the bread of the first-[fruits] -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, besides the two lambs; they are holy to Jehovah for the priest;

21 and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day: a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in all your dwellings, to your generations.

22 `And in your reaping the harvest of your land thou dost not complete the corner of thy field in thy reaping, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I Jehovah [am] your God.'

23 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

24 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first of the month, ye have a sabbath, a memorial of shouting, a holy convocation;

25 ye do no servile work, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah.'

26 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

27 `Only -- on the tenth of this seventh month is a day of atonements; ye have a holy convocation, and ye have humbled yourselves, and have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah;

28 and ye do no work in this self-same day, for it is a day of atonements, to make atonement for you, before Jehovah your God.

29 `For any person who is not humbled in this self-same day hath even been cut off from his people;

30 and any person who doth any work in this self-same day I have even destroyed that person from the midst of his people;

31 ye do no work -- a statute age-during to your generations in all your dwellings.

32 It [is] a sabbath of rest to you, and ye have humbled yourselves in the ninth of the month at even; from evening till evening ye do keep your sabbath.'

33 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

34 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month [is] a feast of booths seven days to Jehovah;

35 on the first day [is] a holy convocation, ye do no servile work,

36 seven days ye bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, on the eighth day ye have a holy convocation, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; it [is] a restraint, ye do no servile work.

37 `These [are] appointed seasons of Jehovah, which ye proclaim holy convocations, to bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, a burnt-offering, and a present, a sacrifice, and libations, a thing of a day in its day,

38 apart from the sabbaths of Jehovah, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your willing-offerings, which ye give to Jehovah.

39 `Only -- in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, in your gathering the increase of the land, ye do keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day [is] a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath;

40 and ye have taken to yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of a brook, and have rejoiced before Jehovah your God seven days.

41 `And ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah, seven days in a year -- a statute age-during to your generations; in the seventh month ye keep it a feast.

42 `In booths ye dwell seven days; all who are natives in Israel dwell in booths,

43 so that your generations do know that in booths I caused the sons of Israel to dwell; in my bringing them out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, [am] your God.'

44 And Moses speaketh [concerning] the appointed seasons of Jehovah unto the sons of Israel.

   

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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.