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Leviticus 1

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1 And Jehovah calleth unto Moses, and speaketh unto him out of the tent of meeting, saying,

2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Any man of you when he doth bring near an offering to Jehovah, out of the cattle -- out of the herd, or out of the flock -- ye do bring near your offering.

3 `If his offering [is] a burnt-offering out of the herd -- a male, a perfect one, he doth bring near, unto the opening of the tent of meeting he doth bring it near, at his pleasure, before Jehovah;

4 and he hath laid his hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and it hath been accepted for him to make atonement for him;

5 and he hath slaughtered the son of the herd before Jehovah; and sons of Aaron, the priests, have brought the blood near, and sprinkled the blood on the altar round about, which [is] at the opening of the tent of meeting.

6 `And he hath stripped the burnt-offering, and hath cut it into its pieces;

7 and the sons of Aaron the priest have put fire on the altar, and arranged wood on the fire;

8 and sons of Aaron, the priests, have arranged the pieces, with the head and the fat, on the wood, which [is] on the fire, which [is] on the altar;

9 and its inwards and its legs he doth wash with water; and the priest hath made perfume with the whole on the altar, a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

10 `And if his offering [is] out of the flock -- out of the sheep or out of the goats -- for a burnt-offering, a male, a perfect one, he doth bring near,

11 and he hath slaughtered it by the side of the altar northward, before Jehovah; and sons of Aaron, the priests, have sprinkled its blood on the altar round about;

12 and he hath cut it into its pieces, and its head and its fat, and the priest hath arranged them on the wood, which [is] on the fire, which [is] on the altar;

13 and the inwards and the legs he doth wash with water, and the priest hath brought the whole near, and hath made perfume on the altar; it [is] a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

14 `And if his offering [is] a burnt-offering out of the fowl to Jehovah, than he hath brought near his offering out of the turtle-doves or out of the young pigeons,

15 and the priest hath brought it near unto the altar, and hath wrung off its head, and hath made perfume on the altar, and its blood hath been wrung out by the side of the altar;

16 and he hath turned aside its crop with its feathers, and hath cast it near the altar, eastward, unto the place of ashes;

17 and he hath cleaved it with its wings (he doth not separate [it]), and the priest hath made it a perfume on the altar, on the wood, which [is] on the fire; it [is] a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #9207

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9207. 'And your sons orphans' means that at the same time truths will do so, that is to say, will perish. This is clear from the meaning of 'orphans' as those who possess truth but not as yet good, and still have a desire for good, dealt with in 9199, at this point those who have truth but no desire for good, thus those with whom truths perish; for it is speaking about evil people whose sons will become orphans. The fact that truths perish with those who have no desire for good is evident from what has been stated immediately above in 9206 regarding goodness and truth when joined together. But something further must be stated regarding that joining together. Truths that have been joined to good always hold within them a desire to do good, and at the same time to be joined more closely to good by doing it. Or what amounts to the same thing, those who possess truths always have a desire to do good and to join it thereby to their truths. People therefore who think that they are in possession of truths but who have no desire to do good do not in fact possess truths; that is, they have no belief in them, however much they imagine they do have.

[2] Their condition is portrayed by the Lord when He speaks of 'salt', in Matthew,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt is tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Matthew 5:13-14.

The Lord says these things to the disciples and to the people. By 'the salt of the earth' He means the Church's truth that has a desire for good, and by 'tasteless salt' He means truth devoid of any desire for good. The fact that such truth is worthless is portrayed by the idea of salt which has become tasteless and no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Having a desire for good means having a desire to do good and thereby be joined to good.

[3] In Mark,

Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes tasteless, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and seek 1 peace with one another. Mark 9:49-50.

'Being salted with fire' means good that has a desire for truth, and 'being salted with salt' truth that has a desire for good. 'Tasteless salt' is truth devoid of any desire for good; 'having salt in oneself' means possessing that desire.

[4] In Luke,

Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt is made tasteless, by what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; people throw it outdoors. Luke 14:33-35.

Here 'salt' in a similar way stands for truth that has a desire for good, and 'tasteless salt' for truth that is devoid of any desire for good, 'unfit for the land or for the dunghill' standing for its total inability to serve any use, good or bad. People possessing such truth are called the lukewarm, as is evident from the words immediately before, stating that a person cannot be the Lord's disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions, that is, if he does not love the Lord above all things. For those loving the Lord and also themselves equally are the ones who are called the lukewarm and who are unfit to serve any use, good or bad.

[5] In Moses,

Every offering of your minchah shall be salted with salt; you shall not leave the salt of the covenant of your God off your minchah. 2 On all your offerings you shall offer salt. Leviticus 2:13.

Salt in every offering was a sign that truth's desire for good and good's desire for truth should be present in all worship. This also explains why this salt is called 'the salt of God's covenant'; for 'a covenant' is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, and 'salt' is the desire for the joining together.

[6] When each desires to be joined to the other, that is, good to truth and truth to good, they look towards each other. But when truth tears itself away from good, they turn away from each other and look backwards or behind themselves. This is what is meant in Luke by Lot's wife who had become a pillar of salt,

Whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field likewise, let him not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17:31-32.

This means looking behind oneself or backwards, see 3652, 5895 (end), 5897, 7857, 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8516.

[7] One reason why 'salt' means the desire truth possesses is that salt renders land fertile and makes food tasteful, and another reason is that salt contains a fiery property and at the same time a conjunctive power, even as truth contains a burning desire for good and at the same time a conjunctive power. 'A pillar of salt' is a separation from truth, for 'salt' in the contrary sense means truth that has been destroyed and laid waste, as in Zephaniah 2:9; Ezekiel 47:11; Jeremiah 17:6; Psalms 107:33-34; Deuteronomy 29:23; Judges 9:45; 2 Kings 2:19-22.

These matters have been introduced so that people may know what truth's desire for good is, and what good's desire for truth is, meant by 'orphan' and 'widow'.

Fußnoten:

1. literally, cultivate

2. literally, you shall not cause to cease the salt of the covenant of your God upon your minchah

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

Die Bibel

 

Matthew 5:13-14

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13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden.