La Bibbia

 

Esodo 27

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1 Farai anche un altare di legno d’acacia, lungo cinque cubiti e largo cinque cubiti; l’altare sarà quadrato, e avrà tre cubiti d’altezza.

2 Farai ai quattro angoli dei corni che spuntino dall’altare, il quale rivestirai di rame.

3 Farai pure i suoi vasi per raccoglier le ceneri, le sue palette, i suoi bacini, i suoi forchettoni e i suoi bracieri; tutti i suoi utensili li farai di rame.

4 E farai una gratella di rame in forma di rete; e sopra la rete, ai suoi quattro canti, farai quattro anelli di rame;

5 e la porrai sotto la cornice dell’altare, nella parte inferiore, in modo che la rete raggiunga la metà dell’altezza dell’altare.

6 Farai anche delle stanghe per l’altare: delle stanghe di legno d’acacia, e le rivestirai di rame.

7 E si faran passare le stanghe per gli anelli; e le stanghe saranno ai due lati dell’altare, quando lo si dovrà portare.

8 Lo farai di tavole, vuoto; dovrà esser fatto, conforme ti è stato mostrato sul monte.

9 Farai anche il cortile del tabernacolo; dal lato meridionale, ci saranno, per formare il cortile, delle cortine di lino fino ritorto, per una lunghezza di cento cubiti, per un lato.

10 Questo lato avrà venti colonne con le loro venti basi di rame; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne saranno d’argento.

11 Così pure per il lato di settentrione, per lungo, ci saranno delle cortine lunghe cento cubiti, con venti colonne e le loro venti basi di rame; i chiodi e le aste delle colonne saranno d’argento.

12 E per largo, dal lato d’occidente, il cortile avrà cinquanta cubiti di cortine, con dieci colonne e le loro dieci basi.

13 E per largo, sul davanti, dal lato orientale il cortile avrà cinquanta cubiti.

14 Da uno dei lati dell’ingresso ci saranno quindici cubiti di cortine, con tre colonne e le loro tre basi;

15 e dall’altro lato pure ci saranno quindici cubiti di cortine, con tre colonne e le loro tre basi.

16 Per l’ingresso del cortile ci sarà una portiera di venti cubiti, di filo violaceo, porporino, scarlatto, e di lino fino ritorto, in lavoro di ricamo, con quattro colonne e le loro quattro basi.

17 Tutte le colonne attorno al cortile saran congiunte con delle aste d’argento; i loro chiodi saranno d’argento, e le loro basi di rame.

18 La lunghezza del cortile sarà di cento cubiti; la larghezza, di cinquanta da ciascun lato; e l’altezza, di cinque cubiti; le cortine saranno di lino fino ritorto, e le basi delle colonne, di rame.

19 Tutti gli utensili destinati al servizio del tabernacolo, tutti i suoi piuoli e tutti i piuoli del cortile saranno di rame.

20 Ordinerai ai figliuoli d’Israele che ti portino dell’olio d’uliva puro, vergine, per il candelabro, per tener le lampade continuamente accese.

21 Nella tenda di convegno, fuori del velo che sta davanti alla testimonianza, Aaronne e i suoi figliuoli lo prepareranno perché le lampade ardano dalla sera al mattino davanti all’Eterno. Questa sarà una regola perpetua per i loro discendenti, da essere osservata dai figliuoli d’Israele.

   

Dalle opere di Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #643

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643. As for the meaning itself of these expressions - that 'planks of gopher' means lusts and 'rooms' the two parts of this man - this becomes clear from the Word. Gopher is a wood full of sulphur, as is the fir and others of that group. It is on account of the sulphur in it that it is said to mean lusts, for it catches fire easily. The most ancient people compared and likened those elements that exist with man to gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, his inmost celestial to gold, the lower celestial to bronze, and the lowest or bodily descending from this to wood, while the inmost spiritual they compared and likened to silver, the lower spiritual to iron, and the lowest degree of it to stone. When those objects are mentioned in the Word these are the things meant by them in the internal sense, as in Isaiah,

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your assessment and righteousness your tax-collectors. Isaiah 60:17.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom in which no such metals exist, but instead celestial and spiritual elements. It is quite clear that the latter are meant because of the reference to peace' and 'righteousness'. Here, gold, bronze, and wood correspond to one another and mean celestial elements or those belonging to the will, as has been stated. Silver, iron, and stone also correspond to one another, and mean spiritual elements or those belonging to the understanding.

[2] In Ezekiel,

They will spoil your riches, they will despoil your merchandise, your stones and your timbers. Ezekiel 26:12.

It is quite clear that 'riches' and 'merchandise' do not mean material riches and merchandise, but celestial and spiritual ones. So also 'stones' and 'timbers' - 'stones' being things of the understanding and 'timbers' those of the will. In Habakkuk,

The stone cries out from the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork answers back. Habakkuk 2:11.

'Stone' stands for the lowest degree of the understanding, and 'wood' for the lowest degree of the will, which answers back when anything is drawn from sensory knowledge. In the same prophet,

Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, Awake! or to a dumb stone, Arise, this will teach! Behold, this is bound in gold and silver, and there is no spirit 1 at all in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in His holy temple. Habakkuk 2:19-20.

Here also 'wood' stands for evil desire, 'stone' for the lowest degree of the understanding, and therefore 'being dumb' and 'teaching' are used in reference to that stone. 'No spirit in the midst of it' means that it represents nothing celestial or spiritual, like a temple in which there is stone and wood, overlaid with gold and silver, existing with people who give no thought to what those things represent.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Our waters we drink for silver, our timbers come for a price. Lamentations 5:4.

Here 'waters' and 'silver' mean things of the understanding, 'timbers' those of the will. In the same prophet,

Who say to wood, You are my father; and to a stone, You gave birth to us. Jeremiah 2:27.

Here 'wood' stands for desire which belongs to the will, from which there is conception, and 'stone' for sensory knowledge, from which there is birth. All through the Prophets therefore 'serving wood and stone' stands for images carved out of wood or stone, which means that people were slaves to evil desires and to delusions. The Prophets also speak of 'committing adultery with wood and stone', as in Jeremiah 3:9. In Hosea,

The people inquire of their piece of wood, and their staff makes declaration to them, for the spirit of whoredom has led them astray. Hosea 4:12.

This stands for their inquiring of a wooden image, or evil desires. In Isaiah,

The tophet has been prepared since yesterday. Its pyre is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning brimstone. Isaiah 30:33.

Here 'fire', brimstone', and 'wood' stand for filthy desires.

[4] In general 'wood' means those elements which constitute the lowest parts of the will. Precious kinds of wood, such as cedar and so on, mean elements that are good - for example, the cedar timbers in the Temple, or the cedarwood used in cleansing leprosy, Leviticus 14:4, 6-7, or the wood cast into the bitter waters at Marah, by which the waters were made sweet, Exodus 15:25. These in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with in their proper places. Non-precious kinds of wood however, also those which were made into images, and those that were used for a pyre as well, and the like, mean evil desires, as do planks of gopher here on account of the brimstone or sulphur in them. As in Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah's vengeance - her streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone, and her land will become burning pitch. Isaiah 34:8-9.

'Pitch' stands for dreadful delusions, 'brimstone' for filthy desires.

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1. or breath

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