9595. 'Ten curtains' means all the truths of which it consists. This is clear from the meaning of 'ten' as all, dealt with in 4638, so that 'a tenth part', which is one curtain, means a sufficient amount, 8468, 8540; and from the meaning of 'curtains' as the interior truths of faith which belong to the new understanding. For 'the dwelling-place' means the middle or second heaven, which is heaven by virtue of its reception of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, as shown above in 9594; consequently the curtains of which it was assembled and which enveloped it are the truths of faith belonging to the new understanding. They are interior truths, because exterior truths are meant by the curtains made from [the hair of] goats for the tent going all the way round, which are also dealt with in the present chapter.

[2] The fact that 'curtains' are the truths of faith which those in the Lord's spiritual kingdom possess is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that is married. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places. Lengthen the ropes, because you will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isaiah 54:1-3.

This refers to the Church to be established among the gentiles, which is called 'a barren one that did not bear' because it lacks truths from the Word, 9325. It says that 'her sons will be more than those of her that is married' because it will have more truths than the devastated former Church had; for 'sons' are truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 3373, 3704. 'Enlarging the place of the tent' stands for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, 3312, 4391, 4599, 'stretching out the curtains of dwelling-places' for the holiness of worship springing from the truths of faith.

[3] In Jeremiah,

The whole land has been laid waste. Suddenly My tents have been laid waste, My curtains in a moment. Jeremiah 4:20.

'A land laid waste' stands for the Church, 9325, 'tents laid waste' for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, 'curtains laid waste' for holy worship springing from the truths of faith.

[4] In the same prophet,

My tent has been laid waste, and all My ropes torn away. My sons have gone away from Me, and they are not. There is no one stretching out My tent any more, and setting up My curtains. For the shepherds have become stupid. Jeremiah 10:20-21.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

Arise and go up against Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents and flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and bear their camels away for themselves. Jeremiah 49:28-29.

'Arabia' and 'the sons of the east' stand for those with cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 3249; 'taking tents and flocks' stands for taking the Church's forms of interior good, 8937, 'taking curtains' for taking the Church's interior truths, 'their vessels' the Church's exterior truths, 3068, 3079, 'camels' general facts, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. In Habakkuk,

Below Aven I saw the tents of Cushan; the curtains of Midian shook. Habakkuk 3:7.

'The curtains of Midian' stands for the truths with those governed by simple good, 3242, 4756, 4788, 6773, 6775.

[5] All this shows what is meant by the following in David,

O Jehovah, You have put on glory and honour - He who covers Himself with light, as if with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. Psalms 104:1-2.

'Covering Himself with light, as if with a garment' stands for Divine Truths. Truth is meant by 'light', see 9548, and also by 'a garment', 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216; therefore 'stretching out the heavens like a curtain' means enlarging the heavens by means of an influx of God's truth, from which come intelligence and wisdom. 'Stretching and spreading out the heavens' has reference to the new or regenerated understanding part of the mind, see at the end of the very next paragraph, 9596.

2807. 'Abraham said, God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son' means the reply: The Divine Human will provide those who are to be sanctified. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing to for oneself', when used in reference to God, as foreseeing and providing - for 'to see' in the internal sense nearest to the literal means to understand, 2150, 2325, whereas in the sense yet more interior it means having faith, 897, 2325, while in the highest sense it means foreseeing and providing; and also from the meaning of 'the animal for a burnt offering' as those members of the human race who are to be sanctified, dealt with just above in 2805. That 'the animal for a burnt offering' is here used to mean those who are spiritual is evident from what follows. The kinds of animals used for burnt offering and sacrifice each had a different meaning. That is to say, a lamb meant one thing, a sheep another, a kid and she-goat another, a ram and he-goat another, an ox yet another, as did a young bull and a calf. And young pigeons and turtle doves had meanings different again. It is quite clear that each kind of animal had its own meaning from the fact that it was laid down explicitly which kind were to be sacrificed on each particular day, at each particular religious festival, when atonement was being made, cleansing effected, inauguration carried out, and all other occasions. Which kinds were to be used on which occasions would never have been laid down so explicitly unless each one had possessed some specific meaning.

[2] Clearly all the religious observances or forms of external worship which existed in the Ancient Church, and subsequently in the Jewish, represented the Lord, so that the burnt offerings and sacrifices in particular represented Him since these were the chief forms of worship among the Hebrew nation. And because they represented the Lord they also at the same time represented among men those things that are the Lord's, that is to say, the celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, and as a consequence of this represented the people themselves who were celestial and spiritual or who ought to have been so. This is why 'the animal' here means those who are spiritual, that is, those who belong to the Lord's spiritual Church. As regards 'God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son' meaning that the Divine Human will provide them, this is clear from the fact that here it is not said that 'Jehovah' will see to it but that 'God' will do so. When both of these names occur, as they do in this chapter, Jehovah is used to mean the same as 'the Father', and God the same as 'the Son', so that here the Divine Human is meant; and a further reason for the usage is that the spiritual man, whose salvation comes from the Divine Human, is the subject, see 2661, 2716.