Bibliorum

 

Leviticus 8

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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Take Aaron with his sons, their vestments, and the oil of unction, a calf for sin, two rams, a basket with unleavened bread,

3 And thou shalt gather together all the congregation to the door of the tabernacle.

4 And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And all the multitude being gathered together before the door of the tabernacle,

5 He said: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded to be done.

6 And immediately he offered Aaron and his sons: and when he had washed them,

7 He vested the high priest with the strait linen garment, girding him with the girdle, and putting on him the violet tunick, and over it he put the ephod,

8 And binding it with the girdle, he fitted it to the rational, on which was Doctrine and Truth.

9 He put also the mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre over the forehead, he put the plate of gold, consecrated with sanctification, as the Lord had commanded him.

10 He took also the oil of unction, with which he anointed the tabernacle, with all the furniture thereof.

11 And when he had sanctified and sprinkled the altar seven times, he anointed it, and all the vessels thereof, and the laver with the foot thereof, he sanctified with the oil.

12 And he poured it upon Aaron's head, and he anointed and consecrated him :

13 And after he had offered his sons, he vested them with linen tunicks, and girded them with girdles, and put mitres on them as the Lord had commanded.

14 He offered also the calf for sin: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon the head thereof,

15 He immolated it: and took the blood, and dipping his finger in it, he touched the horns of the altar round about. Which being expiated, and sanctified, he poured the rest of the blood at the bottom thereof.

16 But the fat that was upon the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two little kidneys, with their fat, he burnt upon the altar:

17 And the calf with the skin, and the flesh and the dung, he burnt without the camp, as the Lord had commanded.

18 He offered also a ram for a holocaust: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon its head,

19 He immolated it, and poured the blood thereof round about upon the altar.

20 And cutting the ram into pieces, the head thereof, and the joints, and the fat he burnt in the fire,

21 Having first washed the entrails, and the feet, and the whole ram together he burnt upon the altar, because it was a holocaust of most sweet odour to the Lord, as he had commanded him.

22 He offered also the second ram, in the consecration of priests: and Aaron, and his sons put their hands upon the head thereof:

23 And when Moses had immolated it, he took of the blood thereof, and touched the tip of Aaron's right ear, and the thumb of his right hand, and in like manner also the great toe of his right foot.

24 He offered also the sons of Aaron: and when with the blood of the ram that was immolated, he had touched the tip of the right ear of every one of them, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the great toes of their right feet, the rest he poured on the altar round about:

25 But the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and with the right shoulder, he separated.

26 And taking out of the basket; of unleavened bread, which was before the Lord, a loaf without leaven, and a cake tempered with oil and a wafer, he put them upon the fat, and the right shoulder,

27 Delivering all to Aaron, and to his sons: wile having lifted them up before the Lord,

28 He took them again from their hands, and burnt them upon the altar of holocaust, because it was the oblation of consecration, for a sweet odour of sacrifice to the Lord.

29 And he took of the ram of consecration, the breast for his portion, elevating it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him.

30 And taking the ointment, and the blood that was upon the altar, he sprinkled Aaron, and his vestments, and his sons, and their vestments with it.

31 And when he had sanctified them in their vestments, he commanded them, saying: Boil the flesh before the door of the tabernacle, and there eat it. eat ye also the loaves of consecration, that are laid in the basket, as the Lord commanded me, saying: Aaron and his sons shall eat them:

32 And whatsoever shall be left of the flesh and the leaves, shall be consumed with fire.

33 And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired. For in seven days the consecration is finished:

34 As at this present it hath been done, that the rite of the sacrifice might be accomplished.

35 Day and night shall you remain in the tabernacle observing the watches of the Lord, lest you die: for so it hath been commanded me.

36 And Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Apocalypse Revealed #778

Studere hoc loco

  
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778. "And wine, oil, flour, wheat." This symbolically means that these Roman Catholics no longer have any worship that springs from celestial truths and goods, because they have nothing inwardly in their worship that corresponds to the aforesaid things.

This statement is similar to ones explained just above and in previous numbers, the only difference being that the valuables here symbolize celestial goods and truths.

Just what goods and truths are called celestial, and what spiritual, may be seen in no. 773 above. It may also be seen that the Roman Catholics meant here possess none of these, nor are there any in their worship. For, as we said above, the goods and truths of doctrine are present in worship as the soul is in the body. Consequently worship without these is a lifeless worship. Of such a character is worship that is reverent in outward appearances, but which has in it no internal reverence.

That wine symbolizes truth springing from the goodness of love may be seen in no. 316 above. That oil symbolizes the goodness of love will be seen in the next number. Flour symbolizes celestial truth, and wheat symbolizes celestial good.

[2] Wine, oil, flour and wheat symbolize the truths and goods in worship, because they were the ingredients in drink offerings and grain offerings, which were offered on the altar along with other sacrifices, and sacrifices and other offerings offered on the altar symbolize worship, since it was in these that the Israelites' worship chiefly consisted.

That drink offerings, which were ones of wine, were offered on the altar along with other sacrifices, can be seen in Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:11-15, 18-31; 29:1-7ff.; and also in Isaiah 57:6; 65:11; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Joel 1:9; Psalms 16:4; Deuteronomy 32:38.

That oil was also offered on the altar along with sacrifices, can be seen in Exodus 29:40.

That grain offerings, which consisted of wheat flour, were offered on the altar along with other sacrifices, can be seen in Exodus 29:40).

It can be seen from this that these four articles - wine, oil, flour and wheat - were sacred and celestial elements in their worship.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.