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Lévitique 8

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1 L'Eternel parla aussi à Moïse en disant :

2 Prends Aaron et ses fils avec lui, les vêtements, l'huile d'onction, et un veau [pour le sacrifice] pour le péché, deux béliers, et une corbeille de pains sans levain.

3 Et convoque toute l'assemblée à l'entrée du Tabernacle d'assignation.

4 Et Moïse fit comme l'Eternel lui avait commandé; et l'assemblée fut convoquée à l'entrée du Tabernacle d'assignation.

5 Et Moïse dit à l'assemblée : C'[est] ici ce que l'Eternel a commandé de faire.

6 Et Moïse fit approcher Aaron et ses fils, et les lava avec de l'eau.

7 Et il mit sur Aaron la chemise, et le ceignit du baudrier, et le revêtit du Rochet, et mit sur lui l'Ephod, et le ceignit avec le ceinturon exquis de l'Ephod, dont il le ceignit par dessus.

8 Puis il mit sur lui le Pectoral, après avoir mis au Pectoral Urim et Thummim.

9 Il lui mit aussi la tiare sur la tête, et il mit sur le devant de la tiare la lame d'or, qui est la couronne de sainteté, comme l'Eternel l'avait commandé à Moïse.

10 Puis Moïse prit l'huile de l'onction, et oignit le Tabernacle, et toutes les choses qui y étaient, et les sanctifia.

11 Et il en fit aspersion sur l'autel par sept fois, et en oignit l'autel, tous ses ustensiles, la cuve, et son soubassement, pour les sanctifier.

12 Il versa aussi de l'huile de l'onction sur la tête d'Aaron, et l'oignit pour le sanctifier.

13 Puis Moïse ayant fait approcher les fils d'Aaron, les revêtit des chemises, et les ceignit de baudriers, et leur attacha des calottes, comme l'Eternel l'avait commandé à Moïse.

14 Alors il fit approcher le veau de l'offrande pour le péché, et Aaron et ses fils posèrent leurs mains sur la tête du veau de [l'offrande pour le] péché.

15 Et Moïse l'ayant égorgé prit de son sang, et en mit avec son doigt sur les cornes de l'autel à l'entour, et fit propitiation pour l'autel, et il répandit le reste du sang au pied de l'autel; ainsi il le sanctifia pour faire la propitiation sur lui.

16 Puis il prit toute la graisse qui était sur les entrailles, et la taie du foie, les deux rognons avec leur graisse, et Moïse les fit fumer sur l'autel.

17 Mais il fit brûler au feu hors du camp le veau avec sa peau, sa chair, et sa fiente, comme l'Eternel l'avait commandé à Moïse.

18 Il fit aussi approcher le bélier de l'holocauste, et Aaron et ses fils posèrent leurs mains sur la tête du bélier.

19 Et Moïse l'ayant égorgé, répandit le sang sur l'autel tout à l'entour.

20 Puis il mit le [bélier] en pièces, et en fit fumer la tête, les pièces, et la fressure.

21 Et il lava dans l'eau les entrailles et les jambes, et fit fumer tout le bélier sur l'autel; car c'était un holocauste de bonne odeur, c'était une offrande faite par feu à l'Eternel, comme l'Eternel l'avait commandé à Moïse.

22 Il fit aussi approcher l'autre bélier, [savoir] le bélier des consécrations; et Aaron et ses fils posèrent les mains sur la tête du bélier.

23 Et Moïse l'ayant égorgé prit de son sang, et le mit sur le mol de l'oreille droite d'Aaron, et sur le pouce de sa main droite, et sur le gros orteil de son pied droit.

24 Il fit aussi approcher les fils d'Aaron, et mit du même sang sur le mol de leur oreille droite, et sur le pouce de leur main droite, et sur le gros orteil de leur pied droit, et il répandit le reste du sang sur l'autel tout à l'entour.

25 Après il prit la graisse, la queue, et toute la graisse qui [est] sur les entrailles, et la taie du foie, et les deux rognons avec leur graisse, et l'épaule droite.

26 Il prit aussi de la corbeille des pains sans levain qui étaient devant l'Eternel, un gâteau sans levain, et un gâteau de pain fait à l'huile, et un beignet, et les mit sur les graisses, et sur l'épaule droite.

27 Puis il mit toutes ces choses sur les paumes des mains d'Aaron, et sur les paumes des mains de ses fils, et les tournoya en offrande tournoyée devant l'Eternel.

28 Après Moïse les reçut d'entre leurs mains, et les fit fumer sur l'autel par dessus l'holocauste; car ce sont les consécrations de bonne odeur, c'est un sacrifice fait par feu à l'Eternel.

29 Moïse prit aussi la poitrine du bélier des consécrations, et la tournoya devant l'Eternel, et ce fut la portion de Moïse, comme l'Eternel l'avait commandé à Moïse.

30 Et Moïse prit de l'huile de l'onction, et du sang qui était sur l'autel, et il en fit aspersion sur Aaron et sur ses vêtements; sur ses fils, et sur les vêtements de ses fils avec lui; ainsi il sanctifia Aaron [et] ses vêtements; ses fils, et les vêtements de ses fils avec lui.

31 Après cela, Moïse dit à Aaron et à ses fils : Faites bouillir la chair à l'entrée du Tabernacle d'assignation, et vous la mangerez là, avec le pain qui est dans la corbeille des consécrations, comme [le Seigneur] me l'a commandé, en disant : Aaron et ses fils mangeront ces choses.

32 Mais vous brûlerez au feu ce qui sera demeuré de reste de la chair et du pain.

33 Et vous ne sortirez point pendant sept jours de l'entrée du Tabernacle d'assignation, jusqu'au temps que les jours de vos consécrations soient accomplis; car on emploiera sept jours à vous consacrer.

34 L'Eternel a commandé de faire [en ces autres jours] comme on a fait en celui-ci, pour faire la propitiation en votre faveur.

35 Vous demeurerez donc pendant sept jours à l'entrée du Tabernacle d'assignation, jour et nuit, et vous observerez ce que l'Eternel vous a ordonné d'observer, afin que vous ne mouriez point; car il m'a été ainsi commandé.

36 Ainsi Aaron et ses fils firent toutes les choses que l'Eternel avait commandées par le moyen de Moïse.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9306

Studere hoc loco

  
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9306. 'Take notice of his face' means holy fear. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking notice of the face', when it has reference to the Lord, whom 'the angel' is used to mean to here, as fearing that He may be angry on account of evils, or provoked on account of transgressions, as below; and fearing these things is holy fear. Regarding this fear, see 2826, 3718, 3719, 5459, 5534, 7280, 7788, 8816, 8925. The words 'taking notice of his face' are used because 'the face' means the interior things that constitute a person's life, thus his thought and affection, and in particular his faith and love. The reason for this is that the face has been fashioned so that it can produce an image of a person's interiors. It has been so fashioned to the end that those things which belong to the internal man may appear within the external, thus to the end that those things which belong to the spiritual world can be visualized in the natural world and so have an effect on one's neighbour. It is well known that the face presents visually, or as if in a mirror, what a person thinks and loves. This is so with honest people's faces, and especially with angels' faces, see 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4326, 4796-4799, 5102, 5695, 6604, 8248-8250. For this reason 'face' in the original language is a general term that is used to describe the feelings a person has which reveal themselves, such as those of indulgence, favour, goodwill, helpfulness, or kindness, and also lack of pity, anger, or vengeance. So it is that in that language when this word is coupled with another it means beside, with, in front of, on account of, or else against, thus whatever is within, from, for, or against the person himself. For as has been stated, 'the face' is a person's true self, or that present within a person which reveals itself.

[2] All this enables one to know what is meant by the face of Jehovah, or 'the face of the angel', who in this instance is the Lord in respect of His Divine Human - namely the Divine Good of Divine Love, and the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good, since these reside within Jehovah or the Lord, come from Him, indeed are Himself, see 222, 223, 5585. From this it is evident what 'the face of Jehovah' means in the Blessing,

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Jehovah lift up His face upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:25-26.

In David,

God be merciful to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. Psalms 67:1.

The like may be seen in Psalms 80:3, 7, 19; 119:134-135; Daniel 9:17; and in other places.

[3] So it is that the Lord's Divine Human is called 'the angel of Jehovah's face' in Isaiah,

I will cause the mercies of Jehovah to be remembered. He has rewarded 1 them according to His mercies, and according to the abundance of His mercies; and He became their Saviour. And the angel of His face saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them. Isaiah 63:7-9.

The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is called 'the angel of Jehovah's face' is that the Divine Human is the Divine Himself facially, that is, in outward form, as also the Lord teaches in John,

If you know Me you know My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:7-11.

[4] 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' also means anger, vengeance, punishment, and ill. It does so because simple people, in accepting the general idea that all things come from God, believe that even ill, especially the misery of punishment, comes from Him. For this reason - in keeping with that general idea, and also with appearances - anger, vengeance, punishment, or ill is attributed to Jehovah the Lord, when in fact the Lord is not the source of them but man. Regarding this, see 1861, 2447, 5798, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8483, 8632, 8875, 9128. This kind of meaning appears here in 'take notice of his face, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression', and also in Leviticus,

Whoever eats any blood, I will set My face against the soul eating blood and will cut him off from among his people. Leviticus 17:10.

In Jeremiah,

I have set My face against the city for ill and not for good. Jeremiah 21:10.

And in David,

Jehovah's face is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Psalms 34:16.

V:

1. Reading retribuit (has rewarded) for retribuet (will reward)

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #3573

Studere hoc loco

  
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3573. 'And kiss me, my son' means as to whether union is possible. This is clear from the meaning of 'kissing' as a uniting and joining together resulting from affection. Kissing, which is an external activity, is nothing else than the desire to become joined together, which is an internal activity; the two activities also correspond. The subject here, as is evident from what has been stated above, in the highest sense is the glorification of the Natural within the Lord, that is, how the Lord made the Natural within Him Divine. But in the representative sense the subject is the regeneration of the natural present in man and so the joining together of the natural and the rational; for the natural is not regenerate until it has been joined to the rational. This joining together is effected by means of both direct and indirect influx of the rational into the good and the truth of the natural; that is to say, by means of influx from the good of the rational directly into the good of the natural, and through the good of the natural into the truth of the natural, and by means of influx indirectly through the truth of the rational into the truth of the natural and from there into the good of the natural.

[2] These instances of a joining together are the subject here. They cannot possibly be achieved except through the means provided by the Divine. Indeed they are effected by means such as are quite unknown to man and of which he can gain scarcely any idea through the things which belong to the light of the world, that is, which belong to the natural light with him, but rather through the things belonging to the light of heaven, that is, to rational light. Nevertheless all those means have been disclosed in the internal sense of the Word, and are evident to those who know the internal sense, and so to angels who see and perceive countless details relating to this subject, of which scarcely one can be drawn out and explained adequately for man to grasp it.

[3] Yet from effects and the signs of those effects this joining of the rational to the natural is to some extent evident to man, for the rational mind, that is, the inward areas of will and understanding with a person ought to present themselves in his natural mind. Just as the natural mind presents itself in the face and facial expressions, so much so that the face is the outward expression of the natural mind, so ought the natural mind to be the outward expression of the rational mind. When rational and natural are joined together, as they are with those who are regenerate, whatever a person wills and thinks inwardly within his rational makes itself evident in his natural; and this in turn makes itself evident in the face. This is what the face is to angels and what it was to the most ancient people who were celestial. Indeed they were never afraid that others might know their ends and intentions, for they willed nothing but good. For anyone who allows himself to be led by the Lord never intends or thinks anything else. Where a state such as this exists the rational as regards good joins itself to the good of the natural directly, and through the good of the natural to the truths of the natural. It also joins itself indirectly through the truth there in the rational to the truth in the natural, and through this to the good there. All this effects an indissoluble joining together.

[4] But how far mankind is removed at the present day from this state, and so from the heavenly state, may be seen from the belief that practical wisdom requires one, in the world, to use words, also to perform acts, as well as to adopt facial expressions which are other than what one in fact thinks and intends. Indeed it is believed that one should so control the natural mind itself that in unison with its face it acts in quite an opposite way from inward thoughts and desires that flow from an evil end in view. To the most ancient people this was utterly abominable, and people who behaved in that way were expelled as devils from their community. From these considerations, as from effects and the signs of those effects, one may see what the joining together of the rational or internal man as regards good and truth with his natural or external man implies. One may thus also see what one who is an angel is like and what one who is a devil is like.

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