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Exodus 28

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1 `And thou, bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from the midst of the sons of Israel, for his being priest to Me, [even] Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron;

2 and thou hast made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for honour and for beauty;

3 and thou -- thou dost speak unto all the wise of heart, whom I have filled [with] a spirit of wisdom, and they have made the garments of Aaron to sanctify him for his being priest to Me.

4 `And these [are] the garments which they make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and an upper robe, and an embroidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle; yea, they have made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and for his sons, for his being priest to Me.

5 `And they take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the linen,

6 and have made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer;

7 it hath two shoulders joining at its two ends, and it is joined.

8 `And the girdle of his ephod which [is] on him, according to its work, is of the same, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.

9 `And thou hast taken the two shoham stones, and hast opened on them the names of the sons of Israel;

10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births;

11 the work of an engraver in stone, openings of a signet, thou dost open the two stones by the names of the sons of Israel; turned round, embroidered [with] gold, thou dost make them.

12 `And thou hast set the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial to the sons of Israel -- and Aaron hath borne their names before Jehovah, on his two shoulders, for a memorial.

13 `And thou hast made embroidered things of gold,

14 and two chains of pure gold, wreathed work thou dost make them, work of thick bands, and thou hast put the thick chains on the embroidered things.

15 `And thou hast made a breastplate of judgment, work of a designer; according to the work of the ephod thou dost make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen thou dost make it;

16 it is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its breadth.

17 `And thou hast set in it settings of stone, four rows of stone; a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle [is] the first row;

18 and the second row [is] emerald, sapphire, and diamond;

19 and the third row [is] opal, agate, and amethyst;

20 and the fourth row [is] beryl, and onyx, and jasper; embroidered with gold are they in their settings,

21 and the stones are according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each by his name are they for the twelve tribes.

22 `And thou hast made on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold;

23 and thou hast made on the breastplate two rings of gold, and hast put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate;

24 and thou hast put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate;

25 and the two ends of the two thick bands thou dost put on the two embroidered things, and thou hast put [them] on the shoulders of the ephod over-against its face.

26 `And thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast set them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which [is] over-against the ephod within;

27 and thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, beneath, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod,

28 and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from the ephod.

29 `And Aaron hath borne the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, on his heart, in his going in unto the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually.

30 `And thou hast put unto the breastplate of judgment the Lights and the Perfections, and they have been on the heart of Aaron, in his going in before Jehovah, and Aaron hath borne the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before Jehovah continually.

31 `And thou hast made the upper robe of the ephod completely of blue,

32 and the opening for its head hath been in its midst, a border is to its opening round about, work of a weaver, as the opening of a habergeon there is to it; it is not rent.

33 `And thou hast made on its hem pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, on its hem round about, and bells of gold in their midst round about;

34 a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate [are] on the hems of the upper robe round about.

35 `And it hath been on Aaron to minister in, and its sound hath been heard in his coming in unto the sanctuary before Jehovah, and in his going out, and he doth not die.

36 `And thou hast made a flower of pure gold, and hast opened on it -- openings of a signet -- `Holy to Jehovah;'

37 and thou hast put it on a blue ribbon, and it hath been on the mitre -- over-against the front of the mitre it is;

38 and it hath been on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron hath borne the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel do hallow, even all their holy gifts; and it hath been on his forehead continually for a pleasing thing for them before Jehovah.

39 `And thou hast embroidered the coat of linen, and hast made a mitre of linen, and a girdle thou dost make -- work of an embroiderer.

40 `And for the sons of Aaron thou dost make coats, and thou hast made for them girdles, yea, bonnets thou dost make for them, for honour and for beauty;

41 and thou hast clothed Aaron thy brother with them, and his sons with him, and hast anointed them, and hast consecrated their hand, and hast sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me.

42 `And make thou for them linen trousers to cover the naked flesh: they are from the loins even unto the thighs;

43 and they have been on Aaron and on his sons, in their going in unto the tent of meeting, or in their drawing nigh unto the altar to minister in the sanctuary, and they do not bear iniquity nor have they died; a statute age-during to him, and to his seed after him.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #9828

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9828. And a belt. That this signifies a general bond in order that all things may look to one end, is evident from the signification of a “belt,” or “girdle,” as being a general bond; for it gathers up, encloses, holds in connection, and secures all the interior things, which without it would be set loose, and would be scattered. That “the belt” denotes a general bond to the intent that all things may look to one end, is because in the spiritual world the end reigns, insomuch that all things there may be called “ends;” for the Lord’s kingdom, which is a spiritual world, is a kingdom of uses, and uses there are ends; thus it is a kingdom of ends. But the ends there follow one another and are also associated together in a varied order; the ends which follow one another being called “intermediate ends,” but the ends which are associated together being called “consociate ends.” All these ends have been so mutually conjoined and subordinated that they look to one end, which is the universal end of them all. This end is the Lord; and in heaven with those who are receptive, it is love and faith in Him. Love is there the end of all their wills, and faith is the end of all their thoughts, these being of the understanding.

[2] When each and all things look to one end, they are then kept in an unbroken connection, and make a one; for they are under the view, the government, and the providence of One who bends all to Himself in accordance with the laws of subordination and consociation, and thus conjoins them with Himself; and also at the same time bends them to their companions in a reciprocal manner, and in this way conjoins them with each other. From this it is that the faces of all in heaven are kept turned to the Lord, who is the Sun there, and is thus the center to which all look; and this, wonderful to say, in whatever direction the angels may turn (see n. 3638). And as the Lord is in the good of mutual love, and in the good of charity toward the neighbor-for He loves all, and through love conjoins all-therefore the angels are also turned to the Lord by regarding their companions from this love.

[3] For this reason those things which are in ultimates, and which gather up and enclose, in order that each and all things may be kept together in such a connection, were represented by belts or girdles; which in the spiritual world are nothing else than goods and truths in the ultimates, or in the extremes, and which enclose the interior things. By the girdles around the loins were represented celestial goods, and by the girdles around the thighs, and also around the breast, were represented spiritual goods and truths in the ultimates or extremes.

[4] Such things are signified by “the girdles of the loins” in the following passage:

Jehovah said unto the prophet, Buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but thou shalt not draw it through water. So I bought a girdle, and put it upon my loins. Then the word of Jehovah was made unto me, saying, Take the girdle, and go to Euphrates, and hide it in a hole of the rock. At the end of many days I went to Euphrates, and took again the girdle, and behold it was corrupt, it was profitable for nothing. Then said Jehovah, This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, and are gone after other gods, shall be even as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing (Jeremiah 13:1-10).

In the spiritual sense by “the linen girdle” is here meant the good of the church, which encloses and holds together in connection the truths in it. Because the good of the church was at that time non-existent, and the truths were consequently dispersed, it is said that it should “not be drawn through water;” for “water” denotes the truth which purifies and thus restores. “The hole of the rock in which the girdle was hid” denotes truth falsified; “the Euphrates” denotes the extension and boundary of the celestial things of good in their ultimate. He who does not know the nature of the Word, may suppose that this is only a comparison of the people and their corruption with the girdle and its corruption; but in the Word all comparisons and metaphorical sayings are real correspondences (n. 3579, 8989). Unless everything in this passage had a correspondence, it would never have been commanded that the girdle should not be drawn through water, that it should be put upon the loins, and that the prophet should go to the Euphrates, and should hide it there in a hole of the rock. It is said that the girdle should be “put upon the loins,” because from correspondence “the loins” signify the good of celestial love (n. 3021, 4280, 5050-5062); thus the placing of the girdle upon the loins denotes conjunction with the Lord through the good of love by the mediation of the Word.

[5] That a “girdle” denotes good bounding and conjoining is plain also in Isaiah:

There shall go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse; righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs (Isaiah 11:1, 5);

this is said of the Lord; “the righteousness that shall be the girdle of the loins” denotes the good of His love which protects heaven and the church. It is said of the sons of Israel that when they ate the passover, “their loins were to be girded” (Exodus 12:11); which signifies that thus all things were in order, and prepared to receive good from the Lord, and were ready for action (n. 7863). It is from this that those who are ready are said to be “girded,” as is said also of the seven angels in Revelation:

There went forth from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed in linen white and shining, and girt about the breast with golden girdles (Revelation 15:6).

[6] It is said of Elijah:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8);

and in like manner of John:

John had clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins (Matthew 3:4).

Elijah and John were so clothed and girded because they both represented the Word; and therefore their garments denote the Word in the external sense which is natural; for “the hair” denotes the natural (n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573). “Camels” denote general memory-knowledges in the natural (n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145); “leather” and “skin” signify what is external (n. 3540); thus a “leathern girdle” signifies that which gathers up, encloses, and holds together in connection, the interior things. (That Elijah represented the Word, see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 2762, 5247; and in like manner John the Baptist, n. 9372)

[7] As truths and goods are set loose and are dispersed by evil deeds, it is said of Joab after he had slain Abner with deceit, that “he put the bloods of war in his girdle that was on his loins” (1 Kings 2:5), by which is signified that he had dispersed and destroyed these things; and therefore when truths have been dispersed and destroyed, it is said that “instead of a girdle there shall be a rent, and instead of a work of entwining, baldness” (Isaiah 3:24); speaking of the daughters of Zion, by whom are signified the goods that belong to the celestial church; “a rent instead of a girdle” denotes the dispersion of celestial good.

[8] It is also said of Oholibah, which is Jerusalem, in Ezekiel:

When she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles on their loins, she doted upon them (Ezekiel 23:14-16);

by which are signified truths profaned; for “the Chaldeans” denote those who profess truths outwardly, but inwardly deny them, and thus profane them; “men portrayed upon the wall” denote appearances of truth in outward things; and in like manner “images portrayed with vermilion;” “the girdles with which they were girt on the loins” denote the goods which they feign in order that their truths may be believed.

[9] From all this it can now be seen what was signified in the representative church by the “girdles,” which gather together the garments into one. But that such things were signified can with difficulty be brought to the belief of the natural man, for the reason that he can with difficulty cast away the natural idea about girdles, and about garments in general; and in its place take to himself the spiritual idea, which is that of good holding truths together in connection; for the natural thing, which appears before the sight, keeps the mind fixed on itself, and is not removed unless the intellectual sight can be raised even into the light of heaven, and the man thus be able to think almost abstractedly from natural things. When this is done, there enter the spiritual things of the truth of faith and the good of love, which are imperceptible to the merely natural man.

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