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Ezekijel 1

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1 Godine tridesete, četvrtoga mjeseca, petoga dana, kad bijah među izgnanicima na rijeci Kebaru, otvoriše se nebesa i ja ugledah božanska viđenja.

2 Petoga dana istoga mjeseca - godine pete otkako odvedoše u izgnanstvo kralja Jojakima -

3 riječ Jahvina dođe Ezekielu, sinu Buzijevu, svećeniku u zemlji kaldejskoj, na rijeci Kebaru. Spusti se na me ruka Jahvina.

4 Pogledah, kad ono sa sjevera udario silan vihor, velik oblak, bukteći oganj obavijen sjajem; usred njega, usred ognja, nešto nalik na sjajnu kovinu.

5 Usred toga nešto kao četiri bića, obličjem slična čovjeku;

6 svako od njih sa četiri obraza, u svakoga četiri krila.

7 Noge im ravne, a stopala kao u teleta; sijevahu poput glatke mjedi.

8 Ispod krila imahu na sve četiri strane ruke čovječje. I svako od njih četvero imaše svoj obraz i svoja krila.

9 Krila im se spajahu jedno s drugim. Idući, ne okretahu se: svako se naprijed kretaše.

10 I u sva četiri bijaše lice čovječje; u sva četiri zdesna lice lavlje; u sva četiri slijeva lice volujsko; i lice orlovsko u sva četiri.

11 Krila im bijahu gore raskriljena. Svako imaše dva Krila što se spajahu i dva Krila kojim tijelo pokrivahu.

12 I svako iđaše samo naprijed. A iđahu onamo kamo ih je duh gonio. I ne okretahu se idući.

13 A posred tih bića vidjelo se kao neko užareno ugljevlje, kao goruće zublje koje se među njima kretahu; iz ognja sijevaše i munje bljeskahu.

14 Bića trčahu i opet se vraćahu poput munje.

15 Dok ja promatrah, gle: na zemlji uza svako od četiri bića po jedan točak.

16 Točkovi bijahu slični krizolitu, sva četiri istoga oblika; oblikom i napravom bijahu kao da je jedan točak u drugome.

17 U kretanju mogli su ići u sva četiri smjera a nisu se morali okretati.

18 Naplatnice im bijahu visoke, a kad bolje promotrih, gle, na sve strane pune očiju.

19 Kad bi bića krenula, krenuli bi s njima i točkovi; kad bi se bića sa tla podigla, i točkovi se podizahu.

20 Kuda ih je duh gonio, onuda se kretahu, a zajedno se s njima i točkovi podizali, jer duh bića bijaše u točkovima.

21 Pa kad su bića krenula, i točkovi bi krenuli, a kad bi se ona zaustavila, ustavljali se i točkovi; kad se ona sa tla dizahu, i točkovi se s njima podizahu, jer duh bića bijaše u točkovima.

22 Nad glavama bića bijaše nešto kao svod nebeski, nalik na sjajan prozirac, uzdignut nad njihovim glavama.

23 A pod svodom raskriljena krila, jedno prema drugome: svakome po dva krila pokrivahu tijelo.

24 Čuh lepet njihovih krila kao huk velikih voda, kao glas Svesilnog, kao silan vihor, kao graju u taboru. Kad bi se bića zaustavila, spustila bi krila.

25 Sa svoda nad njihovim glavama čula se grmljavina.

26 Ispod svoda nad njihovim glavama bijaše nešto kao kamen safir, poput prijestolja: na tom kao prijestolju, gore na njemu, kao neki čovjek.

27 I vidjeh kao sjajnu kovinu, iznutra i uokolo kao oganj; od njegovih bokova naviše i od njegovih bokova naniže nešto poput ognja i blijeska na sve strane.

28 Taj blijesak na sve strane bijaše poput duge što se za kišnih dana javlja u oblaku. To bijaše nešto kao slava Jahvina. Vidjeh, padoh ničice i čuh glas koji mi govoraše.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10262

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10262. 'A hin' means how far things are joined together. This is clear from the meaning of 'a hin' - which was a liquid measure, at this point a measure of oil - as the extent to which things are joined together. 'Oil' means the Lord's celestial Divine Good, which is the essential power that binds all things together in heaven; consequently the measure of the oil means how far things are joined together, and the fullness of their being joined together. The reason why the Lord's celestial Divine Good is the essential power that binds all things together is that it is the essential being (ipsum esse) of the life that all things have. For that Divine Good imparts life to all things through the Divine Truth emanating from itself; and it imparts life in accordance with the specific character of whatever receives it. Angels are recipients; so too are people in the world. The truths and forms of good they have form their specific character, and this conditions the reception that takes place within them, and so conditions any joining together.

[2] Two measures which were used for sacred purposes are mentioned in the Word; one was for liquids, which was called the hin, the other was for dry substances, which was called the ephah. The hin served to measure oil and wine, and the ephah to measure flour and fine flour. The hin, used for oil and wine, was divided into four, whereas the ephah was divided into ten. The reason why the hin was divided into four was in order that it might mean that which binds things together; for 'four' means a joining together. But the reason why the ephah was divided into ten was in order that it might mean reception, the nature of which was indicated by the numbers; for 'ten' means much, all, and what is complete.

'Four' means a joining together, see 8877, 9601, 9674, 10136, 10137.

'Ten' means much, all, and what is complete, as 'a hundred' does, 1988, 3107, 4400, 4638, 8468, 8540, 9745, 10253.

[3] The fact that the hin was used for the oil and wine in the sacrifices, and was divided into four, whereas the ephah was used for the flour and fine flour, which were for the minchah in the sacrifices, and that it was divided into ten, becomes clear in Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 5:11; 23:13; Numbers 15:3-10; 28:5, 7, 14. From these verses it is evident that 'a hin' means the extent to which things are joined together, and 'an ephah' the amount of reception. Furthermore the oil served to bind the fine flour together, and the fine flour to receive the oil; for a minchah consisted of oil and fine flour.

[4] In addition there were other measures that were used for ordinary purposes, both for dry substances and for liquids. The measures for dry substances were called the homer and the omer, and the measures for liquids the cor and the bath. A homer contained ten ephahs, and an ephah ten omers, whereas a cor contained ten baths, and a bath ten smaller parts; regarding all these, see Exodus 16:36; Ezekiel 45:11, 13, 24.

[5] But where the new temple is dealt with in Ezekiel a different division of the ephah and the bath occurs. There the ephah and the bath are divided not into ten but into six, and the hin corresponds to the ephah, as is evident in the same prophet, in Ezekiel 45:13-14, 24; 46:5, 7, 11, 14. The reason for this is that in those places the subject is not celestial good and its ability to bind things together, but spiritual good and its ability to do so; and the numbers 'twelve', 'six', and 'three' have their correspondence in the spiritual kingdom, because they mean all and, when used in reference to truths and forms of good, mean all aspects of truth and good in their entirety. The fact that these are meant by 'twelve', see 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973, also by 'six', 3960(end), 7973, 8148, 10217; and in like manner 'three', by which from beginning to end, thus what is complete, is meant, and - in respect of real things - all, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, 9825, 10127. The reason why these numbers imply similar things is that larger numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones which when multiplied produce them, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

[6] Since 'a hin' also means how far something is joined to spiritual truth, a third part of a hin of oil was taken for the minchah in the sacrifices of a ram, and a third part of wine for the drink offering, Numbers 15:6-7; for spiritual good is meant by 'a ram', 2830, 9991. From all this it is again plainly evident that numbers are used in the Word to mean real things. What other reason could there be for the numbers used so often in Moses, Ezekiel, and elsewhere to specify amounts and measures?

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