The Bible

 

Ezekiel 40

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1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, on that same day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me thither.

2 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain; and upon it was as the building of a city, on the south.

3 And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a flax-cord in his hand, and a measuring-reed; and he stood in the gate.

4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for in order that it might be shewn unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare to the house of Israel all that thou seest.

5 And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring-reed of six cubits, [each] of one cubit and a hand breadth. And he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

6 And he came to the gate which looked toward the east, and went up its steps; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold one reed broad.

7 And [each] chamber was one reed long and one reed broad; and between the chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate, beside the porch of the gate within, was one reed.

8 And he measured the porch of the gate within, one reed.

9 And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

10 And the chambers of the gate which was toward the east were three on this side and three on that side: they three were of one measure; and the posts on this side and on that side had one measure.

11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; [and] the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

12 And there was a border before the chambers of one cubit, and a border of one cubit on the other side; and the chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

13 And he measured the gate from the roof of [one] chamber to the roof [of the other], a breadth of five and twenty cubits, entry opposite entry.

14 And he made posts, sixty cubits, and by the post was the court of the gate round about.

15 And from the front of the gate of the entrance unto the front of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

16 And there were closed windows to the chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the projections; and the windows round about were inward; and upon [each] post were palm-trees.

17 And he brought me into the outer court, and behold, there were cells, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty cells were upon the pavement.

18 And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answering to the length of the gates, [namely] the lower pavement.

19 And he measured the breadth from the front of the lower gate unto the front of the inner court outside, a hundred cubits eastward and northward.

20 And the gate of the outer court, that looked toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.

21 And its chambers were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its projections were according to the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and breadth five and twenty cubits.

22 And its windows, and its projections, and its palm-trees were according to the measure of the gate that looked toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and the projections thereof were before them.

23 And the gate of the inner court was opposite to the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.

24 And he brought me toward the south: and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its posts and its projections according to these measures.

25 And there were windows to it and to its projections round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

26 And there were seven steps to go up to it; and its projections were before them; and it had palm-trees, one on this side and one on that side, upon its posts.

27 And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

28 And he brought me into the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to these measures:

29 and its chambers, and its posts, and its projections, according to these measures; and there were windows to it and to its projections round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

30 And there were projections round about, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.

31 And its projections were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east; and he measured the gate according to these measures:

33 and its chambers, and its posts, and its projections, according to these measures; and there were windows to it and to its projections round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

34 And its projections were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts on this side and on that side: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

35 And he brought me to the north gate, and he measured [it] according to these measures:

36 its chambers, its posts, and its projections; and there were windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

37 And its posts were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts, on this side and on that side: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

38 And there was a cell and its entry by the posts of the gates; there they rinsed the burnt-offering.

39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering.

40 And at the side without, at the ascent to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables:

41 four tables on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate, -- eight tables, whereon they slew [the sacrifice],

42 -- and at the ascent, four tables of hewn stone, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereon also they laid the instruments with which they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.

43 And the double hooks of a hand breadth were fastened round about within; and upon the tables [they put] the flesh of the offering.

44 And outside the inner gate were two cells in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate, and its front towards the south; the other was at the side of the south gate, the front towards the north.

45 And he said unto me, This cell whose front is towards the south is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

46 And the cell whose front is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, those who, from among the sons of Levi, approach unto Jehovah to minister unto him.

47 And he measured the court, the length a hundred cubits, and the breadth a hundred cubits, four square: and the altar was before the house.

48 And he brought me to the porch of the house; and he measured the post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side; and the breadth of the gate, three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, even by the steps whereby they went up to it; and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and one on that side.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #737

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737. 'Noah was a son of six hundred years' means his initial state of temptation. This is clear from the fact from here down to Eber in Chapter 11 nothing else is meant by numbers, years of age, or names than real things, as was the case also with the ages and names of all those mentioned in Chapter 5. Here 'six hundred years' means the initial state of temptation. This becomes clear from its prime factors which are ten and six multiplied again by ten. When the same factors are involved it makes no difference whether the number arrived at is large or small. As for ten, this has been shown already at 6:3 to mean remnants, while the meaning of six here as labour and conflict is clear from places throughout the Word. For the situation is this: What has gone before dealt with man's preparation for temptation, that is to say, he was supplied by the Lord with truths of the understanding and with goods of the will. These truths and goods are remnants, but they are not brought forth so as to be acknowledged until man is being regenerated. In the case of those who are being regenerated by means of temptations the remnants existing with any man are for the angels present with him. From these remnants they draw out those things with which they protect him against the evil spirits who activate falsities with him and in this way attack him. It is because remnants are meant by 'ten' and conflict by 'six' that six hundred years are spoken of, a number in which ten and six are the prime factors and which means a state of temptation.

[2] As regards conflict being the particular meaning of 'six', this is clear from Genesis 1, which describes the six days of man's regeneration prior to his becoming celestial. During those six days there was constant conflict, but on the seventh day came rest. Consequently there are six days of labour, and the seventh is the sabbath, a word which means rest. This also is why a Hebrew slave was to serve for six years and in the seventh was to go free, Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12; Jeremiah 34:14, and why for six years they were to sow the land and gather in the produce, but in the seventh they were to leave it alone, Exodus 23:10-12. The same applied to a vineyard. It is also the reason why in the seventh year the land was to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to Jehovah, Leviticus 25:3-4. Because 'six' means labour and conflict it also means the dispersion of falsity, as in Ezekiel,

Behold, six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which looks towards the north, every man with a weapon of dispersion in his hand. Ezekiel 9:2.

And in the same prophet, against Gog,

I will cause you to turn about, and I will split you into six, and cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north. Ezekiel 39:2.

Here 'six' and 'splitting into six' stand for dispersion, 'the north' for falsities, and 'Gog' for people who seize on doctrinal matters based on things of an external nature with which they destroy internal worship. From Job,

He will deliver you in six troubles, and in a seventh no evil will touch you. Job 5:19.

This stands for the conflict that constitutes temptations.

[3] 'Six' occurs in other parts of the Word where it does not mean labour, conflict, or the dispersion of falsity, but the holiness of faith. In these instances it is related to twelve, which means faith and all things of faith in their entirety, and to three which means that which is holy. Consequently there is also a genuine derivative meaning to the number six, as in Ezekiel 40:5, where the man's measuring rod with which he measured the holy city of Israel was six cubits long; and in other places. The reason for this derivative is that in the conflict of temptation the holiness of faith is present, and also that six days of labour and conflict look forward to the holy seventh day.

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 11

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1 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

2 It happened, as they traveled east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.

3 They said one to another, "Come, let's make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

4 They said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let's make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth."

5 Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.

6 Yahweh said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.

7 Come, let's go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.

9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.

10 This is the history of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood.

11 Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah.

13 Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber:

15 and Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg.

17 Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu.

19 Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug.

21 Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor.

23 Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah.

25 Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot.

28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran who was also the father of Iscah.

30 Sarai was barren. She had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife. They went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.

32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.