The Bible

 

Exodus 35

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1 And all the multitude of the children of Israel being gathered together, he said to them: These are the things which the Lord hath commanded to be done.

2 Six days you shall do work: the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath, and the rest of the Lord: he that shall do any work on it, shall be put to death.

3 You shall kindle no fire in any of your habitations on the sabbath day.

4 And Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying:

5 Set aside with you firstfuits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass,

6 Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goats' hair,

7 And rams' skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins, setim wood,

8 And oil to maintain lights, and to make ointment, and most sweet incense.

9 Onyx stones, and precious stones, for the adorning of the ephod and the rational.

10 Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded:

11 To wit, the tabernacle and the roof thereof, and the cover, the rings, and the board work with the oars, the pillars, and the sockets:

12 The ark and the staves, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it:

13 The table with the bars and the vessels, and the loaves of proposition:

14 The candlestick to bear up the lights, the vessels thereof and the lamps, and the oil for the nourishing of fires:

15 The altar of incense, and the bars, and the oil of unction and the incense of spices: the hanging at the door of the tabernacle:

16 The altar of holocaust, and its grate of brass, with the bars and vessels thereof: the laver and its foot:

17 The curtains of the court with the pillars and the sockets, the hanging in the doors of the entry,

18 The pins of the tabernacle and of the court with their little cords:

19 The vestments that are to be used in the ministry of the sanctuary, the vesture of Aaron the high priest, and of his sons, to do the office of priesthood to me.

20 And all the multitude of the children of Israel going out from the presence of Moses,

21 Offered firstfruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatsoever was necessary to the service, and to the holy vestments,

22 Both men and women gave bracelets and earrings, rings and tablets: every vessel of gold was set aside to be offered to the Lord.

23 If any man had violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, fine linen and goats' hair, rams' skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins,

24 Metal of silver and brass, they offered it to the Lord, and setim wood for divers uses.

25 The skilful women also gave such things as they had spun, violet, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,

26 And goats' hair, giving all of their own accord.

27 But the princes offered onyx stone, and precious stones, for the ephod and the rational,

28 And spices and oil for the lights, and for the preparing of ointment, and to make the incense of most sweet savour.

29 All both men and women with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. All the children of Israel dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord.

30 And Moses said to the children of Israel: Behold the Lord hath called by name Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda.

31 And hath filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge and all learning.

32 To devise and to work in gold and silver and brass,

33 And in engraving stones, and in carpenters' work. Whatsoever can be devised artificially,

34 He hath given in his heart: Ooliab also the son of Achisamech of the tribe of Dan:

35 Both of them hath he instructed with wisdom, to do carpenters' work and tapestry, and embroidery in blue and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and to weave all things, and to invent all new things.

   

Commentary

 

Man (male)

  
by Claude Lefebvre

The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings -- Conjugial Love -- is devoted to the subject. So we can hardly offer a full explanation here. In a very general sense, though, the Writings say that men are creatures of intellect, driven by the love of growing wise; women, meanwhile are creations of affection, driven by the love of wisdom and the good that wisdom can do. They are formed this way to reflect the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and so that they can form marriages that reflect the unity of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Marking differences between men and women can be a touchy thing, but realistically it's easy to see that men tend to love acquiring knowledge whether it has any practical application or not. Many of them can spout out sports statistics or hold court on the workings of the internal combustion engine, even though it is knowledge they are not likely to ever use. They find such knowledge interesting for its own sake. It follows, then, that when the Bible speaks of men, the men represent facts, ideas, knowledge, truth, intellect and wisdom -- or in the negative sense falsity, twisted logic, and reasoning that is devoid of concern for others.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7004

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7004. 'And to put words in his mouth' means that the things he utters will go forth from the Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses', who was to put words in Aaron's mouth, as the Lord's Divine Truth which goes forth from His Divine Human, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'mouth' as voice and utterance, dealt with above in 6987, so that 'putting in the mouth' means giving to utter. But when the phrase is used in reference to the Lord it means to go forth, for the Word, uttered by a spirit or angel, goes forth from the Lord's Divine Human. For 'Aaron' represents teachings that present what is good and true, which are given utterance.

[2] The implications of all this are that from the Lord Divine Truth goes forth in direct and indirect ways. What goes forth directly is entirely beyond angels' power of understanding; but what goes forth by an indirect way is fully suited to angels in heaven and also to men on earth, for the way it takes passes through heaven and by going this way it takes on a nature appropriate for angels and a nature appropriate for men. But the Lord also flows directly into this truth and thereby leads angels and men not only indirectly but also directly, see 6058. For everything in general and in particular owes its existence to the Primary Being (Esse), and established order is such that the Primary Being in things derived from it is present indirectly and directly, and so is present in the last and lowest degree of order no less than in the first. For the Divine Truth itself is altogether the substance, whereas the things derived from it are nothing else than the subsequent forms that are given to that substance. From this it is also evident that the Divine also flows directly into every single thing; for all things have been created by Divine Truth, because Divine Truth is altogether the essence, 6880, and so is that from which all things receive their being. Divine Truth is what is called 'the Word' in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1, 3.

Through this kind of inflowing the Lord leads a person not only by the operation of His providence in a general way but also in every specific way, indeed in the most specific of all. This then is the reason why it is said that the things that are uttered will go forth from the Divine Human.

[3] I have been told from heaven, and led to perceive from actual experience, that the Lord flows in directly when He also does so indirectly, and so is present in the last and lowest degree of order no less than in the first. I have in addition been told and led to perceive that comparatively little is accomplished by indirect influx, that is, by influx through heaven and the angels there, and also that by direct influx the Lord simultaneously leads heaven and keeps every single thing there properly connected and ordered.

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