The Bible

 

Exodus 25

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them take for Me an uplifted offering*; from every man whose heart is·​·freely·​·willing you shall take My uplifted offering.

3 And this is the uplifted offering which you shall take from them; gold, and silver, and bronze;

4 and blue, and crimson, and scarlet twice-dyed, and fine·​·linen, and goats wool;

5 and skins of red rams, and skins of badgers, and shittim* wood;

6 oil for the light, spices for the oil of anointing, and for the fragrant incense;

7 onyx stones, and stones of infilling for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

8 And let them make for Me a sanctuary, that I may reside in the midst of them.

9 According·​·to all that I show thee, the shape of the Habitation, and the shape of all its vessels, and so you shall make them.

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood; two·​·cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, from inside and from outside shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make on it a rim of gold all around.

12 And thou shalt cast for it four rings of gold, and put them upon its four corners*; and two rings shall be on its one rib, and two rings on its second rib*.

13 And thou shalt make poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

14 And thou shalt bring the poles into the rings on the ribs of the ark, to bear the ark with them.

15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.

16 And thou shalt put into the ark the Testimony which I shall give to thee.

17 And thou shalt make a place of atonement of pure gold; two·​·cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubim, of solid gold shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the place of atonement.

19 And make one cherub at this end, and one cherub at that end; out·​·of the place of atonement you shall make the cherubim on its two ends.

20 And there shall be cherubim spreading their wings upward, sheltering with their wings over the place of atonement, and their faces of a man to his brother; toward the place of atonement shall be the faces of the cherubim.

21 And thou shalt put the place of atonement on the ark from above; and into the ark thou shalt put the Testimony that I shall give to thee.

22 And I will meet·​·together with thee there, and I will speak with thee from above the place of atonement, from between the two cherubim which are over the ark of the Testimony, all that I shall command thee to the sons of Israel.

23 And thou shalt make a table of shittim wood; two·​·cubits its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make for it a rim of gold around it.

25 And thou shalt make for it an enclosure of a hand·​·breadth all around it, and thou shalt make a rim of gold for its enclosure all around it.

26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four quarters that are for its four feet.

27 Alongside the enclosure shall be the rings, for housings for the poles to bear the table.

28 And thou shalt make the poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them.

29 And thou shalt make its platter, and its dishes*, and its saucers, and its little·​·brooms, with which it shall be covered; of pure gold shalt thou make them.

30 And thou shalt put upon the table the bread of faces, to My faces continually.

31 And thou shalt make a lampstand of pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made; its shaft*, and its reed, its cups, its knobs*, and its blossoms, shall be from it;

32 and six reeds go·​·out from its sides; three reeds of the lampstand from its one side, and three reeds of the lampstand from its second side;

33 three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a knob and a blossom; and three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a knob and a blossom; so it was for the six reeds going·​·out of the lampstand.

34 And in the lampstand four almond-shaped cups, her knobs and her blossoms.

35 And a knob under two reeds out of it, and a knob under two reeds out of it, and a knob under two reeds out of it, for the six reeds going·​·out of the lampstand.

36 Their knobs and their reeds shall be out·​·of it, all of them, one solid thing of pure gold.

37 And thou shalt make its lamps seven; and cause the flame of its lamps to go·​·up* and give·​·light across the faces of it.

38 And its tongs, and its trowels, shall be of pure gold.

39 A talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels.

40 And see and make them in the shape which thou wast made to see in the mountain.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9552

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9552. 'Its pomegranates' means factual knowledge of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'pomegranates' as factual knowledge of good. There is factual knowledge of good and factual knowledge of truth; the former is meant by 'pomegranates' and the latter by 'flowers' which embellished the lampstand all around. The fact that factual knowledge of good is meant by 'pomegranates' is clear from other places where they are mentioned, as in Moses,

A land of wheat and barley, and of the vine and of the fig and of the pomegranate. Deuteronomy 8:8.

And in Haggai,

Is seed not as yet in the barn? And [has nothing whatever borne fruit,] even to the vine, or the fig tree, or the pomegranate? Haggai 2:19.

'Wheat and barley' and 'seed in the barn' mean things that are celestial, both internal and external, 'the vine, the fig tree, and the pomegranate' those that are spiritual and natural, in their proper order. The lowest of these is factual knowledge, which exists on the natural and sensory level of the human mind; and this is why 'the pomegranate' is mentioned last.

[2] In Zephaniah,

Jehovah will destroy Asshur. Flocks will repose in the midst of her, every wild animal of [that] nation. The spoonbill also and the duck will lodge in its pomegranates. 1 Zephaniah 2:13-14.

'The spoonbill and the duck in its pomegranates' stands for falsities arising from evil that are present in factual knowledge of good. In Amos,

I saw the Lord standing over the altar, and He said, Strike the pomegranate, 2 that the posts may shake; that is, split them all on the head. The last of them I will kill with the sword. Amos 9:1.

'Striking the pomegranate' stands for destroying factual knowledge of good by means of falsities arising from evil. 'The posts' are said 'to shake' then because 'the posts' are the truths of the natural, 7847. 'Killing the last with the sword' stands for destroying in that way the lowest of these; for 'the sword' is truth battling against falsity and destroying it, or falsity battling against truth and destroying it, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294.

Footnotes:

1. The original Hebrew word is thought to describe capitals shaped like pomegranates.

2. What this refers to exactly, whether to capitals or to people of high rank, is not clear.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7102

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7102. 'Lest perhaps He fall on us with pestilence and sword' means to avoid the damnation of evil and falsity. This is clear from the meaning of 'lest perhaps He fall on' as lest they run into - into damnation; from the meaning of 'pestilence' as the damnation of evil, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'sword' as the vastation of truth, and also the punishment of falsity, dealt with in 2799, and so also as damnation, since the punishment of falsity, when truth has been devasted, is damnation.

[2] The Word mentions four kinds of vastation and punishment - sword, famine, evil wild animal, and pestilence. 'Sword' means the vastation of truth and the punishment of falsity; 'famine' the vastation of good and the punishment of evil; 'evil wild animal' the punishment of evil that arises out of falsity; and 'pestilence' the punishment of evil that does not arise out of falsity but out of evil. And since punishment is meant, damnation is meant also, since damnation is the punishment suffered by those who persist in evil. Those four kinds of punishment are referred to as follows in Ezekiel,

. . . when I shall send My four severe 1 judgements - sword, and famine, and evil wild animal, and pestilence - onto Jerusalem, to cut off man and beast from it. Ezekiel 14:21.

In the same prophet,

I will send famine and evil wild animals upon you, and I will make you bereft. And pestilence and blood will pass through you; in particular I will bring the sword upon you. Ezekiel 5:17.

[3] The meaning of 'pestilence' as the punishment of evil and its damnation is evident from the following places: In Ezekiel,

Those in waste places will die by the sword, and the one who is in the open field 2 I will give to the wild animals to devour him, and those who are in fortifications and caverns will die from pestilence. Ezekiel 33:27.

'In waste places dying by the sword' stands for suffering the vastation of truth and consequently the damnation of falsity. 'The one who is in the open field being given to the wild animals to devour him' stands for the damnation of those ruled by evil arising out of falsity. 'Those who are in fortifications and caverns, dying from pestilence' stands for the damnation of evil which uses falsity to fortify itself.

[4] In the same prophet,

The sword is without, and pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field will die by the sword, but him that is in the city famine and pestilence will devour. Ezekiel 7:15.

'The sword' stands for the vastation of truth and the damnation of falsity; 'famine' and 'pestilence' stand for the vastation of good and the damnation of evil. The sword is said to be 'without' and famine and pestilence 'within' because the vastation of truth takes place externally but the vastation of good internally. When however a person leads a life that rests on falsity, damnation is meant by the words 'he that is in the field will die by the sword'; and when a person leads a life ruled by evil which he defends by the use of falsity, damnation is meant by the words 'him that is in the city famine and pestilence will devour'.

[5] In Leviticus,

I will bring upon you a sword executing the vengeance of the covenant; wherever you are gathered into your cities, I will send pestilence into the midst of you, and you will be delivered 3 into the hand of the enemy. When I have cut off your supply of bread 4 ... Leviticus 26:25-26.

Here in a similar way 'a sword' stands for the vastation of truth and the damnation of falsity, 'pestilence' for the damnation of evil. The vastation of good, meant by 'famine', is described when [the Lord] speaks of cutting off their supply of bread. 'Cities' into which they would be gathered has the same meaning as 'the city' just above - falsities that are used to defend evils. For the meaning of 'cities' as truths, and so in the contrary sense as falsities, see 402, 2268, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

[6] In Ezekiel,

Therefore because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your abominations, a third part of you will die from pestilence, and be annihilated [by famine] in your midst; then a third will fall by the sword around you; finally I will scatter a third to every wind, so that I will draw out a sword after them. Ezekiel 5:11-12.

'Famine' stands for the damnation of evil, 'sword' for the damnation of falsity. 'Scattering to every wind' and 'drawing out a sword after them' stand for getting rid of truths and seizing on falsities.

[7] In Jeremiah,

If they offer burnt offering or minchah, I am not accepting those things, but I will consume those people by sword, famine, and pestilence. Jeremiah 14:12.

In the same prophet,

I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die from a great pestilence. Afterwards I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those in this city left from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. He who remains in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans besieging you will live, and his soul will become spoil to him. Jeremiah 21:6-7, 9.

In the same prophet,

I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, till they are consumed from upon the earth. Jeremiah 24:10.

Here also 'sword' means the vastation of truth, 'famine' the vastation of good, and 'pestilence' damnation; and 'sword', 'famine', and 'pestilence' have the same meanings in the following places as well: Jeremiah 27:8; 29:17-18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Ezekiel 12:16.

[8] Since those three scourges follow in their own particular order [of severity], David was presented by the prophet Gad with the three. He had to choose between the coming of seven years of famine, fleeing three months before his enemies, or three days of pestilence in the land, 2 Samuel 24:13. ('Fleeing before his enemies' implies 'the sword'.) In Amos,

I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. 5 Amos 4:10.

'The pestilence in the way of Egypt' stands for the vastation of good by means of falsities, which are 'the way of Egypt'. 'Killing young men with the sword, along with captured horses' stands for the vastation of truth, truths being meant by 'young men' and intellectual concepts by 'horses', 5 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6534.

[9] In Ezekiel,

Pestilence and blood will pass through you. Ezekiel 5:17.

In the same prophet,

I will send upon her pestilence and blood in her streets. Ezekiel 28:23.

Here 'pestilence' stands for good that has been adulterated, and 'blood' for truth that has been falsified. For the meaning of 'blood' as falsified truth, see 4735, 6978.

[10] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence that creeps in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsity which lies concealed; 'the arrow that flies by day' for falsity which is out in the open; 'the pestilence that creeps in thick darkness' for evil which lies concealed; 'death which lays waste at noonday' for evil which is out in the open. The fact that 'pestilence' means evil and the damnation of evil is evident from the use of the word 'death', which is distinguished here from pestilence solely by its being said of death that it 'lays waste at noonday' but of pestilence that it 'creeps in thick darkness'. In the same author,

He opened a way for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, and He subjected their life to pestilence. Psalms 78:50.

This refers to the Egyptians, 'pestilence' standing for every kind of evil and its damnation.

Footnotes:

1. literally, evil

2. literally, upon the face of the field

3. The Latin means I will deliver you but the Hebrew means you will be delivered.

4. literally, While I am about to break the staff of bread for you

5. literally, the captivity of your horses

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