45. Truths of the literal meaning of the Word are meant by the precious stones in the Garden of Eden where the king of Tyre was said to live, according to Ezekiel.

We read in Ezekiel,

O king of Tyre, you had sealed your full measure and were full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering - ruby, topaz, and diamond; beryl, sardonyx, and jasper; sapphire, chrysoprase, and emerald; and gold. (Ezekiel 28:12-13)

Tyre in the Word means knowledge of what is true and what is good; a king means what is true in the church; the Garden of Eden means wisdom and understanding from the Word; precious stones mean truths from which light shines because they teach what is good - the kind we have in the literal meaning of the Word - and since this is what these stones mean, they are called its covering. On the literal meaning as the covering of the deeper levels of the Word, see under the preceding heading [§33; see also §40].