10221. 'Half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness' means all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'half' as all; and from the meaning of 'a shekel' as truth springing from good. The reason why 'half' means all is that half a shekel consisted of ten gerahs or obols, and 'ten' means all, 4638, and also remnants, 576, 1906, 1988, 2284, which are the truths and forms of good present with a person, stored away by the Lord in the more internal parts of him, 5135, 5342, 5897, 5898, 7560, 7564. The reason why 'a shekel' means truth springing from good is that it was a weight of silver and also of gold, and 'silver' means truth and 'gold' good. But the amount of truth springing from good and of good coming through truth is determined by the number of gerahs or obols to a shekel. The shekel, being essentially a weight, means the amount; and when it is called 'the shekel of holiness' the amount of truth and good is meant, the reason for this being that truth and good are what are called holy because they come from the Lord who alone is Holy. For more about the shekel and the meaning of it, see 2959.

5898. 'And for the bestowal of life on you' means the spiritual life from there that is bestowed on the truths in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'bestowing life' as spiritual life, dealt with above in 5890. For spiritual life is gained entirely from remnants, which is why the words 'the spiritual life from there' are used. And because they are the source from which that life is obtained, the reference to 'a remnant' is followed immediately by the words 'for the bestowal of life on you', that is to say, on the truths in the natural, which are represented by Jacob's sons, 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512.