9942. 'And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen' means the inmost things of the spiritual kingdom, emanating from the truths of celestial love. This is clear from the meaning of Aaron's garments in general as the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814, and since the tunic was the inmost of those garments the inmost things of that kingdom are meant by it (for the meaning of 'Aaron's tunic' as Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial, see 9826); and from the meaning of 'fine linen' as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469. In the words stating that the tunic should be woven in checker work something produced by a weaver should be understood by 'checker work'; and by 'the work of a weaver' is meant that which is from the celestial, 9915. The same word is used in the original language to express the idea of producing checker work as is used to mean weaving.

[2] The fact that this tunic was woven, or was made from the work of a weaver, is clear from the following words in the Book of Exodus,

They made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons. Exodus 39:27.

The reason why the tunic consisted of checker work or was woven from fine linen was in order that it might represent that which emanates directly from the celestial; in comparison it resembles a continuation from it. For what emanates from the celestial is akin to what does so from the will part of a person's mind, in that everything which belongs to a person's understanding emanates from that will part. What emanates from the will part and exists more internally is so to speak continuous from it, in contrast to what does so but exists more externally. Therefore that more internal emanation from the will has primarily the affection for truth within it; for all affection belonging to love that is present in the understanding flows in from its will part. A similar situation exists in the heavens, where the celestial kingdom corresponds to the will part of a person's mind, and the spiritual kingdom to the understanding part, see 9835. And since Aaron's garments represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814, the tunic represented that which is inmost there, namely that which emanates from and exists closest to the celestial kingdom; for the tunic was the inmost garment. From this it is evident why it was woven or made of checker work, and why it was made from fine linen. For 'woven' means that which originates in the will part or the celestial, 9915, and 'fine linen' means truth that springs from celestial love, 9469.

[3] What is spiritual emanating from what is celestial is also meant in other places in the Word by tunics, for example by the tunics of skin which Jehovah God is said to have made for the man and his wife after they ate from the tree of knowledge, Genesis 3:20-21. No one can know that truth from a celestial origin is meant by those 'tunics' unless the inner meaning of the details of that story is unfolded; therefore it must be explained. 'The man and his wife' there is used to mean the celestial Church, 'the man' as the husband to mean that Church in respect of good, and 'his wife' that Church in respect of truth; this truth and that good were the celestial Church's truth and good. But then came the fall of that Church, which was brought about by reasonings, based on factual knowledge, about God's truths, meant in the internal sense by 'the serpent' who persuaded them. The first state after the fall of that Church is what is described here, its truth by 'the tunics of skin'.

[4] It should be remembered that the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis means and describes in the internal sense the new creation or regeneration of the member of the Church then, thus the establishment of the celestial Church; that paradise means and describes the wisdom and intelligence of that Church, and eating from the tree of knowledge its fall, brought about by their reasoning, based on factual knowledge, about Divine matters. For more which demonstrates that all this is so, see what has been shown regarding these matters in the explanations to those chapters. For all the narratives contained in the early chapters of Genesis are made-up history, in the internal sense of which there are Divine matters regarding the new creation or the regeneration of the member of the celestial Church, as has been stated. This was the customary way of writing in most ancient times, not only among those who belonged to the Church but also among those outside the Church, for example among the Arabians, Syrians, and Greeks, as is evident from the books of those times, both sacred and secular.

[5] It was in imitation of those books, since he derived it from them, that Solomon composed the Song of Songs, a book that is not a sacred one because it does not inwardly contain heavenly and Divine matters forming a continuous train of thought, such as sacred books contain. The Book of Job too is a book of the Ancient Church. Mention is also made in Moses of sacred books of the Ancient Church which have now been lost, in Numbers 21:14-15, 27ff, the historical sections of which were called The Wars of Jehovah and the prophetical parts The Utterances, see 2686, 2897. The fact that such was the style in the historical narratives of the sections called The Wars of Jehovah is evident from the parts of them which were extracted and quoted by Moses. Their historical narratives were therefore such as came near to a kind of prophetic style, the kind that would allow young children and also simple people to retain things in their memory. The fact that the books referred to in Numbers 21 were sacred is evident from the parts of them extant in verses 28-30 of that chapter, when compared with Jeremiah 48:45-46, where similar words occur. This kind of style was the most common, virtually the one and only style adopted among those who were outside the Church, as is plain from the myths and legends of those writers who were outside the Church which held within them notions of right and wrong or such as have to do with what people feel and how they conduct their life.

[6] In the narratives consisting not of made-up but of genuine history - which are those that appear in the Books of Moses after the chapters of made-up history, and also those in the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings - spiritual truth and good of truth emanating from celestial truth and good are again meant by 'tunics'. (It should be remembered that spiritual truth and good is the kind of truth and good that spiritual angels in the middle or second heaven enjoy, but that celestial truth and good is the truth and good such as angels in the third and inmost heaven enjoy, see the places referred to in 9277.) The Books of Moses mention that Israel the father of Joseph gave his son a tunic of various colours, and that because of that tunic his brothers were annoyed; and that subsequently they stripped him of it, dipped it in blood, and sent it in that condition to their father, Genesis 37:3, 23, 31-33. All this was part of genuine history; and since it in like manner contained inwardly or in its internal sense the holy things of heaven and the Church, thus those that were Divine, that tunic of various colours served to mean the state of the good and truth which Joseph was to represent, namely the state of spiritual truth and good emanating from the celestial, see 3971, 4286, 4592, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5584, 5869, 5877, 6417, 6526, 9671. For all the sons of Jacob represented things such as belong to heaven and the Church in their proper order, 3858, 3926, 4060, 4603 and subsequent paragraphs, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996. But in the chapter referred to above they represented the opposite.

[7] Since all things that are in the books of the Word are representative of and serve to mean Divine celestial and spiritual realities, both those things in the historical books and those in the prophetical books, the affection for spiritual truth is described in David by 'the king's daughter' and the actual truth by her garments,

Daughters of kings are among your precious ones; at your right hand stands the queen in the finest gold of Ophir. The daughter of Tyre will bring an offering, the rich of the people will entreat your face. All glorious is the king's daughter within, from woven threads (or checker work) of gold will her vesture (her tunic) be; in an embroidered [robe] she will be led to the king. Psalms 45:9ff.

'Daughter' in general means the affection for spiritual truth and good, and so means the Church as well, see 2362, 3024, 3963, 9055 (end); and 'king', when this refers to the Lord, means Divine Truth, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5068, 6148. From this it is evident that everything mentioned in that Psalm regarding 'the king's daughter' means such things as belong to the affection for truth and good received from the Lord in the Church. When it says that 'the daughter of Tyre will bring an offering' cognitions or knowledge of good and truth are meant, 'Tyre' meaning these, see 1201. The like is meant by 'the rich of the people', for nothing other than cognitions of good and truth is meant in the spiritual sense by 'riches', 1694, 4508. From this it is evident what the meaning is of the declaration that the king's daughter is 'all glorious within', and that her vesture was made 'from woven threads of gold'. By 'her vesture' a tunic should be understood, as is evident from the meaning that word has in the original language; for the word in that language means a garment worn next to the body. The fact that a tunic is meant is clear in John 19:24, where reference is made to the Lord's tunic, which David in Psalms 22:18 calls by the same word 'vesture'. It is also clear in 2 Samuel 13:18, where it says that the king's daughters were clothed with tunics of various colours; this matter is dealt with just below. By 'woven threads of gold' in David something similar is meant to what is meant by the checker work of Aaron's tunic, the same term being used in the original language. As regards what 'an embroidered [robe]' is in which she will be led to the king, see 9688.

[8] Since the king's daughter and her vesture or tunic served to represent such things, a king's daughters at that time wore that kind of clothing, as is clear in the second Book of Samuel,

On Tamar there was a tunic of various colours, for daughters of the king wore such clothes. 2 Samuel 13:18.

[9] Since, then, spiritual forms of good and truths were represented by tunics it may be seen what it is that Aaron's 'tunic' means, and also what is meant by his sons' tunics, mentioned in the next verse of this chapter, which says that for Aaron's sons they were to make tunics, belts, and headdresses, for glorious adornment. And since their tunics served to represent those holy forms of good and truths, it was declared that Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, who were devoured by fire from heaven because they were offering incense on foreign ¹ fire, should be taken outside the camp in their tunics, Leviticus 10:1-5. For 'foreign fire' means love from a source other than what is heavenly, since 'sacred fire' in the Word denotes love that is heavenly or Divine, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434. Because of what his sons had done spiritual forms of good and truths, meant by their 'tunics', had been defiled, and this was why they were taken outside the camp in their tunics.

[10] 'Tunic' is used with a similar meaning in Micah,

My people have taken a stand as an enemy on account of the garment; you strip the tunic from those confidently passing through. Micah 2:8.

Here a different word is used in the original language for 'tunic'; even so spiritual truth and good is meant. 'Stripping the tunic from those passing through in confidence' means depriving of their spiritual truths those who lead a life of simple goodness. 'Having [them] as enemy on account of the garment' means doing ill to them on account of the truth they think, when in fact no one ought to suffer harm on account of whatever he believes to be true, provided that he is governed by good, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844.

[11] From all this it may now be seen what 'tunic' means in Matthew,

Jesus said, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by [your] head. Let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. ² If anyone wishes to drag you to court and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Matthew 5:34-37, 40.

Anyone unacquainted with what the angelic state is like in the Lord's celestial kingdom cannot have any idea at all of what these the Lord's words imply. For they refer to the state of goodness and truth with those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, with whom all truth resides within, imprinted on their hearts. For the good of love to the Lord leads them to know all truth, so completely that they never engage in any reasoning about it, as those in the spiritual kingdom do. Therefore whenever truths are referred to they say simply, Yes, yes; or, No, no. Nor indeed in that kingdom do they even make mention of faith. Regarding the state of these angels, see the places referred to in 9277. From this it is now evident what the meaning is of the command that they must not swear at all; for 'swearing' means confirming truths, 3375, 9166, which is done in the spiritual kingdom by the use of reason and factual knowledge drawn from the Word. 'Dragging to court and wishing to take away the tunic' means arguing about truths and wishing to convince others that something is not true, 'tunic' meaning truth from a celestial origin; for [those who are celestial] leave every one with the truth he has and do not go on to reason with him.

[12] 'Tunic' again means truth from a celestial origin elsewhere in Matthew,

Jesus sent the twelve to preach the kingdom of heaven, saying, that they should not possess gold, or silver, or bronze in their belts, nor a bag for the road, nor two tunics, or [pairs of] shoes, or rods. Matthew 10:9-10.

All this served to represent that those with forms of good and truths received from the Lord possess no good or truth at all that originates in themselves, but that every truth and form of good they have comes from the Lord. The twelve disciples represented all whose forms of good and truths come from the Lord, and in the abstract sense represented all forms of the good of love and all truths of faith derived from the Lord, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397. Forms of good and truths that originate in the self and not in the Lord are meant by 'possessing gold, silver, and bronze in their belts' and by 'a bag'. But truths and forms of good coming from the Lord are meant by 'tunic, shoe, and rod', inner truth or truth from a celestial origin by 'tunic', outer truth or truth in the natural by 'shoe', 1748, 6844, and the power of truth by 'rod', 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026. By 'two tunics' however, 'two [pairs of] shoes, and two rods' are meant truths and their powers that originate both in the Lord and in the self. The fact that they were allowed to have one tunic, one pair of shoes, and one rod is clear in Mark 6:8-9, and Luke 9:2-3.

[13] Once it is known from all this what 'a tunic' means it is evident what 'the Lord's tunic' referred to in John means,

They took the garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and the tunic. And the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said, Do not let us divide it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it may be - so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying, They divided My garments for themselves, and for My tunic they cast lots. The soldiers did these things. John 19:23-24; Psalms 22:18.

Is there anyone, thinking with reason that is to some extent enlightened, who cannot see that in all this Divine things were meant, and that if this had not been so none of it would have been prophesied in David? Yet no one can know what is meant without the internal sense, thus without knowledge gained from that sense no one can know what is meant by 'the garments', 'casting lots for' or 'dividing them', 'the tunic' and its being 'without seam' or 'woven from the top throughout', and 'the soldiers'. From the internal sense it is evident that truths are meant by 'garments', and Divine Truths by 'the Lord's garments'; 'casting lots for' and 'dividing them' pulling apart and dispersing them, 9093; and 'the tunic' Divine Truth on the spiritual level, emanating from the Divine Celestial, the same as is meant by 'Aaron's tunic' since Aaron represented the Lord, for which reason also its being 'without seam' or 'woven from the top throughout' has the same meaning as 'checkered' or 'woven', which describes Aaron's tunic. The tunic's not being divided was a sign that Divine Truth on the spiritual level, emanating directly from Divine Truth on the celestial level, could not be dispersed, because this truth is the inner truth of the Word, such as exists with angels in heaven.

[14] When it says that 'the soldiers did it' the meaning is that it was done by those who ought to have been fighting for truths, that is, the Jews themselves with whom the Word existed, but whose characters were nevertheless such that they would disperse it. For they had the Word, yet nevertheless did not wish to know from it that the Lord was the Messiah and Son of God who was to come. Nor did they wish to know anything of the inner meaning of the Word, only the outward, which they also drafted to serve their own loves, which were self-love and love of the world, and so to support their desires gushing out of those loves. These things are meant by dividing up the Lord's garments; for whatever they did to the Lord represented the state of Divine Truth and Good among them then, thus the way they treated God's truths was similar to that in which they were treating Him; for while in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).

Footnotes:

2180. 'And took a young bull, tender and good' means a celestial-natural which the rational took to itself in order that it might join itself to perception from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' in the Word as natural good. And because the subject is the Lord's Rational, it is called 'tender' from the celestial-spiritual, which is truth grounded in good, and 'good' from the celestial itself, which is good itself. Within the genuine rational there is both the affection for truth and the affection for good, but that which is first and foremost there is the affection for truth, as shown already in 2072. This explains why 'tender' is mentioned before 'good'; but even so, as is quite usual in the Word, both are mentioned on account of the marriage of truth and good which is referred to above in 2173.

[2] That 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' means the celestial-natural, or what amounts to the same, natural good, becomes especially clear from the sacrifices, which were the principal representatives in the worship of the Hebrew Church and after this of the Jewish Church. Their sacrifices were made either from the herd or from the flock, thus from animals of various kinds that were clean, such as oxen, young bulls, he-goats, sheep, rams, she-goats, kids, and lambs, besides doves and fledgling pigeons. All of these creatures meant the internal features of worship, that is, celestial and spiritual things, 2165, 2177, those from the herd meaning celestial-natural, those from the flock celestial-rational. Because both of these - natural things and rational things - are more and more interior and are various, so many genera and so many species of these creatures were therefore employed in sacrifices. This fact becomes clear also from its being laid down as to which creatures were to be offered in burnt offerings and also which in every kind of sacrifice - the daily sacrifices; those offered on sabbaths and at festivals; those made as free-will, eucharistic, or votive offerings; and those offered in purifications, cleansings, and also in inaugurations. Which creatures were to be used, and how many, in each kind of sacrifice is mentioned explicitly. This would never have been done unless each one had had some specific meaning, as is quite evident from those places where the sacrifices are the subject, as in Chapter 29 of Exodus; Chapters 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, and 23 of Leviticus; and Chapters 7, 8, 15, and 29 of Numbers. But this is not the place to explain what each one meant. The situation is similar in the Prophets where those animals are mentioned, from which it may become clear that young bulls meant celestial-natural things.

[3] That none but heavenly things were meant becomes clear also from the cherubim seen by Ezekiel and from the living creatures before the throne which were seen by John. Regarding the cherubim the prophet says,

The likeness of their faces was the face of a man (homo); and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; and they four had the face of an eagle. Ezekiel 1:10.

Regarding the four living creatures before the throne John says,

Around the throne were four living creatures - the first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a young bull, the third living creature had a face like a man (homo), the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle - saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. Revelation 4:7-8.

Anyone may see that holy things were represented by the cherubim and these living creatures, thus also by the oxen and young bulls in the sacrifices. The same applies in the prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph,

Let it come upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite among his brothers. The firstborn of his ox has honour, and his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with these he will thrust the peoples together, to the ends of the earth. Deuteronomy 33:16-17.

These words are not intelligible to anyone unless he knows what ox, unicorn, horns, and many other things mean in the internal sense.

[4] As for sacrifices in general they were indeed commanded to the Israelites through Moses. But the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood never knew anything at all about sacrifices, nor did it ever enter their minds to worship the Lord by the slaughtering of animals. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood knew nothing about it either. Representatives did indeed exist there, but not sacrifices. These were first introduced in the subsequent Church called the Hebrew Church, and from there they spread to the gentile nations, and even to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so to Jacob's descendants. The fact that the gentile nations had sacrificial worship has been shown in 1343, and the fact that Jacob's descendants also had such worship before they left Egypt, thus before sacrifices were commanded through Moses on Mount Sinai, becomes clear from Exodus 5:3; 10:25, 27; 18:12; 24:4-5.

[5] This is especially clear from their idolatrous worship in front of the golden calf, regarding which the following is said in Moses,

Aaron built an altar in front of the calf, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early the next morning and presented burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Exodus 32:5-6.

This happened while Moses was on Mount Sinai, and so before the command came to them regarding the altar and the sacrifices. That command came to them for the reason that sacrificial worship among them had been turned, as it had among the gentiles, into idolatrous worship, from which they could not be drawn away because they looked upon it as-the chief holy thing. Once something has been implanted in people from their earliest years as being holy, the more so if received from their fathers, and thus is inrooted, the Lord in no way breaks it - provided it is not contrary to order itself - but bends it. This was the reason for its being laid down that the sacrificial system should be established, such as one reads in the books of Moses.

[6] The fact that sacrifices were by no means acceptable to Jehovah, and so were merely permitted and tolerated for the reason just stated, is quite evident in the Prophets. Concerning them the following is said in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, Add your burnt offerings on to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. I did not speak with your fathers and I did not command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt on the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But this matter I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God. Jeremiah 7:21-23.

In David,

O Jehovah, sacrifice and offering You have not desired; burnt offering and sin-sacrifices You have not sought. I have delighted to do Your will, O my God. Psalms 40:6, 8.

In the same author,

You do not delight in sacrifice that I should give it; burnt offering You do not accept. The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit. Psalms 51:16-17.

In the same author,

I will not take any young bull from your house, nor he-goats from your folds. Sacrifice to God confession. Psalms 50:9, 14; 107:21-22; 116:17; Deuteronomy 23:18.

In Hosea,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

Samuel said to Saul,

Has Jehovah great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to be submissive is better than sacrifice, to be obedient than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22.

In Micah,

With what shall I come before Jehovah and bow myself to God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement, and to love mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:6-8.

[7] From these quotations it is now evident that sacrifices were not commanded but permitted, and also that in sacrifices nothing else was regarded except that which was internal, and that it was that which was internal that was pleasing, not that which was external. For this reason also the Lord abolished them, as was also foretold through Daniel in the following words when he was speaking about the Lord's Coming,

In the middle of the week He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. Daniel 9:27.

See what has been stated about sacrifices in Volume One, in 922, 923, 1128, 1823. As for 'the young bull' which Abraham made ready or prepared for the three men, the meaning is similar to that of the same animals when used in sacrifices. That it had a similar meaning becomes clear also from the fact that he told Sarah to take three measures of fine flour. Regarding the fine flour that went with the offering of a young bull the following is said in Moses - referring to when they were to come into the land,

When you make ready a young bull for a burnt offering or a sacrifice in the declaring of a vow, or for peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall bring with the young bull a minchah of three tenths of fine flour mixed with oil. Numbers 15:8-9.

Here similarly the number 'three' appears, though three 'tenths' here but three 'measures' in Abraham's instruction to Sarah. But only two tenths went with the offering of a ram, one tenth with that of a lamb, Numbers 15:4-6.