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:

6148. 'Only the ground of the priests he did not buy' means that the internal obtained for itself from the natural every capacity to receive good, because every such capacity came from itself. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph', about whom these things are said, as the internal, dealt with already; from the meaning of 'the ground' as the receptacle of truth, dealt with above in 6135-6137, at this point the capacity to receive good, for the capacity of something is its inherent ability to receive, which causes a receptacle to be a receptacle (that capacity comes from good, that is, from the Lord through good, for if the good of love did not flow in from the Lord no one would ever have the capacity to receive truth or good. That inflow of the good of love from the Lord causes everything present inwardly in a person to be of a receptive nature. The truth that the capacity to receive good comes from the natural is meant by the fact that the ground lay in Egypt, since 'Egypt' means the natural in respect of factual knowledge, 6142); from the meaning of 'the priests' as good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'not buying' as not taking those capacities to itself - not in the way that it made truths and forms of the good of truth, together with their receptacles, its own, which came about through periods of desolation and sustainment - for the reason that those capacities came from itself, from the internal. All these meanings serve to show that 'only the ground of the priests he did not buy' means that the internal obtained for itself from the natural every capacity to receive good, because every such capacity came from itself.

[2] The implications of all this are that a person's capacities to receive truth and good come directly from the Lord; he obtains them without any help at all from himself. A person's capacity to receive goodness and truth is maintained in him unceasingly; and from that capacity he possesses understanding and will. But a person does not receive them if he turns to evil. The capacity to receive does, it is true, remain, but its access to thought and sensitivity is blocked, on account of which his capacity to see what is true and have a sensitive awareness of what is good perishes. And it perishes to the extent that he turns to evil and in faith and life becomes firmly settled in it. The fact that a person contributes nothing whatever to his capacity to receive truth and good is well known from the Church's teaching that nothing at all of the truth of faith and nothing at all of the good of charity comes from man but from the Lord. Yet a person can destroy that capacity residing with him. From all this one may now see how one should understand the idea that the internal obtained for itself from the natural every capacity to receive good, because every such capacity came from itself. The expression 'from the natural' is used because the inflow of good from the Lord is effected by the Lord through the internal into the natural; and once the capacity to receive has been obtained from there, the inflow takes place, for now there is reception, see 5828.

[3] So far as the meaning of 'the priests' as forms of good is concerned, it should be recognized that there are two realities which go forth from the Lord - goodness and truth. Divine Good was represented by priests, and Divine Truth by kings; and this is why 'the priests' means forms of good and 'the kings' truths. Regarding the attribution of Priesthood and Kingship to the Lord, see 1728, 2015 (end), 3670. In the representative Ancient Church those two offices of priest and king existed jointly in one personage, the reason for this being that goodness and truth which go forth from the Lord are united; and they are also joined together in heaven among the angels.

[4] A personage in the Ancient Church in whom the two offices existed joined together was called Melchizedek, a name meaning king of righteousness. This may be seen from the following statement about Melchizedek who came to Abraham, ¹

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; and he was a priest to God Most High. And he blessed Abraham. Genesis 14:18-19.

His representation of the Lord in both offices is evident from the fact that he was a king and at the same time a priest, and from the fact that he was allowed to bless Abraham and offer him bread and wine, which even at that time were the symbols of the good of love and the truth of faith. His representation of the Lord in both offices is further evident in David,

Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek. Psalms 110:4.

These words were spoken in reference to the Lord. 'After the manner of Melchizedek' means that He is both King and Priest, that is, in the highest sense that Divine Good and Divine Truth go forth together from Him.

[5] Because a representative Church was going to be established also among the descendants of Jacob, they too were to have a single personage to represent jointly Divine Good and Divine Truth, which go forth from the Lord united. But on account of the wars and the idolatry of that people the two were in fact divided right from the start; those who ruled over the attended to sacred duties were referred to as the priests, who belonged to the seed of Aaron and were the Levites. At a later time the two functions were joined together in a single person, as they were in Eli and Samuel. Yet because the nature of the people was such that the representative Church could not be established among them, only a representative of the Church, on account of the practice of idolatry prevalent among them, the two functions were allowed to be separated. The Lord was then represented in respect of Divine Truth by kings and in respect of Divine Good by priests. The separation took place because the people desired it, not because the Lord took any pleasure in it, as is clear from the Word of Jehovah to Samuel,

Obey the voice of the people in all that they have said to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them; and show them the right of the king. 1 Samuel 8:7-end; 12:19-20.

[6] The reason why the two functions were not meant to be separated was that Divine Truth separated from Divine Good condemns all people, whereas Divine Truth united to Divine Good saves them. Judged by Divine Truth a person is condemned to hell, but Divine Good brings him out of there and raises him into heaven. Salvation comes of mercy and so sprigs from Divine Good; but damnation exists when a person rejects mercy and so casts Divine Good away from himself, as a consequence of which he is left to be judged by Truth. As regards 'kings' representing Divine Truth, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068.

[7] 'The priests' represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and for that reason good is meant by them. This becomes clear from the internal sense of all that was prescribed regarding the priesthood when Aaron was chosen, and after him the Levites, such as these prescriptions:

The High Priest alone should enter the Holy of holies and minister there. [Leviticus 16.]

Things holy to Jehovah were to be for the priest. Leviticus 23:20; 27:21.

They were not to have any portion or inheritance in the land, but Jehovah would be their portion and inheritance. Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1.

The Levites were given to Jehovah instead of the firstborn, and they were given by Jehovah to Aaron. Numbers 3:9, 12-13, Numbers 3:40-end; 8:16-19.

The high priest and the Levites were to be in the middle of the camp when they pitched it and when they were journeying. Numbers 1:50-54; 2:17; 3:23-38; 4:1-end.

No one from the seed of Aaron who had a blemish in himself was to approach to offer burnt offerings or sacrifices. Leviticus 21:17-20.

And there are many other prescriptions besides these, such as those in Leviticus 21:9-13, and elsewhere.

[8] In the highest sense all these prescriptions relating to the priests represented the Lord's Divine Good and therefore in the relative sense the good of love and charity. Aaron's vestments however, called 'vestments of holiness', represented Divine Truth from Divine Good. These matters will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with in the explanations of what appears in Exodus.

[9] Since truth is meant by 'kings' and good by 'priests', 'kings and priests' are mentioned together many times in the Word, as in John, Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests to His God and Father. Revelation 1:6; 5:10.

By virtue of the truth of faith we are said to have been made 'kings', and by virtue of the good of charity to have been made 'priests', so that the truth and good residing with those who abide in the Lord have been joined together, in the way they are in heaven, as stated above. This is what is meant by 'being made kings and priests'.

[10] In Jeremiah,

It will happen on that day, that the heart of the king and of the princes will perish, and the priests will be dumbfounded and the prophets left wondering. Jeremiah 4:9.

In the same prophet,

The house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. Jeremiah 2:26.

In the same prophet,

The kings of Judah, the princes, the priests, and the prophets, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 8:1.

In these places 'kings stands for truths, 'princes' for first and foremost truths, 1482, 1089, 5044, 'priests' for forms of good, and 'prophets' for those who teach, 2534.

[11] Quite apart from this it should be recognized that Joseph did not buy the ground of the priests. The fact that this was representative of the consideration that the whole of a person's capacity to receive truth and good comes from the Lord is evident from a similar law in Moses regarding the fields belonging to the Levites,

The field of the country surrounding the cities of the Levites shall not be sold, for it is their eternal possession. Leviticus 25:34.

The meaning here in the internal sense is that no one ought to lay any claim to the good of the Church, which is the good of love and charity, because that good is from the Lord alone.

Footnotes: