10325. The books of the Word are all those which have the internal sense; books which do not have it are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are: The five Books of Moses; the Book of Joshua; the Book of Judges; the two Books of Samuel; the two Books of Kings; the Psalms of David; and the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And in the New Testament they are: The four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; and the Book of Revelation.
Exodus 31
1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4
To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5
And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6
And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7
The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8
And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
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And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10
And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11
And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
13
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
14
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Arcana Coelestia #3142
3142. 'And I have swept the house' means all things had been prepared and filled with goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'sweeping' as preparing and being filled, dealt with immediately below, and from the meaning of 'a house' as good, dealt with in 2233, 2234, 2559. And a person himself, from the good which governs him, is called a house, 3128. The reason why 'sweeping' means preparing and being filled is that nothing else is asked of anyone except to 'sweep his house', that is, to reject evil desires and resulting false persuasions. If he does this he is filled with all forms of good, for good from the Lord is constantly flowing in. It flows into 'the house', that is, into the person who has been cleansed of such things as hinder influx, that is, which turn away, or pervert, or stifle inflowing good. Hence the proverbial expression used by the ancients about sweeping or cleansing the house, and also about sweeping and preparing the way. 'Sweeping the house' was used to mean cleansing oneself of evils and thereby preparing oneself for goods to enter, while 'sweeping the way' was used to mean preparing oneself for the reception of truths; for 'a house' meant good, 3128, and 'the way' truth, 627, 2333.
[2] As in Isaiah,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Sweep (prepare) the way of Jehovah; make straight in the lonely place a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3.
In the same prophet,
Level out, level out, sweep (prepare) the way; remove the stumbling block from My people's way. Isaiah 57:14.
In the same prophet,
Go through, go through into the gates; sweep (prepare) the way of the people. Level out, level out the way; gather out the stones. Isaiah 62:10.
In Malachi,
Behold, I am sending My angel, and he will sweep (prepare) the way before Me; and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking. Malachi 3:1.
In these places 'sweeping the way' stands for getting oneself ready and preparing to receive truth. They refer to the Lord's coming, for which people were to prepare themselves so as to receive the truth of faith, and through that the good of charity, and through this in turn eternal salvation.
[3] In David,
You caused a vine to journey out of Egypt. You cast out the nations, and You planted it, You swept before it and caused its root to be rooted, and it filled the land. Psalms 80:8-9.
This refers in the highest sense to the Lord. 'A vine out of Egypt' is truth based on facts, 'casting out the nations' cleansing from evils, 'sweeping before it' preparing for goods to fill it. 'Sweeping the house' also means in the contrary sense the person who dispossesses himself of all goods and truths and so is filled with evils and falsities, as in Luke,
If the unclean spirit finds no rest he says, I will return to my house out of which I came. And if when he comes he finds it swept and decorated, he goes away and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. Luke 11:24-26; Matthew 12:43-45.
