Arcana Coelestia #10222
10222. 'A shekel is twenty obols' means all the components of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'twenty' likewise as all, and as remnants of good, and also what is holy. For its meaning as all and consequently what is complete, see 9641; remnants of good, 2280; and what is holy, 4759, 7842, 7903. For when 'twenty' has regard to the Lord it means His Proprium, which is Holiness itself, 4176. From all this it is evident why a shekel should consist of twenty gerahs or obols and why it was called the shekel of holiness, as it is in the present verse and elsewhere, such as Leviticus 27:3; Numbers 3:47, 50; 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73; 18:16. The fact that a shekel was a weight both of silver and of gold, see Genesis 24:22; Exodus 38:24; Ezekiel 4:10; 45:12.
Psalms 12
1
Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2
Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
3
May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts,
4
who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?"
5
"Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says Yahweh; "I will set him in safety from those who malign him."
6
The words of Yahweh are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
7
You will keep them, Yahweh. You will preserve them from this generation forever.
8
The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
