Arcana Coelestia #7839
7839. 'The son of a year it shall be to you' means a complete state. This is clear from the meaning of 'the son' as truth, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 1803, 1813, 3373, 3704; and from the meaning of 'a year' as a whole period from start to finish, dealt with in 2906, and so a complete state. What a complete state is must be explained. The expression 'complete state' is used when good is such that it lacks nothing it needs for receiving the inflow of innocence. The truths of faith when they have been joined to the good of charity cause good to be such; for spiritual good receives its specific quality from the truths of faith. This is how to understand what a complete state is, meant by 'the son of a year'. But the state is not complete when truths have not as yet brought a specific quality to good, enabling it to receive a corresponding state of innocence. That complete state begins to exist when people look from good towards truths; it is not yet complete while they are looking from truths towards good. The second of these is the state of those undergoing regeneration, whereas the first is that of those who have been regenerated. Those undergoing regeneration are guided by truth that leads to good, those who have been regenerated by truth that springs from good; that is, the former live in obedience to truth, the latter are led by an affection to do it. The former are therefore members of the external Church, whereas the latter are members of the internal. Since 'the son of a year' meant a complete state, the command occurs so many times for a lamb or a kid, the son of a year, to be sacrificed, as in Exodus 29:38; Leviticus 9:3; 12:6; 14:10; 23:12, 18-19; Numbers 6:12; 7:15ff, 87-88; 15:27; 28:9, 11; and where the new temple is the subject in Ezekiel,
The prince shall make 1 a burnt offering of a lamb, a perfect, year-old lamb, 2 daily, to Jehovah; each morning he shall make 1 it. Ezekiel 46:13.
Here 'the new temple' is used to mean the Lord's spiritual kingdom. 'The prince' is those who know genuine truths and are led by them to good; 'a burnt offering of a lamb' is worship of the Lord that springs from the good of innocence; and 'year-old' means a complete state.
Voetnoten:
1. The Hebrew means You shall make. But earlier verses in Ezekiel 46 refer to the prince.
2. literally, a perfect son of a year
Leviticus 22
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2
"Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh.
3
"Tell them, 'If anyone of all your seed throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh.
4
"'Whoever of the seed of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;
5
or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has;
6
the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water.
7
When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
8
That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
9
"'They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
10
"'No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
11
But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.
12
If a priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things.
13
But if a priest's daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it.
14
"'If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest.
15
The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh,
16
and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things: for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.'"
17
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
18
"Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, 'Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering;
19
that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
20
But whatever has a blemish, that you shall not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21
Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted; no blemish shall be therein.
22
Blind, injured, maimed, having a wart, festering, or having a running sore, you shall not offer these to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh.
23
Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24
That which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut, you shall not offer to Yahweh; neither shall you do thus in your land.
25
Neither shall you offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner of any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a blemish in them. They shall not be accepted for you.'"
26
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
27
"When a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, is born, then it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
28
Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.
29
"When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
30
It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh.
31
"Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh.
32
You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy,
33
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh."
