478. The reason he is called Adam is that the Hebrew word Adam means man. But the fact that Adam was never used as a proper name, only Man, is quite clear from the consideration that both here and earlier he is spoken of in the plural and not in the singular, and that the term refers to both man and woman. The two together are called Man. Anyone may see from these words that both are included, for it is said, 'He called their name Man on the day in which they were created', and similarly in 1:26, 28, 'Let Us make man in Our image, and they will have dominion over the fish of the sea. This shows also that the subject is not about someone who, when created, was the first human being of all, but about the Most Ancient Church.

10230. 'And give it to the work of the tent of meeting' means being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that truths and forms of good come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the work of the tent of meeting' as that which produces and forms heaven; for 'the work' is that which produces and forms, and 'the tent of meeting' is heaven where the Lord is. For the meaning of 'the tent of meeting' as heaven where the Lord is, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963. Therefore also that which joins a person to heaven is meant, for that which produces and forms heaven within a person also joins that person to heaven. The reason why being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord is meant is that what was given to the work of the tent of meeting was half a shekel, which is called 'the silver of expiations' on account of the numbering of the people, and 'giving half a shekel' means the attribution to the Lord of all that constitutes faith and love, 10220, 10221, while 'the numbering' means the arrangement in order by Him, 10218.