9916. 'And the hole of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear' means so that it has been made strong and safe from damage. This is clear from the meaning of 'a corslet' as something strongly woven; and this is why it says 'so that it does not tear', that is, in order that it may be safe from damage. Something strongly woven is meant by the actual word used in the original language. An idea of that kind of weaving may be gained from correspondence. The subject at this point in the internal sense is the flow of celestial good into spiritual good; this inflow is what is meant by 'the robe's hole for the head' and what is described by 'the work of a weaver' and 'of a corslet'. To this flow from one heaven into another the flow of life in the human being corresponds, that is, the flow from the head by way of the neck into the body, 9913, 9914. The network of strong sinews belonging to the neck, and the circle so to speak of interwoven bones below the neck, both of which keep the flow of life safe from any harm, therefore have correspondence with that flow from one heaven to another. From such correspondence, as has been stated, an idea may be gained regarding the details in this verse, that is to say, an idea of what is meant by a hole for the head in the middle, by a border which the hole has round about, by the work of a weaver, and by the hole of a corslet which the robe must have so that it does not tear. It should be remembered that all representative objects on the natural level are related in some way to the human form, and that their meaning is determined by that relationship, 9496. Every garment covering the body takes its meaning from that part of the body it serves to cover, 9827, as applies also to this upper part of the robe which encircles and covers the neck.

9913. 'And its hole for the head shall be in the middle of it' means the course which the inflow from the higher source takes. This is clear from the meaning of 'the robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' as the place where the inflow enters from the higher, or what amounts to the same thing, more internal source, thus from the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom; for the external good of the celestial kingdom flows into the internal good of the spiritual kingdom, see immediately above in 9912. The reason why the 'robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' has this meaning is that the spiritual kingdom, in particular the inward part of it, is meant by 'the robe', 9825, and the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual ones by the neck where the robe's 'hole for the head' was, 3542, 5320, 5328. For the head on a person corresponds to the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the body to His spiritual kingdom, so that the neck in between, which the robe's hole for the head encircles and clothes, corresponds to the mediation or inflowing of the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom.

[2] That such things are meant by 'the robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' may seem to be absurd, altogether so to those who know nothing about heaven, or about spirits and angels there, and consequently know nothing about correspondence. The existence of a correspondence of all aspects of the human being with all things in heaven has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters, see the places referred to in 9280. In general the head corresponds to celestial things, the body to spiritual things, and the feet to natural things, 4938, 4939. From this it is evident that 'the neck' by virtue of its correspondence means the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual things. Therefore 'the robe's hole for the head', which was made to go round the neck, means the course which that inflow takes; for Aaron's garments represented in general those things that belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, 9814. From this it is evident that the reference in this verse to the hole or part of the robe that goes round the neck describes the actual inflowing. Furthermore it should be remembered that angels and spirits appear wearing garments, and that each one of their garments is representative, as everyone in heaven knows. So it is that each one of Aaron's garments too is representative of such things as exist in the heavens. For the Word from the Lord has been written in such a way that everything there even to the smallest detail has a correspondence with heavenly things, and in such a way that it is a means serving to join things together. The reason why the member of the Church does not know about all this, even though he has such a Word, is that he has turned his interiors round to the world, so far round that he cannot be raised towards heaven and learn about it, see 9706, 9707, 9709.