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Exodus第31章:13

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13 καὶ σὺ σύνταξον τοῖς υἱοῖς ισραηλ λέγων ὁρᾶτε καὶ τὰ σάββατά μου φυλάξεσθε σημεῖόν ἐστιν παρ' ἐμοὶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν ἵνα γνῶτε ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ ἁγιάζων ὑμᾶς

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#10258

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10258. 'And cassia' means truth even more interior, springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'cassia' as the interior truth of the internal man. The fact that 'cassia' has this meaning is evident from what has been stated and shown above; for heavenly realities follow in that sequence, from outermost to inmost. Inmost truth therefore is what 'cassia' means, being the fourth in the sequence. The reason why 'cassia' means truth springing from good is that inmost truth emanates directly from good and acts jointly with good on lower levels, as is the case when the understanding acts altogether in unison with the will, so completely that one cannot tell whether an action springs from the will or from the understanding. Also, the more internal heavenly things are, the more perfect they are; for all perfection increases towards the more internal parts, and all perfection springs from good, that is, comes from the Lord through good.

[2] Cassia is mentioned as one of those wares that mean heavenly things, in Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan exchanged yarn in your dealings; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were in your trading. Ezekiel 27:19.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of truth and good in the Church are meant, see 1201, and by 'Dan and Javan' those possessing the cognitions of heavenly things. 'Wrought iron' is last and lowest heavenly truth, and 'cassia' inmost truth.

[3] Cassia is not mentioned anywhere else in the Word, though 'kessia' 1 is in David, which also is a species of cassia,

God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness. With myrrh, aloes, and kessia [He has anointed] all Your garments. Psalms 45:7-8.

The whole of this Psalm refers to the Lord, in particular to the glorification of His Humanity. No one lacking knowledge of the internal sense of the Word can by any means know what is meant, when the Lord is the subject, by 'anointing all His garments with myrrh, aloes, and kessia'.

[4] It is evident that what should be thought of is not garments nor the myrrh, aloes, and kessia with which they were anointed, but the Divine Truths springing from Divine Good with which the Lord clothed His Human; for anointing was nothing other than a representative sign of the Divine Good within the Lord's Divine Human. Consequently 'myrrh, aloes, and kessia' means Divine Truths in their own proper order, emanating from the Divine Good that was within Him; and therefore His Divine Human is meant by 'garments'. Whether you say the Lord's Divine Human or Divine Truth, it amounts to the same thing, for while He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself, and when He left the world He made Himself Divine Good, from which Divine Truth flows, see in the places referred to in 9199(end), 9315(end). Besides, the term 'garment' is used in the Word for that which clothes something else, whatever this may be. The Lord's garments in Isaiah 63:2-3, and elsewhere, have this kind of meaning. For the meaning of 'garments' as truths clothing good, see 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216, 9952. From all this it is now evident that 'kessia' in the Psalm, which is a species of cassia, means Divine Truth, emanating directly from Divine Good, which truth is inmost truth.

脚注:

1. The Hebrew word which appears in Psalms 45:8 is q'tsi-oth, the plural of q'tsi-ah, while that in Exodus 30:24 and Ezekiel 27:19 is qiddah. Nowadays both Hebrew words are taken to mean cassia; but the unusual spelling kessia is used to show the difference.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#4007

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4007. 'Every one that had white in it' means that which has truth in it. This is clear from the meaning of 'white' as truth, but strictly speaking as the Lord's Righteousness and Merit, and from this the Lord's righteousness and merit as these exist with man, dealt with in 3301, 3993. 'White' has that meaning because the light of heaven which radiates from the Lord, a light which is the source of splendour and brightness, means truth. Anything therefore on which that light falls and is made splendid and bright is that which is called the Lord's righteousness and merit existing with man. Those who acknowledge this, the Lord's righteousness, and who from good take it to themselves and reject their own, are specifically the ones meant by 'the righteous' whom the Lord refers to, in Matthew,

The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Matthew 13:43.

[2] The fact that that which is 'white', being splendid and bright, has this meaning is also evident from other places in the Word, as in Moses,

His eyes will be redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Genesis 49:12.

This refers to Judah, who represents the Lord as regards the Divinity of His Love, and in the internal sense the celestial kingdom, and so the celestial man, see 3881. 'Eyes redder than wine' means Divine Wisdom, and 'teeth whiter than milk' means Righteousness. In David,

You will purify me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall become whiter than snow. Psalms 51:7.

'Washing and becoming whiter than snow' stands for being purified from sins by means of receiving and putting on the Lord's righteousness. In John,

In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. His head and hair were white, like white wool, like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire. Revelation 1:13-14.

[3] In the same book,

You have a few names in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments. Revelation 3:4-5.

In the same book,

I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you. Revelation 3:18.

In the same book,

To each soul under the altar were given white robes. Revelation 6:9, 11.

In the same book,

I saw, standing before the throne and before the Lamb those clothed in white robes. One of the elders said to me, These clothed in white robes - who are they, and where have they come from? I said to him, Sir, you know. He said to me, These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:9, 13-14.

In the same book,

The angels were clothed in linen, white and splendid, and were girded around their breasts with golden girdles. Revelation 15:6.

In the same book,

I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; to him a crown was given. Revelation 6:2.

And elsewhere,

After this I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses and were clothed in linen white and clean. Revelation 19:11, 14.

[4] In all these places 'white' means the truth of faith; 'white garments' and 'white robes' have no other meaning. But the truth of faith does not exist with any who believe that they have faith of themselves and so believe that they are wise of themselves. Rather, it exists with those who believe that their faith and wisdom come from the Lord, for faith and wisdom are imparted to them because they do not ascribe any truth or good at all to themselves. Even less do they believe that they possess any merit through the truths and goods residing with them, and less still any righteousness, but only by ascribing these to the Lord, and so everything to His grace and mercy. This is what 'putting on white garments' means, and also what 'being made white in the blood of the Lamb' means. There are two things which all who enter heaven cast aside, namely their proprium and consequent confidence, and merit that is their own or self-righteousness. Then they assume a heavenly proprium which comes from the Lord, and the Lord's merit or righteousness. And to the extent that these are so assumed those persons advance further into heaven. These two things specifically are meant by 'red' and by 'white'; 'red' means the good of love and is present with those people at that time, 'white' the truth of faith.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.