9633. Verses 15-30 And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place from shittim wood, standing up ¹ . Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one board. There shall be two hands ² to one board, acting in combination with each other. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place. And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place, twenty boards for the south side, ³ southwards. And you shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two hands, ² and two bases under one board ⁴ for its two hands. ² And for the other side of the dwelling-place - on the north side ⁵ - there shall be twenty boards, and their forty bases [made] from silver, two bases under one board and two bases under one board. ⁴ And for the two legs ⁶ of the dwelling-place towards the sea ⁸ you shall make six boards. And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs. ⁶ And they shall be paired from below, and at the same time they shall be paired up to its head, up to one ring. Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be. And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver - sixteen bases - two bases under one board and two bases under one board. ⁴ And you shall make bars from shittim wood, five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place, and five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea, ⁷ and the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end. And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw ⁸ on the mountain.

'And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place' means the good supporting that heaven. 'From shittim wood' means that it is the good of merit from the Lord's Divine Human. 'Ten cubits shall be the length of a board' means that this good is the all in all. 'And a cubit and a half the breadth of one board' means the truth derived from it, a sufficient amount to effect a joining together. 'There shall be two hands to one board' means the power from it. 'Acting in combination with each other' means the consequent joining together of the Lord with those who are in that heaven. 'Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place' means thus shall it be everywhere. 'And you shall make twenty boards for the dwelling-place' means good lending support to heaven in every respect and totally. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts of it, where truth dwells in light. 'And forty bases of silver' means complete support provided through truth. 'Under the twenty boards' means which proceeds from the good that comes from the Lord's Divine Human. 'Two bases under one board' means the joining of it to the good. 'For its two hands' means the power from it. 'And two bases under one board for its two hands' means thus in every single part. 'And for the other side of the dwelling-place - on the north side' means towards the more external parts of that heaven, where truth dwells in obscurity. 'There shall be twenty boards' means the good lending support in every respect and totally. 'And their forty bases [made] from silver' means complete support received through truth in the external parts as well. 'Two bases under one board' means through a joining to good. 'And two bases under one board' means everywhere. 'And for the two legs of the dwelling-place towards the sea' means a joining to heaven where good dwells in obscurity. 'You shall make six boards' means where good from the Lord's Divine Human exists in its fullness. 'And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs' means the essential nature of the joining to good there. 'And they shall be paired from below, and at the same time paired up to its head' means a joining together from without and from within. 'Up to one ring' means being thereby held firm. 'Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be' means a like joining together everywhere. 'And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver' means support in every respect from good and through truth that springs from good. 'Sixteen bases' means total support. 'Two bases under one board and two bases under one board' means through the joining of truth to good everywhere. 'And you shall make bars from shittim wood' means the power of the truth springing from good. 'Five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place' means when it looks towards the more internal parts of heaven, where truth dwells in light. 'And five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place' means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the more external parts, where truth dwells in obscurity. 'And five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea' means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the parts of that heaven where there is a joining to the good that dwells in obscurity. 'And the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end' means the chief power from which the power everywhere else extends. 'And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold' means a representative sign of the good from which and through which everything derives its existence. 'And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw on the mountain' means in the four quarters, according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in the heaven that is represented.

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9496. 'And you shall make poles of shittim wood' means power derived from this. This is clear from the meaning of 'poles' as the power which truth from good possesses, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit that is the Lord's alone, dealt with above in 9472, 9486. Here it must now be stated what it was that enabled the ark and the dwelling-place to represent heaven, and at the same time the rim of the ark to represent a border, the corners firmness, the rings the joining of good to truth, and the poles power. It has been shown that the whole natural system, thus every single thing existing in true order there, is representative of the Lord's kingdom, that is, of heaven and heavenly realities present there, 9280. It has also been shown that the whole of heaven resembles a human being, and that for this reason heaven has been called the Grand Man, 9276 (end). From this it now follows that all objects which serve to represent heavenly realities correlate with the human form, and that they carry spiritual meanings according to their similarity to that form.

[2] From this it is now evident how the ark can come to mean heaven where the Lord is, the rim on it to mean a border, the sides to mean good to which truth must be joined, the corners to mean firmness, the rings to mean the actual joining together, and the poles to mean power. For the poles resemble a person's arms and therefore also have a similar meaning to the arms; the rings resemble the ginglymi or sockets where the arms are linked to the breast; the corners resemble the actual protrusions where that link is made; the sides resemble the chest cavity or thorax, and the rim resembles the [shoulder-]girdle which forms a border for it. From this it becomes clear that power is meant by 'poles', as it is by 'arms' (for the meaning of 'arms' and 'hands' as power, see 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7205, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133); and that the same thing is meant by 'the sides' as by the chest or thorax of the body, namely good, since the chest contains the heart and lungs, and 'the heart' means celestial good and 'the lungs' spiritual good, 3883-3896, 9300. From all this it is evident that by 'rings' the same thing is meant as by ginglymi or joints which join the chest to the shoulders, and the shoulders to the arms, namely the joining of good to truth, and that firmness is meant by 'the corners', for the strength of the body is exerted there, and the body is equipped with strength and power through the arms. From all this one may recognize how it comes about that natural objects which are inanimate can represent the same realities as ones that are animate, that is, as parts of the human body. That is to say, it comes about because heaven resembles a human being, and the things present in heaven resemble those that exist in the human being, as may be seen from what has been shown at great length regarding the correspondence of the human being with the Grand Man or heaven. See the places referred to in 9276 (end).

[3] Just as the poles which were used to carry the ark meant power, so did the poles or bars which were used to secure the gates of cities, as is clear from the following places: In Hosea,

The sword falls on its cities, and consumes its bars. Hosea 11:6.

'The sword' stands for truth battling against falsity, 'cities' for matters of doctrine, and 'bars' for power. In Isaiah,

For your sake I have sent to Babel, and I will break down all the bars. Isaiah 43:14.

In Jeremiah,

The mighty ones of Babel are seated in strongholds; their power has been destroyed. ¹ Its bars have been broken. Jeremiah 51:30.

In Amos,

I will break the bar of Damascus. Amos 1:5.

In Isaiah,

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. Isaiah 45:2.

Similar words occur in David, Psalms 107:16. In Jeremiah,

It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. Jeremiah 49:31.

In Ezekiel,

They all dwell without a wall; ² they do not have bars and gates. Ezekiel 38:11.

In Jeremiah,

Her gates have sunk into the earth, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:9.

In David,

Praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates. Psalms 147:12-13.

In these places matters of doctrine are meant by 'cities', 2449, 2712, 3216, 4492, 4493, firmness and protection by 'gates', and the power which belongs to truth derived from good by 'bars'. The fact that all power belongs to truth, but to truth that is derived from good, see 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410.

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