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.

脚注:

9486. 'Of shittim wood' means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit which is the Lord's alone, dealt with above in 9472, and therefore also righteousness, which is the good of merit. For by His own power the Lord restored the whole of heaven to order and subdued the hells, and at the same time made Divine the Human within Himself; therefore to Him belong merit and righteousness. For this reason the one and only good that reigns in heaven and that makes heaven is the Lord's good of merit and His righteousness, thus His Divine Human since This was made merit and righteousness. The fact that the Lord accomplished these things by His own power is clear in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me. Isaiah 63:1-5.

In the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. He put on righteousness as a breastplate. Isaiah 59:16-17.

[2] In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6; 33:15-16.

And in John,

I lay down My life, ¹ so that I may receive it again. No one takes it from Me, I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again. John 10:17-18.

From these places it is evident that the Lord in His Divine Human possesses merit and righteousness acquired by Himself. Since 'the ark' means heaven where the Lord is, shittim wood, by which that good is meant, was used in the making of it; for 'wood' in general means good, 643, 3720, 8354. This explains why people who assume that merit lies in works are seen in the next life to be cutting wood, under which there is something of the Lord, 1110, 4943, 8740. And so it is that 'splitting pieces of wood for a burnt offering' means the good of merit, or good belonging to works, 2784, 2812.

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