Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9999

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9999. Verses 4-9 And Aaron and his sons you shall bringa to the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate; and you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod. And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the crown of holiness on the turban. And you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him. And you shall bringa his sons, and clothe them with tunics. And you shall gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headdresses on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by the statute of an ageb; and you shall fill the handc of Aaron and the hand of his sons.

'And Aaron and his sons' means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. 'You shall bring to the door of the tent of meeting' means the joining together of the two, in heaven. 'And wash them with water' means purification by means of the truths of faith. 'And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron' means a representative sign of the Lord's spiritual kingdom. 'With the tunic' means the inmost part of that kingdom. 'The robe of the ephod' means the middle part of that kingdom. 'And the ephod' means the last and lowest part of it. 'And the breastplate' means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord's Divine Good.d 'And you shall put the turban on his head' means Divine Wisdom. 'And put the crown of holiness on the turban' means the Lord's Divine Human. 'And you shall take the anointing oil' means a representative sign of the consecration to Divine Good. 'And pour it on his head, and anoint him' means a representative sign of Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. 'And you shall bring his sons' means the joining of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. 'And clothe them with tunics' means a representative sign of the emanating Divine Spiritual. 'And you shall gird them with belts' means a bond joining things together, in order that all may be held in connection and consequently in a heavenly form. 'Aaron and his sons' means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. 'And bind headdresses on them' means intelligence springing from wisdom. 'And the priesthood shall be theirs' means the stages, following one after another, of the Lord's work of salvation. 'By the statute of an age' means in accordance with eternal laws of order. 'And you shall fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons' means a representative sign of the Lord's Divine Power exercised through Divine Truth springing from Divine Good.

Notes

a lit. cause to come near
b i.e. a perpetual statute
c i.e. you shall consecrate
d Sw. failed here and again after 10007 to provide any explanation of the words you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod. J.F.I. Tafel, editor of the second Latin edition, suggested - on the basis of what appears in 9828, 9944, 9948, 10005 - a wording that may be rendered a general bond holding all things of love and faith in connection and form within itself, in order that they may all have the same end in view.


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