Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 10684

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10684. Verse 28, to the end. And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words. And it was, as Moses went down from Mount Sinai, and the two tables of the Testimony in Moses' hand as he went down from the mountain, that Moses knew not that the skin of his faces shone when he spoke with Him. And Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, and behold the skin of his faces shone; and they feared to come near unto him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the princes in the assemblage returned unto him; and Moses spoke unto them. And afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them all things that Jehovah had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And Moses left off from speaking with them, and he put a veil upon his faces. And when Moses entered in before Jehovah to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he went out; and he went out, and spoke unto the sons of Israel that which was commanded; and the sons of Israel saw the faces of Moses, that the skin of Moses' faces shone; and Moses drew back the veil upon his faces until he entered in to speak with Him. "And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights" signifies temptations before there is any internal of the church, of worship, and of the Word; "he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water" signifies meanwhile there is no appropriation of the good of love and truth of faith; "and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant" signifies the Word, through which there is the conjunction of heaven with man; "the Ten Words" signifies all truths Divine therein; "and it was, as Moses went down from Mount Sinai" signifies the influx of the internal into the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship; "and the two tables of the Testimony in Moses' hand" signifies a representative of the Word; "that Moses knew not that the skin of his faces shone when he spoke with Him" signifies the internal of the Word shining forth in its external without the external perceiving it; "and Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses" signifies a noticing by those who are in the external things of the church, of worship, and of the Word without the internal things; "and behold the skin of his faces shone" signifies that the internal shines forth through the external; "and they feared to come near unto him" signifies that they could not endure the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word when it was of this character; "and Moses called unto them" signifies the approach of that nation to what is external; "and Aaron and all the princes in the assemblage returned unto him" signifies the chief of those who were in external things without internal things, and yet represented internal things; "and Moses spoke unto them" signifies instruction; "and afterward all the sons of Israel came near" signifies all who were in external things without internal things and yet represented internal things; "and he commanded them all things that Jehovah had spoken with him in Mount Sinai" signifies a command concerning the primary truths which were to be represented as revealed from heaven; "and Moses left off from speaking with them" signifies after information concerning the primary truths which were to be represented in external things; "and he put a veil upon his faces" signifies that the internal of the church, of worship, and of the Word did not appear to the Israelitish nation, but only the external without the internal; "and when Moses entered in before Jehovah to speak with Him" signifies the state of the external when the internal from the Lord flowed in, and the external received information; "he removed the veil until he went out" signifies a state of enlightenment then; "and he went out, and spoke unto the sons of Israel that which was commanded" signifies communication with those who are in external things without what is internal concerning those things about which he was informed through the internal; "and the sons of Israel saw the faces of Moses, that the skin of Moses' faces shone" signifies that the Israelitish nation did indeed acknowledge that there is an internal in the Word, but that they did not wish to know the nature of it; "and Moses drew back the veil upon his faces" signifies that for this reason internal things were closed to them; "until he entered in to speak with him" signifies no matter how much they may be informed.


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