Arcana Coelestia (Elliott): AC 9803

9803. From all this it is evident that being intelligent and wise does not consist in understanding a great number of worldly matters and being wise about them, but in understanding those that belong to heaven and willing them. For there are people who understand and are wise about a great number of worldly matters, and yet have no belief in things which belong to heaven and do not will them, and for this reason are insane. These are the ones the Lord is talking about when He says in Matthew,

EXODUS 28

And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you, and his sons with him, from the midst of the children of Israel, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office - Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

And you shall make holy garments ^a for Aaron your brother, for glorious adornment.^b

And you shall speak to all the wise at heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, and they shall make Aaron's garments, to sanctify him, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office.

And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a checkered tunic, a turban, and a belt. And they shall make the holy garments ^a for Aaron your brother and his sons, to serve Me in the priestly office.

And they shall take the gold, and the violet, and the purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen,

And they shall make the ephod from gold, violet, and purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, with the work of a designer.

Two shoulders ^c joined together shall it have at its two ends, and it shall be joined together.

And the girdle of his ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship,^d of [one piece with] it, [made] from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen.

And you shall take two shoham ^e stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,

Six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their generations.^f

With the work of one who works on stones,^g [like] the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; enclosed in sockets of gold you shall make them.

And you shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for remembrance.

And you shall make sockets of gold;

And two small chains of pure gold; on the borders ^h you shall make them, with the work of slender rope;ⁱ and you shall put the small chains of slender rope in the sockets.

And you shall make a breastplate of judgement, with the work of a designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it.

It shall be square when doubled,^j a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it.

And you shall adorn it with settings of stones.^k There shall be four rows of stones, the order being, A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle - one row;

And the second row, A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond;

And the third row, A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst;

And the fourth row, A tarshish,^l and a shoham,^m and a jasper. Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings.

And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with the engravings of a signet, each according to its name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border ^h with the work of slender rope,ⁱ from pure gold.

And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets, and put them onto the shoulders of the ephod before the face of it.

And you shall make two rings of gold, and place them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards.

And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below before the face of it, against the join above the girdle of the ephod.

And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod.

And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually.

And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be over Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually.

And you shall make the robe of the ephod, the whole from violet.

And its hole for the head ⁿ shall be in the middle of it; its hole ^o shall have a border round about, the work of a weaver; something like the hole ^o of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear.

And you shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet on its hem round about, and bells of gold in the middle of them round about -

A bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about.

And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and his voice ^p will be heard when he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out, that he may not die.

And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, [like] the engraving of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah.

And you shall place it on a cord of violet, and it shall be on the turban; before the face of the turban ^q it shall be.

And it shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things; and it shall be on his forehead continually, so that they may be pleasing ^r before Jehovah.

And you shall weave the tunic in chequer work of fine linen,^s and you shall make the turban of fine linen; and the belt you shall make with the work of an embroiderer.

And for Aaron's sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make belts for them, and you shall make headdresses for them, for glorious adornment.^t

And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him; and you shall anoint them, and fill their hand,^u and sanctify them, and they shall serve Me in the priestly office.

And make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall be.

And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, that they may not bear iniquity and die. It shall be the statute of an age ^v for him and his seed after him.

Notes

^a lit. garments of holiness
^b lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)
^c i.e. shoulder-pieces
^d lit. shall be according to the work of it
^e A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
^f i.e. in order of birth
^g lit. the work of a workman of stone i.e. the work of an engraver
^h Most English versions take the Hebrew word to mean of braided thread.
ⁱ i.e. gold threads braided together which look like a cord or slender rope
^j i.e. the material, which was a cubit long and half a cubit or a span wide, was folded in half to form a square.
^k lit. set it with a setting of stone
^lPossibly a beryl
^m A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
ⁿ lit. its mouth of the head
^o lit. mouth
^p i.e. the sound made by the bells as he moves
^q i.e. on the front of it
^r i.e. may be accepted
^s i.e. an all-white garment made of linen containing checks in the weave
^t lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)
^u i.e. consecrate them
^v i.e. an everlasting law

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